8-K

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                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington, DC 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934

         Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) March 4, 2005

                             WALTER INDUSTRIES, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

               DELAWARE                  001-13711          13-3429953
    (State or other jurisdiction of     (Commission        (IRS Employer
     incorporation or organization)     File Number)     Identification No.)

     4211 W. Boy Scout Boulevard, Tampa, Florida                  33607
      (Address of principal executive offices)                  (Zip Code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (813) 871-4811

                                 NOT APPLICABLE
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to
simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions:

[ ]  Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities
     Act (17 CFR 230.425)

[ ]  Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange
     Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[ ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[ ]  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the
     Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13-4(c))

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ITEM 7.01   REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE

The following information is furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 "Regulation FD
Disclosure."

On March 4, 2005, Walter Industries, Inc., issued a press release raising its
full-year 2005 earnings expectation. A copy of the Walter Industries, Inc. press
release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1.



                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                      WALTER INDUSTRIES, INC.

                                      By:    /s/ Victor P. Patrick
                                             -----------------------------------
                                      Title: Victor P. Patrick
                                             Sr. Vice President, General Counsel
                                             and Secretary

Date:  March 4, 2005



                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

(99.1) Press release dated:  March 4, 2005, Walter Industries Raises Full-Year
                             2005 Earnings Expectation

EX-99.1

                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

          WALTER INDUSTRIES RAISES FULL-YEAR 2005 EARNINGS EXPECTATION

       -- METALLURGICAL COAL CONTRACTS FINALIZED; PRICING EXCEEDS ORIGINAL
                                 EXPECTATION --

    TAMPA, Fla., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Walter Industries, Inc.
(NYSE: WLT) announced today that it has raised its full-year 2005 earnings
expectation range to $2.50 to $3.10 per diluted share. This upward adjustment
represents an increment of $0.30 per diluted share from the previously
forecasted earnings range.

    The higher expectation for the full year is primarily the result of
better-than-expected pricing on Jim Walter Resources' metallurgical coal
contracts. Recently executed 12-month contracts, which represent approximately
5.4 million tons of metallurgical coal, include pricing that averages $107 per
ton, which will take effect in the second half of this year and continue through
the first half of 2006. We are also experiencing margin recovery at U.S. Pipe as
price increases take hold and scrap metal costs are stabilizing.

    "We finalized all the remaining metallurgical coal contracts, and our
average realized pricing of $107 per ton, starting in July 2005, has exceeded
our expectations," said Don DeFosset, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Walter Industries.

    Walter Industries, Inc. is a diversified company with annual revenues of
$1.5 billion. The Company is a leader in affordable homebuilding, related
financing, and water transmission products, and is a significant producer of
high-quality metallurgical coal for worldwide markets. Based in Tampa, Florida,
the Company employs approximately 5,000 people. For more information about
Walter Industries, please call Joe Troy, Senior Vice President-Financial
Services at (813) 871-4404, or visit the Company website at
http://www.walterind.com .

    Safe Harbor Statement
    Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this
release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's
actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results.
Those risks include, among others, changes in customers' demand for the
Company's products, changes in raw material, labor, equipment and transportation
costs and availability, geologic and weather conditions, changes in extraction
costs and pricing in the Company's mining operations, changes in customer
orders, pricing actions by the Company's competitors, the collection of
approximately $14 million of receivables associated with a working capital
adjustment arising from the sale of a subsidiary in 2003, potential changes in
the mortgage-backed capital market, and general changes in economic conditions.
Risks associated with forward-looking statements are more fully described in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company
assumes no duty to update its outlook statements as of any future date.

SOURCE  Walter Industries, Inc.
    -0-                             03/04/2005
    /CONTACT:  Joe Troy, Senior Vice President-Financial Services, Walter
Industries, Inc., +1-813-871-4404/
    /Photo:   http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020429/FLM010LOGO-c
              AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
              PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com /
    /Web site:  http://www.walterind.com /