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non-tile options for affordable custom shower size remodel?

16 years ago

My leaking tile walk in shower is 44.5 deep by 52 wide. Showerbase2.com just quoted me $948 for a Better Base shower base. Yikes. Onyx doesn't have standard sizes for my shower. Neither does swanstone. I reeeeeaaaalllly don't want another tile shower -- especially the floor. Are there any other (cheap) options for solid surface shower bases for my apparently custom sized shower?

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Comments (4)

Brewbeer
16 years ago
Why is it leaking?
jperiod
Original Author
16 years ago
In one bathroom, the tile is original - 50 years old. The tiles have starting popping out from the wall and the drywall next to the shower is bubbling.

In the master with the walk-in, it was a very bad DIY tile job. Grout in the inside corners (now cracked), bottom is not properly pitched causing a significant puddle, 2 of the floor tiles are loose and somewhere water is getting out and under because the wall next to the shower is deteriorating and the grout where the bathroom floor tile meets the wall gets wet (even though the curtain seals out any splashes -- water goes under the shower curb).

3 out of 4 tile showers I've owned in 2 houses have been leaky. I'm also not very good at keeping up with cleaning the grout, especially the floor. So I really wanted to go solid surface this time around.
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Well after chasing down the plumber since before christmas he is finally done roughing in everything he has to rough in. So we're moving ahead at a snail's pace. GC installed the shower base per instructions and it installed pretty easily. The subfloor was very level to start with and then tiny minor tweaks (pushing it down a little on one side etc) got the pan dead level. It looked pretty easy to install anyway (I was standing there while he did it). Feels pretty solid too. They recommend that you leave I think 1/2" all around when you install it? something like that, to make it easier to position in the walls. My gc just put placed the shower pan in the right position and screwed down the base plates for the stud walls around it so he was able to install it a little more tightly. I think it was much easier to just have it resting against the base plate rather than having to manipulate it with the whole wall framed out already. The thing is HEAVY and you have to watch for fiberglass splinters on the outside of the flange.
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Hard post to reply to. If you want DIY-friendly and cost-friendly? Durable? Look at cast iron shower pans. You'll spend $400-$800 on the pan itself, HOWEVER...once the pan is in, there's your shower base. Done. Clean, nice looking, easy to clean, durable, zero flex underfoot...DONE. There's nothing else you need to spend money on regarding the shower floor. It's done. And a travertine porcelain would look right at home with a cast iron base. Again, with economy in mind, on the walls? I'd staple up 6-mil poly sheeting on the walls. $10-$20. Cover that with 1/2" Durock cement board. $150+/-. Add a roll of mesh tape. $5. Then tile on the cement board. Your tile can be as inexpensive or as expensive as your budget allows. Grout, and you're done. If you want to upgrade your waterproofing a bit, and can afford another $150-$200? Then instead of installing the 6-mil poly, just install the cement board directly to the studs. Then use a waterproofing like HydroBan Liquid or RedGard on top of the cement board. Read the instructions. Follow the instructions. If you can't, then revert to the first set of instructions that used the 6-mil poly. Then tile right on the Hydroban or RedGard. Grout.
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@tendrac, there is only one dealer in my area that does any type of solid surface for showers. Luckily, it's only 45 mins from me so we went with them. We didn't get any other quotes. Our builder has had other clients use it before and really liked the material and quality of the Onyx Collection. The materials alone (shower plus corner bench and alcove) ran about $3600 and it was $1500 to install. That said, I was shocked when I got the final install price. Our builder had one of his subs install it and I was onsite for most of it. It took about four hours for two guys. They did REALLY well on our job :insert eye roll:. There are YouTube videos on how to install it but we didn't have the time or the tenacity at that point to attempt it nor did we want the liability if it went totally wrong ;) Our panels are 7 ft tall.
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kgwlisa
16 years ago
I don't blame you on the grout. I didn't want to go there either.

Your best option would be to use a standard sized shower pan and fur your shower walls in a bit to accommodate it. 36x48 is a standard size. You could probably maintain your body width by only furring out the walls halfway up, creating a ledge on two sides for you to put shampoos and stuff - the top of the shower would remain the same size but the bottom would take a standard sized pan.

Otherwise your only option is custom and as you have discovered, it's an expensive proposition. Onyx has custom options too but when i priced them I found them MORE expensive than the better base (for matte finish, which is an upcharge).
jperiod
Original Author
16 years ago
Great idea!! I was wondering where to put a niche, so I think you solved two of my problems in one!!

One concern is keeping those ledges clean from dust setting them with proper pitch since they're so high (72 inches). Don't want them to become "out of sight, out of mind" and then come back to haunt me!

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