See if anyone is carrying Krion in your neck of the woods. We love that stuff, but can't find a fabricator interested coming north of the Golden Gate for a small shower job.

https://www.krion.com/en/

following... thinking about doing the same thing

This is one of those situations where I can't help but think, "If they can put a man on the moon (or a lunar rover on Mars)..." why can't someone come up with the perfect shower material that will please all of us--and our budgets? Ha. :-D

suzanne_si, thanks for the heads up. I have a Porcelanosa/Krion showroom not too far from me and will check it out. Actually, I guess i was checking it out last time I was there, but I didn't realize I was looking at it. Not super thrilled with Porcelanosa in general, though, as their snobby vibe is really off putting.

If you have the option of doing a barrier-free shower, you could use large format, rectified tiles which allow you to get very tight grout lines for less maintenance. Something like this:

Barrier-free bathroom with large grey tile and floating double vanity · More Info

Just make sure the tile has a bit of texture to it to make it less slippery. P.S. If you get porcelain tile, it's really inexpensive.

Thanks Sabrina--that's gorgeous. It's also what we were aiming for until our old school G.C. seemed a little sketched out by the barrier-free part, so I decided to just go with conventional (partly because this house will likely end up being a rental in a few years and I think I'll sleep better if there's a low curb, at least).

I read about one small child who, when parents weren't watching, plugged the central drain with washcloths to make his own wading pool...and ended up flooding most of the house. Hard to get that image out of my head! :-o

One thought about Porcelanosa's KRION solid surface material: according to the website, the main ingredient is Alumina Trihydrate, the chemical used as fire retardant. So, try not to eat it, smoke it or snort it! :-) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225651/

Mittens Cat, guess I missed Porcelanosa's snobby bit. We first saw their tile in a fireplace store, went out and found that tile, and had it installed.

I forget how we ran across Krion, but we went and looked and wanted to use it for a grout free shower; sadly, we live in a bit of a back water, so no fabricator available. We're going with a 12 x 24 tile and I'm sure it will be lovely. Yes, we're using a mold/mildew resistant grout. I'm consoling myself with a hansgrohe rain shower like one we used in a hotel in Belgrade of all places.

I remodeled my bathroom and replaced the bathtub with the Kohler Salient K-9053 cast iron shower base (also available right-hand drain). It was available in a color that closely matched my surrounding tile, won't leak, and has a non-slip surface.

Because I was replacing a tub, I should have chosen the Bellwether K-9165 shower base with offset drain which is designed to replace a 60x30 tub. Oh well.

I made sure that the shower door I purchased did NOT require holes to be drilled in the shower base which could lead to rusting. The door I chose used adhesive.

If you do a cast iron pan and true solid surface walls (Corian, Swanstone, Transolid, and others) no one is going to look at them and say they look like cheap fiberglass. You can also get the shower pan made of the same materials as the walls. Ask if the material can be sanded to remove any scratches that might happen, and that will tell you if it is a solid surface or not. Don't get anything with a coating or final layer that is different than the rest of the material. Solid Surface is the same product and color through-and-through. It costs enough to satisfy any feeling that it is a cheap material, too.

Swanstone has some beautiful colors now. I ran across this brochure that shows Swanstone showers in several colors.

The colors Ice, Tundra, Golden Steppe, Cloud Bone, Cloud White, and Mountain Haze all get away from the spotted look, too. Just stay away from their Veritek line as it is not a solid surface. Here are all the wall colors and a place to order samples.

Transolid has a lot more colors than when I ordered mine. The Saramore line is cut to look like subway tiles and the Expressions line has some very interesting color choices. Neither were available when I got my shower.

I am less familiar with Corian and other solid surface sites, but I am sure a search will find them for you.

I did Kohler 36x60” Salient pan with center drain. I have French doors that both swing so there are no holes in the pan. I have a long horizontal niche that actually provides some added elbow room that was an unexpected benefit. I used 12x24” tile and I think it is lovely. I put a 3 way system, and any 2 can run at the same time. Hansgrohe ibox set up. The shower pan, which I don’t have a picture of, is a light gray to blend with the veining in the porcelain tile. That’s 5 feet across the back; looks smaller.

The Kohler cast iron shower bases are nice. They got on my radar when they were in a hotel where I stayed. The drain cover looked good also. Had planned on using them in my own home. Very durable, feels good under foot and avoids problems of a custom made pan.

Thanks Nancy, I just sorted it so that there were no repeats near each other. The rest was pure luck. One thing I found amazing and by accident was the similarity of veining in the cararra shelf made of marble and the porcelain tile in the niche! Since there was just a little marble it worked out, as the color of the tile is a warm white and the Carrara is a bluish white. The colors do clash.

Wow, that's some skilled sorting!

I'm considering a Kohler Bellwether but that photo of the large format tile that Sabrina Alfin Interiors posted is giving me something else to think about. I love the minimal grout lines, the continuity it offers across the entire span of flooring (and possibly also walls) and I don't have any children to worry about... Thank you, Sabrina!

@HU-696479070: " I'm considering a Kohler Bellwether but that photo of the large format tile that Sabrina Alfin Interiors posted is giving me something else to think about."

I don't see how those are comparable. The Bellwether is a cast iron shower base and the tile was used to build a curbless shower.

@wdccruise I didn't mean they were comparable nor was I criticizing cast iron shower pans - I've had cast iron bathtubs and kitchen sinks and I love the material, so I'm heavily leaning toward that choice. The shower will be replacing a large soaking tub that we never use, so I'm basically starting with a blank slate and trying to decide which way to go. Curbless is nice and we are an older couple so designing for the future makes sense. The designer is strongly recommending a tiled shower pan but I detest grout, especially when there's so much of it in mosaic tile installations. Lots to think about before making a big expense...

HU-696479070 "The shower will be replacing a large soaking tub..."

Note that the Bellwether K-9165 60x32 shower base easily replaces a typical 60x30 tub. It's only 4" high; I'm 69 and will be really PO'ed if I can't step over that...forever.

wdccruise, Its been a long time since Ive visited GW/Houzz. Nice to see that the Bellwether has a shower pan. I am still loving my Salient by Kohler. My epoxy grout is perfect and doesn't stain or need looking after. For the poster you are addressing, I'd not use floor tile in a shower, unless there is some practical reason for this, such as high end resale. A shower pan is leak proof which is what is important. Many failed tile shower pan fails have been posted on this forum over the years.

After 2 or 3 showers, unremovable rust stains emerged. Kohler stands by the integrity of their product and based on one photo has decided there is no way their product will leach rust. They recommended their cleaner which did not work. I just built my dream home with 3 and 1/2 bathrooms decked out with Kohler product based sole on design and reputation. I did not shop. Most of the product is just O.K., nothing is exceptional and some, like this shower pan, being removed and replaced with fixtures that do what I want them to do. I’m too old to add rust remival to my daily housekeeping routine

After 2 or 3 uses rusty spots appeared on my Thunder Gray Pan. Kohler’s solution is for me to buy and use their cleaner, which does not work. Based on one photo they deny any responsibility for the stain. Ripping it out and replacing it with a tile shower floor. Shame on me for cheaping out

Philip: "After 2 or 3 uses rusty spots appeared on my Thunder Gray Pan."

Your Kohler cast iron pan rusted? Did you drill any holes in it, for example, for a shower door? It just rusted right through the finish to the metal below?

good question @wdccruise. I've been using my shower pan for 11 years now I think, and there is now rust. My shower doors are afixed to the side walls of the shower not the pan itself.

No, it s intact. It’s brand new installed by the builder. It is in a guest bath. We were in the house for less than two weeks and we had guests use the shower. When I cleaned it there were rust color spots all over the pan. They won‘t come out. I’ve tried Kohler Brand Cleaner they won‘t come out. I thought I inspected the house thouroughly after the builder completed each project, but the house cleaner was here today and thinks the installers of the tile or plumbing left metallic objects on the shower pan and stained the finish..I’m buying into that theory. But my brand new shower in my brand new house that I haven’t lived in for a month has a permanent stain That is dissapointing

Philip: "the house cleaner was here today and thinks the installers of the tile or plumbing left metallic objects on the shower pan and stained the finish"

That sounds more plausible. But if it's on the surface, perhaps it will wash away over time.

I'd try some MB20, which is a granite polish, on variable speed grinder with a white pad on the rust spots. It's aggressive enough that if the spots are topical it will remove them, but not crazy enough to do damage. Test first please.