readergirl
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Post by readergirl on Oct 21, 2019 9:13:22 GMT -5
Our house is 20 years old. It is time to remodel the bathrooms. They were done on the cheap-fiberglass tub and surround, shower surround and floor. The tub was not set level. Our area water is super hard. The tub retains water in one spot, and has built up a horrible scaly mineral whatever that no matter what you clean it with does not come up. I am afraid any more scrubbing will make a hole. The shower stall floor is never clean. I am going for subway tile surrounds. The big question is the tub- porcelain enamel cast iron or porcelain enamel steel. I have read pro and con. We will probably be here another 20 years, so I want something quality, that I can clean, and NOT HATE! And what for the shower stall floor? Any suggestions?
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Oct 21, 2019 10:32:05 GMT -5
What is the price difference? I didn't think the cost was enough for me to skip the cast iron. Granted, I am on a slab, so the only cost was the tub. I like a tub that is fully solid when I stand on it. Even the steel seems to bend over time.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Oct 21, 2019 11:01:17 GMT -5
I love the penny tile shower floor tile.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Oct 21, 2019 11:39:11 GMT -5
When you start looking at tile, particularly for the floors, look at its slip rating. Our bathroom floor is slick as snot when it gets wet and I conked myself good, slipping, falling and hitting the wall with my head.
When we replaced the laundry room floor, I chose only from the tiles that had a good no slip rating. If /when we do the bathroom and hallway, I will do so there too.
For floors of your shower, whatever you choose get a sample and stand on it with bare feet. I really hate the feeling of bumps and suspect something with a lot of crevices would be difficult to keep clean.
ETA: Dont forget the heated floor!
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Oct 21, 2019 11:54:07 GMT -5
We remodeled our two bathrooms in the past year. I would go with the cast iron if you can afford it. Make sure the new tub slopes properly so that water drains all out.
We used penny round tile in the shower floor after bringing home several samples of tile and standing on them to see if they were comfortable. We immediately took back the flat pebbles and some others.
I agree with mich - look for a good non slip rating for your shower and bathroom floors. We put in floor heat in both bathrooms and we love it! It’s great on a cold winter morning or in the middle of the night and wasn’t that much to install.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Oct 21, 2019 12:48:30 GMT -5
If you don't already have a water softener, I highly recommend buying one. As long as you remember to keep putting salt in the tank, cleaning the tub/shower area will be easier (not to mention, that hard water won't be messing up your pipes).
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Oct 21, 2019 15:43:50 GMT -5
We got cast iron. I didn't even know steel was an option. I guess most people get fiberglass, but I like my baths, and fiberglass sucks.
As for tile, we only had the walls to do, and I got something bigger/easier to clean, with a strip of really pretty glass tile. YMMV.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Oct 21, 2019 15:47:11 GMT -5
If you don't already have a water softener, I highly recommend buying one. As long as you remember to keep putting salt in the tank, cleaning the tub/shower area will be easier (not to mention, that hard water won't be messing up your pipes). This is the first place I have lived where a water softener is a must. I didn't figure it out for a few years. What a difference it has made in the taste, color and smell of my water. I have a service that puts the salt in the tank because I can't lift the 40 pound bags.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Oct 23, 2019 18:00:00 GMT -5
We put luxury vinyl flooring in all three of our baths when we remodeled. The kind that snaps together and just lays over the old floor. One looks like aged wood and the other two like large tile. It's warm, non slippery, water resistant , easy to install, and looks good.
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readergirl
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Post by readergirl on Oct 31, 2019 11:50:51 GMT -5
We are going for the cast iron tubs. We asked plenty of stores selling various types of tubs. The big box store by us-their tub guy said the enamel over steel tubs are great. He has installed many over the last 20 years, and never had a problem. I ask him what he would put in his house. Immediately, he says cast iron. Now I have to find a shower floor. Some kind of little tiles?.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Oct 31, 2019 12:08:22 GMT -5
We are going for the cast iron tubs. We asked plenty of stores selling various types of tubs. The big box store by us-their tub guy said the enamel over steel tubs are great. He has installed many over the last 20 years, and never had a problem. I ask him what he would put in his house. Immediately, he says cast iron. Now I have to find a shower floor. Some kind of little tiles?. Little tiles mean lots of grout to clean. Some little tiles can also be uncomfortable on the feet, so make sure you stand on them with bare feet to see how they feel. Non slip, check the tile ratings.
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readergirl
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Post by readergirl on Nov 1, 2019 9:36:37 GMT -5
The Walk: I have never done this before. I just thought little tiles would be easier to get the right slant. What do you recommend to the shower floor? We have super, super hard water with all kinds of minerals. The fiberglass shower we have now is incredibly hard to keep semi clean.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Nov 1, 2019 10:33:49 GMT -5
The Walk: I have never done this before. I just thought little tiles would be easier to get the right slant. What do you recommend to the shower floor? We have super, super hard water with all kinds of minerals. The fiberglass shower we have now is incredibly hard to keep semi clean. Maybe a water softener? 😜
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Nov 1, 2019 10:45:41 GMT -5
The Walk: I have never done this before. I just thought little tiles would be easier to get the right slant. What do you recommend to the shower floor? We have super, super hard water with all kinds of minerals. The fiberglass shower we have now is incredibly hard to keep semi clean. A good tiler should be able to get the right slant, regardless of tiles. A few years ago, we pulled up the carpet in the bathroom. Half the bathroom was tiled, 20+ years ago and there were only a few leftover tiles ....but not near enough to replace the carpeting. The choice was to find a tile close to what was there, or to rip out the whole bathroom (floor, walls, tub and shower.....a LOT of tile). We found a tile very similar, found an edging tile that we used all over and patched something together that looks pretty good. Long story short, new tile was a different depth than old tile, it was thinner. The tiler was able to build up the floor so it was flush across the new and old tile.
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