I'm laughing at the idea that a shower is going to last 40 years and not need a remodel. And I'm surprised to hear that cast iron would need to be refinished. Maybe I'm naive? Anyway - how high end is this remodel? I have Swanstone for going on 20 years and it has held up perfectly, but I really want to replace it with something less functional and more attractive. Mine is Almond Galaxy - not a solid, but it still looks like plastic. Not nearly as nice as the walls which have a matte finish (also still looking great). I can't comment on Silestone - I actually didn't know they made a shower pan. But I'll bet its expensive. Why not use tile?

Carbide drills are fine for concrete...right up till you hit a chunk of quartz. The quartz will nicely polish the end of your drill. A hammer drill will go thru it. I've used diamond tools a fair bit on stone, never hit any metal. But i know they sometimes use diamond grinding equipment on steel, so must be possible to cut steel with diamond tools. I have used some "cast stone" that was a mixture of ground limestone and resin. Steel drills would work fine but dull after a few holes. Carbide drills last much longer, but the cheap variety available at Evil Orange are not very sharp and don't cut very neat holes. I just resharpend a steel bit every 5-6 holes.

AvatarWalt When the word "practical" is invoked, one should consider commercial practice as that generally leads to the most efficient approach. However, if one wants residential off-the-shelf components, then a really long hood of this type could be addressed by two inserts. They could have individual controls so long as the user (cook) understood the general issues of "what do I do with the fan settings when cooking between two inserts." Either way, if one is cooking at both ends (with dual inserts) or anywhere underneath with a single giant insert, the flow rate has to be sufficient for full capture and containment, and this easily translates to a pair of large residential blowers, or an even larger commercial blower. The latter is not a bad thing as it will have several advantages, so long as its roof appearance is not precluded by aesthetic considerations. Yes, just as the hood air flow rises, so must the MUA capability rise, and depending on the environment, so does the heating and/or cooling requirement for the MUA rise. An 8 ft by 2.5 ft aperture is 20 sq. ft. This should have a flow rate at full power of 1800 CFM, requiring a ventilation blower with zero static pressure rating in the general area of 2700 CFM (and a similar MUA blower unless ducting is short and combustion appliances are separately MUA'd). I would seriously consider having a commercial like setup with this requirement. MUA heating will depend on too many factors to pontificate about, but one would expect to require an upgrade of the electrical drop from the street. Gas heating might be possible instead. As usual, review of the Greenheck guide is advised for perspective. http://www.greenheck.com/media/pdf/otherinfo/KVSApplDesign_catalog.pdf

So the architects and knowledgeable observers here can’t agree. Why am I not surprised? Now I've factored in a budget. That rules out natural stone, large format manmade stone and super-white quartz enhanced brick. (Of course, I could use these materials on the front only, then cheapen out on the side and rear elevations. Common here even on customs and rampant in US Neo-eclectics.) So I’m down to brick for the main volume and brick, split-faced block or what Arriscraft calls manmade "ledgestone" for the balance. At least, I can spring for a slim "linear" brick to accentuate the design's horizontal lines.Arriscraft urban ledgestone proposed for the small volumes. I'm waiting for my architects' comments. (Not that I'm bound by them in the slightest!)