Bathfitter, or the like...anyone done it?

[almostmom]

We are doing some small improvements to our bathroom, and my parents and ILs keep bugging me to look into these quick tub cover-up places, like bathfitter, where they put a new bathtub and walls right over your existing tub. The one we currently have is small and kind of yucky. There is decent white tile all around it, but it needs re-caulking because of mildew (and I just did it last year), and the bottom of the tub is a bit streaky stained around the non-stick tape and where it had some marks when we moved in. This is the only full bath in our house, and the main bathroom since we have a ranch.

Anyone ever done this or heard anything, good or bad, about it?

Thanks!

[DebbieJ]

My sister got a quote from them and said they were pretty pricey.

[MmeSunny]

Something to keep in mind as well is that they put something over what is already there, so if it's already a small/short/narrow tub, anything else on top of that is only going to make the problem worse.

This was one of the main reasons we are not doing it. . . .our tub is tiny and I am . . .well, not.

[ha98ed14]

Something to keep in mind as well is that they put something over what is already there, so if it's already a small/short/narrow tub, anything else on top of that is only going to make the problem worse.

This was one of the main reasons we are not doing it. . . .our tub is tiny and I am . . .well, not.

I wondered about that. The tub in our main bathroom is very narrow. Kate Moss can bathe in there, but I think I will have a harder time. (Luckily the second bathroom has a roomy shower stall.) I would love to demo the whole thing, but that isn't happening. Anyway, OP. If it were my house and I could afford the cost (not sure if "pricey" would still be less than ceramic time + labor if you are not DIYers) I would look into it and/ or do it. FWIW.

[Raidra]

We're looking into this as we need some major work done on the tiles of the surround. As in, at the very least we'll have to tear out a two or three foot square section, replace the cement board, and retile. I don't want our tub to be any smaller, but in our condo, we had a fiberglass deal that was all one piece (no seams between tub and surround, etc).. it was a *dream* to clean. So, so easy. I really miss that. Grout and caulking sucks. :(

Just since I read about it yesterday, I learned that there are three and five piece surround sets that you glue to the tile, then caulk at the bottom. There are also direct-to-stud surrounds that you can buy, but then you'd definitely have to rip out all the tile and wallboard.

And if you have a mold problem, covering it up isn't going to fix it.. then you'll just have mold in your walls. So, I don't know what we're going to do, but I just wanted to share what little I've learned.