Haha, ok great! I take your word for it, but what's the reasoning why cast iron > acrylic?

I was recently a guest at in my friend's high-end mountain "cabin" remodel. The kind of cabin that has an elevator. :) All the bathrooms had a similar setup: shower bases and tiled surrounds. It's a nice clean look. She also had wood-look porcelain tile in a herringbone layout and it looked great. Kind of beachy/bleached look wood, not necessarily fooling anyone that it's really wood, but very pretty anyway.

We just did this, too. Original plan was for Kohler cast iron, but ended up with high end acrylic instead (Kohler). We love it.

Linelle, I've seen that wood grain style tile and it is lovely! daisychain- did you do it because it is easier to clean the shower floor?

We have a Maax acrylic shower base, glass doors and we tiled the walls. We really like it. It's easy to clean and looks neat and clean all the time. Had it for nearly 3 years. It is not slippery and is not cold on the feet even tho it is an unheated concrete slab in that part of the house.

We stay at a condo in Florida & the first year there (2011 I think)I told my DH - this is the kind of shower I want! We re did our Master Bath & removed the whirlpool tub & installed a 5x5 shower with 2 shower heads so we can shower together! tile floor - no base.

I have a strong wish for a solid shower pan. Would prefer Kohler cast iron but they don't make my size. The Duravit pans are gorgeous, too, but same size issue. I found a place that will custom fabricate an acrylic base and they sent me some really nice samples. I have tile now, but just don't care for it, and there's a big crack through the tile working its way drainward. Someone dropped a shampoo bottle or something on it. It seems odd to do marble walls, quartz tub deck, and an acrylic pan but that's the way I'm leaning.

I've just completed my bathroom reno and I opted for mosaic natural stone - a herringbone pattern. I love the look, BUT, when I see all that grout it just makes me wish I could go back in time and get a one-piece shower pan, perhaps a Schluter, or Krion from Porcelanosa. It would have been approximately the same price, but SO MUCH LESS upkeep! To add to my confusion, my shower walls are porcelain (which is so easy to maintain, I love it!) and I can use any cleaner on it, BUT, the cleanser on the walls will naturally drip down onto the lovely but fussy natural stone mosaic tiles, which require a "pH neutral cleanser", so I fear I'll need to be super careful while cleaning the bathroom. I really wish I'd done either porcelain mosaic on the shower floor, or else a one-piece pan to avoid all grout lines completely. I wish you all the best with your remodel!

They use that pan because it's cheap, that's their only reason.

Ummm Mark_rachel- I don't know what that pan is, but a Kohler cast iron pan isn't exactly what I'd call cheap.

But everyone has different definitions of that term I guess.

Have the Kohler- love it for all the above reasons. Clean look. Easy to keep clean. Solid. Tiled walls tie in well.

Lisa

I guarantee, I could be wrong, that is not a cast iron pan. I'm guessing its an acrylic or fiberglass. I say that because it looks just like the builder grade pans our builder uses.

Yeah, that definitely doesn't look like cast iron in the photos, I agree.

I have a white cultured marble shower base. I like white, and I like easy to clean. I also hate grout maintenance. It's glossy, but has the textured non-slip bottom.

We used cultured marble because we needed a very specific size for a neo-angle and neither Kohler, Swan, or Corian made one. It was $600 back in 2003, took two very strong men to carry in for install. Definitely NOT cheap, but worth every penny.

jakkom and clg7996, would you mind to share pictures of your pans? Not to hijack, but I think others would like to see them. Anyone else have one to share?

Here's an in progress picture the 30x60 Kohler Salient cast iron shower pan. It replaced an old cast iron tub.

Great idea MizLizzie!

Corian shower pans are beautiful, can come in any size/configuration, are virtually seamless, sanitary, nearly indestructible and easily repaired and refinished.

Treb, does someone like you fabricate them? Or does DuPont make them to spec? Anyplace we could see some pictures? Thanks for bringing this up.

I believe that the reason a cast iron pan is much superior to acrylic is that it remains easy to clean for many years. A cheap acrylic pan is only pretty when it is new. After a few years, it becomes rough and discolored. We had one in our first house and hated it because it was stained and impossible to clean.

MizLizzie:

Grifform makes custom Corian and other brand shower bases. They've been around a long time. While Corian pans are acrylic, they are not "cheap". Unlike "cheap" acrylic pans, the color/particulate goes all the way through.

Glad to have this information. Thank you.

Recently took a shower in a house rental...I wasn't impressed with the cheap shower base. Felt weak and it creaked when I stepped in. First thought it has to be acrylic. Cast iron doesn't feel this way.... Now I am thinking of either Cast Iron or Onyx pan for my bathroom remodel.

I am taking out the cast iron tub and replacing it with a full shower. Just like the pictures above. Also with sliding glass showers so I can easily clean with shower head sprayer. Sliding doors because I like to warm up the water before stepping into the shower...With a door shower, he have to step in first then turn and wait for the water to warm up...