I have a corian shower base in "silver birch" and although I still haven't used it, it's installed and it looks great. I expect it to hold up as well as our countertops did in our last house (nothing stained them). I don't blame you on the solid surface, that was my reasoning as well.

I am sure the Corian will hold up great, but I would be concerned about the slickness when wet issue, as it is a very flat surface.

Greg

My concern also with the slickness. I have in my kitchen and love it. But I wouldn't want what is on my counters underfoot. Maybe they have a different corian that has a roughness to it. Let us know.

I just had a Swanstone shower installed, and the base has a bumpy (somewhat decorative sort of) bottom. My installer told me it is required to have a non-slip base in a shower. This may be a California or my County code, but it's definitely available, and probably a good idea. It's actually not that noticeable when oyu look at it.

Bonnie

It does depend on code. My shower base is to code around here - it's roughed up with the equivalent of 80 grit sandpaper. Not as smooth a finish as you find on countertops. It's definitely rougher than say the bottom of a tub or my fiberglass shower module. For ease of cleaning I would rather not have a texture if at all possible.

The only limitation that places on color is they can't use dark colors because you get a haze on them from the roughing up process.

Thanks for the feedback. I will definitely ask about the slippery factor. I wonder whether a roughness all over or more of a textured set of lines would be better?

I didn't think about the dark color, but that should be fine. Our walls will be a fairly light green/gray color, so we'll either try to match that or just go with a light white or tan.

Our 75 year old Army quarters have a granite shower with a solid granite floor which slopes to the center--with a honed finish. Not slippery at all and I love only having very little grout to keep sprayed with a clorox solution. Not a particularly lovely granite, but wonderful to keep clean.

Thought I would update this if anyone is reading in the future. We went ahead with the Corian base, and what they do is "media blast" it I believe they said. Like sandblasting but with something other than sand. It results in a slight rough texturing that you can feel if you put your hand on it, but not anything you can really see.

We haven't used it yet, so not sure about cleaning, but hopefully it'll be nice - it's definitely going to be better than grout!

Just wondering how snowyshasta's corian shower base has turned out, now that it's four months later... We're considering the same sort of base for our new shower. How has it been to clean? Thanks!

I've had a Corian base for 15 yrs. I'm remodeling and replaced the doors, tile and left the base. Never had a problem and looks as good as the day it went in. Mine is white and not slippery.

I had a granite base before this and it leaked. The stone actually wore out and somehow moisture seeped through the stone ruining a ceiling, walls and floor below and caused a major remodel. We weren't aware of this when we bought the house.

Corian was something new back then and we decided to use it.

Sorry, didn't see this until now. It has been wonderful! Cleaning is easy, no stains or marks, not slippery. We also liked that we could choose the color - I forget the namr know but it's a tan color that roughly matches our flooring.

Snowy, I am planning on a corian shower base, too. I'm happy to hear that people like them. (Remodel is set to begin week of April 1st). I was planning to get a tan color that matches the flooring and shower tiles. Sounds like the same or similar to your base. I didn't want the white base because I think the tan one matches the tiles so much better. However, I am having second thoughts.....I had also planned to get a corian sink in white (don't like the look of a tan sink) but am wondering if it will look weird if the sink is white and the shower base is tan. Any opinions, anyone?

I can tell you that we did what you're thinking, Susan. The floor tiles are beige and the Corian shower base is a similar color. The vanity top and shower walls are granite (Costa Esmerelda) which has some streaks of yellow/tan in it but it mainly green. But we did do white sinks. I figured that the shower base is on the floor, basically, so it was nice to have it close in shade to the floor. The sink isn't really near the floor so it didn't have to match.

Susan, I agree with Snowy; while we didn't use Corian -- we used terrazzo -- I deliberately matched the lino floor to the grey shower base color so as not to chop up the lines in my small bathroom. [You see the shower from the door.]

Then we did a white sink and toilet. And a white shower curtain since we ran out of money for the frameless glass, ha/sigh. Yours will look great (and hey, you already have Snowy's word for it!).

Pics aren't the greatest but maybe they will help since you're second-guessing..just color them tan in your mind!

Hello,

I am in the midst of the same decision too. I was wondering what the approximate cost per sq ft for the corian shower base would be? I am considering options for the shower pan for my upcoming bath remodel.

- are swanstone and corian comparable in costs?
- I am considering pairing corian base with tiled bath. Any aethetic issues?
- Has anyone tried corian walls as well? My contractor discouraged us from doing slab granite walls because of the weight. Will Corian be as heavy?

Thank you, Snowy and House Vixen. Your replies make me feel a lot more confident about getting the white sinks and tan shower base to match the tiles like I had originally wanted. The corian fabricator was of the opinion that I should do the same color for both, so I started second guessing my decision. After reading your posts, though I decided I'm going to stick with my original decision. Matching the floor to the shower base makes sense, but as Snowy said, the sinks aren't near the floor and don't really have to match....the fabricator doesn't have to use my bathroom, but I do.

Can you use corian for a custom size shower? Like a 4' x 7'8" ? I think it would be yummy with my new marmoleum.

We have a shower with corian walls. We have been in the house for 13 years, and it was at least 15 years old when we moved in. (The floor is small tiles.) It is fabulously easy to clean! It looks new (although the color has been discontinued.) We have made some other changes in our bathroom (new floor and vanity) and will eventually change the shower so it will blend/match better. We have corian countertops and sinks in three bathrooms - it was there when we moved in.

When the tiles in our upstairs bath started to loosen, we replaced the walls with corian AND the did the ceiling over the tub/shower combo. Because it was a non standard size, it had to be custom cut, which was more expensive. But it solves so many problems, and cleaning is SO easy. (My house cleaner loves it, LOL!)

We did get our corian base custom sized, golddust. That was one reason we went with it over something like Swanstone, because we could get it done in a custom size.

An update on the Corian product. We are doing our bathrooms right this minute and had ordered custom made Corian shower bases in white. We had heard so much about Corian even from way back and were impressed by reports of it's durability. Well, we are just about ready to have it installed and guess what we found - a chip on the inner shower screen wall edge. The base has been sitting flat, wrapped in a no traffic corner for 10 days so we figure this is a production defect as it shouldn't have chipped. We checked when it arrived and the edges felt smooth then i.e. no faults. This has strongly dented our confidence in the Corian product and unfortunately due to timing, we now have to go with a tiled shower base instead.

Maybe we were just unlucky or the production company didn't prepare this right. They are saying that they can repair the chipped area for another $200 but we are really worried that all the shower bases we ordered are defective. No money back or partial refund either.

Do you blame Ford when the mechanic drops a wrench on your fender? Of course not. Same thing here; Corian doesn't deserve the blame.

Have the chip fixed. It will be inconspicuous and you'll have a base far superior to any tile.

Here's white solid surface repaired.

Very nice repair and article.

"superior to any tile."

about 78% hogwash ! 78 on account of all the tile debacles here on these forums.

I'm wondering if we should pursue installing it by finding someone who is an expert in Corian installation as our builder and plumber are not happy with the base in order to guarantee the rest of their work. (The base has been sitting in a no traffic area still wrapped in it's original packaging, on carpet surface and no tradesperson has seen it without me being there. We have no pets or young children in the house). The chip has been discovered upon our 3rd inspection but 1st inspection with the builder and plumber. It is still sitting there. We have taken great care since it's delivery.

It's just that this incident has made us question the durability of the product, it's production and the cost to up keep (fixing chips, possible major repairs etc). It's going to be used a lot and ideally as with renovations, we would like it to last a fair while without hassle.

Is it possible that the production process was faulty?

Do you really think that tile would be unchipped if some goon dropped a hammer on a box sitting there waiting for installation? Seriously?

"Durable'' does not mean impervious to any an all idjuts behavior. It's by far the most renewable surface if all, as it actually can be repaired. So just get it repaired. It is not at all a big deal.

Just try sneaking out a broken tile from a shower without disturbing the water proofing layer. Even if you think you didn't disturb it, you can never be sure. The only foolproof way to fix a broken tile in a shower is to redo all of it. This is why Corian is a much better choice for your average klutzy user.

"Is it possible that the production process was faulty?"

Possible? Yes, of course. Likely? Not very.

Go into a Culver's restaurant, please. They're opening them like crazy and I've been called to several new unopened stores to fix the solid surface; virtually all shipping damage. I've had to lengthen a top once.

Ive heard nothing but good things from our customers about Corian pans. In all things, HIRE and EXPERT. The last thing you want to do is think you're saving a couple bucks in the short run, but once the leak or crack happens.. thats a whole new ball game.

Our custom made shower tray (36 x 60) came to us split in half! They took it back and repaired it...we can not tell where the split was. That was 15 years ago...now it is so stained and dirty looking, I'm wishing we had gone with a different product. Is there any way to clean it?

If it is solid surface, it is not "stained" it is dirty. Put a 120 grit paper on a random orbital palm sander, then 200, 400, and a maroon ScotchBrite pad and it will be good as new.

Where is everyone purchasing the corian shower base.

Google around for it, please.

Grifform

Kramers

My contractor, Bob Behnke, has a corian vendor that he works with.

The last Corian shower base I built took me 15 hours. I doubt I'm much faster these days, but my rates are much higher. I could build anything, but not as cost effectively as the production guys.

It's 2020 now, I am looking at putting a dark brown color custom sized Corian shower floor in with my remodel. Are you all still loving yours? Do they get discolored with soap scum or shampoo residue? Did your fabricator slope them to the drain in your shower? Any other installation advice before I make the purchase? Thanks

Erika:

A solid surface shower base is the premium product in its class. They do not discolor or collect residue. They are the most sanitary base available. Fabricator and installer selection is crucial.

where in denver can I get a corian shower base and how much are they for 40"X40"? any idea any one ..?

t