Bathtub wall surround kit and seals therefor

A bathtub wall surround kit, comprising:

• a pair of end panels adapted to be secured to the end walls of a bathtub opening;
• at least one side panel adapted to be secured to the side wall of a bathtube opening;
• a pair of vertical seals for joining the confronting edges of said end panels and said side panel in substantially watertight fashion, on of said vertical seals being adapted to be disposed in each of the corners defined by the intersections of the end walls with the side wall, each of said vertical seals being generally L-shaped and including a pair of panel receiving channels, each of said channels being defined by a pair of spaced apart walls and including seal means associated with one of the walls;
• each of said pairs of spaced apart walls of each of said vertical seals including a back wall and a front wall, each of said vertical seals having said back walls integrally disposed at substantially a right angle to conform to one of the corners defined by the intersections of the end walls with the side wall, each of said vertical seals having one of said front walls integrally disposed relative to the other of said front walls at greater than a right angle such that each of said front walls tapers toward the corresponding one of said back walls, each of said vertical seals being formed such that each of said front walls is movable toward and away from the corresponding one of said back walls, each of said vertical seals also being formed such that said seal means includes a flexible finger extending from the end of each of said front walls toward the corresponding one of said back walls, said flexible fingers being adapted to sealingly engage the outwardly facing surfaces of said side panel and said end panels in substantially watertight fashion to form a primary seal;
• said primary seals extending from the ends of said front walls and curving toward said back walls of said vertical seals, each of said vertical seals being formed such that said front walls and said back walls are of a rigid plastic material and said flexible fingers forming said primary seals are formed of a flexible material, each of said vertical seals being formed such that said flexible material of said primary seals is integrally associated with said rigid material of said front walls thereof;
• a base seal for joining the bottom edges of said end panels and said side panel to a rim of a bathtub in substantially watertight fashion, said base seal being adapted to be associated with the bottom edge of each of said end panels and said side panel, said base seal including a panel receiving channel having seal means associated with the bottom thereof, said channel being defined by a pair of spaced apart side walls joined by a bottom wall;
• said pair of spaced apart side walls defining said channel in said seal including a back wall and a front wall disposed in substantially parallel relation, said bottom wall joining said front wall to said back wall for limited movement of said front wall relative to said back wall, said seal means including at least one flexible finger extending downwardly from the bottom wall of said base seal, said flexible finger being adapted to sealingly engage the rim of the bathtub in substantially wateright fashion to form a primary seal, said seal means also including a flexible finger extending from the end of said front wall toward the corresponding one of said back walls, said flexible finger being adapted to sealingly engage the outwardly facing surface of the corresponding one of said end panels and said side panel in substantially watertight fashion to form a primary seal, said primary seal extending from the end of said front wall curving toward said back wall of said base seal, said front wall and said back wall and said bottom wall of said base seal being formed of a rigid material and said flexible fingers forming said primary seals being formed of a flexible material, said flexible material of said primary seals being integrally associated with said rigid material of said bottom wall and said front wall of said base seal.