We have glass block in our bathroom and as inserts in exterior walls. I never had them before. They make the most beautiful light patterns and really look different at different times of day. I love them and the light patterns that them make as the sun and light shines on them. So my vote is keep them. You may get comments they are dated.............but they have been around long before the 80s :)

Keep. Very pretty.

If you are replacing the shower tile, how are you going to make the inside of that curb waterproof if you keep the old glass block? These are questions for your contractor and tile person.

Yep, the glass blocks are on top of the curb solid surface, no joint visible. To do this right, the glass block goes bye-bye, otherwise you have no way to properly waterproof the curb.

@chispa and @User, the shower water never reaches the curb. The inside of the shower is quite large. Do you think the curb really needs to be waterproof?

Good God, YES. The entire shower area needs to be properly waterproofed. You should ideally be able to use the shower with no tiles installed, as tiles and grout are not waterproof. To rebuild a shower without properly waterproofing it is simply setting up a tear out and redo in the future, with likely additional damage.

A proper shower starts with a waterproof pan. This can be created in a number of ways, but always consists of a curb, if present, that is waterproofed. For instance, in this case (assuming a membrane installation) the membrane would be solid over the entire base and up the walls, as well as carried over the top of the curb, without punctures.

The shower water reaches the curb, even though you think it doesn’t...but it’s the underside of the curb where the gap in the waterproofing would exist.

If you are renovating the rest of the bathroom, good grief yes ditch them. They will stick out look a sore thumb amidst the rest of an updated bath.

Definitely remove the glass blocks, replace with plain glass shower enclosure

What North Texas said!

@ci_lantro Here is the inside. Yes, cultured marble. I feel like there are ghouls on the walls watching me while I shower. :o So I would definitely like to do something different with the walls if possible, even if it's a solid-colored solid surface. Excuse the buckets... we have a crack that has appeared in the grout all the way across the bottom of the shower, but both shower heads are leaking so buckets are necessary to keep the floor dry so I can seal up the crack. This is what has accelerated our bathroom reno... it was way down the list.

I do agree with you on the gray, grey and gray. Tired of seeing it everywhere myself. I mocked up dark gray floors last night and hated it, so that won't happen, lol. Still very early in planning, so I will certainly be looking more. I'll post pics of the rest of the bathroom when I can get it cleaned up enough. :D

thanks for any input!

@ci_lantro

Without the plaster-looking blocks. :) A long time ago they held plants, which flowed down the side of the glass. But I let them die and never got around to replanting.

I see more than a few things that may be problems. You may need a lot more than you think, looking at the shower. The tile cost alone will be pretty large with a shower that big, and the floor slope isn’t very obvious, which Is concerning. Perhaps consider reducing the shower size and using glass straight across? While walk in is popular, it has downsides that a large shower area only accentuates.

If it really is grout at a change of plane, you will already have moisture damage behind the solid surface material.

Hi Texan, I remember watching the guy measuring the slope. he was actually an old high school teacher of mine. Said he made way more money tiling. :D We've never had any problems with the water going where it needed to go.

Yes, it's a lot of tile! And yes, I would consider making the shower smaller, but I was trying to get away with doing as little rework as possible. didn't really want to have to rip out the curb.

As noted, a shower is a system of waterproofing covered with decoration. The curb is an integral part of the waterproofing.

yes, but to reduce the size of the shower we would have to pull the current curb and put up a new one, correct?

Have you considered a curbless shower entry? You need the slope to be right, but as the population ages, this is becoming more and more popular.

yes, but to reduce the size of the shower we would have to pull the current curb and put up a new one, correct?

No, you could go with a shower base. Available in cast iron, solid surface, acrylic.... The bases are preformed and finished. For that matter, you can get shower bases that are tile ready.

Yes, the current curb has to go to resize the shower, as does the glass block.