Master Bath Shower Stall....Tile or Composite?

[kymom99]

LOL. My wife and daughter both YELL at the TV when we are watching any of the HGTV shows and "subway tile" or "grey" (usually "warm grey") are mentioned. I suspect neither will ever be in any house they remodel!
Oh, and "shiplap" and sliding "barn doors" too.

I like to watch Texas flip n move. But I'm tired of the terms backsplash, feature wall and pop!

My sister remodeled her kitchen. She did not put in a tile backsplash, much to the horror of her 36 year old daughter. But the kitchen was the same since they built the house about 33 years ago so I'm not thinking they will be changing it again after this remodel. By the time they die or move to an old folks home backsplashes will be a thing of the past. It looks beautiful and classic without a backsplash.

 

[4kids4karen]

I always wonder where you live as your post are always polar opposite of mine. I image a small town (based on past post). I almost asked you this before on a different thread.

I have a general contractor bringing samples of subway tile to my house this afternoon (gray and white will be the colors) for my boys bathrooms. Although, I am looking at the oversize subway tile and the hexagon tile for the shower floor. I am a classic person. I also don't want to put anything over the top trendy that will look horrible in five years. Also, a gray corian countertop (or quartz) on a white vanity, and gray floors. Actually, these are the sample photos I sent the contractor http://www.thenorthendloft.com/2014/08/master-bathroom-reveal.html

Future project will be a gray and white kitchen.

 

[tvguy]

I like to watch Texas flip n move. But I'm tired of the terms backsplash, feature wall and pop!

My sister remodeled her kitchen. She did not put in a tile backsplash, much to the horror of her 36 year old daughter. But the kitchen was the same since they built the house about 33 years ago so I'm not thinking they will be changing it again after this remodel. By the time they die or move to an old folks home backsplashes will be a thing of the past. It looks beautiful and classic without a backsplash.

Texas Flip n Move and Love It or List It are our favorites. Texas Flip N Move just because it's Texas, where you can buy a house for $1,000, spend $50,000 remodeling it, and sell it for $70,000.
Love it or List it because it nicely shows the WIDE differences in home values across the nation, and the WIDE differences in tastes.
Where else can you see a family of 4 feeling cramped in a BEAUTIFUL 3,800 square foot house worth $275,000, and in the next episode see a family of 4 feeling cramped in a dumpy 1,100 square foot house worth $1 million.

Me, I'm happy in my 2010 square foot house with 3 adults living in it, with one bedroom and a living room we never use.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Following this thread with interest--we'll be re-doing the kids' bathrooms next year, and eventually the master bath. I haven't started planning yet, but I should, I guess--I have no idea on the options.

In our case, the kids' bathrooms are okay, just dated. Plus, their entry doors are very small (??). I really, really dislike subway tile, so I'm glad to hear it's on its way out. In DS21's room (second master), we'll be replacing the tub with a walk-in shower, with the thought that we could age in place, and use the downstairs master at some point. So, that would be a good place for marble or composite--we intend to put in a seat. The other bathroom just needs updating--nothing wrong with the layout.

Our master bath upstairs is a different issue. On the good side, it's huge, and workable for now. But, it's pretty awful. DH found out that a previous owner worked with Habitat for Humanity, and put in the MBA using labor and materials from them. And it shows! The tub is built in, but they ran out of tiles. So, they filled in with grout--you know, instead of going to Home Depot and buying a few dozen 1" square tiles! And the tiling job (tub surround, floor, etc.) is very amateurish. In addition, although it's a huge room (14'x20', maybe?), the shower stall is tiny. And old and gross. (OTOH, we could afford the house, so there's that...). So, we need a bigger, better shower stall. Since the upstairs MBA is going to be a to-the-studs remodel, we're putting it off.

So, sorry, OP, no advice from me, but I'm interested to read about what you choose and why, etc. And I wish you luck!

The nice thing about to-the-studs remodels (which mine was/is) and enormous holes in entryway ceilings is you can see how well your home was built and if you have any long term issues...I got to confirm the framing and backbone of my house was beautifully built and I had no mold issue in the bathroom, even with the tile disaster (apparently, ripping down all the soaked drywall in the entryway ceiling after it bubbled was a smart move, b/c I took all the water out. I also had a 1/2 bathroom of slowly water damaged subfloor (38 years of use with no shower door will do that - that's also getting changed), and some water damaged sections of walls and wallpaper from the 1st build that somehow never got taken off behind the toilet in the 1st "crappy" remodel (predating my move in), and now you walk in before the major stuff is in place, and the room looks like a brand new built house...so, I know I can't ever end up on a design show, b/c there's really no "story of disaster" hiding in the walls of the house...

It is piece of mind, though, to do that 1st to-the-studs remodel, b/c at some point, I will have one needed in my other major bathroom and in my kitchen...and now I have a contractor I trust, and I know I shouldn't have major hiding issues I don't know about...

 

[kymom99]

Texas Flip n Move and Love It or List It are our favorites. Texas Flip N Move just because it's Texas, where you can buy a house for $1,000, spend $50,000 remodeling it, and sell it for $70,000.
Love it or List it because it nicely shows the WIDE differences in home values across the nation, and the WIDE differences in tastes.
Where else can you see a family of 4 feeling cramped in a BEAUTIFUL 3,800 square foot house worth $275,000, and in the next episode see a family of 4 feeling cramped in a dumpy 1,100 square foot house worth $1 million.

Me, I'm happy in my 2010 square foot house with 3 adults living in it, with one bedroom and a living room we never use.

I love on Texas flip n move where the people say "that master bedroom is huge!" And it's the size of mine!

It is fun watching them turn an old falling down building into something really nice. And some of the ideas are pretty neat. I'm with you. I think I have about 1500 square feet here and it's plenty. We also have a living room we don't use. Oh, and a single bathroom in desperate need of a remodel. We will get to it one day, and I doubt we will have a backsplash. Lol

 

[QueenIsabella]

The nice thing about to-the-studs remodels (which mine was/is) and enormous holes in entryway ceilings is you can see how well your home was built and if you have any long term issues...I got to confirm the framing and backbone of my house was beautifully built and I had no mold issue in the bathroom, even with the tile disaster (apparently, ripping down all the soaked drywall in the entryway ceiling after it bubbled was a smart move, b/c I took all the water out. I also had a 1/2 bathroom of slowly water damaged subfloor (38 years of use with no shower door will do that - that's also getting changed), and some water damaged sections of walls and wallpaper from the 1st build that somehow never got taken off behind the toilet in the 1st "crappy" remodel (predating my move in), and now you walk in before the major stuff is in place, and the room looks like a brand new built house...so, I know I can't ever end up on a design show, b/c there's really no "story of disaster" hiding in the walls of the house...

It is piece of mind, though, to do that 1st to-the-studs remodel, b/c at some point, I will have one needed in my other major bathroom and in my kitchen...and now I have a contractor I trust, and I know I shouldn't have major hiding issues I don't know about...

Luckily, we already have a contractor we trust. He's currently doing our deck (waiting on cabinets for the outdoor kitchen). He's not the cheapest, but he's a real craftsman. I'd rather pay a little more for someone who cares about quality--especially in a bathroom, where problems can hide for a few years until they become huge.

Our house is quite solid--when the development was built, it was the builder's own home, and has a ton of closets and outlets. But--it was built in 1967. And the upstairs master suite was added on by someone else. But the entire downstairs is just dated, but otherwise very sturdy and livable.

 

[Jason_V]

Well, this is a good thread to have handy for me...I started looking at tile, vanities and showers this weekend to do a three bathroom remodel early next year. I'm likely going to find a designer or some version of that since this is my first go around with a house remodel and have no clue where to start.

 

[lorijohnhill]

Well, this is a good thread to have handy for me...I started looking at tile, vanities and showers this weekend to do a three bathroom remodel early next year. I'm likely going to find a designer or some version of that since this is my first go around with a house remodel and have no clue where to start.

It’s mind boggling!

 

[wgeo]

I wanna know who the person who got the 9K bid on a full bathroom remodel talked to. Sheesh trying to get bids here and first of all, no one calls back, and second of all the ones that do all say everything is gonna be 30K minimum. This is crazy. We were looking into the refinishing for our tub but decided it's actually better to just replace it.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Well, this is a good thread to have handy for me...I started looking at tile, vanities and showers this weekend to do a three bathroom remodel early next year. I'm likely going to find a designer or some version of that since this is my first go around with a house remodel and have no clue where to start.

A lot of places like Home Depot and even the local redesign stores have an in-house designer who can help you--sometimes for free, if you buy all your supplies there. Or you can hire an outside person. I would just be careful about them trying to talk you into whatever the latest trends are, versus what you truly want. I happen to hate certain features--subway tiles, vessel sinks, free-standing tubs. You may love these, that's fine, but if a designer told me to add them because they're trendy or to improve resale value or whatever--they're not the designer for me. I would hope that they would give me practical insights--"You're going to hate that shiplap in a couple years" or whatever.

 

[Jason_V]

I have a pretty decent idea off what I want...a lot of people will tell you I'm pretty stubborn so I have no problem waling right out of the store.

 

[LJSquishy]

If you're tired of cleaning grout lines go with a material that doesn't have any. I know tile is beautiful but it's a pain to clean. We remodeled our former home's bathroom and installed tile and it wasn't very fun to clean. We sold it and built a house 2 years ago and the bathrooms just have the generic builder grade one-piece shower and one-piece tub/surround and it's AWESOME. We planned to upgrade eventually but I've changed my mind...it's so much easier to clean.