How Can I Remove My Old Fiberglass Shower?

Okay, it's time to remodel your bathroom and you don't know how you're going to get that one piece old fiberglass or acrylic shower out of your home. Even if you can get it away from the wall, how would you get it out of the bathroom, the door is simply too small.

This piece of advice that I'm about to give you, is worth its weight in gold. You're going to need to cut it into pieces and you're going to have to be careful. Whether the shower is made from acrylic, fiberglass or any other materials, you will need to make sure that you have plenty of ventilation and are wearing a good safety mask.

Before you even get started, I would try to install some sort of fan in the window, if possible and have the fan facing the outside, blowing all of the air out as these fine particles start to accumulate, while you're cutting your old shower into pieces.

I would recommend using a reciprocating saw and only cutting along the corners of the old shower. Try not to cut any further than the thickness of the acrylic or fiberglass shower. You don't know what's behind the shower wall. There could be electrical wires, heating ducts or plumbing pipes and if you damage one of these, your bathroom remodeling projects has now became a homeowner's nightmare.

After you have cut the three sides of the one-piece shower unit, you will need to remove the shower base and this will require separating the shower drain or waste pipe from the old shower pan. I would recommend using your reciprocating saw to cut safely around the perimeter of the drain pipe and remove the last large piece of your old shower.

The last thing, left to do is to remove the part of the shower base that is still around the waste pipe. This can be done by removing the rubber piece that is located in between the old shower and the old waste pipe or you can safely cut the old acrylic or fiberglass shower drain in half and remove it that way.

This part is very important, make sure that you do not cut the waste pipe. You will be reusing it, whether you're going to be installing a new acrylic shower or installing a new cement shower pan for a tile shower.