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sweetsofparadise2659

Tiles vs Splashback for Shower? Please help!

I am sick to death of fighting grout in my shower. About to totally gut and redo two bathrooms so my question is, would it be practical and safe to replace tiles with a gorgeous sheet of tempered (of course coloured) splash ack glass? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all, and happy Houzz-ing

Comments (29)

  • 9 years ago
    I think you can definitely do it but it would be very costly. what about corian or some other solid surface?
    I'd also be curious about cost of pressed porcelain panels.
    Hope you get some good suggestions as I'm interested in the same fhing.
    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked C P
  • 9 years ago
    There are also plastic based products but the quality of these varies and in my experience they can appear a bit grotty.
    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked C P
  • sweetsofparadise2659 thanked C P
  • 9 years ago

    Have you thought of large format vitrified tiles with very small grout lines, with dark grout?

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked Gallifrey
  • 9 years ago

    Thank you C P for the link I will take a look at it tonight - got a dinner party and cooking up a storm Thank you too, Gallifrey a couple of years ago I might have toyed with the idea but today grout is my arch enemy. I have had cleaners leave in tears ........ !!! Will post some before and after pics once the project is complete. Enjoy the weekend

  • 9 years ago
    I don't see a problem. I would have thought it cheaper than corion. Just make sure the natural green tint of glass doesn't cha ge the wall colour you have chose. Discuss ways to overcome this with the supplier.

    We have an all concrete shower with no grout. Love it.
    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked LesleyH
  • 9 years ago

    Thanks for the pics Sammy and Lesley. I love the clean lines and the sparkle of your showers. Now my wise beloved partner has thrown a spanner in the works by pointing out that it could be hard yakka getting maintaining that sparkle that I so dearly love in your images. So to avoid a heated "discussion" on the pros and cons I will take comments pon board and research the Corion option. And any other options that houzz-ers can suggest. Thanks again for everyone's help so far

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Took a couple of pics of our shower this morning for you to share with your hubby, no cleaning before the pics were taken and no filters on the images.... colours look different because of the led light globes.

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked Sammy Elder
  • 9 years ago

    Another option is one of the composite products such as Caesarstone. Some of the range (not all) comes in 13mm thickness so it can be used in showers & as splashback, without joins.

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked how2girl
  • 9 years ago

    Thanks how2girl but wouldn't there be a "porous" issue? I do like the thought though

  • 9 years ago

    Hi Sweets, we are going through a similar situation...We want a low maintenance bathroom, which, to me, means tile free. Have tried to source fibreglass/acrylic shower alcoves (with built in seats/shelves) but this is tricky in Australia (I'm from America and they are the norm). We have also looked at SpaPanel. http://www.spapanel.info/colours/ - and may decide to go with the glass splashback if we can't get the alcove. Good luck!


    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked micasirena
  • 9 years ago

    Sammy Elder - love your concrete shower floor. I would like the entire house to have concrete flooring, but was told that we may have an issue with the wet areas, and may need to go with tile or vinyl flooring. Did you have an issue with your concrete floors in the bathroom, or is this just a South Australian thing?

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked micasirena
  • 9 years ago

    No, it's promoted as "non porous". "Caesarstone's non-porous nature provides maximum resistance to staining and fully eliminates the need for any sealing"

    This link will take you to the bathroom surfaces area of the Caesarstone site

    http://www.caesarstone.com.au/bathrooms

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked how2girl
  • 9 years ago

    Wow! So many previously unexplored options for me to think about. Sammy, thank you for the pictures of your shower. Looks bloody awesome. And to micasirena, how2girl thanks for the great links. Now my head is spinning, my mojo is in full gear and I can't wait to share the results of this and other projects we are working on.

  • 9 years ago

    Hi micasirena, we added a 12 x 12m extension to the rear of our Federation home to create an open plan kitchen, living and dining and turned the original laundry into our main bathroom. Essentially we kept the double brick walls & roof for the bathroom space but excavated the floor and laid new concrete flooring as part of the slab that went in for the extension (if that makes sense). The floors were polished (lightly) and sealed with a satin finish sealing product which we were advised 'would last a lifetime'. All the floors were treated the same whether wet area or not. We have since re-sealed some of the floor in the shower as the original sealer lifted and chipped around the drain, we did this about 3 and 1/2 years after the initial install and are happy with it now it's been resealed. My biggest recommendation would be to make sure the fall in your shower area is spot on, we have one corner that is lower and often sits with water in it and we've had to reseal that corner twice because it is often has water sitting on it. Also make sure you use a sealer that has 'grip' so the area is not slippery. Apologies for hijacking your post sweetsofparadise2659.

  • 9 years ago
    We have an all concrete bathroom. The floor does not look pristine but looks clean. I just put a scourer under my foot and do a quick clean (no bending) after I have my shower each day on the main area used. Once a month I use Calcium CLR for a light scrub with a scourer and once a quarter a concrete cleaner which cleans as it goes does not need scrubbing. It is a little annoying that it does not look all one colour but we do have an industrial look concrete panel/concrete floor house so it is not meant to look pristine. I love that it is non slip. If you love a pristine looking shower floor I wouldn't use concrete.
  • 9 years ago
    Yes I think mine needs resealing.
  • 9 years ago
    Sammy - do you know the name of the sealer you used on the shower floor? The rest of our concrete floors have a satin sealer and are great to clean.
  • 9 years ago

    Hello again LesleyH - we are going to have concrete floors throughout our new house and have been looking at 'acid washed' with a not too shiny finish- we like the cloudy sky effect. What type of finish do your floors have? Is the satin sealer glossy, or more on the matte side?

  • 9 years ago
    Satin with a super plain look.
  • 9 years ago

    No, sorry I'm not sure what sealer was initially used on our floors nor what hubby resealed the shower with. The product we resealed with was a soak in concrete sealer which recommended two coats but we kept re-coating until the concrete couldn't absorb any more. If doing again from scratch I would be looking to use Crommelin products, specifically with the micro beads included for non-slip.

  • 8 years ago

    So what did you end up doing Sweets and are you happy with it?

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked watchedpoppy
  • 8 years ago

    Ok. So here's what I did. Sorry for the delay in updating. In the end I chickened out and went with tiles. Would love to receive feedback.

    Pocket Door entrance to bathroom

    Double Vanity

    Toilet and Walk in seamless shower

    Double vanity with night light

    Floor to roof tiles

    Toilet and Bathroom

    Thanks to everyone for a great exchange of ideas!

  • 8 years ago

    It does look seamless. The shower recess reflects the feature wall which is good. Well done on your choice. I do hope you are happy with it. It is a minefield making these decisions. I'm going with tiles too, similar size to yours.

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked watchedpoppy
  • 8 years ago

    Thank you for your kind words Poppy. I will be commencing work on the second bathroom shortly. Will post results when completed!

  • 8 years ago

    Love your bathroom and choice of tiles and fixtures! Classic and beautiful! Is that paint on the wall behind vanity? And can I ask you what your floor tile is and where you got it?

    sweetsofparadise2659 thanked Nicole A
  • 8 years ago

    Sorry to keep you waiting. Busy as crazy doing another bathroom in the house. Hopefully the last for a while. Yes it is paint behind the vanity. After much deliberation I went ahead and painted it. It is easily wiped down for any accidental splash back but unless your bathing in your washbasin there’s hardly ever any The floor tiles, and in fact all the tiles are from Moorabbin Tiles. Polished porcelain. Thank you for your kind feedback

  • PRO
    7 years ago

    check out spapanel by wet area solutions youll be amazed by the grout free bathroom walls