Modernize Your Manufactured Home With a Bathtub Upgrade

The bathroom is one of the hardest-working rooms in your manufactured home. It's where you gear up for the day and where you unwind at night. But over time, the space can start to feel worn out. Fixtures get dated, tight layouts feel even tighter, and signs of wear (or even structural issues) can start to show up. Inaccessibly high tub walls, yellowed plastic, and aging materials can make the space a lot less enjoyable and potentially less safe. When that happens, it's a clear sign it's time to update the room to work the way you need it to — and the tub is the perfect place to start.

A manufactured home bathtub replacement doesn't have to break the bank and can be well worth the investment. Refreshing it not only improves your everyday comfort, but can also boost your home's value.

Recognizing the Signs: Why Your Tub Needs an Upgrade

When it comes to bathtubs for manufactured homes, they don't make 'em like they used to. And that's actually a good thing. Bathtub quality has come a long way in recent years, and older tub models are often made from lower-quality materials that are prone to scratching and deterioration over time. That's not to say anything of the natural wear that just comes with age. Sometimes, even if the materials were high-quality to begin with, older tubs start to show their age. Signs that it's time to upgrade your tub include:

• Scratches in the surface and/or topcoat
• Yellowing surface
• The tub's floor flexes or feels bouncy
• Discolored fixtures
• Mildew

Option 1: The Tub-to-Shower Conversion

Tubs are great if you have young kids or pets, but aren't so great for those with mobility issues, since it can be tricky to get in and out of the tub. A walk-in shower can make the space safer and easier to use as you get older — no more climbing over a high tub wall at the end of a long day's work.

If your bathroom feels cramped, that may be another reason to consider a tub-to-shower conversion. While the footprint is the same for a shower or tub in manufactured home (most commonly 54 inches long by 27 inches wide), showers often look like they take up less space, since they offer more utility. Plus, showers can be quicker to clean, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Option 2: Upgrading to an Acrylic or Fiberglass Tub

Maybe you're a fan of baths, you have a dog or your grandkids come to stay over often. You'd like to keep the tub in your bathroom but give it a refresh. In that case, swapping that old tub for a newer model, made of a higher-quality material, could be the right move. Since the footprint of a manufactured home's bathroom is often smaller than that of a bathroom in a site-built home, you'll need to choose a modern tub made for a manufactured home.

While ABS plastic tubs can be a budget-friendly pick, acrylic-coated fiberglass tubs are much more robust and deliver a high-quality look and feel. You aren't likely to experience the same floor bounce with a fiberglass or acrylic tub that you would with an older ABS model. On top of that, modern tubs have premium coatings that retain heat longer — an important feature for those who enjoy luxuriating in a warm bath!

Essential Considerations for Manufactured Home Plumbing

Whether you go for a new bathtub or convert your tub for a shower, keep these considerations in mind. Showers and bathtubs for manufactured homes have plumbing that look a bit different than that in site-built homes, so your contractor needs to either install or find plumbing access panels, which may be under the home or behind the bathroom wall. Additionally, since manufactured homes use unique offset drain configurations, they'll need to make sure the hardware of the new bathroom fixture matches.

Water damage and dry rot in the bathroom's subfloor can also be a possibility. If you're installing a higher quality fixture, it's a good time to check for those issues before there's further damage. Make sure your contractor keeps an eye out for signs of moisture problems.

Crafting Your Modern Bathroom

If you're planning to stay in your home for as long as possible, a bathroom upgrade is worth the investment, as it increases your comfort and the room's accessibility. When the job's done, you'll have a heavy-duty tub or a clean walk-in shower that actually fits the way you live. The whole room is transformed into a space that meets your needs; it looks sharper, works better, and feels like a space that'll last, making the upgrade a smart move all around.