Kohler Cast Iron Shower Pan with textured grid floor & Main

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

We are planning a master bathroom remodel and considering installing a Kohler Cast Iron Shower pan with textured grid floor. My husband loves the floor and wants the white pan. I am concerned the white textured grid will attract skin oils, dirt etc. and require constant cleaning as the grime will stick to the textured grid. I prefer to have tile installed to match the rest of the shower. I would appreciate your pro's and con's from user (or removal/reinstall) experience for this shower pan from the perspective of maintenance.

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Comments (4)

Bruce in Northern Virginia
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
We installed a Kohler Salient 30"x60" cast iron pan in Sea Salt color a few months ago. The textured grid on the floor does require periodic cleaning, but it cleans up very easily. However, we used tile over a Schluter Kerdi shower pan in a different shower, and in general I think I like the tile option better because we had more choices.

The Kohler shower pans only come in a few sizes. We had space for a deeper pan (maybe up to 36"), but the 60" wide cast iron pan only comes in a 30" depth. We also decided to use Basco glass shower doors, which sit about midway across the threshold, so you lose a little more interior space there. The doors we picked are a barn door (or french door?) design so that they only attach to the walls and not to the pan. They look good, but I'm not sure if we will eventually have problems with them sagging, since they are each 30" wide.

In contrast, our tile shower is only 48" wide, but we had space to make it about 33" deep. We also used a shower curtain with a rod that curves outward to provide more interior space. When you stand in that shower you have plenty of elbow room in all directions, and I like that format.

It just depends on your preferences.

Bruce
Renee Laffey
Original Author
3 years ago
Bruce, thank you. This is good feedback.
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Weedy, if you see this... I keep running into you here and there, we follow many of the same threads. You give really good advice and are a natural at this design thing. I went into Lowe's this weekend and REALLY looked. I had not really shopped there for 'a few of my favorite things' in quite some time and I was absolutely amazed at the Tile Department selection. I found several things that I really may be able to use so thanks for the steer in the right direction. Still no heated mats, tho. :) If you get a spare moment, I would like to ask one more favor. You mentioned earlier in this thread (I think it was this thread) that your shower clip hardware was designed for a 135 degree angle. Do you know what other angles other than 90 and 135 are available or from whom? (Probably will depend on each person's Glass Guy's resources). If you have a moment could you photograph a close-up of your clip hardware, so I can show my guy (or whomever) that it exists? I would also like to see how the 3/8" glass is mitered for that 135 degree hardware. I know that it is also held together by the header channel at the top. This favor, only if you get a chance. :) Thanks so much, Anne
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We purchased a Kohler acrylic (?) Archer shower pan, sight unseen. We immediately returned it--it had no non-slip, the color doesn't go through and through, and we were concerned about the possiblity of cracking (despite spectrolight--sp? underneath). We ended up getting a Kohler cast iron pan instead (~3' X 4'). They had two in the size we needed--both are the same, but the no-slip grip pattern is slightly different in each (we got the one with the "grid" pattern). The shower hasn't been used yet, but the pan looks good, and we are more confident about its longevity than we were with the other one.
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Our Toto cast iron tubs and Kohler cast iron shower receptor (shower pan) all have no-slip grips--that was non-negotiable as far as we were concerned. They are not uncomfortable to sit or stand on (more like extra-fine sandpaper texture, not coarse at all), but should provide enough traction to prevent slipping. I clean our tubs using Lysol Basin, Tub, and Tile aerosol spray/foam cleanser (I use 7th Generation Disinfecting Bathroom cleaner on the walls and in the shower pan in the guest bathroom; minimizes the likelihood of getting the Lysol product on the travertine floor tiles since it can etch). Occasionally the no-slip grips still look less than pure white after cleaning (happens more often in the summer when we're barefoot more often--grimier feet=grimier tub floor). Then I use a dampened Magic Eraser--buff over the tub (or shower) floor, rinse, and the grips/tub/shower pan look brand new.
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OK, I know this thread is ancient but I just had to add my two cents worth for people who come along later as I did. The idea that cast iron retains heat longer than fiberglass or acrylic tub materials is simply a myth. Cast Iron, even with porcelain over it is a better CONDUCTOR of heat than any of the modern tub materials other than steel. Steel and cast iron will conduct heat at more or less the same rate with differences that would only matter in a lab. Cast Iron will transmit heat to the surrounding air and other materials faster than fiberglass or acrylic, which are both better insulators than cast iron. This is the exact opposite of retaining heat. Anybody who doubts this: Take a cast iron pan, fill it with hot water. Take a plastic pan of equal size and fill it with hot water of the same temperature. Put the pans side by side with a thermometer in them. Check them an hour later. I guarantee you the water in the cast iron pan has lost more heat and is colder because cast iron is much better able to radiate heat to the surrounding air than plastic. There is no way that any metal tub whether steel or cast iron is going to keep the water in it warmer than fiberglass or Acrylic will. Yes cast iron does radiate some of the heat from the water back to the bather above the water line, which some people like, but it does this because it's a better conductor of heat, not because it holds heat. The sole advantage of cast iron is, admittedly, much greater strength and if you want maximum strength steel is stronger still. I've demo'd multiple cast iron tubs into pieces with a sledge hammer. It shatters easily. Try that with steel.
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cat_mom
3 years ago
Our Kohler cast iron shower receptor (pan) isn’t used often (guest bathroom) but the no slip grips are similar in texture to the ones in our two Toto 1525 bathtubs which see daily use. Normal cleaning with Lysol bathroom tub and tile cleaner (aerosol version) is usually enough to keep them clean. If/when they do need a little extra cleaning help (not often), I lightly scrub them with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, and they look brand new.
Renee Laffey thanked cat_mom
BirchPoint
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
I have this shower pan in my master bath and I love it! I have had a tiled floor shower in my previous home and I liked that as well. I have not had a problem keeping the Kohler pan clean nor have I had to clean more frequently than a tile floor. My pan is white.
Renee Laffey thanked BirchPoint

Kohler Cast Iron Shower Pan with textured grid floor & Main

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Bruce in Northern Virginia

Renee Laffey
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Kohler Cast Iron Shower Pan with textured grid floor & Main

Comments (4)

Bruce in Northern Virginia

Renee LaffeyOriginal Author

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Renee Laffey
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