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tile or swanstone on shower floor

11 years ago

hi - getting ready to gut master bath. we have a 36x46 shower. i can't decide weather to put a swanstone pan in or tile the floor! i don't think the cost to tile is that much more expensive. my main concern is practicality. i don't want the grout to discolor and look lousy over time. my main concern is leaks. i don't want to have to redo this in 10 years!!!!

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Comments (6)

desperado28
11 years ago
Hello-

I am doing a master bath remodel right now as well, and from this forum and other research I decided to do a swanstone base and tile the walls. It is actually being installed today.

Here were my reasons:

It is actually not that much different in cost (particularly if you price shop the base aggressively)

It is much more slip resistant (the pebbled texture looks nice)

But the biggest reason for me was that I would not have to worry about constantly cleaning grout/tiles. The swanstone seems like it is much easier to keep up.

Also - if you do decide to get a swanstone base, you may want to go ahead and get it ordered. I had wanted Bermuda Sand color but it was 3-4 week lead time. I ended up changing my color to something I could get within 10 days.

Best of luck!
chriscald
Original Author
11 years ago
thanks desperado28 - its so stressful!!! what are you doing for your shower walls? i liked the pebbled texture too, think it looks nice. i am all over the road with this project. i want to move my toilet from next to small vanity to next to the shower (nervous that it will be hard to turn shower on and off since both on same side) i really want a big vanity going across where small vanity and toilet are now. any suggestions?
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lil geek, If you want a tiled pan and you want to do it DIY, look into the Kerdi System by Schluter. Schluter makes a pre-sloped pan base, which is of excellent quality, and it's very easy to install. The pan and walls are then covered with Kerdi membrane, then the tile is thinsetted to the Kerdi. A Kerdi shower is well within the realm of DIY, the quality, in terms of water-tightness, and avoidance of future water saturation problems, is second-to-none. With the Kerdi membrane being just beneath the tile, there is no deep wetting of the substructure of the tile. There are installation picsutes available here, and if you look in the right column on the webisite page there are installation videos as well. Do not confuse or compare Schluter's pre-formed shower pan with other premade trays that people on this forum are gripping about. Unsupported, thin flimsy trays are a failure waiting to happen. The Kerdi line is nothing like that. Just another idea...but only consider doing this DIY if you can follow simple instructions, if you have basic skills, and you have enough intelligence to be smart enough to map out the steps to success before you start mixing thinset. The ability to think through a project ahead of time, step-by-step, from start to finish, before starting seems to be a rare skill these days. If you anticipate problems, then remarkably, you'll likely have no problems. What a concept! Mongo
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>>I don't really like the look of the cove corner inserts or the trim pieces around the edge. Can Swanstone be fused in the corners so that the extra pieces are not needed?In a word - no. It's a solid piece, cast in a mold. The whole idea of using any solid showerpan, whether solid surface or cast iron, fiberglass or acrylic, is that the corners and borders of tile are very often where most improper prep and leakage occurs. Using a solid showerpan with coved corners and a high rim, eliminates that problem. If you have someone like Bill V. who properly slopes a shower floor and preps the right way, you should have no problems with a tiled shower floor which seems to be the look you really want. OTOH, those of us who use solid showerpans do so precisely because professionals like Bill V. are so darn hard to find! I've voted before that we try to clone him, but we just can't get those government scientists to agree he's a national treasure, LOL.
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I have never used Kerdi products, but from what I've read in my research, there should be absolutely no problem using a Swanstone base in combination with them. I just have a question for you regarding your tiled bench. Have you sat on/tried a bench that is only 11.5" deep? I have a teak bench that is 12" deep and I just went and butted it up to my tile wall to see what that would feel like. It was quite uncomfortable for me, My back hit the tiled wall and the bench cut into my upper thighs. Now I know I have a big ...., but I would suggest you try it for yourself. I really like the flexibility of having a separate bench. I have used it outside the shower in front of my vanity, and I found I liked to move it more forward in the shower for shaving my legs. Just a thought...
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weedyacres
11 years ago
We've done a couple showers with Swanstone or Onyx bases and tile walls and have been very happy with them. If you're looking for leak-proof and easy to clean, it's the way to go.
desperado28
11 years ago
I am doing the walls in 12 x 12 tile. The bathroom setup before was quite interesting - there was actually a tub in the master bedroom! I got it taken out and expanded the smallish master bath. I had the exact same problem as you. A small (25 inch) vanity. I decided, for budget reasons, to leave it and the toilet in place so as not to move that plumbing/septic line. I am replacing the vanity top and the toilet itself. I figure the extra space I created by expanding, I can put in a cabinet in between the shower and toilet if extra storage is needed.

This is a bank owned property I purchased and the list of things to fix is long, the reason I did not completely move everything in the master bath. If that was not an issue, I would definitely have moved the toilet to have a larger vanity.
I linked to the before photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathroom Pictures
debrak_2008
11 years ago
We installed a swanstone base over a year ago and love it. No slipping, easy to clean.
EngineerChic
11 years ago
Swanstone is great, we put a white shower base in a previous house. It cleans up easily with a few sprites of Tilex. Another option, if you have 2 more inches, is a Kohler cast iron shower pan. They make one that is 36x48". We just had it installed in our bathroom reno so I can't comment on it, aside from saying it looks nice and clean ;)

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