Right now I am in the process of freshening up one of my bathrooms and demo with the jackhammers is tomorrow. One of my choices for vanity top and shower surround was cultured granite which did not originally appeal to me. Then I went into a local very high-end bath showroom to get some ideas and Lo and behold, there was a tub to shower display made with the cultured granite in a matte finish. Looked just like Corian and was surprised when the designer told me it was cultured granite. Sure changed my opinion and fortunately my contractor uses one of the best fabricators in the area so that ended up being my choice. There is nothing about it that looks cheap, however, some colors look better than others. I would think the glossier surface would show some scratches and watermarks and for that plus aesthetic reasons, I chose the matte finish. In the next couple of weeks, I shall have my new shower and vanity top.

We've installed Caesarstone "pebble" as an accent in our new shower surround. The bulk of the shower is a "marble look" glazed ceramic tile with Carrara marble trim and the grey stone along the top of the shower surround is the Caesarstone. The cost per square foot was the same as if fabricating for a counter top. I believe we paid about $75sqft installed for those pieces. Quite expensive to do an entire shower but nice to use as an accent, shower seat or shelf.

Yo Ken, if your still around your up on this one. Far as Composites go I am with the Larry/whoever We are for the most part. Composites are really no longer using recycled material because there is just not enough of it so most of the raw stuff is virgin,the energy used to make composite is an enviro no no, when its time to remove the project composite is not real big on bio degrade its tricky to burn shreading it would be silly. Bottom line composites are not so enviro freindly. Info like that might suggest its not all that good to clean it either, with anything. I dont agree>> composites will out last Ipe, left to go silver/gray Ipe is as close to no maintance as a person can get. With the softer composites like Choice/MoistureShield even trex= tjunk I have found a coat or two of TWP 116 seals up the decking,locks in the color and keeps mold,mildew,stains from causing major problems. Of course not needing to do this is the reason the Wallet goes for composite in the first place. I my own self dont like composites at all for the reasons stated in several posts here and on other sites. Welcome aboard Larry!!! Sorry I dident understand your intent at the begining . John

This could have just as easily been a subway tile..... Sometimes its fun to take on a "sticker shock challenge" ( For only the right client!) Today with all the budget materials and Big box store sales you can get crafty and build a waterproof budget shower id say for around $4K. Shower pan/drain- Prefab insert ( would be around +/- $500 installed but we salvaged her old one) Fixture-Reused old valve/trim Waterproofing - Goboard and sitka sealant ( This stuff $20/board) Budget sale tile- Big box Ceramics/mosaic (2$-$3/sq.-ish) Glass- Prefab kit( $300-ish) This is what we here in the midwest call an upgraded Menardo's job ! This client blew up at sticker shock for a real shower. Since I was already Rebuilding their staircase and working onsite I took it as a challenge to meet a price point. Client bought all the materials I specified (she chose tile and did some driving around and procuring of materials) and the labor was kept at $2750 flat rate(demo to finished). This is my version of A budget job but I think it came out OK for a Price point and so did my clients....... it meets TCNA /ANSI specs..... Its waterproof ! There was no budget for lippage tuning glad i can float..... Not bad for a budget rush job ! It is very hard to build an Tile industry compliant waterproof shower with tiled pan for under $5-6 K you will find handyman that will attempt it but you may end up here on the forums crying in a few weeks time...