On 1/29/2017 12:32 PM, Jon Danniken wrote:


Ceramic tile will last longer and is easer to maintain.

I think the main argument supporting "other than tile" for a surround is
the amount of time saved during installation. Tiling takes awhile, and
you must perform specific preparation of the underlying surface to do a
good job.

Using a one-piece surround such as plastic laminate (Wilsonart, Formica,
et al) requires you to glue it and stick it on the wall, without the
myriad of prep steps that you have to do with tile.

Jon

The plastic surrounds are a good value, easy to install, durable,
leakproof. But none of that matters to me.

I'd use them if I was fixing up a rental property but the best of them
are rather blah in appearance compared to ceramic tile. My house when
built had fiberglass shower and tub surrounds and I was happy to get rid
of them in favor of a nice tile.