I think shower inserts instead of tile are fine, change my mind

[Mindy Jensen]

I see so many comments that tile showers are better than shower inserts.

For ease of installation as well as cleaning and mold/mildew resistance, I like a shower insert better. While I'm taking a shower, I don't look around and think, "oh, it's just an insert, that's bad."

Why do people like tiled showers better, and does anyone have any recommendations for a tile-look shower insert? 

[Patrick M.]

When we have the ability to go 1 piece we do. We did 2 -36" showers and 1 tub this way. 

Upon removal I have found that previous installs did not always put down a mound of mortar to properly seat the base. I also stay away from inserts that have the Styrofoam seat attached to the base.

Properly installed with quality product an insert should never leak.

Now, as others have said, if I had a SFH I would most likely not do an insert (depending on market) and certainly not on the master bath, But that is because of the resale market.

[Darren Hutton]

Texston, a plaster company in California has many products that can be used in showers.   Only problem is cracks,. Asthetically speaking.  Should still be water proof under the cracks in the finish with a good water proof base.  

[Steven Foster Wilson]

Do tile in the master bathroom , Inserts everywhere else. If its multi family, inserts all day, nothing can beat the time savings of insert installation.

[Boone Tyson]

@Mindy Jensen

This has probably been said already. I think it comes down to the house you are in and the clientele you will be catering to. The types of houses we have been flipping recently have been in a price point that the inserts will not be a deterrent. Same with the ones I will look to BRRRR this year. I believe they are also much cheaper to install since labor is less and materials are comparable.

I will say that on a higher end flip or a higher end hold, tile is way more of a show stopper and at the end of the day, kitchens and baths are top selling points. 

It comes down to being an expert in your market and knowing your target audience. both have pros and cons. I'm going to lean more on the side of the inserts for the hold game. Flip game, probably tile.

Great question!!

[Chuck Mader]

Originally posted by @Jason Hirko:

Originally posted by @Chuck Mader:

@Jason Hirko

Specs say 180 days to stable.

What is the time to actually be able to use the shower?

Thanks!

 I usually let it sit for a week while we finish the rest of the top out. The first time we did it, we had the other sides of the shower wall studs all exposed, ran the shower for several hours to watch for any signs of moisture, and saw nothing. 

 Do you have any long term results?  

When was the first install done and how is it holding up? 

[Dawn Anastasi]

I prefer a tiled shower. It looks better and not so "plain".

[Lissette Martinez]

@Mindy Jensen when I think bathtub inserts I think “ew what kind of moldy mess is under this thing that someone is trying to cover up?”

[Joseph A.]

Had an insert in one of my units and I replaced it with tile. I think the tile looks much better even if it's plain tile which I hate.....

[Jennifer Petrillo]

We have used Sterling shower inserts three times and loved them. First time was in the finished basement bathroom of a split level house that already had a nice tub with tile surround on the main floor, so we figured the buyers would like a walk in shower as well (great for elderly or disabled people or washing pets). The insert looked amazing and comes with little shelves and even foot rests to put your leg up on if you are shaving your legs. The second time we used it was in a house that had no tub, only an old tiled walk in shower that was an irregular size. We replaced the old tiled shower with a slightly smaller Sterling walk in shower and it actually made the shower space look larger and brighter. The tile made it look too busy and shrank the space. Both times we hung a nice fabric shower curtain with a thick liner and didn't even spend the money on glass doors. In a third house we ripped out an old walk in tiled shower and used a 3/4 size Sterling surround and replaced the glass doors that were already there. We have been very happy with this product and so have the buyers, no one ever complained that it was not tile. Overall way more economical than tile!

[Jennifer Petrillo]

Agree with @Patrick M., you need to prepare a solid seating for the shower base or it will feel hollow. Also, our GC adds extra framing to the walls so if you bump into the shower wall it doesn't give or feel flimsy at all. The Sterling surrounds are much thicker than a Bathfitters type product, which is really just a thin layer of plastic meant to go over existing surfaces. Good surrounds get attached directly to the framing members, they are not just a cover up.

[Colleen F.]

For the wow and especially for a small bathrooms in the main part of the house definitely tile. It just looks better.  We have done inserts but found the shelving on them can crack. You can do a fiberglass patch but it just doesn't match really well. If you do an insert limit the "built in " shelving.

[Charles Kao]

@Mindy Jensen Depends on the look but I am a big fan of teak shower inserts but honestly savings is not that much if you put a quality insert. I also think people aren't used to seeing them unless they are cheap because they have a stigma like manufactured homes.

[Michelle Hotchkiss]

As a Realtor, I think the inserts devalue a property.  Cheap looking.  Not long lasting.  I'm not a landlord (yet) unless you count my one airbnb.  I still think people wants to rent something pretty and tasteful and can't wrap my head around being cheap and just running numbers on a "box."  I'd want my investments to last and look good for a long time, until I go to sell it one day.  I would always pick tile over a plastic insert.

[Jennifer Marble]

Either way you go if you need to clean stubborn mold and mildew stain try Zep.  It works wonders.  Just spray and let it sit for a while.

[Ryan Heywood]

Reading this while taking a break. Right now I’m doing 2 bathrooms with a substantial amount of subway tile. It is taking forever, lots of little cuts and awkward spots. But it is going to turn out pretty upscale, and reflects the ARV of our area. For a rental I would look at using large format tiles to speed up the build time. My parents had done a tub insert with solid pieces of corian for the walls. Kind of a compromise between the two. That lack of grout on inserts is pretty tempting though.

[Jim K.]

All right, then.

I have stood downstairs with the lady of the house and had the man of the house upstairs turn on the shower in a tile-surrounded tub, and watched water drip through the ceiling. It's not a nice feeling, and I was very glad that it wasn't my work that had failed.

I think that the process of building a really good, reliably leakproof tile surround for a low materials cost that will also require minimal maintenance over decades isn't easy. It is a labor-intensive process that requires not a little mental horsepower, a fair amount of manual skill, and a methodical outlook on the work. I have at least $4,000 invested in tile and stone tools. I have run training groups for apprentices. I routinely review tile installation products that are sent to me for free by Home Depot vendors. I believe I know what I'm talking about here.

My sad understanding is that the great majority of the people I've shown the work to are mentally unsuited to the task. They do not have what it takes upstairs to do the work, and they frankly have lousy hands, the kiss of death to any tradesman, but an especial handicap to any tile professional. The small number of people that I do meet who are enthusiastic about learning about home improvement who are also suitable physically and mentally for doing the work are very simply NEVER going to settle long-term for life as a guy or girl who puts tile surround after tile surround into other people's houses for any sort of market-competitive payment. Nor have I settled for this. The skills and the underlying abilities are simply too valuable.

So the sad reality is that while a tile surround around your tub is certainly pretty, and a good tile surround is certainly more durable by decades than a plastic surround, the chances of finding someone to do it well in a residential setting are very small and getting smaller by the year. The chances of finding a hack who will do a job that will begin to fail within a few years of installation are, conversely, very high. Understand, the two surrounds will be practically identical. But one will last five years before it starts to leak and the other will be bulldozed with the house at the end of its structural life.

The risk and expense are not worth it. Yes, I'll do it myself for the rest of my working life, but you have to understand -- there's a mystical thing about building very good things that will last practically forever. A thing well-built cleanses the soul. It's not cost-effective, and I know better ways to put food on the table, but I'll keep doing it because it makes me happy. And because I know and accept this, I know I can't reliably buy the tile surrounds that are in my home or rental properties for any sort of market-competitive payment. I also know that once I step out of that tub for the last time, it's the last time I'll be called upon to do any sort of expensive job on that surround again. That is very valuable for a self-managing DIY investor, not so much for anyone else.

[Jordan Callaway]

@Mindy Jensen IMHO, for rental property: 100% tub surround with no seams, grout, or silicone. This may never ever leak and can be cleaned very easily. Even if you have great tenants they still may not report mold or cracked grout or sliding silicone in tile showers, and game over for that whole wall if not cement board. Also even if tenants clean their tile bathrooms, most of the time, the solvent people use on tile/grout breaks down and deteriorates the grout and silicone over time, so lose-lose! May of my clients with several hundred apartment units over time have gone to tile surrounds. 

I disagree that someone said they can't be used in nice apartments and also look high-end/nice. We're selling a 29-unit, 2017-construction MF property w/ granite in kitchens but they still used tub surrounds in bathrooms, with nice fixtures, and keeps rental maintenance close to 0, but still looks very nice in high-end apartments. Not to mention the ability for a tenant to screw it up reduces greatly. For-Sale homes and residential end-users/buyers, I agree with the sentiment above - home buyers love seeing the nicely tiled custom showers. 

[Mindy Jensen]

@Jim K., I wholeheartedly agree with absolutely everything you said above. Holy Cats!

So I have the skill, upstairs capacity, and hands to do a good, leakproof job. I've done this multiple times. I've HATED doing it every single time.

Fast forward to the current house, and two tiled showers into it (using large tiles, which absolutely SUCK on walls that are not plumb - spoiler alert: none of my walls are plumb) and we decide to get a tub with an all-in-one surround for the last bathroom. It went in SO MUCH FASTER than the tile, and with the Hello Kitty shower curtain closed, you can't see it's an insert.

So I agree that it looks better to have a tiled bathroom. I'm definitely checking out that plaster stuff from the first page that @Jason Hirko recommended, but for my rentals, I'm going to have to continue with these unbelievably easy inserts.

I do love reading everyone's opinion, and thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

[Adam Adams]

@Mindy Jensen I like your style! I like inserts for my apartment buildings because they are more economical (saves time and money).

[Bradford Clark]

@Mindy Jensen

I’ve used them

Other than looking cheap they are efficient

I can tile and add thousands in value for less than the plastic inserts

[Tom Spackman]

I am currently re-doing a shower stall in one of my units.  We decided on tile.  Properly installed, any shower system can be waterproof.  Tile is a bit harder to clean, but posts above have good tips, and it can be done.  Tile does not have to be expensive.  We went with an inexpensive over-sized subway tile.  The bottom line is that I want good tenants, and I want good rents.  You don't get that by using cheap materials.  I also think tenants won't respect a place that looks cheap.  They are more likely to take care of something that looks good and is well made. Or is that wishful thinking?

[Todd Drake]

As has been said, it depends on the house and your intended buyers/renters.

Leaks can happen with any system. Mud pans are still widely used and do last a long time. Trouble is, they can also hide a leak for a very long time...

I've done a ton of tiling and I use the schluter system. They have solutions for all conceivable tile finishes, floors (+heated), drains and wall systems. I watched the installation video a few times and was off to the races: https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/

Another offering is wedi, I haven't tried this system yet: https://us.wedi.de/

They are expensive, but the systems are waterproof before the tile is installed!

[Lance Riggen]

I didnt read through many of the comments (we own a tile/granite shop locally) so I am biased, however it comes down to longevity. Tile showers are fixed (installed) into the home and when done right will last the length of the home and reflect that in the market value. Fiberglass inserts might be fine for the home depending on price point, however thats your choice to make. Kitchens and baths typically yield a 80% or more ROI (when done conservatively). Hope that helps.

[Thomas Oliver]

    The traditional thought here is : If tile was cheaper, you would see it used more on the low end of the housing market. But since inserts dominate this end of the market, it shows they are cheaper. But with advancements in faux stone, inserts have upped there game if your willing to pay more than what tile cost.

  The biggest thing to consider is what adds value to the property. Though if I were to choose i would probably go with Corian. It has the look of stone and is a solid surface. As you said tile can be a pain to clean. I use a scrub brush eucalyptus oil mixture on my Corian insert. A trick I learned when i rented a apartment with a walk in tile shower.   

    If you shower like me, a luxury shower insert might be the best way to go. Many people are forgoing the bath tub in their house. This used to lower the value of a house, but a master bath with a luxury shower in a house with a tub/shower in the main bath for the kids could actually add value.

    One last thing, Corian used as walls in a shower and as a tub surround. It Looks like a granite or marble surround at a fraction of he cost of real stone slab, but this could end up costing a lot more than tile up front with less maintenance down the road. 

   The issue most people find with tile is that every grout line is a chance to crack and leak and mildew. You are supposed to re-seal the grout every 1 to 2 years . Of course, once the grout gets discolored, you have to restore the grout or seal the discolor in, too. Tile fashions change also so make sure if you plan to sell to go with a timeless design.

    That being said IMO if you have time on your side and can afford it, I wouldn't recommend tile. I would recommend thin (3cm) large stone slabs or stone colored Corian if you must use a insert. It will cast about 1,000 but still look nice.

P.S. If you dyi: tile is super cheap at habitat for humanity. Not all stone is equal. some stone is porous and will absorb water. These stones need sealed so you wont just seal grout ,but the WHOLE shower with them. 

[Pete Barrow]

It really depends on the situation, doesn't it? 

Tile can be much better looking, and should last a lifetime, done properly. 

It's very hard to find someone to do tile properly, and those people aren't cheap. 

You can buy very nice tile inexpensively, and learn to do it yourself. But it's a difficult and time-consuming skill, and you'll have to invest in some tools. 

If you tile around a tub, and the tub becomes badly damaged, it's tough to have to tear out a lot of tile to replace it. And, you had better have saved a few cases of that tile to match.

A surround doesn't look like much, but it goes in (and comes back out) a lot faster. 

Tile for places you want to sell or rent to people who will appreciate it, surrounds elsewhere. 

FRP is another good option for places where you want low expense / high durability.  If you don't know what FRP is, Google it. You will recognize it from gas station bathrooms. Beautiful it ain't. But it goes in fast, and gives you the cheapness of a surround, high durability, and like tile it can be cut and installed around a window where a surround often can't be.