Tub/shower surround

Good afternoon,

I am a newbie in all ways concerning this. New to the site, new to repairing/replacing anything, new to language and tools. TROUBLE!

The tile/grout around my tub/shower walls was nasty. I'm afraid I took action prematurely, however. I removed all offending tile/grout and now am having trouble finding best replacement. I am keeping the tub which is steel (I think), coated w/ceramic.

I would like to use Sterling Vikreel material for the surround but can't seem to find it without the tub. Is it possible to put Vikerrl up w/just the walls? If it is not possible, what would you recommend as the next best product to use? I choose the Vikrell based on reading some items on this forum but am totally open to other suggestions. I think I would prefer something that attaches to the studs instead of gluing, wouldn't I???

Any and all help you are willing to give is very much appreciated

Hey Terry! I need help! Where are you?

Vikrell is a material that Sterling a Kohler company makes for their shower and tub walls and of course the tubs and showers themselves. I'm not aware of any product made of Vikrell that would be a stand alone wall surround for an existing steel bathtub. The Vikrell walls are made to use with specific tubs and shower stalls made by Sterling.

I would suggest removing all the wall tiles if they are over drywall. remove all the drywall back to the studs. Replace the drywall and call in a cultured marble installation company to install a cultured marble surround. The cultured marble is hot glued and siliconed to the drywall. If the faucet is old I would suggest replacing it. If you plan to keep your existing faucet you will most likely need to adjust the location of the faucet valve in the wall. It may need to be moved back in the wall or brought futher out of the wall.

The cost of the marble and installation would be around 1,000.00 provided you removed all the old tile and drywall and installed the new drywall for the marble to be applied.

Makes a nice job and can be completed in a day or so. I have a few pics of a bath to shower stall conversion I will post for you,it will give you an idea of what cultured marble looks like installed.

The shower base you see is a Sterling Vikrell unit. I install mine with a mortar bed underneath. The floor becomes almost as hard as a concrete slab. Absolutely NO flex and no noise. Its a great product for the 150.00 the base costs. The cultured marble walls is also a very good product for the money.

Any questions feel free to ask. As far as cost goes I quoted prices in my area,in your area it could cost more or maybe less. Get prices and some references.

Once you remove the tiles from the walls, there is no logical reason to keep an existing enameled steel tub. In my opinion, they are worthless the day they are installed and just go downhill from there.