Tub / shower options

[Joe Aagaard]

My first rental has a hideous cultured marble tub and surround. Big gaps filled with caulk too. At first I was thinking about having it refinished but now thinking about replacement. Would you recommend plastic, fiberglass, or cast iron? Built in surround or tile? Rent will be around $1,400 - A area and B house.

[Robert Swingle]

I agree with the porcelain coated steel tub. They are easy to install and put some nice tile as the surround and you have a snazzy looking shower for honestly not that much cash if you can do your own work. Maintaining it is fairly simple also, after each tenant moves out scrape the caulk from around where the tub and tile meets and the corners and re caulk, make sure the caulk matches the color of the tile to blend. replace the caulking every turn to make help prevent the caulk from failing and letting moisture into the wall behind it, if it molds then eventually your tiles will start popping and you will have to tear it all out and replace wall and tiles again. if the tub gets worn down or even as i have saw in the past extremely dirty when no matter how much cleaning you do the grime wont come off just sand it with a fine grit paper and home depot sells a resurfacing spray kit for around 60$ and if you take your time will take about 1-2 hrs then 24 hrs to dry and will look like a brand new tub. Do those 2 things and that shower section will last you a very long time.