You will need a real pro to install that tile and BTW the whole space needs to be newly waterproofed properly so show us your shower please. Super large tile needs a supr flat surface and the ability to get it into your space safely without breakage. If you are DIYing this then IMO 12 x24 tile is the largest you should be using.

Thanks Patricia! I added a couple of pictures of the current shower. to my original post. It's not bad, just needs an update. Luckily we have a really good tile guy.

How is that panel getting from Floor and Decor to your home please?

Looks like Floor & Decor offers delivery for an estimated $50.

I live in a low-cost-of-labor city, and my tile pro would charge about 15K to demo, waterproof and tile that shower. Add the glass enclosure to that. That's a fair cost. Don't hire cheap. The biggest mistake would be if you hire cheap for the waterproofing and then you put all this beautiful material in the shower, and then the shower leaks. Hire well.

what's the big deal w/3x5' tiles? people do own trucks.

ask the tile guy if he can pick them up.

I've seen those 5' panels for showers at my own tile place.

tilebar.com has larger panels. you might want to check w/them about delivery.

https://www.tilebar.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=+xl+

as for your shower, the entire thing needs to be demo'ed, rebuilt, (waterproofed, etc) and then tiled. have you gotten an estimate yet?

you could do regular large format tiles with 1/16 grout lines. You'd have minimal grout lines.

basically what you have now, but maybe in a diff layout.

Are the grout lines in there really that much of a hassle to clean?

But hey, if you're willing to pay the big bucks to get almost no grout lines, go for it!

they have quartz or man made shower panels you could also use.

Thanks for all the helpful info!

Joseph- We do have a pickup truck. Does this material require special transportation? I can ask about that.

Beth H- You're always so helpful! Do you like the 5' panels you've seen? I'm concerned the veining looking weird even if we do the layout before install.

I've seen some of the larger panels on the tilebar website. and I love them! I wonder how they look in real life. I've never ordered anything like that online before. I'll look into getting some samples and the delivery like you suggested.

I haven't gotten an estimate yet, just researching material for now. But luckily we've known our tile guy forever and he's done a lot of work for us. He's amazing and I wouldn't trust anyone else.

It's not that difficult to clean the grout now, but I've gotten a little lazy in my old age and just want to try to minimize the cleaning as much as possible and I really like the no-grout look. The best part is that this tile is $3.99 a sq'!!!

I'm definitely open to other options (quartz or shower panels), just not sure which ones will give me that slab look without completely breaking the bank.

Don't even think of moving a porcelain slab that large without one of these please. Corian comes in stone look alike, requires no such special handling equipment, and completely unlike porcelain, is inconspicuously repairable and seam-able.

Ok, thanks Joseph! I'll check with our tile guy.

The only problem with doing a large format marble look instead of using a thin quartz slab is that the veining patterns will be chopped up. If you're going to do this, go with a pattern that's more subtle vs. quite bold, so that choppy vein look will be minimized.

Personally, if you want a cleaner look, I'd look into thin slabs, ~1.2 cm thick. Silestone makes a bunch; you'd just have to pay for the right fabricator to cut them to size.

Thanks Sabrina! The chopped up veining is exactly what I'm worried about. I'll try to find more subtle patterns and also look into the thin slabs by Silestone.

Force of Nature is $40 and maybe $25/quarterly for the ampules. Spray this practically odorless ewater on your grout every week and you won't have any mold or mildew. Your current shower looks great, why go through the expense and bother?

Thanks Nancy! We've been living with some form of tan or beige in our entire home for the last 20 years and I just really need a change. We painted the rest of the house a very light gray (BM Silver Satin) with a darker gray accent wall on our fireplace wall and I love the brighter updated look and feel. Need to bring the bathroom up to date with the rest of the house.

JuneKnow, that "$100 a square and up" is per square foot, right?

i used this tile to make a fireplace. what is good about this tile is when you use white grout it is almost seamless. you cant tell where the tile ends or begins- giving it a grand look. you can use even smaller slabs if you wanted to cut the cost. the only thing with this tile is that when using several pieces, you will want to try and match up the grains in the slab so that it looks like they continue one into the next. if the grain is going in one direction in one part, and another on another slab it will be noticeable. play around with the slab pieces before laying them down to ensure that they flow nicely into each other. good luck. it will take some time if you have several pieces but it is worth the effort.

Focal Point Hardware- Great to know! Did you use this exact tile or something similar? Do you have any pictures you could share? We can definitely play around with the slabs. Thanks for the advice! :))

JuneKnow- This tile from Floor & Decor is $3.99 a sq foot. Are you saying the install will make it $100 and up or are you talking about the XL format porcelain like these?

https://www.daltile.com/trend-hub/design-ideas-library/extra-large-format-porcelain-surfaces

Thank you so much Focal Point! You've been a huge help!

Looking into Corian. Does anyone have suggestions for Corian that will look like marble? Thanks!

Google the colors of Corian please.

We had to put in a new shower in our master bath since the shower pan was permanently stained by hard water and the frame had started to rust. I really wanted something inconspicuous because other things are the focal point in the room- like framed art and drapery treatments. I did not want tile because I don't like the way the grout lines get discolored. I think granite might have stained also. Quartz was an option, but too expensive. We went old-school and chose cultured marble in a soft white, solid color. I ordered a custom solid surface shower pan as these do not stain from hard water.

We did the demo work ourselves. My husband installed the shower pan and replaced the drywall. I think he might have added some type of water-proofing also. We then paid two contractors to install the walls and the semi-frameless glass structure. I think we paid approx. $350 for the shower pan, $2,200 for the cultured marble walls and install, and $1300 for the semi-frameless glass stall (including install). I chose a custom handle for the shower stall that I really like. AT the shower show-room, they featured the same handle on all the stalls. Just as an FY- I think they had over a hundred different handles to chose from, so you can pick something that goes nicely with your decor.

Thanks Joseph- I tried looking at their website, but it wasn't easy for me to figure out which colors were available for the solid surface shower walls. It looks like their colors are limited. I'll try to look again. I definitely want something subtle.

Has anyone actually used Corian for their shower? I'll try to search some more for that.

Thanks for the info jlcorpus! I looked at cultured marble a while ago, might look at that again. Still trying to find something that looks more like real marble.

Honestly, I like the whole slab of marble-looking porcelain much better than the tiles. Our install of the cultured marble was not that expensive. You might want to compare install prices of getting the stall tiled with the large tile vs. install of the slabs; the slabs might be cheaper to install. I would try to match the shower door handle to your towel hardware when you change it out. The one on your existing shower is what was featured on every door in the show-room; but they have a catalog full of other choices and it only cost about $10 extra to get what I wanted.

jlcorpus- I like the slab look too! What cultured marble did you use? Thanks

The company we used is now out of business. I discovered this because I am now trying to replace vanity tops in the guest and master bathrooms. I think I might go with Cambria quartz for them. Cambria is not the cheapest per square foot. However, they will be the cheapest for my project because we do not need a full slab and Cambria prices it by the square foot and I was told they are the only company that does that. We have a 61" and a 73" vanity top, both with double sinks. I am also considering looking for scrap pieces when I go the granite warehouse to see the Cambria color choices in person.

BTW- I have been happy with the durability of the cultured marble in our shower. We installed it ten years ago, and it still looks new, even with our hard water.

However, the cultured marble countertops have not held up as well to staining, curling iron, etc. So, we will likely go with quartz for the countertops and white porcelain undermount sinks.

jicorpus:

Shopping for remnants is an excellent idea. You sacrifice some selection for a nice discount.

To learn about our experiences with Corian or other solid surface showers, go to the top of the page to the Houzz search box and type in “Corian Shower” or “Solid Surface Shower.” One thread that talks about and shows a lot of our showers is titled “Kohler Choreograph?” Some of these threads go on for years, so don’t be put off if they seem old.

@Joseph Corlett, LLC. I spent the afternoon at a large volume fabricator warehouse, looking at their remnants. Although they had lots of remnants, I don't think I found what I was looking for. I am looking for a soft, almost-white, solid colored quartz. Looked at some online and think that the Hanstone Royale Blanc might be the right shade of off-white. Do you know of any other brands that might have the off-white solid quartz? I thought maybe if I could find a fabricator that sold a lot of the brand of quartz, I could find a remnant piece in the color I want. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

@kpenni. I stumbled across this discussion on using porcelain in bathroom shower. You might find some useful information here: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2669734/anyone-use-thin-porcelain-large-format-slabs-on-walls

jlcorpus:

Sorry, I'm not much help with decorating decisions. Maybe rummage around on www.stonefabricatorsalliance.com

@Joseph Corlett, LLC. Thank you! I will check out that website.

@kpenni. I found a distributor that lists their slabs by price range that might be helpful to you. https://www.globalgranite.com/products/

In the Medium 1C category I saw:

6MM STATUARIO SELECT POLISHED A ITALCER

6MM CALACATTA SELECT POLISHED A ITALCER

6MM BLANCO CARRARA SILK NEOLITH BC02R

6MM LASA SELECT POLISHED ITALCER

They also have other price range categories with slabs.

Still working on our bathroom update. I decided to go with a porcelain tile with subtle veining like Focal Point Hardware suggested. Now just need to find the tile. @Focal Point Hardware - If you're still on here, what tile did you use? If anyone has suggestions for tile that's on the larger size (30" x 30" or 48" x 48" or similar), with subtle veining, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks so much!

Any updates,Kpenni?

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Yes! I just found this gorgeous tile from Bedrosian's. It's Magnifica 48". We're using polished on the shower walls and bathroom floor and honed on the shower floor. It looks great in person and has very subtle veining. Since we're keeping our espresso cabinets, I found a white marble countertop piece. Can't wait for the tile to arrive! Here's the tile:

https://www.bedrosians.com/en/product/detail/magnifica-tile/?itemNo=100001208