Shower base--acrylic or cast iron?

13 years ago

It looks like I'll be removing a tub and putting in a shower. As much as I love tile, I don't want it on the shower floor. Shopping around, it seems like I can get cast iron, acrylic, or fiberglass for a shower base (pan?). My first thought is enameled cast iron since that's what they're supposed to be made of, but is acrylic okay? Better? Does it matter? (I'm pretty sure I don't want fiberglass--they always seem squishy.)

Thanks!

Featured Answer

cat_mom

13 years ago

Cast iron. We put a Kohler cast iron shower pan in our guest bathroom. Shower/pan is 3' X 4'. It has no-slip grips. The Kohler acrylic pan did not, and it seemed that it would be very slippery when wet.

DH and I used the guest bathroom/shower exclusively while working on our other two bathrooms. The shower pan was very nice, and we are very happy with it. We put cast iron tubs (Toto) in the other tow bathrooms. They warm-up quickly, and retain the warmth.

Here's a pic showing the shower pan:

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Comments (6)

tgvb
13 years ago
Might want to check into Swanstone or Cultured Marble solid shower pans.. we are researching the same process right now
busybee3
13 years ago
i love our cast iron shower pan...when i was shopping, the bath store salesperson cautioned against acrylic if "you're a scrubber" when you clean---the acrylic scratches...
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breezygirl
13 years ago
I'm debating the exact same issue today Fori. I was thinking about posting the same question. Mine is new construction though. I wanted a cast iron pan, but Kohler only has a couple of sizes for big rectangles. They seem too narrow. The deepest I could find was 30" from front to back. I was hoping for bigger.

I don't want squishy. NO WAY. So I guess fiberglass is out.

I was thinking acrylic, but I didn't realize they scratched.

I guess I'll research the Swanstone pans. I've never heard of them. Are they weird colors?

Please share what you decide. I should have made this decision last week and ordered something, but other decisions have gotten in the way.
Fori
Original Author
13 years ago
Hm! Thanks for the info y'all. I guess I'm a scrubber (because I'm not a cleaner and by the time cleaning comes, scrubbing is needed--TMI?).

I'll check out the Swanstone stuff--I know many like it for bathroom sinks.
startrekfan
13 years ago
Just purchased an MTI shower base. It is an acrylic base with a huge amount of support molded underneath. The slip resistant floor finish has a slight pebble feel not the tiny grooves that collect grime.. They make their bases in many more sizes than Kohler & Swanstone. I couldn't find my size any where else unless I went with custom solid surface which would have broke my budget. I did not find much online about them so I visited their manufacturing facility. I was extremely impressed. So size & cost drove my decision to go with acrylic.