Don't do a shower pan in a master bath. It will look pre-fab and tacky, which it is. If you go with a porcelain tile, any large format size can be cut down into smaller pieces on site by your installer. You'll need small tiles for the floor to make the floor less slippery. Have your installer cut it into 2 x 2's, or 2 x 4's for the floor, and with porcelain tile, you can generally get a very tight grout line of 1/16th of an inch.

You don't want to use big tiles on a shower floor anyway -- the grout is what gives the floor any grip. I think a white acrylic base looks fine (or some color that matches the wall tiles you're considering) and it wears very well. Most are textured for grip. You could probably get a solid-surface pan as well.

Thank you for your comments, very helpful! One more questions we currently have a very large corner Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom that we are planning on removing. We do have a second full bath with a tub. How do you feel about not replacing the tub in the master bath and just enlarging the shower? Or would a free standing tub be better for re-sale?

I always tell my clients not to worry about resale unless they're planning to sell within 5 years. Design for what you want and for what works for your family. Assuming you'll be in the house for 10 or more years, tastes, styles, and materials change dramatically and your buyers will likely make changes that suit them anyway. Many, many people are foregoing a tub in the master bath. You have my permission. :-D

Thank you again. This all makes perfect sense.

Thank you for your input. You make several valid points. I will look into the Kohler shower pan for sure.

In terms of cutting down tiles to smaller proportions.... my firm will only specify this process IF the tile is a solid porcelain (never on any kind of glazed tile - the surface will chip) and we always specify that it MUST be cut using a water jet which means outsourcing the cutting of the tile. This process pretty much eliminates the jagged cut edge look. Before you cut anything in mass quantities make sure that you do a test first to see if you are happy with the final results.

There's usually a mosaic available in any tile line that will work for the shower floor; no need to have installer cut larger pieces down.

I do not understand the claim that shower tiles need to be small on the basis that it's the grout that prevents falls. We have large format tiles in our shower, with no problems at all - we simply made sure they were rated as highly slip resistant. If you can have tiled decks around public swimming pools I don't see the issue with big tiles in home showers.

A good tile person can do a poured pan which can be colored concrete or covered in tile.

I'm in a similar situation. What did you decide? Can you post pictures?

I'm curious to know how OP's choices panned out. Updates?

I have the same scenario happening here, any updates from OP would be greatly appreciated!!

I've recently published a definitive guide about choosing between a shower pan vs tile shower floor in 2021. I was trying to explain the options to a customer of mine, and because it turns out it's complicated, I wrote it down and turned it into an article. I hope it will shed some light on the subject.

I'm a fan of the prefab sloped foam floors and same foam panels for the walls because they're imperious to water infiltration and the eventual shower failure.

https://glennpiercehomeimprovements.com/shower-pan-vs-tile-floor/

@Glenn Pierce, thanks for this.

One thing I'll never do again is a custom curbless shower in a teen's bathroom when teen adamantly requests a shower pan and prefab shower!

Question, though: you write tile "needs to be resealed every year or the grout will both allow water penetration, and stain making it difficult to clean." We've been back in our remodel 2 years now and have yet to re-seal even though our GC instructed us to do this (he used Miracle Sealants 511 Porous Plus, which is designed for natural stone and our tile is porcelain). My son and I are very chemically sensitive, so I keep putting it off. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Use the right grout. So many are stain resistant these days. Mittens Cat, no, you don't need to seal your porcelain tile annually. Unusual recommendation.

@Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc. thanks! Though I guess he was more adamant about sealing the grout, not so much the tile. I believe the grout was Prism cement grout by Custom which claims to not need sealing.

Robbi - you post an interesting question. First I'll tell you you can get large format tiles on a shower floor if you use a system similar to the one level wet room picture I'll show below. Mosaic tiles - while practical for many tile showers - are a pain to clean with all the small grout joints.

And if you really HATE, HATE, HATE grout joints - which is like many people - there are cool styed shower pans which are grout free (and not boring, white and acrylic). I'll show you a picture of a modern low profile stone shower pan which is very stylish - IMHO - below. I'll also give you a link to over 80 articles I've written about shower pans, bases and one level wet room systems. There are more options than most people know about with shower bases - and these articles compare and contrast much of what you'll find out there - Mike

One level wet room system with large format tile and a linear drain

Modern low profile white marble shower pan which is grout free

Blog articles on shower pans, bases and one level wet rooms