I'm contemplating getting a sectional tub surround.  I knew they were in the 
cheap-ish range, but then I discovered some up almost to a thousand bucks  - 
had always considered them more a a budget item, but I guess they can get 
fancy too.

Any opinions/tips/perspective on five-piece surround kits?

Jon 

On Apr 29, 6:52=A0am, "Jon Danniken" 
wrote:
> I'm contemplating getting a sectional tub surround. =A0I knew they were i=
n the
> cheap-ish range, but then I discovered some up almost to a thousand bucks=
 =A0-
> had always considered them more a a budget item, but I guess they can get
> fancy too.
>
> Any opinions/tips/perspective on five-piece surround kits?
>
> Jon

The more pieces the more future leaks. Bonding all the parts to the
substrate and to each other takes some skill and first class
materials. Done well, you could get reasonable service from the
installation, but IMO it is risky if you have teens in the household.
Shop carefully, as a premium price doesn't always equate to the best
project.

Joe

On Apr 29, 6:52=A0am, "Jon Danniken" 
wrote:
> I'm contemplating getting a sectional tub surround. =A0I knew they were i=
n the
> cheap-ish range, but then I discovered some up almost to a thousand bucks=
 =A0-
> had always considered them more a a budget item, but I guess they can get
> fancy too.
>
> Any opinions/tips/perspective on five-piece surround kits?
>
> Jon

Look for ones that have the seams facing away from the bathroom, That
way, if there are any small discontinuities, they won't be visible to
the general public.  Look carefully at the backing, those with big air
gaps/ voids will be harder to put up without feeling cheap if you
touch the surround.  You don't want things to be flexible.

On Apr 29, 7:52=A0am, "Jon Danniken" 
wrote:
> I'm contemplating getting a sectional tub surround. =A0I knew they were i=
n the
> cheap-ish range, but then I discovered some up almost to a thousand bucks=
 =A0-
> had always considered them more a a budget item, but I guess they can get
> fancy too.
>
> Any opinions/tips/perspective on five-piece surround kits?
>
> Jon

I've had a Sterling surround as a daily use shower stall for 10 years
without a single problem and another Sterling in the main bath for
about 5 years, once again, never had any problems. The built in
shelves in both units are a must-have.

Here's my tub:

http://tinyurl.com/SterlingCurve

"Joe" wrote:
> The more pieces the more future leaks. Bonding all the parts to the
> substrate and to each other takes some skill and first class
> materials. Done well, you could get reasonable service from the
> installation, but IMO it is risky if you have teens in the household.
> Shop carefully, as a premium price doesn't always equate to the best
> project.

Thanks Joe, that's also what one of the designers suggested to me at the 
store.  My problem is that my tub/tub area is a little shy of the 60 inches 
in width, which is required to get the three-piece units I have seen.

I am also considering getting one that is taller than the common 60" tall. 
I've seen some water issues on the paint directly above 60" tall surrounds, 
so I am strongly considering one of the taller ones.

Right now I'm looking at the American Shower and Bath model 39454:

http://www.asbcorp.com/products3.asp?prod=144

It's tall (80"), and I am hoping it is going to be a little higher quality 
than the cheaper units.  It's a little past my budget (the unit is $230, 
before adhesives), but since it is going to be there for awhile, I think I 
can justify the cost based on a long-term usage perspective.

I'm not really crazy about the style, and it's a five-piece, but that's 
about all I'm able to come up with so far.

Jon 

"Jon Danniken" wrote:
>
> Right now I'm looking at the American Shower and Bath model 39454:
>
> http://www.asbcorp.com/products3.asp?prod=144

Following up on this, emailing the company led to finding out that the shelf 
panels are 0.068", and the other panels are only 0.045".

Is it just me, or is something that thin likely to be pretty flimsy/cheesy?

Jon 

> Following up on this, emailing the company led to finding out that the shelf
> panels are 0.068", and the other panels are only 0.045".
>
> Is it just me, or is something that thin likely to be pretty flimsy/cheesy?

Those dimensions are in the range of thickness of vinyl siding, to
give you a benchmark for judging flexibility. You are not likely to
find thicker material in similar products because a common
manufacturing process is vacuum forming and thicker material means
much slower process cycles.
FWIW, in our local box stores there are some Sterling products worth
looking at as Derby Dad suggested. Sterling is a Kohler product with
top notch customer service.
Regarding your shy of 60" dimension, don't let that push you into a
shabby compromise. Take down the wall board, whatever, and modify it
to gain the width you need, trimming oversized studs as needed. A
clever remodeling contractor could do this neatly at a fair price. DIY
is probably possible, but we can't judge that off site.
You probably realize by now that your budget will have to be
Obamaized. Start with the basics, a good substrate, a decent product,
a careful install and you'll still be pleased a decade hence.

Joe

"Joe" wrote:
>
> Regarding your shy of 60" dimension, don't let that push you into a
> shabby compromise. Take down the wall board, whatever, and modify it
> to gain the width you need, trimming oversized studs as needed.

Ah, thanks Joe, I hadn't thought of that.   Cheer!

Jon 

Jon Danniken wrote:
> "Jon Danniken" wrote:
>> Right now I'm looking at the American Shower and Bath model 39454:
>>
>> http://www.asbcorp.com/products3.asp?prod=144
> 
> Following up on this, emailing the company led to finding out that the shelf 
> panels are 0.068", and the other panels are only 0.045".
> 
> Is it just me, or is something that thin likely to be pretty flimsy/cheesy?
> 
> Jon 
> 
> 
If you can easily flex the flange edge on the demo unit in the store 
with your fingers, the panels will feel flimsy after installation.

--
aem sends...

On Apr 30, 2:36=A0pm, "Jon Danniken" 
wrote:
> "Joe" wrote:
> > The more pieces the more future leaks. Bonding all the parts to the
> > substrate and to each other takes some skill and first class
> > materials. Done well, you could get reasonable service from the
> > installation, but IMO it is risky if you have teens in the household.
> > Shop carefully, as a premium price doesn't always equate to the best
> > project.
>
> Thanks Joe, that's also what one of the designers suggested to me at the
> store. =A0My problem is that my tub/tub area is a little shy of the 60 in=
ches
> in width, which is required to get the three-piece units I have seen.
>
> I am also considering getting one that is taller than the common 60" tall=
.
> I've seen some water issues on the paint directly above 60" tall surround=
s,
> so I am strongly considering one of the taller ones.
>
> Right now I'm looking at the American Shower and Bath model 39454:
>
> http://www.asbcorp.com/products3.asp?prod=3D144
>
> It's tall (80"), and I am hoping it is going to be a little higher qualit=
y
> than the cheaper units. =A0It's a little past my budget (the unit is $230=
,
> before adhesives), but since it is going to be there for awhile, I think =
I
> can justify the cost based on a long-term usage perspective.
>
> I'm not really crazy about the style, and it's a five-piece, but that's
> about all I'm able to come up with so far.
>
> Jon

re: I've seen some water issues on the paint directly above 60" tall
surrounds, so I am strongly considering one of the taller ones.

I'm not sure a taller unit will eliminate the paint issue. Now that
you mention it, I do have a little extra touch up to do above the unit
in my main bath when I repaint this summer.

My gut feeling is that regardless of how tall the unit is, you are
still going to get moisture on the wall above the unit which is going
to drip down and sit on the "ledge" atop the unit. I don't think it
has anything to do with direct shower water contact - I believe it's
condensation.

I guess you could make the argument that less wall above the unit
means less condensation to drip down, but I don't know if it will
eliminate the peeling paint.