Gyroscopic Investing

I'll be remodeling my bathrooms in a couple of months, and one of my goals is to choose showers or shower/bathtub combos that are as easy as possible to keep clean and free of rust and buildups/deposits. And I'd like to stick to high-quality materials that will stand the test of time.

I tend to prefer showers with glass doors instead of a rod and curtain, but the problem with glass shower doors is that they usually attach to a metal frame that has various hard-to-reach crevices that form rust and hard water deposits over time.

So maybe the ideal would be some kind of glass shower door that attaches to the shower in a way that minimizes the use of metal and also minimizes the number of hard-to-reach crevices?

I haven't started researching the options very carefully yet, but I figured I'd pose the question to all of you smart folks first since you tend to have opinions and recommendations on just about everything

Wish I could help more directly, but I can suggest that you post this over at bogleheads.org in their Personal Consumer Issues section. I think they have a lot more traffic over there, and I suspect you will get more help.

Doors suck, yeah. When I remodeled, I did the grout for the tiles with two part epoxy grout. Pain in the ass to do and a short time limit to put it in, but never an issue with staining or mold or cracking or anything. In place for 9 years in one bath and 7 on another. Did the floor grout with epoxy too.

https://laticrete.com/en/support-and-do ... oxy-grouts

For any future bathroom remodels, I'm going to look for as simple of a shower shell as I can find. My current one has ledges, overhangs, a handrail... all stuff that makes it hard to scrub and wipe down. Simpler is cheaper too.

Something that looks like this is what I'm thinking:



Not this:

Thanks for the good suggestions so far!

Agree that simpler is better. Not sure we’ll want to go with another plastic shell, though. That’s what we currently have, and they’re very flimsy; they move slightly under your feet when you walk on them. So we’re probably not doing that again. We’ll probably see if they make sturdier, higher quality shell materials nowadays. Or maybe tile.

Speaking of tile, if we go that route, the epoxy grout that Cortopassi mentioned sounds promising. Or if we do a more standard grout, I’ll probably pick a darker color and constantly re-seal it to keep it absolutely waterproof. I hate, hate, hate stained, discolored grout.

My architect brother went with tile in his bathroom and shower curtains rather than a door, if that helps. He gave me a useful tip: wipe down the wall tile after showering. Takes about 30 seconds. That plus tile grout sealing should work well, if you go that route.

FWIW, I've got traditional tile & grout in my bathroom that's around 20-30 years old. When I moved in, I did a bit of cleanup work. There were shower doors with exactly the problem around the edges that Tortoise mentioned, plus they leaked. I got rid of them in favor of shower curtains. I cleaned up the tile with CLR, patched some tiny holes in the grout with caulk and covered it with sealer from the hardware store (i.e. nothing special). The grout had looked stained, but it was only on the surface and it was almost pristine underneath. Get an experienced installer who does good quality work, and you should be fine. Those plastic enclosures might be easier and cheaper, but they kinda have that college-dorm look compared to real tile.

I’m visiting my brother and family where they have a glass door like ours, but no hard water deposits or discoloration of any kind. They clean it with something like a dish brush.

I wanted just a walk in, no curtain or door of any kind. She wanted a curtain. Glass door was our compromise, but after five years, the dirt is getting in.

I live in a house with all baths upstairs. If I stay here my whole entire life, and I don't want to put in an elevator, what can I do about a shower on the ground floor when I can't climb stairs? Stick a temporary shower in the garage? Squeeze an RV type of shower in the powder room? Have a Tiny House bath / hot tub / sauna outside?

I've always loved the doorless, half wall waterfall showers when I find them at a hotel or resort.

A google image search has a bunch of great examples.

Ochotona, you'd put in a staircase chairlift and hire an aide. That's what we did for my dad until he was too impaired for anything other than a hospital bed in the living room, Hoyer lift to get into a wheelchair, and bed baths. My mom now uses the chairlift to get heavy items up and down the stairs.

Tortoise wrote: ↑Thu Nov 22, 2018 2:44 pm T
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Not sure we’ll want to go with another plastic shell, though. That’s what we currently have, and they’re very flimsy; they move slightly under your feet when you walk on them. So we’re probably not doing that again. We’ll probably see if they make sturdier, higher quality shell materials nowadays. Or maybe tile..

Although I like my tile, I have been in a one-piece shower in someone's house and it was not plastic. It was fiberglass or something. Dark yellow. Not beautiful, but impervious to mold, and so easy to clean. Very sturdy.

dualstow wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 3:57 pm

Tortoise wrote: ↑Thu Nov 22, 2018 2:44 pm T
...
Not sure we’ll want to go with another plastic shell, though. That’s what we currently have, and they’re very flimsy; they move slightly under your feet when you walk on them. So we’re probably not doing that again. We’ll probably see if they make sturdier, higher quality shell materials nowadays. Or maybe tile..

Although I like my tile, I have been in a one-piece shower in someone's house and it was not plastic. It was fiberglass or something. Dark yellow. Not beautiful, but impervious to mold, and so easy to clean. Very sturdy.

Our master bath shower enclosure is pretty much as you describe - fiberglass, smooth coated and has been in service for 32 years. It is ivory color and very, very sturdy, no flex. Easy to clean, no mold ever. Sliding glass doors. The aluminum frame does have some mold on the caulk used to seal it to the shower shell. I need to remove it one of these days and re caulk. Our other bathroom has a tub/shower combo of the same fiberglass material with a shower curtain. No issues.

If you haven't started the remodeling yet. I could ask my friend who is an architect and does inhouse modeling.. may be he could help you

Marlb10 wrote: ↑Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:28 am If you haven't started the remodeling yet. I could ask my friend who is an architect and does inhouse modeling.. may be he could help you

We probably won't start the bathroom remodeling for at least another couple of months, so feel free to ask your architect friend for suggestions. Thanks!