Back in the mid-’90s, when the internet was brand new, I started a little website called Ask The Remodeler: homeowners sent in questions, and I answered them straight. Thirty years later, I’m bringing it back. Each month I’ll answer one real question about Cape Cod homes. Have one? Click here to send it in, and I’ll pick one for a future column.
“We still have the original plastic tub surround. Is a custom tile shower really worth it?”
I get this question all the time, especially here in New Seabury and across the Upper Cape, where plenty of homes still have the bath that came with the house. Short answer: yes. And if your surround went in before the Red Sox finally won a World Series, it’s time.
Picture Your New Morning Routine
It’s 6:30 on a winter morning. You turn on the shower and the water comes right up to your temperature, the one you set once and never think about again. You step in, lean back against the wall, and set your foot on the toe rest. Shampoo, razor and everything else sit within reach in a niche that runs the full width of the wall. Your robe hangs on its hook.
Nothing’s crammed in, nothing’s plastic. And nobody’s balancing the shampoo on a tiny corner ledge like a game of Jenga.
That’s the real difference. A plastic surround is something you put up with. A custom tile shower is something you look forward to.
What You Gain With a Custom Tile Shower
It’s built for your space, not a stock size. Plastic surrounds come in a handful of standard sizes, and older Cape bathrooms rarely match them. A custom shower is built to the room you actually have, so you can use every inch.
It’s built around how you live. Every shower we build includes the details you’ll use every day:
A built-in seat
A toe rest for shaving
Wall hooks for robes and towels
Our signature full-width niche, so there’s finally room for everything
Built Around How You Live
A recent Falmouth bath: our signature full-width niche, a built-in stone seat, wall hooks, grab bars that look like hardware, and a handheld shower on a slide bar. Design and color scheme by John Clark. Installation by Brian Burns, our TileSmith.
It feels like a spa. Add thermostatic shower controls and you set your favorite temperature once. Turn the shower on and the water comes up to exactly where you like it, every time.
It’s easier to keep clean. Built right, with the right materials, tile is simple to keep up. The secret weapon is a handheld shower: rinse the walls down when you’re done, and you’re finished. Your future self, the one who used to scrub soap scum on their knees, says thank you.
It looks fantastic. Tile gives you nearly endless choices of color, pattern, size and texture, from classic Cape white to something bolder.
Details You Notice Every Day
Hex mosaic floor that echoes the niche, a curved stone seat, a stone curb and a decorative drain. Three materials, one look. Design and color scheme by John Clark. Installation by Brian Burns, our TileSmith.
What “Built Right” Means
A tile shower is only as good as what’s behind the tile. On every custom shower we build:
The walls and niche are built with a waterproof foam board system, the same kind of system made by Schluter, Laticrete and Johns Manville.
Every seam, screw and pipe opening is sealed with the system’s own waterproofing.
We run a 24-hour flood test, filling the shower base and leaving it a full day to prove it holds water before any tile goes up.
We use stain-resistant grout, and finish the edges to suit the tile and the design: clean metal trim, matching bullnose, or a mitered corner.
You’ll never see most of it. That’s the point.
Is It an Investment?
Yes. A custom tile shower costs more than a plastic surround. But it’s one you enjoy every single day, and one that upgrades your home when it’s time to sell. A tired plastic surround is one of the first things buyers notice in an older Cape house. A well-built tile shower is one of the things they remember.
Quick Answers
Is a tile shower harder to clean than a plastic surround?
Not when it’s built with the right materials. Stain-resistant grout and a handheld shower make daily rinsing quick and easy.
Can a custom tile shower fit a small Cape bathroom?
Yes. Since it’s built to your space, a custom shower often makes better use of a small or oddly shaped bathroom than a stock surround can.
What features should I include?
Our favorites are a seat, a toe rest, wall hooks, a full-width niche, thermostatic controls, and a handheld shower.
What’s behind the tile?
A waterproof foam board system, sealed at every seam and opening, then flood-tested for 24 hours before any tile goes up.
Does a tile shower add value to my home?
It upgrades one of the most-used rooms in the house and replaces a feature that dates older homes. It’s an improvement buyers notice.
