Bud...so,in your opinion, would you say that there is minimal difference in the characteristics of either surface with regard to resistance to scratching, cracking, etc.? The reason I'm wondering is that I've talked to two different vendors, one with Tere-stone and one with cultured marble. I haven't gotten my quotes back, yet, but I have a feeling that the Tere-stone is going to be much higher.

They are the same thing as far as I can see. The key here is the use of a gel-coat system. These units are built in inverted molds. The clear gel-coat is applied to the mold first then the other components are placed in the mold. You can see through the gel-coat and see whatever made up the color and interior design of the unit but the gel-coat is what you are dealing with in both cases. The gel-coat is the only product you will ever come in contact with. The gel-coat is what must offer the appearance of the finished surface and what must contain any abrasion qualities from a long time cleaning aspect.

They are the same thing but one name is newer. Marble, cultured marble, has been around a long time. Granite is in vogue now. Shop it and see what happens to the price. All you are buying is the quality of the gel-coat the other components are secondary and a matter of taste.

Coffeehaus, if you are still out there, did you end up using Tere-stone?

Wow! You've been reading some old posts! I just happened to check my email and saw your question.

We used cultured marble for the shower surround in the master bath, and cultured
granite for a bathroom counter top with integral sink in a guest bath.
We've been in the house for 5 years, and I love the (relatively)
maintenance-free features of these materials. A couple of times a year,
I apply a coat of GelGloss and that's the extent of my maintenance.
Love it and so glad that we did NOT do tile with grouting. I would do
it again and highly recommend it if you want low maintenance
surfaces...plus I like the looks of it. Here's a link for the source of our materials:

Virginia Marble

Coffehaus, in your master shower do you have a shower curtain or glass? What type of vanity countertop do you have in the master? I think I am going with granite for the master but for the hallway bath I was thinking of Tere-stone. It is heat resistant and passed IIRC a 2 minute burning cigarette test. CM is not heat resistant & although we aren't smokers, I could imagine my tween girl touching a curling iron to the countertop.

Also, what type of sink shape does your CM top have?

Master shower was designed to accommodate a wheel chair should the eventual need arise (many years from now, I hope) so the floor is a 48" pan with a low rim for easy access. The cultured marble wall panels are 72" high. I opted for a curtain. I wanted some fabric to soften the hard surfaces in the room, and again, ease of maintenance: when the curtain starts to show signs of mildew, I throw it out and change the look with a new one. Our former house had a glass shower door and I found it to be high maintenance.

The vanity is soapstone with a set-in white Kohler sink...not an undermount, as I didn't like the prospect of having to clean under the counter top rim, and I was concerned that the soapstone might be too susceptible to nicks and dings on the edge if the sink was mounted underneath.

The guest bath vanity is cultured granite and has an oval shaped integral sink, wide-set Delta faucets.
I completely understand your concern about the curling iron.
Hope that helps!

Doh! I tried to include a couple of photos, but this new website does not work the same as GW did.
Set-in sink with soapstone countertop.

Coffeehaus, thanks for the photos! The master shower pan is CM, also? How tall is the curb and does water leak out?

Yes, the pan is cultured marble with a textured surface. Have never had any problem with water leaking out. Of course, this depends upon proper placement of my shower curtain rod. The curtain overlaps the lip perfectly, just barely reaching the floor of the shower.

Shower pan specs

I like the look of your shower in the picture. I'm doing a shower. Much as I'd like tile, it's pricey. I have acrylic walls in the shower now. Can I ask how much yours cost?

Joy...we moved into this house in 2009. I really have no idea of the cost. I suggest that you contact a local dealer or distributor for an estimate. Cost would include the shower pan, 3 panels, shower caddy, and whatever shower head/hardware you might want, plus labor, of course.
Sorry I can't be of more help.

Joy I am just getting one installed it it was a bit more than $3000 (tere-stone). But it is gloriously beautiful. I am wondering about cleaning. Have gotten gel gloss and hope that and tere-stone polish will be sufficient.

Know that you have had conversation on these products. Is it possible to install yourself or too difficult for a novice?

Linda...regarding cleaning of the shower, I have used nothing but GelGloss on our cultured marble walls since 2009 when we moved in, and it still looks like new. However, I use only liquid soap (no bars) and I am fairly OCD about squeegying (how do you spell that?) after each use. I am so glad that I did NOT go with tile and if I had to do it again, I would use the same or similar product.

I know this conversation is old, but in case anyone sees it. Linda Metzke, who mentions they were installing a tere-stone shower, how do you like it? Anyone else who is familiar with the product, please comment. Thank you!

I love it. Still unsure if anything but gel gloss can be usd for cleaning.

Thanks Linda. Thanks for commenting.

I just happened across this post. I recently purchased a tere-stone shower unit. My plumber does not want to install it, has never worked with it. So I am trying to find someone to install it. Do you have any advice on it? Does & don’ts? I read through all the instructions and it seems pretty easy to me, but I am a little neevous since it costs so much.

Linda... is it hard to clean? That was my number 1 reason for getting this. And did you put on a glass door or curtain?

We’re getting a terr-stone shower installed on March 11th. We currently have a tub and are going with just a shower unit. Since yours was installed in July, I’m curious as to how you like it and how the maintenance is in caring for it. I’m hoping for very little maintenanc. Hopefully you see this. Thanks in advance HU-513670243.

HU-513670243 did you find someone to install your Tere-Stone shower unit? Was it difficult finding someone to do it? We also purchased a Tere-Stone shower unit and our plumbing company does not want to install the unit. Thanks

Does anyone know where I can purchase the Tere stone polish and surface guard? One place wants to charge me the same as the product cost inin shipping.

Any updates on Tere-stone?

Hi, recently had tere stone installed. It was purchased through Thos Somerville Co; website is www.tsomerville.com. We went through their showroom in Camp Hill, PA. We chose the platinum mist 84” pkg, with extras of a double shampoo holder, corner molding and a shower seat. Also chose the matte finish which was also extra, but we don’t need to polish it, which I really like and it isn’t shiny. The showroom has a contractor who does work for them and he agreed to install the unit. It’s stone, so extremely heavy. He had a helper two days and my husband also had to help with the floor, which is also tere stone. It took a total of 3 days to remove the tub and the install. He had no problems with the install; just followed the manufacturer‘s instructions. Tile is beautiful, but I didn’t want the cleaning. After showering, i use a squeege, and about weekly I spray and wipe it down using “Seventh Gengeration” a non-toxic cleaner. That’s it. It took me forever to decide on a shower material, but so far, this was a great decision for us. Also, we think its very nice looking. A great upgrade to our bathroom.

I also purchased the tere-stone sierra frost with right side seat and extra soap dishes. Mine is a custom 96" high one. I can understand why plumbers don't want to touch this product. Last week two of us brought the product in to the bathroom, when we stood it up to place on the wall the thing cracked in half. Alot of money down the drain. The back wall that needs to go in first is holding the project up now. I've contacted the company and the vendor who supplied to me and still waiting on an answer for a new price to make up this back wall. At their mercy now! Feeling of being in limbo.

The Terrestone shower product is a piece of crap, not worth the over $2,700 dollars. The instructions and the web site do not tell you which drains (and gaskets) will fit. My husband and our contractor spent DAYS between trying different drains (which the company even said would fit). They did not fit and caused water to pool just outside the drain. This was supposed to be the more expensive but easy solution, instead the concrete had to be chiseled from underneath to remove the ill fitting drain. Now I just found out the second drain does not fit, which the company engineering department said that would fit. Is there any drain that will fit?????

DO NOT GET THE SHOWER UNIT! I am ready to rip it out and return it to their doorstep and dispute the credit card charge.

I do! Counter tops, shower surround and tub surround. We also got the tree stone shower pan. It is totally awesome! It has been 15 yrs and looks like new. No grout lines no leaks!

Heidi - I'm not sure if you will even see this - but if you do, and you've had your Tere-Stone countertops for years, have you gotten any scratches on them? and if yes, were you able to buff them out if you tried? What cleaning products do you use on them? We're getting 2 Tere-Stone countertops. Thank you!

I am looking for updated comments about Tere-Stone shower walls. I have a 3 panel unit and the main wall panel split when the installer was fitting it to the back shower wall before using any glue. The company blames the split on installation not on a defect. Now, I am very hesitant to buy another Tere-Stone wall panel and have it split again. Does anyone have recent experience with Tere-Stone shower walls?

Yes there were some very small scratches on the counter- (no depth) nothong that i consodered different from other solid surfaces. it os not easy to scratch - metal base of my curlong iron os what i think was the source..

I‘ve had a terre-stone walk-in shower for about a year and have had no problem with splitting, scratches or markings. When being installed, my husband helped the installer and his helper because of the weight of the back wall, but no problems with the installation. There is virtually no maintenance, which i love, and the reason i didnt go with ceramic. I have no negative comments and would install it again.

Thank you for your reply. Did you also install a shampoo holder? They are tere-stone and very heavy. Installation says to cut into the wall after it dries and insert the shampoo holder. I worry about the weight of the holder being supported by the wall.

No i dont like the alcoves - I prefer the corner towers or the organizers that go over the shower.

I did install terre-stone holders and haven’t has any issues. i didn’t watch our contractor when installing, but he didn’t mention any either. I’ve attached photos. Sorry, quality isn’t the best.

Another split in the Tere-Stone shower wall. I watched in horror when my installer tried to fit the piece onto the drywall. Very light pressure and it still split. Be careful with this product. The company will not honor their warranty because no matter how you describe it, they will blame the installation, not the product. As a result, I am not cutting the Tere-Stone to set a shampoo holder.

Hi, so it seems two folks have encountered panel splitting in the back wall. Was this the first time your contractor worked with this material? I ask because I'm interested in a Tere-Stone shower and am looking for a contractor with experience. I found one guy who has installed several including one shower in his own home, but he is booked out for six months.

Did either of you ever get this resolved?

For anyone interested after all this time, I just had a Tere-Stone shower kit installed and it went flawlessly. My contractor had never installed this product before but he took special care to ensure the backing walls were flat and plumb. He adjusted/sistered all of the wall framing and then installed green board which is what Tere-Stone recommends as a backer.

My project used the 48" x 36" x 84" tall kit and I chose the matte finish because I prefer it over the gloss gel coat. Matte costs more but looks better and for me is easier to maintain.

The base is heavy, 205 pounds to be exact, and was a struggle to move and dry fit. The base was wet-set using mortar to level the concrete subfloor. An Oaty brass caulk-less drain was installed prior to setting the base since there was no access from underneath.

The wall panels required no trimming and each was a 1/4" taller and wider than the stated dimensions. The kit came with 7 full-size tubes of adhesive which was more than enough to solidly attach the panels. It is recommended to use the included silicone adhesive rather than a general-purpose building adhesive. Some adhesives can outgas and the company has seen cases where the gas can discolor the finish caulking.

My contractor did fudge a bit and used regular carpenter's hole saws for the shower valve and showerhead pipe openings. The manufacturer recommends carbide-edged saws and I could see why. The regular cutters struggled to cut the hard Tere-Stone and I think the tools were pretty much ruined afterwards.

After bracing the wall panels for 24 hours, the finish caulk (color-matched) was applied along the three floor seams and the two vertical wall seams. The kit instructions describe a two-step process where the seams are first filled partially with the adhesive caulk and then gone over with the colored caulk so that the two substances merge. After speaking with the manufacturer, it was explained that this two-step method was mainly for situations where the seams to fill were large (~ 1/4" to 3/8"). In my case, where the seams were in the 1/16" to 1/8" range, it was permissible to just seal using the color-matched silicone caulk alone.

My next step is to have a shower door installed. Since nothing can be screwed/anchored to the Tere-Stone walls directly, my contractor made sure to triple the studs where the shower door will attach to the side walls. This allows the screws to pass through the Tere-Stone and anchor into the wood framing. Tere-Stone does permit the bottom rail or guide of the door to be screwed into the base, but care is needed using properly sized pilot holes to prevent any cracking.

Time will tell how well the Tere-Stone holds up to daily use. The matte finish allows the use of mild abrasives for cleaning (Barkeepers Friend, Bon Ami), unlike the gloss gel coat finish. My local water is high in minerals so it will be interesting to see how much builds up.

After a week of use, the shower is everything I need it to be. The base is rock solid, with no weird flexing or creaking like with acrylic and other lightweight bases. I squeegee the walls after each shower and any moisture left dries quickly with no noticeable spotting. The base has a textured surface that is not even a bit slippery even with shampoo suds flowing into the drain. The base has barely noticeable guides that ensure that water drains smoothly and no puddles remain once the water is turned off.

Would I go with Tere-Stone for my other showers? Probably, though I have to admit there was a lot of stress waiting for this project to be completed. Between the comments on this site about cracking walls and the local contractors who did not want to work with the material because of the rumored fragility, It was a bumpy ride.

Even though he had never worked with Tere-Stone before, my contractor's opinion was that with proper wall prep and a slow and steady approach, there is nothing to fear with this product. Yes it is a heavy material, and yes it needs to be handled with care, but once attached to the walls, it is solid, cleans well, and is very attractive.

Hope at least one person finds this information useful. :-)

Would you mind sharing the cost of your project and where you're located?

Hi Patricia. I am in NJ, just across the river from Philadelphia. The shower kit (base and three walls 36" x 48" by 84" high) was about $4,000 for the simple marble pattern I selected. The high-end granite-look patterns were about 50% more. The shower door, installed, was $1,400. Another $500 for the shower sprayer, valve, trim kit, and grab bars. The big nut was about 7K for labor. This took 5 days and included tearing out the old shower, new plumbing, adjusting the studs to ensure the finished walls would be plumb, repairing the concrete subfloor, installing new backer board, and then installing the new shower kit. The shower base was wet-set to ensure it was level and wobble-free. So about $13K in total. Hope this helps!