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Need advice on tub and surround

a.girl.named.max

13 years ago

I'm doing a major total rehab on my home that was built in 1970. The bathtub and ceramic in the tub/shower area need to be replaced or refinished. The tub and surrounding area are standard size. I don't want to go cheap but I am on a budget so I need to be frugal. I need to decide what I want and get bids ASAP.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

1. Refinish the surface of the existing tub and ceramic tile. Probably the cheapest but how does it last? Any pros,cons,recommendations?

2. Remove existing tub and tile replace with some type of preformed acrylic tub and surround. I'm leaning toward this option. Any pros, cons, recommendations?

3. Replacing existing tub and installing new ceramic tile. Probably the most expensive? Pros, cons, recommendations.

4. Are there any other options?

Thank you!

A girl named "Max"

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Comment (1)

MongoCT
13 years ago
The least expensive would probably be for you to have a company come in and recoat/refinish the existing tub and the tiled tub surround. That's only an option if the existing tile, grout, and tub are in good shape, but just dull looking, or the colors are awkward.

It can also save you the horror of opening up old walls. You never know what'll happen once the demo starts. So if the existing shower area is in good shape, it's a viable choice to have it refinished.

Refinishing a tub can be iffy. Sometimes they turn out well, sometimes not so well. Watch the detail areas; around the faucet and drain. You don't want those areas coming out looking a little funky. Avoid any DIY-type recoating systems.

You can get a good 15 years out of a quality recoat, I'd venture it'd be in the $400-$500 range for a tub and tiled wall recoat.

For value versus bucks spent, I'd opt for a demo to the studs, a new cast iron tub, and a 3-piece tub surround. Acrylic surrounds are generally better than fiberglass. For a basic tub, I prefer to only use cast iron tubs for durability and flex issues. Low-end plastic/fiberglass tubs should be considered disposable, for the most part they are just not that durable.

If you opted away from cast iron, then I'd recommend acrylic. More expensive, but better quality. If you want to look at fiberglass tubs, the only one I'd recommend would be Kohler's Sterling line. Kohler's Sterling is made of "Vikrell", it is a fiberglass composite. A bit better than most of the other fiberglass out there. My opinion.

I think Kohler offers 4-piece Sterling set-ups, a tub with a 3-piece surround kit, for around $500-$600. Materials only.

I can't offer a whole lot of other advice about recoating and/or fiberglass and acrylic surrounds, as I don't deal with them.

And yes, while a cast iron tub with new tile could be more expensive than all of the other options, material-wise a cast iron tub can be had for $200. Adding in a 3-wall surround of $2 a sqft tile (about 60 square feet of tile), and you can actually have a new tub and new tiled walls that could be less expensive than an acrylic 3-piece surround set-up.

Best,

A boy named "Mongo"
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