Molded tub/shower surrounds

9 years ago

We have an acrylic tub/shower in our current home in the second bathroom, our master we made into a glass and tile shower stall. I like the super easy maintenance of the smooth surround but I find many of them look ugly and too "molded" and shiny plastic. But I actually like the one we have it came with the home and I think it's American standard.

We are buying a new house and it has a 1.5 baths and the tub/shower is the hallway bathroom (master has a half bath... which we can't currently afford to change but in a few years might expand). The bathroom needs redoing its all in very rough shape and leaks, in fact we are repiping the house in copper (corroded 60s galvanized pipes).

Our contrator is recommendinng a metal metal tub and tile surround but I hate cleaning grout - and we could save a lot of money using a molded surround. Obviously tile is superior material etc but to have something liveable for now, and with all the other things to spend money on, we are really leaning toward a molded surround.

Can someone recommend good brands and how to select one that is decent quality?

Featured Answer

ms b

9 years ago

We moved a year ago--last house was new construction and had this huge beautiful stone shower that was the friggin bane of my existence. Annoying to clean.

While waiting to close on current house (old house, good area but needs some love), we had a temp rental condo with a molded (plastic? Acrylic?) shower insert thing and I loved it. Warm, easy to clean, no angles in the shelves. So nice. I know it is heresy to say and will give realtors across the land a case of the vapors, but I'm planning a bathroom remodel and kind of *want* a shower like this. You're not alone!

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Comments (9)

happy2learn
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My molded shower stall is hard to clean-- it has yellowish stains despite our water softener and iron filter! It is about 10 years old and is made of " viikrell" ( Strerling /Kohler's product). Maybe newer ones and other types are better. I hate cleaning old -fashioned grout , too, but there are newer types of grout that are easier to clean. Mapei has "Flex color CQ" which i used on my backsplash and it never needs sealing and it doesn't stain! I love it! It is not a cement - based grout - I think it is made of silicone and acrylic with coated quartz crystals instead of sand! Epoxy grouts are also supposed to be easier to keep clean, though harder to install.

i was just reading a blog post yesterday where the designer spec'ed a high end, molded shower pan for her own bathroom and slso showed a photo of that company's molded shower surrounds that looked like marble! It was on Maria Killam's popular blog "Color Me Happy" from yesterday or the day before.Hope this helps!
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User
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I just saw the thread on kohler choreograph and was interested in that. I hope it's not the same as your experience with it - the material is i believe still the same! The surround in our shower is likely acrylic, and not high end by any means but it's a more matte finish than most I have seen and it cleans so easily with a wipe down. It's about 6 years old and looks new.
happy2learn
9 years ago
I think part of the cleaning difficulty with acrylics and fiberglass is that you can't use anything abrasive on them usually. Can you use an abrasive ( like soft scrub or comet) on the matte finish ones? Perhaps it depends on your water, soap usage, and how often you clean it, etc. I probably only clean it once a month-- and everyone in the family likes this shower so we have 4 people using it everyday! Maybe I should post another thread question here about how to remove stains from this vicrell stuff!
emilyam819
9 years ago
Get what you want! I want a one piece shower for my remodel. One thing to consider is whether it will fit through doors in your house :/
palimpsest
9 years ago
Swanstone also makes surrounds. And if you wanted to get fancy you could have one fabricated out of Corian .
User
9 years ago
You might consider using a larger format tile for fewer grout lines and squeegee it after every use. I'd also skip the expense and cleaning of glass doors and use a shower curtain.
User
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We are definitely using a shower curtain - this is the only full bath in he house we are buying and we have a toddler who we need to bathe- I hate glass doors on tubs for baths.

i use a magic eraser on the surround in our current home, I never use anything more abrasive.

I don't wish to squeegee after every shower, I barely get a few minutes to shower as it is with our 11 month old!
roof35
9 years ago
You may want to check out Aker Maax Products. You'll no doubt have to get into a plumbing supply house. Years ago their product were a cost effective way to remodel along with being a decent product. They have 3 and 4 piece tub/shower combos, so doorways shouldn't be an issue. They're the next best thing to the one piece units.

Aker Maax