By: Fabiola Grosshan
Submitted: 2010-08-26 06:14:06 | Word Count: 386
Remodeling your bathtub can be a laborious process, but it is preferable to repairing a rotten, moldy wall, or suffering an injury from an unsafely designed tub or shower stall. While there is no specific set of guidelines to follow when remodeling your bathtub, here are a few general bathtub remodeling ideas to keep in mind.
* First, you should consider your price range. Are you looking for a simple upgrade or a new luxury bath? If you have limited funds for the project, you might want a replacement tub liner rather than a new bathtub. A bathtub liner can be slipped over your existing tub, giving you essentially a new tub for a fraction of the price. Liners can usually be installed in one day, and do not require you to rip out your old tub, your plumbing, or the wall surrounding the tub.
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* If you are concerned about water damage affecting your house, it would be smart to look into getting a new bathtub wall surround. Acrylic is the best material currently on the market for wall surrounds. Other materials, such as tile, stone, and fiber glass, are porous, which enables water to leak into the wall and cause mold and rot. Watertight acrylic surrounds do not allow liquids to seep through and because they are also much easier to clean than other materials, going with acrylic will pay off not only in terms of structural security, but ease of maintenance as well.
* Disability, age, and safety are other factors you may want to take into account. If you or someone living in your home is disabled, there are a variety of ways to make bathing easier. Adjustable showerheads are useful if you live in a household with both disabled and non-disabled persons. The height on these showerheads can be raised or lowered, so a person who must shower sitting down can be accommodated. Even if you have no disabilities, you should consider getting a guardrail. Since you will be standing on a wet, slick surface while showering, it would be wise to prevent injury by installing a bar to hold onto should you slip.
