How To Install Tub Surround Over Drywall

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Bathtub surrounds not but requite colour and texture to a bathroom, just they besides protect the walls from moisture. Surround paneling costs less than wall tile and is easier to install. The basic installation can be finished in a 24-hour interval after sizing and fitting the panels. If you are installing a new surround instead of replacing an sometime ane, you can attach the panels directly to the walls without having to remove anything. End cutting and bounden the surround panels to give your bathroom a new look.

1. 1

   Plough off the water valve in your home to disable the water flow. Locate the master water supply valve for your home. It is often near where the water utility line enters your home. The valve is normally outside, only some homes have a secondary valve within y'all can use to disconnect the water. Subsequently turning the valve clockwise, go back to your tub and turn on the faucets to let out any h2o still in the line.^[1]

   • If you're having a hard fourth dimension finding the valve, look for a large pipe on the everyman flooring of your home, such as in the basement or a crawlspace. Follow the pipe to see where it enters your home.
   • Some homes take intermediate valves on supply pipes in the basement or a similar surface area. Utilize these valves to deactivate water menses to the bathroom.

2. two

   Cover the tub with a drop fabric if it is already installed. Set the cloth downwards and smooth it out so information technology fits over the entire tub. The material protects the tub during the installation, and then make sure it's big enough. That style, you lot won't need to worry about needing to fix scratches and fleck harm when yous're done. To help keep the drop textile in place, clip information technology to the tub or weight information technology down with heavy items like a toolbox.

   • Drib cloths are bachelor at most hardware stores. Go along the textile in place at all times until the installation is done.

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3. 3

   Remove the spout, handles, and other accessories already on the wall. Take a sharp utility knife and a screwdriver on paw to remove the accessories. Use the utility knife to cutting through the adhesive sealing these components to the wall. You may be able to twist off some parts by hand or with a wrench, including the showerhead and water knobs. Then, utilize the screwdriver as needed to detach the remaining parts.^[2]

   • Each part connects differently. For case, many faucets adhere to the wall through a small-scale screw at the base.

4. 4

   Have sometime surrounds and tiles out if your bathroom has them. Put on safety goggles and a dust mask to protect yourself from grit and debris. To remove the panels and tiles, apply a utility knife, grout saw, or rotary grinder to cutting through the caulk and grout property them in identify. And so, tap the bract of a chisel behind the panels or tiles to pry them off the wall.^[three]

   • Tub surrounds aren't meant to be installed on tile. Near of the time, water will leak betwixt the surround and tile. To avoid this, install the surround over drywall, woods, or physical walls rather than on elevation of existing surrounds or tiles.

5. 5

   Repair damaged spots with wall putty. Always fill up in holes in the wall before attempting to install a new surround.^[four] If you don't have care of the damage now, the environment may leak, leading to bigger problems. Gently scrape debris out of holes before putting some putty over it. Utilise the knife to spread the putty in a thin, flat layer. Finish the repair with a coat of spackle.^[five]

   • To ensure the repaired portion is level with the wall, sand the putty once it dries. Apply sandpaper between 100 and 150 grit.
   • For holes larger than iv in (x cm), consider cutting out the damaged portion and filling the wall with a patch cut out of new drywall.

6. half dozen

   Clean and dry the walls to eliminate debris. Do this before attempting to fasten a new surroundings to a wall. Go back over the walls with a metallic scraper to remove leftover adhesives. Then, dampen a soft rag and scrub the walls to remove whatever remaining dust and debris. Dry out the walls when you're finished.^[6]

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1. 1

   Match accessories to your pipe and tub if you're buying new ones. Determine where yous will put faucets, showerheads, and other accessories earlier outset the installation process. Your options are usually express by the location of the water pipes in the wall. Y'all volition demand a different faucet for a pipe coming out of the floor than you do for one coming through the wall, for case.^[seven]

   • Other factors to consider include the number of faucet holes in your tub and the overall fashion of your bathroom. Tub accessories come in a broad variety of styles, then you have a lot of options to choose from.
   • For example, many shower lines emerge from the wall and tub environs, hanging in a higher place the tub. If y'all don't have a shower line, yous could become a freestanding faucet or mount the faucet to the tub. Y'all don't demand to cut holes in the environs to mount these faucets, simply you lot do demand to choose a tub with space for them.

2. 2

   Fit the tub start if you program on installing a new one. The bathtub is the well-nigh important component, and then measure the infinite yous have available for it to ensure it fits well. Set the new tub in place, checking it with a carpenter's level to brand sure information technology'southward equally level as possible. Fasten your tub to the wall studs or mounted brackets if it attaches to the walls.^[8]

   • Supervene upon an quondam tub if necessary, such as if it'due south cracked or leaking.
   • Tubs needs to be fitted first since the nigh mutual types of surrounds fit on superlative of them. If your tub is freestanding, buy a bigger surround that fits down the entire length of the wall.

3. 3

   Measure the wall space you accept available for a surround. Tub surrounds come in all unlike sizes, so accept some measurements before you go shopping. Use a tape measure to determine the width and height of the walls around your tub. Write these measurements downwardly on paper.^[nine]

   • Note that you tin can find tub surrounds no matter what type of tub you have. Although common surrounds fit over tubs, there are also longer surrounds that extend down the entire length of the wall. This type of surround is peachy for freestanding tubs.
   • If you have a tub in identify and it'southward up against the wall, consider measuring up the wall from the top of the tub. That way, you can get a fitting surroundings without removing the tub.
   • If yous're replacing an erstwhile environs, measure it to effigy out how large the new one needs to be. This helps if you're replacing an old environment just not the bathtub.

4. 4

   Select a new tub surroundings for your bathroom. Tub surrounds come in a variety of styles, so store around to discover the all-time fit for your bathroom. Some surrounds consist of panels you need to connect together while others come every bit a whole. Their sizes also vary, so compare your measurements to notice the all-time fit.^[10]

   • Plastic-acrylic surrounds are the well-nigh common and cheapest options bachelor. They're lightweight and very easy to glue over any type of wall.
   • Tile surrounds are like to plastic and acrylic surrounds. They are durable but prone to chip harm. Individual tiles are bound to the surround through grout, which tin can leak and is difficult to continue clean long-term.
   • Wood, rock, and metallic surrounds are loftier-cease. They wait nice but are very expensive and often have to be ordered specially from local installers. They are generally durable but heavy and require specialty tools to cut.
   • Choose a surroundings that meets both your decorative and applied needs.^[eleven]

5. 5

   Draw guidelines on the wall for the tub environs. Check the box for the height of your new tub surroundings. Utilise a record measure to measure upwardly the walls, then mark the height of the environment in several spots. Next, concur a carpenter'due south level against the wall and connect the marks with a horizontal line.^[12]

   • Each tub environment has unlike dimensions. Refer to the possessor's transmission to figure out how loftier to draw the guideline.
   • The horizontal guideline needs to exist plumb even if the tub is not. Make sure the line is straight so you know where to identify the surround.
   • Holding the surround against the wall also helps when figuring out where the guidelines become. This is hard to do alone, so have a friend hold the surroundings while you sketch the guidelines.

6. 6

   Marking spots in the surroundings for the faucets and other accessories. Lay all of the tub surround panels on the ground, arranging them co-ordinate to how they fit on the wall. Then, dry out fit some of the panels on the wall. Find the spots where y'all demand to make holes to let in the water spout, showerhead, and other features. Outline these parts in pencil on the surround.^[13]

   • Hold the panels confronting the wall to go a better idea of how they fit. This volition requite you a clearer prototype of where you lot need to make the holes.
   • If dry fitting the panels isn't an selection, measure to discover out where to make the accessory holes.
   • Another way to fit the environs is by using the box the environs came in. Turn it into a template by spreading it out over the wall and marker all of the guidelines. Utilize it as a guide while cutting the panels.

7. 7

   Trim the panels to size with a utility pocketknife or jigsaw. Later on measuring and fitting the panels on the wall, you lot will have a adept thought of how well the panels fit. Some panels might exist as well big, so you lot may demand to trim them downwards a piffling. Sketch a cutting outline using a pencil and straightedge, so advisedly piece off the excess material.^[14]

   • Remember to wearable a dust mask, middle goggles, and other protective gear. Avoid long clothing when working with a saw.
   • Marking cut lines with masking tape to make them more visible. Fix the tape next to where you need to cutting, then slice forth the edge of the tape to cease the environment.

8. viii

   Cut out the holes for the shower accessories with a saw. Double-check your measurements to ensure you marked the correct locations on the surround. Then, carefully cut into the surround with a pigsty saw or jigsaw. When you set the panels on the wall, the holes will line upwardly perfectly with features like the spout and showerhead.^{[15] [16]}

   • Y'all merely get i shot at making these holes! If you don't marker and cut the holes properly, you may need to buy a new surround.

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1. 1

   Use a caulk gun and trowel to spread an agglutinative over the wall. Cull an adhesive designed specifically for tub surrounds, which comes in a tube. Cutting the tip off the tube and load it into a caulk gun. Press the gun's trigger to spread the agglutinative in a zigzag pattern, then shine information technology out into a thin, fifty-fifty layer with a trowel.^[17]

   • The agglutinative sets quickly. If your surround comes in multiple pieces, focus on installing one section at a time. Spread more adhesive once you end installing the first console.

2. 2

   Press the tub surround flat against the wall. Elevator up the surroundings and fit it against the wall according to the guidelines y'all marked. Make certain it is flush against the wall. If your surround comes in sections, apply each panel individually, fitting them together.^[xviii]

   • The easiest style to install panels is ordinarily by starting with the side panels. Place the back panel side by side, then end with the corner panels.

3. three

   Finish installing the tub'south faucet and other accessories. Fit new accessories yous purchased or return old pieces you had to remove during the installation process. Identify the accessories co-ordinate to your bathroom and its unique layout. Some faucets, for instance, fit on a backplate you lot fit to the wall first. Others attach direct to bathtubs or a piping on the floor.^[nineteen]

   • For specialty accessories similar grip bars and soap holders, you may demand to drill holes in the environs. Screw the accessory brackets to support beams behind the surround to forbid them from coming loose. To find the support beams, utilize a wall stud finder.
   • If the holes you make in the environs are as well big, the accessories won't fit properly. You can fill up in small gaps with caulk. If the gaps are and then big the accessories don't fit tightly confronting the wall, you may need to start over with a new surround.

4. 4

   Let the adhesive dry for 24 hours earlier standing. Leave the surround alone until it adheres properly to the wall. When you come back to work on the tub the side by side day, make certain the panels feel impossible to remove. If they wiggle at all, they aren't properly bonded to the wall. Apply more adhesive to stick them in place.

   • If the surround is loose, water may seep behind information technology or it may fall downward, which can cause a lot of damage.

5. v

   Seal cracks in the surround and accessories with caulk. Get a bottle of waterproof silicone caulk and load information technology into a caulk gun. Cut the tip off and press the trigger to shoot caulk directly into any spaces that demand to be filled. Then, subsequently letting the caulk dry out for 24 hours, plow on the water supply to enjoy your new surround.^[20]

   • You will need to squeeze a dewdrop of caulk betwixt the tub and the bottom of the surroundings. If your surround came in panels, also put caulk between each panel.
   • While you have caulk available, spread a bead of caulk underneath fixtures similar the faucet escutcheon to waterproof it.

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• Surrounds are often heavy, so ask a friend to help you move the old surround and dry fit the new ane.^[21]

• Surrounds come up in a diversity of styles, so be sure to check the manufacturer'south instructions for specific installation tips and techniques.^[22]

• Stand-lone showers also use tub surrounds and are installed the same way.^[23]

• Remodeling a bathroom is challenging, so refer to a professional if you take questions. Professional person designers and installers will help you choose the right surroundings, tub, and accessories for your situation.

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• Cutting through grout releases grit known to be an irritant. Ever wear goggles, a grit mask, and long-sleeved wear when removing bathroom tiles.

• Saws are unsafe, so accept precautions while using them. Put on goggles, a dust mask, and ear protection. Avert long-sleeved habiliment that may get caught in the saw.

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Things Yous'll Need

• Drop cloth
• Utility knife or saw
• Screwdriver
• Hammer
• Chisel
• Crescent wrench
• Putty knife
• Wall putty
• Spackle
• Soft rag
• Water
• Condom goggles
• Dust mask or respirator

• Measuring record
• Pencil
• Paper
• Tub surround
• New faucets and other accessories equally needed
• Long carpenter's level or straightedge
• Utility knife
• Jigsaw or pigsty saw

• Tub surround adhesive
• Silicone caulk
• Caulk gun

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Article Summary Ten

To install a tub surround, commencement by marking spots on the environment for the faucets and other accessories. Then, trim the surround panels to size using a utility pocketknife or jigsaw, and cut out the holes you marked for the accessories. Next, spread adhesive over the wall using a caulk gun and a trowel, and press the tub environment apartment against the wall. Finally, permit the adhesive dry out for 24 hours earlier sealing any gaps with caulk. To learn how to remove an one-time tub surround, go on reading!

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