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eagle100

cultured marble solid sheets for shower

eagle100
15 years ago

Sorry for the long title! I'd posted earlier but I'm wanting to see if anyone has anything bad to say about that. I'd prefer a fantastic tiled master shower, but grout again scares me! The shower pan isn't smooth, its bumpish so its not slick. Since the trend now seems to be tile with this hurt in resale many many years from now? My thinking is the shower will always look and be clean - to me that is a plus. Just curious what others think.

Comments (11)

  • printersdevil
    15 years ago

    We installed this in June of last year and I love it. I had grout and all the problems with it. My next door neighbor tells me some horrific problems with her tile and grout.

    I have another friends who also has this in her bathrooms and she also loves it. We bought it from a local fabricator. The slabs are 4 foot by 8 foot and it is connected with a type of caulk. I wanted a little more color in this bathroom, so had them add a little more of the champaign colored dust into the mixture. It has a different look from the master bath.

  • eastgate
    15 years ago

    Do you happen to remember how much a slab costs to install in a typical 32" x 60" shower space? I've never been able to find any prices online.

  • westsider40
    15 years ago

    Hi, I used Swanstone panels, rather than cultured marble, b/c Swanstone is pretty tough and doesn't require special cleaning materials. It is comparable to Corian and has the same properties. Cultured marble is shiny-Swanstone is matte. Neither is as pretty as tile but neither will have grout or mold problems either. It is purely an esthetic choice but cult. marble is more of a wannabe, to me, than Swanstone, which has it's own identity. Sw is pretty indestructible and there is no shine to maintain.jmho. Sw panels cost from abt $400 to $700 for the 3 of the surround. Good Luck.

  • sdionnemoore
    15 years ago

    I'm bumping this because my husband and I are at the end of GCing our new home and where once we were going to do tile in our showers (that are not standard rectangles btw), we're now thinking of going with cultured marble. It's faster than tile and, frankly, my husband is so burned out I feel bad for him. So, to the question, where does one find sheets of 4x8 cultured marble. I've asked at HD and Lowe's. HD didn't carry them and Lowe's never got back to me.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    15 years ago

    >Swanstone is pretty tough and doesn't require special cleaning materials

    They may recommend special cleaning materials for cultured marble, but it's very tough, too. I lived in a rental where the plumbing had burst and as a repair they just slapped up a cultured marble surround around the tub rather than repair and retile the walls. Even after years of pretty shoddy renters (you should have seen the kitchen--ick!), that marble shined right up when I moved in. It was the only thing I really liked about that bathroom.

    If you can find a pattern you like, I'd go for it--it will take a lot of abuse and doesn't need much cleaning/upkeep.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    15 years ago

    sdionnemoore, look in the yellow pages. There are sure to be several cultured marble specialists in your area. I live in a very small town (can't get swanstone, caesarstone, etc. locally) and even here there are a number of fabricators.

  • sdionnemoore
    15 years ago

    Thanks, writersblock. I was relying on Google to find things in my area. It didn't occur to me to Google for "wholesale" cultured marble. Now I have not one but two numbers to call. I'll check the yellow pages as well--sorry to have such a duh moment. With all the high-tech capabilities, I didn't even think to let my "fingers do the walking."

    Also appreciate your vote for the cultured marble. I'm really liking the product and think it will definitely take some stress off my husband now. . .and me down the road when I go to clean.

  • jakkom
    15 years ago

    We did a cultured granite neo-angle shower. We wanted a matching showerpan and surround. Love Swanstone (we have it in our kitchen) but SW didn't make the size showerpan we wanted.

    Found a local cultured marble fabricator, was substantially cheaper than Swanstone as price included installation. Most people do think it's Corian, but it's a bit glossier than Corian/Swanstone. It's a breeze to clean - a green scrubbie and one of those bottles of shower spray solution works fine.

  • raehelen
    15 years ago

    After reading this post late last night- I had a lightbulb moment! I googled cultured marble and found a local fabricator. DH and I headed out there late today (Friday) and arrived after closing. We knocked on the door and their accountant let us in and showed us around. I think we may have found our solution for the basement bathroom! Like sdionnemoore, we are really suffering (I am especially) from reno angst, and having it custom made also solves the design issues we had. The owner will probably come out and talk to us in our home next week- if I get this bathroom done before Christmas, I will be giddy with glee!

    ASide from just being so doggone tired, I am cautiously skeptic about grout issues too. This will be one bathroom down and two to go... wish us luck. Will post if we're successful.

  • heidi877
    15 years ago

    Our guest bath has a shower/tub combo with cultured marble and the vanity top is cultured marble too. Its kind of a pinkish color. When we bought our house I thought it was cheezy, but it has really grown on me. We also changed out the hardware to bronze and got rid of the old school brass finish siding shower door and put up a rod, so thoe little things made a huge difference. It actually looks good now with the right accessories.

  • lovelysue01
    7 years ago

    Great for showers !!!!! Easy to clean and looks good,and no mold. I'm doing my bathroom over and I'm putting it back in. Love it!!!!!

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