No, they are not slippery at all.

Thanks!

Yes, they are, in comparison to, well, just about every other option on the market other than polished stone. In a tiled shower floor, the groutlines provides grip.

I spoke with our salesperson yesterday. According to the person with whom he spoke at Kohler, there is something (texture?) in the finish--she wasn't sure about the terminology, to prevent slipping and/or to provide grip. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.

Our salesperson did say that acrylic is not nearly as slippery as cast iron is in and of itself (hence the necessity of those grips in the cast iron receptors and tubs). Again, time will tell I suppose....

I would not have recommended acrylic. We had an acrylic tub and surround that did not last. Acrylic has some disadvantages:

- It is very brittle and will require support underneath to remove any possibility of flexing, which would make it crack over time. Our surround cracked within five years under very minimal use in an unsupported spot.

- Be very careful to use ONLY recommended cleaners. I damaged the acrylic with a brand-name cleaner and ever afterwards, could not keep it looking good. It would look dirty within a week again.

- Your salesperson is talking out of his hat. Acrylic is not quite as slippery as cast iron, but it is still slippery enough to be dangerous with water and soap.

I'm actually very surprised the surface of your showerpan is not nubby-feeling. I thought all horizontal surfaces in mfg'ed tubs and showerpans were federally mandated to have a non-slip coating. It's usually a plastic overcoating with a "pebbled" feel underfoot that works very well against slippage.

Correction; the pan is fiberglass, not acrylic--don't know if that makes a difference.

I spoke with Kohler; there is something in the finish to help prevent slipping, they are supposed to get back to me with more info. According to the woman with whom I spoke, fed mandate applies to cast iron, not acrylic/fiberglass, BTW.

In the meantime, DH and I will decide what we want to do....

FWIW, when we work on the upstairs baths next year, we will use this downstairs shower. After the upstairs baths are completed, the shower will see use a few times a year at most (when his parents or mine are visiting). I don't know if this makes any difference as to how well it will hold up, or if we'd still need to rethink this because of the other points brought up.

Seven years later .. anyone still listening? How is that acrylic shower pan holding up? I'm looking at the current Kohler offering, looks to me a *lot* more appealing than a tiled floor with grout that gets filthy and is so difficult to clean..