I had a 36 x 36 cultured marble shower that I removed because it was leaking due to poor fabrication and poor framing behind it. CM is only as good as the local shop. This was builder grade and very poor.

I thought I was going to have to go with a tile shower pan because I did not want to move the drain because it is in concrete. When I took out the cm base, I found that the 12 x 12 box around the drain had not been filled in with concrete. I was so happy because I can use some pvc ingenuity and move the drain over. I am limited by the window over the tub on one side and the bedroom on the other side, so the only way I can go is outward. So I am looking at a 36 across and 48 deep acrylic pan from Royal Baths in Houston, TX. I plan on tiling the walls.

But even with this, my new shower is going to be very narrow. My thoughts are to create a long shelf waist to shoulder high along one long wall to give extra elbow room. I am thinking about installing a shower head on that wall and a handshower on a bar on the opposite wall to where I can use it as both a handshower and a body spray. I really don't like not having enough room to step back from the shower head in order to rinse off my lower body.

Ferguson's Pro Flo acrylic shower and tubs are made by Clarke. The Clarke acrylic, I think, is much nicer than Kohler.

The newest approach in tiling is to paint on a topical moisture barrier on top of the cement board then tile on top of that. Water does not get to the cbu. The only thing that gets wet is the grout and thinset. So there is less to dry out and showers dry out faster. If you use epoxy grout, it will dry out even faster.

Maintenance involves squeegeeing the walls and wiping the silicone grout line in the corners and between the tile wall and the acrylic shower pan. And wiping off the fixtures to avoid water spots. And have a good exhaust fan.

If you decide to tile, search for Hydroban, Redguard, Aquadefense.

This post was edited by Anna_in_TX on Sun, Feb 16, 14 at 20:08