Bathtub decking corian, tere-stone, quartz?

[Suz D]

We are putting an addition on our home and are trying to cut costs (of course). We have a 5 foot by 42 inch bathtub with a deck around it. I wanted to use tile but our contractor has talked me out of it because of maintenance. He has priced out what I think is a quartz custom surround for $2600. Surely there is something less expensive like corian or something else. Does anyone have any experience with these surfaces and a ballpark figure for what it coats? I'd like to do some research before we go with a $2600 deck. This is just for the deck and the front on either side of the apron. We are doing something else on the walls.thanks for the help anyone offers.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I don't understand, are you talking about a bathtub inside a bathroom, or a hot tub outside on a deck?

 

[Suz D]

I don't understand, are you talking about a bathtub inside a bathroom, or a hot tub outside on a deck?

A bathtub inside a bathroom. The "deck" is the part around the rim of the tub. So picture if you're sitting in a big comfy bathtub sipping a beverage, surrounded by candles. You sit your beverage on the "deck" and the candles would be on the "deck" as well. The apron surrounds the base of the tub facing into the room. On either side of the apron (which is built into the tub) there is empty space that could be drywalled but our contractor felt that drywall on either side of a wet tub would be a bad idea.

 

[Swimalie]

A bathtub inside a bathroom. The "deck" is the part around the rim of the tub. So picture if you're sitting in a big comfy bathtub sipping a beverage, surrounded by candles. You sit your beverage on the "deck" and the candles would be on the "deck" as well. The apron surrounds the base of the tub facing into the room. On either side of the apron (which is built into the tub) there is empty space that could be drywalled but our contractor felt that drywall on either side of a wet tub would be a bad idea.

I have quartz counter tops in my kitchen and couldn't imagine having it around the tub. We have 4 inch tiles around our tub (builder grade junk). Personally, if I were to pick now, I would go with a light tan Italian-like tile. I would not go with a kitchen counter top material (quartz, corian, etc)

 

[Suz D]

I have quartz counter tops in my kitchen and couldn't imagine having it around the tub. We have 4 inch tiles around our tub (builder grade junk). Personally, if I were to pick now, I would go with a light tan Italian-like tile. I would not go with a kitchen counter top material (quartz, corian, etc)

Could you tell me why you wouldn't want it around your tub? Appearance? Durability? Water issues? Thanks!

 

[jrmasm]

What's the maintenance issues with tile? That's what I have.

 

[Narnia_girl]

I have Corian countertops and they are just about indestructible (our son, a marching drummer, literally uses drumsticks to practice on them). They are also nice because they have less seams (so less water penetrating), but I can't help you with price--they were here when we bought the house.

 

[tajz90]

We added Corian to our countertops a few years ago. We priced several options. At the time, it was more expensive than quartz so unless it has went down in price since then, there won't be a cost savings. It's indestructible! And if by chance something happens, it can be easily repaired with no notice of repair.

 

[pryncess527]

You sure your contractor didn't talk you out of tile because the other options are much more expensive?

We have quartz in our kitchen and I adore it. I would not hesitate it to put it in my bathrooom if I were looking to spend that kind of money on a bathroom.

In general, I hate tile because I despise grout lines, but in this instance I think I'd go with tile. It seems like the natural choice in a bathroom and I have no idea what "maintenance" he's talking about. We tiled our bathroom 6 years ago and haven't had to do a thing since.

 

[cinderella97]

We have corian in all of our bathroom including the deck of our whirlpool tub. I love it. Easy to clean and industrutable. We have had it for 15 years and still looks brand new. I can't remember how much we paid but it was well worth every penny.

 

[Pigeon]

I have Corian on my counters and I like it, but I wouldn't describe it as indestructible. You can't put hot things on it and it can be scratched or gouged if you put your mind to it. My counters are speckled, but I have a white integral sink, and it will discolor if you leave stuff sitting it in and it has to be bleached.

I got mine a few years ago and it was pretty inexpensive. I was actually going to go with laminate, but they kitchen design place had a great deal on about 30 different patterns of Corian, more than enough choice for me. Quartz was much more expensive, more than most granites.

In your application, I'd go with tile. I also am wondering what maintenance you're talking about. Get a dark colored grout, and the tile shouldn't require any special maintenance.

 

[ceecee]

What's the maintenance issues with tile? That's what I have.

I have tile around the wall of my over sized soaking tub and the "deck" around it is about 10" around two sides of the tube, it's pretty and super easy to clean. I would not put corian around a tub, not sure about quartz I'd have to see it. I'm thinking your contractor doesn't do tile, you need a good tile guy. I have had no maintenance issues with it at all, nothing like the grout on the floors, it cleans nicely. Go to a tile store that sells everything and ask them.

 

[Anne34]

I also have tile on the decking area of our bathtub. We bought large pieces to minimize grout lines. I also sealed the grout right after we finished. We don't use the tub a ton, so it's really easy to clean. It gets dusty more than anything else.

The tile is the same as our floor tile.

 

[Suz D]

What's the maintenance issues with tile? That's what I have.

I've never had tile so I'm going by what the contractor said. He told us that grout is pretty much impossible to keep clean, looks bad after a few years, and water collects around the tiles. If that isn't the case, let me know because tile would definitely be the cheapest way to go. By a LOT!

 

[Suz D]

You sure your contractor didn't talk you out of tile because the other options are much more expensive?

We have quartz in our kitchen and I adore it. I would not hesitate it to put it in my bathrooom if I were looking to spend that kind of money on a bathroom.

In general, I hate tile because I despise grout lines, but in this instance I think I'd go with tile. It seems like the natural choice in a bathroom and I have no idea what "maintenance" he's talking about. We tiled our bathroom 6 years ago and haven't had to do a thing since.

We are being billed for time and materials plus a mark-up for this project. He told us that to encourage us to go for the quartz he would not take a mark-up on it. So there isn't a monetary benefit for him if we go with the more expensive option. (For what it's worth, that was my first thought as well LOL!).

 

[Suz D]

I have tile around the wall of my over sized soaking tub and the "deck" around it is about 10" around two sides of the tube, it's pretty and super easy to clean. I would not put corian around a tub, not sure about quartz I'd have to see it. I'm thinking your contractor doesn't do tile, you need a good tile guy. I have had no maintenance issues with it at all, nothing like the grout on the floors, it cleans nicely. Go to a tile store that sells everything and ask them.

Either way our contractor would have to sub it out. Glad to know it's easy to clean. I wonder if he's thinking that it would be similar to the grout on floor tile?

I also have tile on the decking area of our bathtub. We bought large pieces to minimize grout lines. I also sealed the grout right after we finished. We don't use the tub a ton, so it's really easy to clean. It gets dusty more than anything else.

The tile is the same as our floor tile.

What did you seal it with?

 

[Suz D]

I just e-mailed our contractor and told him that we'll be going with ceramic tile. We measured and the length of the tub decking is 80 inches, the depth is 44 1/2 inches and the width of the decking is 6 inches all around. Plus the front of the tub area where it meets the floor. The total we would need is 13 square feet which would make the surround $200/square foot if we went with the quartz, plus the cost of the tile to go up the wall 18 inches.

If we go with tile all the way around the most we would need would be about 30 square feet. I can't imagine that labor and materials would be more than $30/square foot for a total of $1000. It makes the most sense. My husband said, "I wouldn't enjoy one minute sitting in that tub for the kind of $$ we'd pay for quartz."

We'll be getting more information from our contractor once he replies, but does anyone have a guesstimate on the cost of doing the tile?

Thanks to all who replied, especially those of you who were so positive about the lack of maintainance with tile.

 

[Swimalie]

Could you tell me why you wouldn't want it around your tub? Appearance? Durability? Water issues? Thanks!

Mostly because I'm used to tile around a tub. I don't know if I've seen anything other than marble or tile. As for tile being high maintenance, we've been in our house for 7 years and so far no issues with our builder grade tile. If we ripped it out and went with something better grade, it would probably be even easier. We also have the tile in our shower, which gets daily use. I clean it with a magic eraser and a mixture of vinegar and dawn.

 

[jrmasm]

OP, our house is about ten years old. The grout around the tub looks great. The floor, not as much! I didn't seal the grout which I regret. Even though my floor doesn't look new anymore, I'd do a tile floor again but I'd seal the grout.


You can buy the seal at Home Depot etc.

 

[Pamlur]

We had corian in our previous house, it worked fine. When we built this house, we continued the floor tile on to the tub deck, it works fine. One thing we did is go with medium gray grout.