Who wants to spend too much for your Bathroom Renovation?

Bathtub Liners take away from the feel of your Bathtub, from luxurious enamel to a plastic hollow feel. You’ll also lose several inches in your bathroom as the liners are made to fit a large selection of Bath tub styles and are wider then the original Bathtub. They cannot be installed over fiberglass Bathtubs or showers pans either.

Bathtub and Wall Liners are they the right Solution for you?

Liners made from sheets of PVC or Acrylic, with Acrylic being the better quality and higher cost. They are thermoformed by heating them in a large oven and using a vacuum to mold the sheet into the shape of a tub mold.

You see in the photo the depth of the Liner that used to be a flat sheet. Thickness is sacrificed for depth in the vacuum forming process.

What starts out as a 3/16” or better quality of 1/4” is heated and stretched into the mold, meaning the thickness is dramatically reduced, as you get closer to the Bathtubs bottom. As thin as 1/16” depending on how deep your Bathtub is.

Along with the fact that there are literally hundreds of Bathtub styles, and the liner must fit perfectly to prevent flexing and eventual splitting. It’s really a gamble if the liner is going to be a great fit.

A problem often seen is water getting between the liner and the original tub.

When you stand on the liner your weight will work at the caulk seem, pulling on the liner and it can separate enough to allow water to get in. This makes the liner feel squishy, if not corrected will cause the liner to split from hydrostatic pressure. If the liner doesn’t split the water stagnates, mold forms and it smells bad and is not very hygienic.

Most Bathtub Liner Company’s will insist on installing a 3-wall bathtub liner wall surround to help prevent the water under the Liner problem. This really adds to the cost and you may not need the surround: See Bathtub Surround Refinishing should your surround need Repair or Reglazing.

Installing a Tub Liner in just the bathtub alone will run $1,000 -$1,500.

Replacing the wall panels, soap dishes, shampoo shelves or other options can run an additional $1,000 -$3,500. Depending on options and quality.

Bathtub Liners made of PVC are less expensive, thinner and have less scratch resistance than acrylic and tend to yellow with age. For Cost Comparison see: Bathtub Refinishing Cost Page.

Your drain and over flow will be pulled and the liner is sandwiched between your bathtub and the new drain, overflow making for a potential water leakage. I’ve seen a whole tube of silicon caulking used to try and seal the area. 

The Liners are glued in with urethane glob, an absolute mess trying to remove for Reglazing.

The Hotel Industry a while back started using liners and most have returned to Reglazing after experiencing mold and mildew, trapped water, splitting and the much higher cost.

As you can see I’m not a big fan of Bathtub Liners, I could easily be a dealer and installer for any of the Liner Manufactures out there. I just believe Refinishing your Bathtub and Tile to be a more cost effective as well as keeping the original feel and aesthetics of the fixture. When done properly and with reasonable care Bathtub Refinishing can easily last 15 plus years and then be done again.

Google: Bathtub Liner complaint to see the bad press they have received. We are regularly called in to remove Bathtub liners and it adds to the cost of Reglazing, having to cut the liner out and the mess in cleanup.

Be sure to Google the name of the local Company your thinking of using as well as the franchise or manufacture and add Complaints to your search. Let other disgruntle Customer’s assist you in finding a reputable installer or better yet have it Refinished.

Not to say Bathtub liners have not served some well and if you’ve experienced good results with them, I’m happy for you, but more often then not, it could have been Reglazed Professionally for far less.

The Home Improvement Sites such as This Old House and HGTV all Recommend Bathtub Reglazing, when Done by a Professional

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,191221,00.html

http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/bathtub-refinishing/index.html

http://www.hgtv.com/bathrooms/the-art-of-refinishing-bathroom-fixtures/index.html

http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/deciding-what-to-trash-or-treasure/index.html

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