We're just in the process of planning a main bathroom gut and reno. We decided solid surface in the tub/shower and on the wall behind the toilet and backsplash at the sink would be our preference. We found a gorgeous piece of granite for the vanity so then wanted something to go well with it and the cabinets. Our choice was a pattern in Caesarstone quartz. You can get 1 cm, 2 cm or 3 cm, so for our purpose 1 cm would be ideal. However we will need deep pockets if we go this route. Our first quote for the Caesarstone alone (close to 2 slabs required) is between $6,000 and $7,000 installed, hopefully closer to the lower end of that. My heart fell as we had everything co-ordinated. We are getting a 2nd quote on Caesarstone and some Cambria which is less expensive if we can find a colour we like. The Caesarstone comes from Israel so it is more expensive because of the shipping costs. If we were hiring a tile setter to do tile (if we chose that route) I'm not sure what we would pay, but it would be a few thousand dollars for sure. But we would do it ourselves, as we have tiled a lot in our home. So our labour is free. It makes it a lot harder to justify spending so much on the solid surface we chose. Still trying to see what we can do for a better price. We are going to see Flo Form this week thru the Costco program. saves a few dollars. The quartz can be cut for openings to have niches on the shower walls and of course for the holes required to fit shower controls, faucets etc. It would be templated, just like a countertop is.

Typically we match the bathroom floor to the shower floor. If the bathroom floor tile is too large and slippery, we'd cut it into smaller pieces. Do make sure that your shower floor tile is not slippery when wet. There are products that you can put on the tile afterward to add some grit if needed. Your shower most likely has a threshold and make sure that is well-delineated so you won't stub your toes. Keep in mind that natural stone requires more maintenance and is not as resilient as porcelain tile.

It sounds like you’ve received some good advice re: polishing your tiles. I’m just posting a comment to let you know how beautiful your glass tile looks! I actually have this tile saved as one of my options for the wall over my vanity behind my mirrors. Q - is there any natural light in your bathroom? If so, would you mind taking a photo during the day so I can see how the tile looks with natural light? I would really appreciate it. Also - and I apologize if this seems like a strange question - did you pick out the tile or did a female? I’m asking this question in order to prove a point with my significant other. I own my house (no mortgage) - so, when we decided to live together, I didn’t want to sell it and buy something else with a mortgage. However, I originally built this house with my ex-husband - so, I’m remodeling MANY rooms in order to make it “new” (even though my ex didn’t really give much input into the house when we built it - and I only shared this house with my ex for about 4 years - quite awhile ago). I am trying to be considerate by not making anything “too feminine” - this tile seems like a good choice for that. My significant other didn’t say that the tile is too feminine - but I‘m not exactly sure whether he believes that or not! I definitely don’t think it’s feminine - I think it’s an attractive option for my accent wall. His suggestions have been simply TOO BORING! I don’t want a sterile looking all gray/white/black bathroom. I do want to be considerate - but it still is my house so . . . LOL! One other Q - what did you choose for your vanity/wall paint/flooring? Thanks!

@Jeff Meeks said, "Your peace of mind is worth more than the cost to redo dubious work." While well meaning, this is simply not true. Your peace of mind may be worth more than the cost to redo work or it may not be, depending on several factors. If you take this approach with everything in a house then you would need to practically tear down your entire house and rebuild it every 10 years. My refrigerator is functioning properly but is out of the warranty period... should I spend money to replace it for my peace of mind? My roof was installed 12 years ago, it isn't leaking and has never leaked, should I replace that too for my peace of mind? How about a shower that wasn't waterproofed properly...I have a shower that I am pretty sure wasn't waterproofed properly, I had access to the back of it not long ago and there were no signs of leaking at all, should I tear out a shower that hasn't leaked in 12 years and fix it for peace of mind? People on these sites are really great at spending other people's money. In reality, their house isn't perfect and they are also making decisions on what they can afford to replace. It is generally wise to do things right the first time, if you are tearing your shower out it just doesn't make sense to rebuild it improperly. However, when that becomes impossible you need to evaluate your situation from where you are now. The fact that it wasn't done right the first time is immaterial, you now have to decide if the cost of redoing it properly exceeds probable cost of not doing it. ---- This same thing goes for code compliance. The cost to bring your shower up to code should be weighed against the cost of not bringing your shower up to code. ---- My advice was and remains: if redoing it is in the budget and the tile is not on a massive backorder, you should redo it. I would personally leave it alone if it was not in the budget or there was an excessive backorder and take the risk. It is not really a big risk and is not likely the biggest risk you have in your home right now.