The 8 Best Bathtub Wall Surrounds

For most tub alcoves, the Palisade Urban Quarry Kit covers all three walls in big slate-look sheets that run high enough for a shower head. It's sized to the depth of a common tub, and the box holds trims, adhesive and sealant, so there's little else to buy. Palisade gives a 10-year warranty when the panels go up its way, on a waterproof backer. The stone look is a printed layer, so a deep gouge can't be buffed out.

Solid surface is the step up from plastic and vinyl, and the Transolid Expressions kit is one of the few you can order online. The white color runs all the way through, so light scratches buff out, and the panels glue straight over sound old tile. Transolid backs home use for 10 years. This version is cut for a shower stall, so a tub needs the end panels trimmed or the shallower sister kit. The glue costs extra.

If the goal is a clean white wall with shelves built in, the Mustee Durawall 56WHT does that job for modest money. It comes in five molded pieces: a back wall, two corner sections and two end walls, with ledges for soap and bottles formed into the corners. The pieces overlap a little, which helps on walls that aren't quite square. Five pieces mean four seams to seal, and the glossy plastic looks plain up close.

For a rental or a quick update before a sale, the Maax 101604 is the low-cost way to cover a tired tub alcove. Its five glossy white pieces overlap to fit tubs from four to five feet long, and molded shelves hold shampoo and soap. Maax makes it in Canada. The polystyrene is thin, so it can flex over an uneven wall, and scouring powder will dull the shine.

The Plain to Beautiful Subway kit gives the look of white subway tile with no grout to scrub. It's three big sheets of glossy PVC with the tile pattern pressed in, and a utility knife cuts them to fit an alcove right up to the ceiling. The side sheets fold at the corner, so there are fewer joints to seal. You buy the adhesive separately, and the thin plastic shows any bump in the wall behind it.

Most kits need a backer board first, but the Woodbridge Staggered Brick Kit fastens straight to the studs, which saves a step in a gutted bathroom. The four gloss white pieces are a fiber-reinforced composite with the brick pattern and color molded all the way through, so small chips can be repaired. It's sized for the common five-foot tub. It's a new design with almost no owner history, and we couldn't find its warranty terms.

Odd-shaped walls suit the Palisade Venetian Marble Tiles, since each piece is small enough to cut around a window or a niche. The vinyl tiles lock together along their edges and glue to a waterproof backer, and the kit brings trims, adhesive and sealant. From a few feet away, the gray marble print passes for stone. There are far more joints than with full sheets, and each one needs its own bead of silicone.

The Miseno ReadySet pairs a white marble look with tall panels that reach shower-head height, and they can be cut down to sit on a tub. They go up over a waterproof backer or sound old tile, and the outer edges come beveled, so no trim strip is needed there. The kit is heavy and has few owners so far, and Miseno doesn't say plainly what the core is made of.