Grout is really only a problem when it is too light in color and hadn't been properly sealed. Extremely expensive to put on walls. Quartz even more so. Get really large tile and pick a dark grout and seal properly. No problem.

A lot of quartz manufacturers offer 1cm slabs, Pental Quartz and Silestone are two of them. It is more expensive, but if you hate grout, it might be worth it.

Thank you both. Shower is white now. Regarding Quartz is that attached to Sheetrock?

they attach it to the walls, much like tile. it has to have a hardie backer layer and we do a water proofing membrane behind it. usually the back wall is installed, then the two side walls are installed to help hold it all in place.

I also hate grout and try to avoid it. In theory, properly sealing grout can prevent problems. However, it is strange to me that tile counters have become a widely accepted thing of the past (everyone prefers solid surface countertops), but shower walls have largely held out for tile. I would think that a shower wall receives a much harder beating than a kitchen counter.

i think tile countertops lost out because of unevenness (small things fall over) and food stains sat right on the grout lines. solid surfaces cost more and have to be perfectly templated, its a lot of hassle to do that on a wall if you dont need to.

We traveled for 8 weeks last Fall. Stayed in a lot of Holiday Inn Expresses in the northwest. They all had solid surface shower/tub walls. Thought it was Quartz, maybe it was Corian. Stayed so clean. Have a friend who used that for her shower, later changed to tile because she thought it was boring. Mildew is such a problem in Florida.

I hate grout too, so in our shower we used 24 inch tiles on the wall. There is so much less grout to clean that way, plus we did very thin grout lines.

I too hate grout and had way too much throughout my home. In our rectangular corner shower we used large back painted glass against one wall, large tiles on the smallest wall and the other 2 walls are clear glass. Love it and wouldn't change anything. It's so beautiful and so easy to keep clean with a squeegee.

Have been doing research on shower surround. Corsentino.com sells Silestone in 3 thickness 1.25cm 2cm and 3cm. Called their number 18662686837 to find distributor in your area. HomeDepot sell 2 and 3 cm and sales is checking for me if they can order 1.25 cm. I called the number and they verified that 1.25cm is strong enough and is used for shower surround application. Unknown at this time color available. Anyone that has ever used this??

Decided last year to go with big beautiful porcelain tile and colored grout. Had my shower gutted and a wall removed for big seamless glass door. Had two shower heads, a bench and lots of sturdy hand rails with a big niche put in. Love it!!! The company recommended to have the floor raised as the shower floor was on my slab so that was done too. Matching fixtures for garden tub and replaced water heater. Keep a squeegee in shower and that has kept it looking gorgeous!! Thank you to all of you for your recommendations.

@mkroeger: "large back painted glass against one wall". Finding it hard to visualize. Would it be possible to post a image how this looks? Would really appreciate as I am too looking forward to remodel our shower area with seamless clear glass.

Does anyone know how expensive Quartz is to install on shower walls???

I got a quote of $15,000 for just the walls. No fixtures or changing wall plus new door!! Out of my price range.

Margo...I'm guessing that price is for some "veined marble" quartz? Level "B" Formica solid surface is costing me $7k for three shower walls (60x45x45 by 72 high) and a nine foot double bowl cut-out countertop installed.

Thanks for your info. Now I have a idea what to expect.

I just got a $12,000 estimate for 1 cm Cambria shower walls. Doing the master bath counter and window sill in 2 cm cost another $2,900. Am waiting for a couple of other estimates. Would still like the quartz shower walls but we'll see.

Thinking of Pental Quartz shower walls. Did get a 10K bid for two large shower walls, the countertops (2), backsplash and shower floor tile. How is the Pental to clean? There is one person that used Pental in her kitchen and hates it.

I had cambia quartz from home depot installed in my main bathroom shower. put the same on the vanity top. It is beautiful.

bird44.... Where are you? We are in Southern California and looking to do exactly the same application in the same Cambria material / pattern in our Master Bath but are wary of the pricing we will get in our market area. Your 12K is approximate to my stab in the dark estimate for our condition based on internet costing information. Was this for 1cm material? How large is your shower? The installer did a beautiful job on the shower curb.

P.S. - love the tile on the wall behind the freestanding tub.

cdominik, I'm in Houston. I'm excited that you're looking to use the same material and pattern. Yes, the shower walls are made with 1 cm Cambria which had to be special ordered. We needed 3 jumbo slabs (65 1/2" x 132") with this thickness for the shower. Our shower walls are 96" tall with 3 walls measuring 64" wide, 45" wide and 21" wide. I also have a couple of shampoo niches using the quartz on the side wall which aren't visible in the photo. We used 2 cm Cambria for the counter and window sill. BTW, the tile surrounding the bathtub is Buckingham Marble Tile from Tilebar.com which is beautiful albeit a bit expensive for the amount we needed. Best of luck to you!

Thank you so much! So helpful!

bird44....I am also in the Houston area and want to do a remodel using quartz. I love the Cambria. Your shower looks beautiful! Would you please share your contractor name and phone? Thank you.

Hi bevnhouston! We had to get a different fabricator than the one used by our contractor since the fabricator has to be certified for Cambria quartz (the one used by the contractor was not). The fabricator is W. R. Watson, Inc. (Wade is the owner), 281-495-2800. His group had previously done our kitchen Cambria countertops and did a great job there also. I don't recommend our contractor since he's not the easiest to work with so I hope you find a good one. In any case, I am so excited for you and hope your remodel turns out beautiful!

How much should be the installing cost per square foot for Quarzite slab on the shower wall?

Not sure if anyone is still following this post, but for those of you who did Cambria quartz shower walls - what material did you use for a shower tray? I've only found quartz shower trays from Silestone, which won't match my Cambria walls.....

Wondering if anyone has tried a less expensive quartz? Cambria is so pricey for shower walls, but I hate grout too!

I would like to do quartz shower walls, too. Does anyone know if there is risk of the quartz slabs cracking after installation if they are the 1 cm thickness? Would it be safer/better to use a 2 cm slab?

also looking to do Quartz shower surround in Central WI. Do you see water marks & soap scum with it being shiny? ease of cleaning? TIA!

Not quartz, but a resin, Kohler has a product that has got to be less $$. I don't know what the cost is to install as we haven't met with the designer at Home Depot yet. http://www.kohlerchoreographplanner.com/ I was able to see some tiles at our showroom, Seattle area, and ordered samples from Kohler. It's a matte finish.

Hard water deposits were a problem with my Corian shower surround. I thought it would be easy to clean, which is why I installed it, but I was disappointed at how hard it was to keep clean - in spite of having a water softener. I'm installing a quartz shower now; will post how it holds up.

I'm pretty much settled on Cambria "Whitney", which is a sparkly white & gray flecked situation. Since it will cost a small fortune I certainly hope it lives up to the hype!....$6,000.00 for 1- 5'x5' & 2- 3'x5' panels that will surround the alcove tub shower....

Any updates from those of you who installed slabs? We are debating Cambria slabs vs. Quartzite slabs vs. tile for our master bath shower walls.

I talked briefly with a designer who advised that less than 2% of remodels don't use tile. We'll probably be in our house for another 15 years, but are still going with large format tile (8x24) and bostick grout as I think it will be better for resale.

We used a large (82”H x 60”W) backpainted glass on one wall along with a glass surround. The tile on wall with faucet matches the floor tile. Base is solid surface black. Remodeled bathroom 5 years ago and still love it! Had tile before and went with as little as possible in shower. Glass and floor are very easy to clean, squeegee after shower and don’t use bar soap. (Wish I could get better pictures but amateur here). Glass was the splurge part but so worth it!

we are renoing 18 tub showers with 2cm imported quartz for a rental property. we are bringing in 316 ss barn door shower hardware with 10mm sliding glass doors. we also import custom large format glass (walls, guards, floors etc.) for premium business and home applications. this first go should be a learning experience. im not clear on the joint desing to have no grout on the wall panels......please enlighten me? ( seriously ) :)