Is it really that much cheaper for builders to use a plastic shower surround than tile???? (bathtub, curtains)
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We upgraded and chose the option to have tile instead of the fiberglass surround.
I'm in the process of using grout sealer so I don't have water penetration thus minimalizing the chance of mold and mildew in the grout.
Sealing the grout is relatively inexpensive but it is time consuming to do. I feel it is well worth the time to minimize the work keeping the grout clean.
When my contractor saw we chose the tile option he said thank god. It is harder to get those surrounds square and are a pain to install. Tile is more forgiving.
I'm in the camp that doesn't care for the tub/shower fiberglass surrounds.
Edit to add: our tile is the basic, not fancy, straightforward tile. No fancy strip going around the walls. I'm happy with the way it looks.
When you sell your house, you'll be glad you made this choice.
I've usually had ceramic tile shower/tub surrounds. I've not had any trouble keeping the grout in good shape. A little white silicone caulking added occasionally. A little bleach on a paper towel stuck to the sides overnight. Voila. Good as new.
I dislike glass doors, though. They will usually look yukky. Homeowner can save $ by having a shower curtain.
It seems there are a lot of things that can be done on a house upfront that don't add much percentage wise to the total cost of a house, but make a huge improvement in overall quality. These same things then cost thousands more to come back and do later. This applies even to things like fiberglass showers. There are good quality and there are cheap plastic that will scratch and stain. I'd agree the high quality ones are just as good as tile, but the cheap ones are just that -- cheap.
A few years ago we toured a home show in Colorado where all the houses were in the $750 and up range (this was a few years ago, so they've be double/triple that now). The thing that stood out to me more than anything else was the poor quality of materials used in such expensive homes. In all but one of the homes for example, the doors were the same cheap butt hollow core imitation grain pattern doors that were in my $100K tract home. Same thing with cabinetry -- lots of particle board. These houses were getting lots of "OOOHs" and "AWWs" for media rooms, and Viking ranges and Jacuzzi tubs in the bath, but take away the glitz, most of them were really low build quality for that price range.
I hear ya!
Quote:
Originally Posted by turf3
Fiberglass reinforced plastic is also real. There is tons of evidence supporting its existence.
Ugh. I had a huge walk in tile shower with two walls of glass and it was a NIGHTMARE to keep clean. You have to squeegee the glass every time you use it and by the time I was finished squeegeeing, I needed another shower because I'd be sweating.
I'd rather have the cheaper molded fiberglass.
As a matter of fact, my husband and I used the pool bathroom's molded fiberglass shower instead of the one in our master to keep it clean.
I'm too lazy for tile.
Actually, it takes me forever to clean the plastic/fiberglass. Especially the floor part with its little embedded non skid dots on the floor .
It is interesting that most low - midgrade hotels use fiberglass surround bathtub-showers. That is probably for the ease in maintenance. We had a fiberglass shower in our "maid's bathroom" off the kitchen. The other bathrooms had tile. We decided to upgrade to tile Kohler fixtures. It really has made a difference. We don't use the shower that much. I do think it will help with resale . Other bathrooms have been upgraded with very similar tile and fixtures.
You could learn to tile yourself. It's not difficult. Or take a look a Swanstone showers. I think they look much better than fiberglass and they are easier to clean as well.
Location: Finally the house is done and we are in Port St. Lucie!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bpollen
When you sell your house, you'll be glad you made this choice.
I've usually had ceramic tile shower/tub surrounds. I've not had any trouble keeping the grout in good shape. A little white silicone caulking added occasionally. A little bleach on a paper towel stuck to the sides overnight. Voila. Good as new.
I dislike glass doors, though. They will usually look yukky. Homeowner can save $ by having a shower curtain.
This is our forever home. We don't plan on selling... It will be the kids responsibility to sell when we are dead and gone.
I hate glass too. We have a glass 'window' in the shower. It is a roman shower so it doesn't need a door or shower curtains. With the window, a quick squeegee and it is spotless. I also treated it with RainX before the first use so that helps.
If the 'window' starts to look like crap, I have tile that I will have someone fill it in with.
Glass is the one thing that I absolutely dislike in the bathroom. Even the textured glass, not to mention the chrome around the glass, gets to looking horrible.
I figure with this new place, since everything is new, I can get a head start and do things so they Don't become major pains. It may be more work in the beginning but it will lesson the burden as it goes on.
Anyone know if I have to re-seal grout in time? If so, how long before I have to do it again?
When we downsized the house a couple years back, one of the things we both demanded in the new house was fiberglass showers.
Keeping the tile fresh in the old factory was just too ridiculous!
Now I hit the shower with Kaboom or such every few weeks and it's sparkling clean with a few minutes of work.
When it's time to relocate at retirement, I couldn't give a rat's butt if someone doesn't like my house because we chose fiberglass showers. The place will sell on its overall package.
Hi everyone. I'm in the process of making a few upgrades. The master bathroom has a free standing shower with the ubiquitous molded fiber glass or whatever fake material it is for the shower. I always am surprised when I see this in new builds. This house was a new build not that long ago.
I mean really... how much more could it have been to put in tile in the first place? I'm guessing it is a standard sized shower stall. A thousand? Maybe 2k? The space is not that big. It would have made a big difference visually.
Anyway, I am considering having the shower surround removed and replacing with tile. Haven't had any estimates yet. Based on what I've looked up, depending on the quality of the tiles, the design and all - it should probably be about a thousand or so, with labor being the greatest expense not the tiles.
We are replacing the 14 year old fiberglass shower insert we have with porcelain tile even as we speak. We priced replacing the shower with an poly enamel insert, and the price difference was major. It took us a long time to decide to tile.
With tile you are paying for skilled labor, as well as tile and grout and other supplies. And you need at least two sorts of tile. One for the floor and one for the walls. If you decide on accent tile as well, you will need three sorts of tile.
Your unit probably was placed over studs, and then they built the rest of the bathroom around it. Well, that will have to be demolished, or sawed up and disposed of. This is several days of work before they even start tiling. Before they even tile, three layers of waterproofing have to be laid down. I can guarantee that it will cost you more than $1000. And don't you want to change your fittings too? And your glass door? Everything adds up.
I prefer the 1 piece. No maintenance. No grout, no epoxy, no chalking, etc.
Sure it costs the builder a lot more to do tile and would likely sell for the same price. So why would a builder put in a custom shower for $6k and sell the house for $300k when he can put in a $700 shower and sell the house for $300k. Your not thinking like a builder.
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I agree, it's real.
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