Tile shower vs. acrylic insert: compare quotes
Shawn Allbritton, Clear River Contracting
A question we get a lot: “I have a quote for a new shower at about half your price. Why is yours more?” Almost every time the answer is that the other quote is for an acrylic insert, and ours is for a tiled shower. They are not the same product, and the price gap is the product gap. Here is how to tell them apart and what each one gets you.
What an acrylic insert is
An insert is a molded shell, acrylic or fiberglass, made in a factory in a handful of standard sizes. The installer sets it into the alcove, usually over the existing walls or a quick backer, seals the seams with caulk, and is done in a day or two. That speed is real, and it is where the savings come from. Less labor, no tile, no grout, no waterproofing system to build.
The trade is that you get a plastic surface with visible seams, in the sizes and patterns the factory makes. When it cracks or the caulk line fails, the fix is a new insert, not a repair.
What a tiled shower is
A tiled shower is built in place. Everything comes out to the framing. A Schluter foam pan and bonded membrane go over the floor and walls, so the shower is waterproof before a single tile goes on. Then the tile is set, the niches are built in, the grout goes in, and the glass is measured to the finished opening. Tile is done in 3 to 4 days on our jobs, and the glass follows about 1.5 to 2 weeks later.
A cracked tile gets replaced; the rest of the shower is untouched. Grout can be cleaned and, years down the line, redone. The layout, the niche, the bench and the tile are whatever fits the room, not whatever fits a mold.
The three questions that sort any shower quote
- Is it tile or an insert? If the quote does not say the word tile, ask. A low number is the first clue.
- What is under the tile? Tile and grout are not waterproof on their own. A tiled shower with no membrane behind it can look fine for a few years and then rot the framing. Any tile quote should name its waterproofing system. Ours is Schluter, on every shower.
- Is the glass in the number, and is the number fixed? Glass is often a separate line, sometimes a separate company. Ours is included, and the price does not move unless you change the scope.
What ours costs
Our tiled showers come in three fixed-price packages: the Refresh at $14,000, the Signature at $16,000 and the Luxe Spa at $18,000. Every one includes the tear-out, the Schluter system, real tile, the valve and trim, epoxy grout, the glass and a one-year craftsmanship warranty. What a shower remodel costs breaks down what moves a shower from one package to the next.
We do not install inserts or plastic wall panels. That is not a comment on anyone who does; it is just not the shower we build.
When an insert is the right call
If the house is being sold next year and the shower only has to look clean, an insert may be the sensible spend. If you plan to use the shower every day for the next fifteen years, the tiled one costs more now and is the one still standing then. Either way, make sure the two quotes in your hand are for the same thing before you compare the numbers.