Walk In Bath Tubs

DesPro

I'm considering offering walk in bath tubs (sales & installation) as a new service for my company. It seems lately we are doing more bath remodels than kitchens. We do a few ADA shower retro's a year and I think this would be a great alternative for my customers plus the fact there aren't many competitors in my market for this and I believe the demand is only going to increase.

I've done quite a bit of research on them to the point where my confidence level is about 95% that I can sell this service.

I guess I'm just looking for some pointers from the experienced professionals in this area. Any special considerations related to the remodeling aspects that may be required as per your own experiences. I'm sure some of you have gone up against the competition and I just want to be as knowledgeable as I can before jumping into it. I will appreciate any input. Thanks guys .

__________________
"We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems."
Margaret Mead

Mike Finley

I still don't even know what you are asking?

user15686

You might want to call Premier. Have them send a rep to your house for a sales presentation.

mdshunk

I did a nice water damage job related to one of these walk-in tubs. Seems the person forgot to drain the tub before they opened the door. I suppose when your joints get bad enough to need a walk-in tub, the mind isn't far behind. Oh yeah, it was a Premiere tub too. Supposedly they say it's not possible to open the door against the weight of the water. Apparently not. These are 10,000 dollar tubs!

DesPro

I should have been a little more specific. One concern I guess is the possibility of the bottom flexing with a larger person to the point where leaking might occur around the door seal. Is additional support advisable ? Also I guess there is the question of an additional water heater. The smaller units I've looked at have a min 42 gal capacity.
Another consideration is an ozone cleaning system for sanitization. Do they really work ?
Is the pump noisier than a typical whirlpool ?
I don't know if these questions have come up with anyone but they are just a few things I thought of.

__________________
"We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems."
Margaret Mead

mdshunk

That's the only one I can answer, and the answer is no. They are not any noisier than the typical whirlpool tub. Matter of fact, from a mechanical standpoint, the works are pretty much identical.

DesPro

That's what got me started to thinking about this. My friend's mother had them come out and quote her on replacing her existing c i tub with one for $ 17,500.

__________________
"We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems."
Margaret Mead

Mike Finley

Best advice I could give is call the manufacturer's customer service line and talk to them specifically about any issues you have concerns about and warranty info, tell them you are a contractor.


Figure 75% of a water heater's capacity. 50 gall tank is adequate for 37.5 gallon tub. Great variations will occure based on how hot does the person want the water, what is the hot water temp set on, gas or elec, time of year, how far from tank to tub, insulation, recovery rate of tank.

Also remember most manufacturers don't give very good gallon ratings on their products. Some have very good meaures, like one gallon number to over flow, another to average fill for bathing, make sure of the numbers you are looking at. A 40 gallon tub does not necessarily mean everyone will put 40 gallons of water in it to use it.


I don't know anything about them in regard to what you are discussing. I have one in my hot tub, works great there. Again call the manufacturer.

DesPro

Thanks Mike. Good info on the water heater question.

__________________
"We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems."
Margaret Mead

mdshunk

Yeah, when we're talking about the "Premiere" brand, the price range seems to be anywhere between 10,000 dollars and 30,000 dollars. Honest to God. The exact same tub installed in pretty much the exact same conditions can be three times more expensive. I guess it depends on how good the salesman is.