The key to manufacturing the ideal shower base is to find a material that is not only durable, but visually attractive as well. A long lasting product typically won’t sell very well if it is unattractive. Likewise, a beautiful product is somewhat pointless is it won’t hold up to normal wear and use. Acrylic, in its various forms, has been used to creates shower bases since they began to be manufactured on a large scale. The exact composition of the acrylic shower base over the years, however, has changed significantly to suit consumer demands and durability concerns.
Early Acrylic
The first acrylic shower bases were designed to be affordable in price and very basic in design. The acrylic being used resembled a thick plastic and was known for its low price and, unfortunately, for its cheap feel. The basic acrylic shower bases also tended to wear very easily and crack under slight pressure.
Acrylic Blends
In order to resolve the durability issue, manufacturers began to combine the acrylic with fiberglass in order to improve its weight bearing capacity and increase its lifespan. While pure fiberglass bases had been sold for a time, consumers complained about their rough texture. By combining the fiberglass and acrylic, the overall feel of the base became less plasticized while also becoming smoother to the touch, a perfect compromise for consumers needs. In essence, by blending the acrylic with fiberglass, manufacturers were able to address most of the concerns buyers had for each substance on its own while also being able to keep the overall price of the shower base low enough to where it was considered affordable enough for the general public.
Corian By DuPont
In order to take the acrylic shower base to the next level of design and style, manufacturers began to utilize Corian, an acrylic material designed and produced by DuPont, originally used strictly for bathroom and kitchen countertops. The material was not only very durable and highly scratch resistant, it was also able to be produced in a variety of solid colors as well as color blends resembling stone surfaces such as marble and granite. Corian shower bases allowed consumers to have the appearance of a costly stone shower base at a fraction of the cost.
As technology continues to advance, the method of creating shower bases from acrylic will most likely continue to advance as well. With these continued advances, manufacturers will be able to further increase the lasting ability of the bases while also improving the overall appearance.
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