I think shower inserts instead of tile are fine, change my mind

[Mindy Jensen]

I see so many comments that tile showers are better than shower inserts.

For ease of installation as well as cleaning and mold/mildew resistance, I like a shower insert better. While I'm taking a shower, I don't look around and think, "oh, it's just an insert, that's bad."

Why do people like tiled showers better, and does anyone have any recommendations for a tile-look shower insert? 

[Jason Hirko]

Originally posted by @Mindy Jensen:

Originally posted by @Jason Hirko:

You want something that's easy to clean and beautiful? Check out Tadelakt. We even made our own out of a Portland cement and sand mixture. It wasn't harder than skimming the walls and will last 500 years. 

Is this product for floors, too or just for walls? This looks too good to be true! Does it go on top of cement board? Do you need to RedGuard the cement board prior to installation?  

 Yes you do the entire bathroom in it! It gives you a super custom look and costs a few hundred bucks if you're brave enough to do it yourself. When I do it I just stack two 2x4's as the transition between the shower floor and the rest of the bathroom floor, cover everything in cement board, then slap this junk on there. I usually pay a mason to do it. Then you pay a glass company to cut you a rectangle of glass for your 1/2 shower wall, and you're done. The trick is do it all in 1 coat. Multiple coats will flake off over time. But now your entire bathroom is water resistant! Here's our last project (we used cement tile for the floor, but this stuff works for floors too):