We are researching a shower rebuild and had a contractor out today who (unexpectedly) also does work with a material from The Onyx Collection. It’s a groutless man made stone material that you make a pan and walls out of. From their site:
63% of our products is a hydrate crystal--Al2O3+3H2O. Alumina is also the main ingredient in Corian and all "solid surface" products.The main ingredient in our product is (alumina trihydrate). Our other 37% is a special polyester resin we developed over the last 30 plus years. Our resin does not contain any urea formaldehyde.
Does anyone have experience with this? What are the cons?
Cost came in line with tile from another contractor but $4k less than tile from the same contractor. Their pitch was “more expensive material, but saves on installation.”
My wife was sold immediately on the “no grout.” I’m weary of getting too smart with the shower and going with an unknown exotic product. But I’m not finding much negative on Google.
Plan is to be in our home for the long haul, so resale is less of a concern.
Thanks!
I worked for a remodeling company for 10 years. Never had any complaints. My only problem is they sold out and sell at the big box stores now. 🤓
Many manufactures offer 'quartz' shower panels. After all, they've been using them for kitchen and bath counter tops for over 30 years. These panels are the same material, just cast in a thinner mold.
Using a resin/composite has tons of advantages. Ease of maintenance is high on the list. Water and minerals have a hard time sticking to it. You can clean it with a damp sponge. With fewer joints, there is less of a chance for leakage into the surrounding walls.
Plus it looks damn good. Just wish it cost less, is all.....
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Hi all, I was just talking with a contractor about a bathroom reno including a total gut of the stall shower. I've always envisioned new, more modern tile going in to replace the very 60s tiles that are in there now. This guy is open to doing whatever we like, but he really talked up the Onyx Collection as a solid, good looking product for shower walls (and pan, for that matter) that would also majorly reduce the labor cost. I took a look at their site, sent it to my wife, and she loves the idea for the ease of cleaning/not needing to deal with grout lines, etc. I, on the other hand, can't get past how cheap/Glacier Bay the colors and designs look, and how shiny it is. It's nearly a visceral reaction for me. I'd almost rather have a straight prefab enclosure.
I have researched a bit, and I am finding things like Corian or Dekton that look so much better, as well as a brand called Castico, which seems more on par with Onyx (but looks less like it belongs in an RV bathroom), but it's hard to decipher what the differences might be in terms of what's needed to install those compared to something like Onyx, not to mention price comparisons. Obviously, I would need to bring this up with the contractor (fortunately, he's a very easy going guy that I'm in a play with currently), but I want to try to do my homework ahead of time.
Any thoughts or advice that can be given on the topic? Thanks in advance!