Bathing beauties: showers still are tops with many homeowners

Building Products, May-June, 2004 by Stephanie Herzfeld

According to noted kitchen and bath designer Jim Krengel, more people are choosing showers as their primary bathing units, causing the bathing products market to head in two distinct directions.

Namely, pros are installing low-maintenance fiberglass and acrylic units in tract houses and some remodeling applications, and glass shower doors and mixed materials in new and refurbished high-end homes, says Krengel, spokesman for the National Kitchen & Bath Association.

Although gel-coat fiberglass and acrylic units are bathroom staples because they're durable and easy to maintain, manufacturers are improving their products for pros and homeowners in a number of ways.

Acrylic walls and shower/tubs can cost up to twice as much as their gel-coat fiberglass counterparts, but prices are coming down as more manufacturers enter the market and as existing players begin offering lower-priced units.

"At this price point, consumers simply want easy access to the bathing area and less adornment," says Maria Arango, product manager for Sterling, which offers moderately priced bathing products. The firm's Ensemble 60-inch-by-32-inch bath unit with walls, for instance, costs $420 (list price) and is targeted to new production construction, although Arango says it and other multi-piece Ensemble units easily install in retrofit applications.

Re-Bath, a firm that makes and installs acrylic bathtubs and walls over existing ones, claims its wall surrounds cost $950 to $1,300 installed--much less than products made with higher-end materials.

"You can get a multiple-piece DIY fiberglass wall unit for a few hundred bucks, but a lot of times they aren't installed correctly. We are trained installers, so the work is consistent," claims remodeler Steve Zarndt of Illinois Re-Bath, a Re-Bath franchise based in Decatur, Ill.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

In addition to lower pricing, universal design elements slowly are becoming mainstream as manufacturers make their products easier to use for all kinds of bathers.

"These days it's important that design works well for people of all ages and no group is stigmatized," says Krengel.

For example, seating and grab bars give children something to hold on to, provide stability for women while shaving their legs, and help elderly users easily maneuver about the shower. Meanwhile, built-in shelving keeps shower floors clutter-free and bath products within easy reach.

Sterling's Ensemble unit, for instance, features built-in shelving for storage, wider ledges for balancing against, and raised wainscoting to make cleaning easier around the tub rim.

Kevin Briggs of Ellis Kitchen and Bath Studio Design in Columbus, Ohio, says that his firm offers clients accessible options in their new homes and bathroom remodels up front. "We try to plan for accessibility issues with benches and grab bars," the remodeler says, adding that his firm also designs bathrooms that allow these elements to be incorporated down the road.

CRYSTAL CLEAR

Although they're not for every home, frameless glass shower doors make an elegant statement. Frameless doors, which range in thickness from 1/4 to 1/2 inch, cost $200 and up depending on the thickness of the glass.

Available in clear, patterned, or frosted designs, such doors are in demand with Judi Diamond-Falk's clients. The Evanston, Ill.-based architect says her customers like to use frameless doors in conjunction with a mix of natural slate and limestone and tile shower bases and walls because they allow the beauty of those materials, as well as the shower hardware, to show through.

Jennifer Jelinek, product manager for Kohler shower doors, agrees that clarity is key for bathers. "People are less concerned about privacy with this trend," she notes.

Nevertheless, an array of etched-glass designs in standard and custom patterns are available for homeowners who desire more seclusion.

Experts predict the demand for shower units will increase as shower sizes expand for dual users and as additional luxury features are incorporated. Multiple showerheads and whirlpools are two things that are popular across the board.

"Little luxuries allow the user to have a similar experience to what they'd have in a fancy [high-end] bath," says Krengel.

Material Review

In a 2003 builder and consumer practices survey conducted by the NAHB Research Center, coated fiberglass shower products were installed in more than one-third of remodeling and new construction applications, while acrylic products were installed in 20 percent of remodels and less than 10 percent of new construction. Solid-surface shower products accounted for 1 percent of new home installations and 3 percent of remodels. Here is a summary of the features of each material:

Gel-Coat Fiberglass. Made from polyester resins that are sprayed into molds to create tubs, wall panels, and shower bases, gel-coat fiberglass units cost one-third to one-half as much as acrylic products. They are porous and may crack, chip, and peel over time.

Acrylic. This nonporous material is made from vacuum-formed cast polymers that are molded into single-layer solids that become bath units, bases, walls, and more.