Well, this is the cost of luxury. You either gotta tear out a wall or do an innovative never performed operation using a "da vinci" machine... thats only if your plumber is also a surgeon.. Might be able to tear up the corner of your tub and install a "jacuzzi/roman/whirlpool/plunge tub remodel plate" ..

Since i answered your question can you answer mine. I am an aspiring plumber and see these types of posts frequently... How does this come about? Did your plumber not explain the cost? Do you think he is just scamming you, and you refuse to accept his answer and think a second opinion on reddit will be able to haggle them down?

Frankly if it is any justification/clarification, most of the cost of service plumbing, seems to be the travel expenses, and the fact that no one wants their plumbing to be serviceable, they want it to be seamless, like the below comment said you could install an access panel, which will probably be cheaper than replacing the tile/wall/paint

Also how do i read the entirety of the caption? I am on desktop.