This price tag could easily double with a higher-priced tub and surround and fancier valves. If you do it yourself, you'll save the $1,000 cost of professional installation.

In a bathroom with a well-used bathtub, the three surrounding walls need to withstand continued wet and damp conditions, and ceramic tile is a material that’s proven itself over the years.

Tub surrounds are made from a variety of materials, including plastic, cultured marble and Corian. The least expensive material, plastic, starts at less than $100. The kits come in five pieces.