Bathtubs for New Rental Duplex

[DL]

Hello,

My 1 bedroom 1 bath Duplex accidentally caught fire about a week ago. It was built in 1972, Concrete block wall, total loss inside. Good thing is I had fire insurance. Going to tear it all down and build a new duplex from the ground up.

New duplex, each side will be 2 bedroom 2 bathroom.

I work out of town a lot, so I need something durable.

What are the best durable bathtubs. Color white.. Should I tile the walls or get a bathtub will the wall already attached, (one piece bathtub and shower enclosure) ? Acrylic or Fiberglass? NO enclosed top.

Mfg, model, cost?

Thanks

[jimbo]

Acrylic or fibreglass gives you instant gratification...and the most bang for the buck on day 1. By day 2, as the gel coat starts to wear down, that doesn't look so good.

If you want 5 to 8 good years, OK on fibreglass or acrylic. If you want 8 to 12 good years, go enameled steel tub, and if you want 20 years, go cast iron or porcelain-on-resin ( Americast).

Ceramic tile walls will cost more out the door, last and be good looking a lot longer.

Rental property is a different equation, because you have a situation where you could install top dollar stuff, and they trash it in a year. This is the perennial dilemma for landlords, and if you figure out the answer, let me know!

[DL]

Acrylic or fibreglass gives you instant gratification...and the most bang for the buck on day 1. By day 2, as the gel coat starts to wear down, that doesn't look so good.

If you want 5 to 8 good years, OK on fibreglass or acrylic. If you want 8 to 12 good years, go enameled steel tub, and if you want 20 years, go cast iron or porcelain-on-resin ( Americast).

Ceramic tile walls will cost more out the door, last and be good looking a lot longer.

Rental property is a different equation, because you have a situation where you could install top dollar stuff, and they trash it in a year. This is the perennial dilemma for landlords, and if you figure out the answer, let me know!

Nobody knows that answer? That's the problem sometimes with renters. i will be screening the renters to try and prevent that. I was thinking cast iron tubs with tile walls with dark grout. Probably go with the new caulk type grout that ends up drying smooth. No yearly grout sealing needed.

Thanks

[jimbo]

i will be screening the renters to try and prevent that.
Thanks

Good luck with that! The nicest, sweetest, applicants are the ones who will stiff you for the rent and trash the place!

Actually, I have a lot of experience with both the apartment industry, and the hotel industry. In many cases, they are going to replace the faucets every few years, no matter what, because they need to have a "fresh" look, and the latest style and finish. And they have maintenance staff being paid by the hour whether they do something or not, so the time factor of replacements is not really factored in. SO they do tend to buy low end brands. On my own rental property, I opt for quality and hope for longevity. I just can't tell you which approach actually pays off on the bottom line.

[jadnashua]

Do not use the premixed so-called grouts. If you want long-lasting without maintenance, use epoxy grout. If you want to eliminate any caulking in the shower, use the stuff from www.schluter.com and never need to caulk anything in the tub/shower ever.

[DL]

jimbo,

Fixtures will be chrome and nothing fancy. SS sinks for kitchen..Countertops will be formica. Stuff I can replace myself from time to time.

I know what you are talking about, wolves in sheep clothing. You do what you can upfront in the renting and hope for the best.

Been around rental properties all my life.

jadnashua,

That looks like what I would use on my personal house, Looks good. Is it real expensive. How much does it cost for each bathroom compared to rock board?

Will have a concrete slab for the flooring..

[jadnashua]

Schluter makes many different products. Kerdi is great in a shower, if that is what you were referring to, but the corner treatments is what I was referring to about eliminating caulk like the Dilex line. Compare the cost of doing this once rather than redoing the caulk every few years.

For showers, just framing and using drywall makes it easy and bulletproof. If you decide to tile floors, Ditra is much faster and gives a bigger margin of error than cbu.