Jack;
You need to go to a home depot or lowes to see the
actual difference. I for one was going down this
very road awhile ago. The fiberglass / pastic walls(shower
enclosures)
are cheaper, but the dont look that great and also seem hollow/cheap.
I dont even want to think of what would happen in the stuff cracked....

The ones I saw were around 500.00 for the whole unit.

With a good shower base and tiles I was in the 800.00 range.

The only thing is labor. I did the job myself. If I had someone
else doing it, just putting in a whole unit would have been much
cheaper. The work putting up the walls and tiling the whole thing
would have made the tile job much more expensive if I had to
pay for labor.

In any case, I went for putting in a nice heavy fiberglass/acrylic
showerbase
(400.00 one) with some concrete under it to really make it strong.
(wasnt pure concrete it was some mixed that was sold at home depot)

Anyhow I put the base in and then put cement board
up the walls with a tar paper underlayment.

I tiled the whole thing and am very pleased with it.

The plastic stuff looks cheap and reminds me of a
bates motel sort of thing. Go to a showroom and
see this stuff in person. I know its a matter of taste
and money, but if you are going to do the work yourself
you can probably get away with doing the material cost
for only a little more money than the of the plastic enclosure.
It will add more value to your home as well, people wont
be scared to shower in it either!

Tom



Jack wrote:
I should have been more clear with my question:

I will not just cover over anything that is wet.. I will remove
everything that is wet.

My real question is, should I then rebuild with tile.. or rebuild with
a fiberglass insert. What are pros and cons of each?

I could take or leave aesthetics of tile, and if a fiberglass can do
the same job cheaper I am leaning that way.. but again, looking for
others opinions on what is the best way to rebuild after I repair all
wet damage.