Shower rebuild options

No way would I put a prefab shower in a home. Especially one that nice. Custom shower is always your best option. Schluter systems are 100% waterproof with proper installation. The product won’t fail, just be sure guidelines are followed.
If you are reasonably handy and want to do this yourself you can access the John Bridge Forums and the people there can walk you through the whole process step by step. Very willing and helpful bunch of professional installers.

If the installer does it right, Schluter is a great system. I have two buddies that do tile full time and they swear by it, it's all they use now.

Our main tile guy still prefers concrete board on the walls and a traditional rubber pan with a concrete/sand mix mud bed with red guard over everything. That's what I used to do when I laid tile. If installed correctly, both ways are effective.

Schluter has been around long enough now that it's been widely viewed as a proven product. You go in any flooring supply store, and they're going to be selling Schluter or a similar product. Once you get the hang of it, it's an easier install as well. I wouldn't stress over any negative reviews you've seen online. Probably DIY'ers that view it as a pain in the arse (which it is the first few times).

I personally wouldn't go with a prefab pan. You're building a custom shower, no need to make part of it look like it's something from a mobile home. Nothing against mobile homes, but you're redoing it, you might as well make it nice.

O I got ya, I was misreading that. Yes, those can be good and make for any install. Schluter makes a base that can be cut to fit. If it's the same as it used to be, it's basically a Styrofoam base.

Love these responses.

I’m close to redoing all 3 of my showers, starting with the master, so this is all helpful information.

My wife has been pushing for a redo that is easier to clean, so she’s been leaning hard for a prefab shower pan.

The part that makes more sense to me is to put full slabs on the walls rather than individual tiles, and no glass. All glass seems to collect mineralization, which isn’t as noticeable on slab walls. So we’ll probably go with low shower walls high enough to contain major splashes, but an open entrance to the shower located in an area with enough distance from walls that won’t lead to a lot of water on the floor.

Are you familiar with Tile Redi?

I first heard of them on the Home Renovision YouTube channel. He seems to have some favor around here and he seems to love their pan and wall system.

I did my master shower years ago with a product called KBRS, similar to Tile Redi but I think was a little cheaper option. Concrete board on the walls, tape and thin set on all the seams and corners, then a bunch of red guard layers.