Bath Stuck in the 60's

kjhill asks,

We have a 60’s style bathroom with dated but well maintained tile on the floors, lower walls and shower. The shower tiles though are becoming cracked and difficult to keep clean. I’d like to either cover the shower with a fitted plastic surface or rip out the tiles and redo the whole shower. What can you tell me about my options?

Our Answer

The 1960’s were a time of peace, love and bad bathroom colors! To induct yours into the modern age and cut back on some of that maintenance, you have a couple of options.

First, re-tiling, of course gives you the option of starting from scratch, literally. However to get there you’ll first need to tear out the existing wall down to the studs. Then, I’d recommend a tile backing product called DensShield which is not only moisture proof but more importantly mold proof.

If you’d prefer a slightly less destructive approach, another suggestion I would have is to line the tile walls with a Corian surround. Available in a three-wall or two-wall versions, the acrylic surround can be attached directly to the tile. Corian is a durable and beautiful acrylic solid surfacing material made by DuPont. It is most commonly used as kitchen countertops but it is also perfectly suitable for bath applications.