One Piece Shower Stalls

If you're in the middle of a bathroom remodel and want a shower, you're basically deciding between two main options. The pre-fab stall or tiled walls. There are pros and cons of both.

Pre-fab shower stalls come in either one piece or several pieces (two piece is pretty common). The biggest problem with a single piece stall is that a lot of older homes don't have doorways wide enough for the it to fit through. They aren't expensive, especially compared to a professional tiling job, but the pre-fab units are definitely considered a step down in quality. To their credit, they do last a long time and finally come in more color options than just white or off white.

Tiled stalls are definitely more elegant and coveted, but the problem is the labor cost in addition to the price of nice tile. Whatever you choose the result is pretty permanent, you can't just rip it out and change it in 6 months. This is something you'll have a for a while.

One piece shower stalls have the advantage of no seals, no places for water to leak. Of course it must still join up with the wall, and if that connection is done improperly you could have water issues, but the stall itself will not leak from top to bottom because it's molding into one complete unit at the factory.

A lot of people will get two piece shower stalls, with the top and tub portions in two separate units. This is beneficial for getting through tight doorways and halls, in addition to making installation a little easier.

There are several advantages to the pre-fab stall, whether single or multi piece.

1. It installs quickly.
2. It's lighter, which is helpful if you question the stability of the floor or house in general.
3. If your house is older and flexes more, especially when the tub is full of water, these units won't crack or split. Tile can split easily and be permanently disfigured.
4. If your handyman skills are less than professional you can still install it yourself.