Shower Remodels: The Gainey Flooring Difference

So you’re thinking about replacing your old shower/bathtub combo with a new walk-in shower. Smart move. You’ll eliminate the need to climb in and out of the tub every time you take a shower, which can be scary — and hazardous — for older people.

At this point you’ve probably visited a big-box home store, scanned the local paper, and maybe done a quick online search for “shower remodels.” And you’ve seen the offers. “Your Dream Bathroom In as Little as One Day!” “No Interest, No Payments for 12 Months!”

The accompanying photos of shiny white shower surrounds look pretty good. Squint, and you might even imagine you’re looking at real subway tile.

The problem, says Bruce Berey, owner of Gainey Flooring Solutions in  Scottsdale, AZ, is that you’re spending serious money on what is essentially a prefabricated piece of plastic.

There’s a big difference between trusting your bathroom to a company that uses high-quality materials and experienced craftsmen to create a custom, tiled shower, and giving your business to a company installing a factory- made shower molded of plastic, fiberglass, or acrylic. The first type of remodel is made to last decades, with materials, colors, and hardware that suit your taste and home. The second is a prefabricated unit that comes in limited colors and styles and given time and weight, may very well crack.

Surprisingly, there’s often no difference in price between the two. In fact, when Gainey Flooring replaces a shower/tub combo with a walk-in shower crafted from porcelain tile, the total cost is typically $3,000 to $5,000 less than the molded plastic version.