I am in the process of building a new home and need some advice regarding showers. The house has 3 bathrooms, all with stand-up showers. I had originally planned to tile all three, but the need for an unexpected large and expensive retaining wall has me scrambling to find some cost savings. In my area, tile is very expensive and I was looking at about 5k per shower just for the tile and labor. So I’ve been exploring less expensive options for the two secondary baths.

I’m not crazy about the fiberglass inserts and have been looking at shower wall panel systems. Anyone have experience with these? I’d love brand recommendations as well as the pros and cons of using this type of product. I’ve been looking at LuxStone through Kohler and the Castico system available at Home Depot. Thoughts on these? Are there other good options out there?

This has been particularly challenging because I’m in a rural area and there are no local retailers who carry these in store so I haven’t been able to gauge look and feel.

Your advice is much appreciated.