Help me solve a shower debate

[bibiche]

True. And if I were moving into a house with a plastic box I'd simply keep it and get a pretty shower curtain but if I'm shelling out money to make a bathroom look nice I'm not going plastic box route.

See, if I were moving to a house with a plastic box I would have it removed. I find them so aesthetically unappealing that I wouldn't be able to live with it, even hidden behind a curtain. :(

[Bluegoat]

This made me laugh because my 1910 bathrooms all have their original subway tiles. It's a pretty timeless look. :)

 

It can be, but it was super-trendy for awhile and people were putting it in places where it would never have been. 

[JustEm]

See, if I were moving to a house with a plastic box I would have it removed. I find them so aesthetically unappealing that I wouldn't be able to live with it, even hidden behind a curtain. :(

Oh see, I wouldn't buy a house that I had to do extensive work on unless it was acquired at a ridiculously good price. If I'm moving into a house I want to move in and not worry about more than painting and updating fixtures. If the bathroom needed to be redone I wouldn't by the house but if the only thing ugly about it was the plastic box I'd just live with it because it's just a bathroom.

[fairfarmhand]

Am I the only person who dislikes the subway tiles because it looks too busy for me. I think "migraine" every time I see that stuff. Too many lines!

[Rachel]

Huh- I'm surprised that most of you guys like plastic. We just redid our master bath and changed our tub/shower combo to a tiles walk in shower. But it has a solid surface floor, not tiled floor. There is some subway tile but most is a larger tile. Floating glass doors, so no track at the bottom to get gunked up.

 

Never had a problem with mildew on the tiles- do you guys have damp bathrooms or is it because of our climate here?

 

We did the tile because we're planning to sell in a couple of years...sounds like we should have done the much cheaper plastic inserts!

We had a porcelain tub with tile above, the rest of bathroom was tiled too. I'm sure it was easy to keep clean at first, but by the time the tile was 60 years old it wasn't. I'm betting for resell people still think they prefer tile, it is so much prettier. Our bathroom wasn't particularly damp and we don't live in a damp climate. It isn't really the tile that is difficult to clean, it's the grout.

[Pawz4me]

Ehhh . . . I'm much more function over form, so I'd be more apt to go with a plastic box. Or solid surface walls and some sort of molded pan bottom (assuming walk in shower). Cultured marble is another solid surface that can be used for walls. I wouldn't do grout unless there was no other option. I also wouldn't ever do shower doors again. A shower curtain liner is simple to take down and pop in the washing machine once every week to get squeaky clean. Or you can use inexpensive ones and replace them.

[TranquilMind]

We currently have old 70's brown tile in our shower. We're planning on a bathroom remodel in the next year.

 

One of us thinks that some white subway tiles would be perfect.

 

One of us thinks that grout is evil and eventually looks gross without constant vigilance. This person wants a big plastic, easy-to-clean box.

 

What says the Hive?

 

Tile has better resale value.  That's the main concern, in my view.  I always want my house ready to go.

 

I would never do the big plastic box in my own house.  Houses in this area are nicely tiled.  You can put a serious sealer on the grout and it will last for many years. 

 

[Guest]

Tile has better resale value. That's the main concern, in my view. I always want my house ready to go.

 

I would never do the big plastic box in my own house. Houses in this area are nicely tiled. You can put a serious sealer on the grout and it will last for many years.

 

So, is my grout hard to maintain because it is old?

[Amy in NH]

This made me laugh because my 1910 bathrooms all have their original subway tiles. It's a pretty timeless look. :)

 

Original 1910 subway tiles date the house to the 1910s.

[gardenmom5]

I love subway tile.  grout it evil.  grout can be sealed - but that is a pain and must be redone.

 

there are 'plastic' tub surrounds that look like textured white 4x4 tile. (and no grout). I saw one higher end house that put that in the kids bathroom - and nicer tile to edge it, so it looked a bit more custom.

 

I have 12 x 24 porcelain tiles (looks like travertine - even my stone guy was impressed) in my shower.  my dd has very dark grout (which hides a multitude of evils)

 

I also use a squeegee to wipe down my shower afterwards.

[bibiche]

Original 1910 subway tiles date the house to the 1910s.

LOL. You certainly have a point. :)

[TranquilMind]

So, is my grout hard to maintain because it is old?

Well, stain eventually seeps in.  There are some strong cleaners that will clean it.  You can also use bleach and a toothbrush, but that is time and labor intensive. 

Eventually the grout starts coming out and you need to have it regrouted. 

 

[LucyStoner]

There's a reason I teach everyone here to dry the walls and tub after they exit their bath or shower. We had lovely tile in our house for years and zero mildew issues (in a climate prone to mildew) between drying the surfaces with a towel and leaving the door open and the fan on for a bit afterwards.

 

Our present apartment has plasticky walls around both tubs and I dislike it.

 

We'd tile once we re-enter the housing market.

Edited September 15, 2016 by LucyStoner

[ktgrok]

Am I the only person who dislikes the subway tiles because it looks too busy for me. I think "migraine" every time I see that stuff. Too many lines!

 

Me too. Fine for an accent, or a backsplash in a kitchen, but not a whole wall. Too busy. 

[happypamama]

We just had this debate. We ended up going with the white plastic box for the shower (which I spray with vinegar and wipe down about every other day or so), with a regular shower curtain. The actual tub is fiberglass or something, but o don't think it's plastic.

 

DH wanted tile for the floor, but I was wary of grout. His compromise was a darker tan tile with a medium grey grout. So far, it's easy to keep clean, but it's only been a few weeks.

[Guest]

Me too. Fine for an accent, or a backsplash in a kitchen, but not a whole wall. Too busy.

That is why I dislike dark grout. It looks very busy.

[SparklyUnicorn]

the plastic box

 

I don't like subway tile, and I don't want to clean it.  Really I do not get the allure of subway tile.  It makes me think of public shower rooms. 

 

 

[ktgrok]

the plastic box

 

I don't like subway tile, and I don't want to clean it.  Really I do not get the allure of subway tile.  It makes me think of public shower rooms. 

 

Yes. Subway tile makes me think of middle school locker room shower or what not. Big giant tile makes me think of a spa. I prefer spas, lol. 

[ksr5377]

Buy the mildew resistant grout. It's totally worth it.

[Zock]

Subway tiles with a darker grout. 

The big plastic boxes feel cheap to me and I always wonder what's behind the plastic. :) 

 

Plus I just redid my bathroom in glass subway tiles and I love it so much. 

[dirty ethel rackham]

We have the easy to clean plastic box in one bathroom and tile in the other.  I prefer the look of tile.  While the plastic box may seem easier to clean, there are areas that can still collect mildew.  The plastic ages and starts to look dated faster.  You can regrout tile if you run into mildew problems.  (Part of the reason we have the plastic box is that we needed to do a cheaper replacement of a shower area and the high quality box was less expensive than the labor for a tiled shower.

[StephanieZ]

I've got lots of tile in my bathrooms, and it's fine. You know why? Because I chose dark grout. :) 

 

I think white subway tiles could be OK as long as you went with a dark grey grout. But, besides the grout, white subways will show water spots, dirt, etc, really well. So, personally, I wouldn't do them in a regularly used shower. :) 

 

Personally, I like bigger tiles and ones with "something going on" to hide daily grunge. There are lots of good options. 

 

I hate plastic/acrylic/etc showers. Personally. 

[Bluegoat]

Yes. Subway tile makes me think of middle school locker room shower or what not. Big giant tile makes me think of a spa. I prefer spas, lol. 

 

Big giant tiles in a house tends to make me think of homeowner done renovations.  When we were house hunting when flipping was big, every house that had been redone to flip was full of large tiles, usually in beigh or fake stone.

[Bluegoat]

Eventually no matter what one uses, there will be a need for more significant maintanence.  Tiles, if they aren't chipped, can keep being regrouted.  Plastic liners OTOH will eventually need to be ripped out.  So I think either way work and expense.

[Melissa in Australia]

We have neither tiles or plastic. We have a product called lamipanel. So easy to clean cheaper than tiles and way nicer than plastic

[wendy not in HI]

A different option - not tile or plastic box - cultured marble slabs:  http://www.usmarble.com/colors/marble.aspx  (I have no idea where by parent's bought theirs, but the link is a basic description of what they are)

 

My parents recently put in a bathroom in their basement with "cultured marble" slabs on the walls above the tub.  So, there's a regular set in tub, with nice solid grey and white marble walls - 3 slabs cover the 3 walls.  There is a long line of grout in each of the corners.  It looks really nice and it is very easy to keep clean.  It was much easier to install than tile, and looks much classier than the plastic box.

 

I prefer a tiled shower to the plastic box, but we are renting a very lovely and expensive home that has plastic boxes in the bathrooms (one room with just a walk in shower and two bath/shower combined.)  They are a much nicer quality than the one we tore out of a previous 1970's home we remodeled.  I think the ones in this house look really nice (the tub/showers have the 4x4" tile-look on the walls, with real tile surrounding) and they are easy to clean.  The walk in shower surround has all sorts of handy add ins - little seat, storage spots, wash cloth bar, etc.  I imagine there are different grades of nice plastic tub surrounds.