I want to replace a bathtub. The existing one is a five footer, fourteen inches high. It’s wedged into three walls.

I talked to a contractor about it yesterday, and he claims that if he removes the tile, that it can be lifted up at one end, stood up on its side, and then taken through the door. I guess that I can believe this is possible, since the diagonal is only about 61.6 inches, and there’s probably enough slack and play in the drywall to scrape it by with tiles removed. What I have more trouble believing is that I’ll be able to get the new deeper whirlpool in without major wall surgery. If I go with a depth of 21 inches, that makes a diagonal of 63.5 inches, which seems like too tight a squeeze to me. I’m trying to avoid having to (temporarily) remove studs and move it in through the closet on the other side of the wall.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

The other question is, how do I disconnect the drain without making a hole in the wall opposite? Or is that unavoidable?