I removed old steel tub. relacing with cast iron tub. do i need to reinforce the floor joist?
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I went over all my joists and when installing a tub in an older home, I put down up to 150 pounds of" level set" and set the tun into this, make sure everything is lined up and ready for hook up first.
I checked all the joists, some were bad and I put in new ones. Then I laid down a 3/4 inch sheet of treated plywood, on this, after lining up the tub for installation, I put in 150 pounds of level set then put the tub directly into this and, made sure everything was hooked up and ready to go, then continued the hook up.
The tub is well set in, doesn't make noise.
maybe.
If you had added a few details the answer might be more helpful, no offense.
Is the floor, on which the tub sits accessable from underneath it? IE: Basement/Crawl Space/Living area as in first floor?
Is the Cast Iron tub sufficiently more weighty than the steel tub? Is it a claw foot by chance?
Reinforcing won't have as much effect in just adding to the joists as having it supported by verticle supports, or if it's already being supported by load bearing walls, I see no issue.
Also,and just my opinion, I wouldn't "Float" any substance, then set any tub into it. At some point the REMOVAL might be an issue, and certainly would need remediation after the fact. Adding any subfloor over the existing subfloor might not hurt, but also might not strictly be neccesary.
As I said; and with all due respect; a few more details might have aided us in answering.
Steven Wolf
If you can access the joists, it would be good to check them for cracks or other deterioration. If the tub is not a clawfoot, you should have no problem since the tub will be setting on more than one joist. A mortarbed is not normally needed under a cast iron tub. Under fiberglass and plastic tubs, a mortarbed will stop stress cracks by supporting the bottom of the tub.
You do not mention the weight differential and how the floor joist looks right now. Considering they are equal you should be fine. If you are talking about an old cast iron tub on legs, it's irrelevant because the weight will be absorbed on the 4 legs.
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