Reviews of Bathroom Products Agawam MA

Source: BUILDING PRODUCTS Magazine
Publication date: May 1, 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.

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