Remember - Measure Twice, Cut Once

Professional Renovations - 30 Years Experience

Vinyl Tub Surrounds – Expensive May Not Be Better!



Vinyl tub surrounds are very popular and reasonably easy way to spruce up the walls around your old tub. They come in a multitude of designs and quality, full height or 59″ – they can be cheap at about $60 or go all the way up to $300.

But, be warned – more expensive is not always better.

I have installed many of these kits and have learned that a higher price is no guarantee of better quality “or fit”. I recently bought a kit for $240 for a job and was seriously disappointed – so much so that I returned it for a unit that was less than $100 – and the cheaper one was twice the quality!

My point? Inspect the goods before you buy. Ask if you can have the box opened to view the panels, especially the corner pieces and see how thick the panels are and how the ends are finished – they should be flat and straight. The store may not want you to pull the parts out since they have a protective plastic coating, but you should be able to pull the corners out a bit for inspection. The plastic should look and feel like good plastic, not cheap and brittle in appearance and feel.

Don’t get fooled by fancy looking Acrylic towel bars and similar extras, if they are part of the design, inspect these to make sure they are fitted well and strong – in most cases they will not be and are more for show and a way to charge more for the unit.

After you buy a kit, but before you load the box in your vehicle, open the box and make sure all panels are flat in the box – The $240 unit I noted above had distorted (slightly curved) wall panels due to the way they where positioned in the box (brand new never opened) and that can make them harder to fit during installation.

For Once, Going Cheap Isn’t a Bad Thing…

The last surround I put in was a bottom end $60 Maax kit – one of the easiest I put in to date and looked great when done. This is not to say it was without any issue, but it was minor. Some of the cheaper kits will have uneven edges on the bottom of the corner pieces and a possibly very slight curl, and may need to be trimmed with a small block plane prior to install – this took me a few minutes, other than that, the rest of the install was a piece of cake. The unit had nice thick panels that installed nice and flat.

So remember, more expensive is not a guarantee the surround is better quality or easier to install. Always inspect before buying and check the box contents before loading the unit in your vehicle – so you can make an exchange before you head home if any problems are found.



Reconditioned 234x60
   

February 11, 2011 | Filed Under Bathrooms 

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