Remodeling your bathroom is a sure way to increase the value of your home, which you might want to consider if you are thinking of selling in the future, and one way to do that is to install a new shower.
The question that immediately presents itself is, will you hire someone to do this for your, or are you planning on doing it yourself?
Installing a prefab shower is doable for a homeowner, but there are certain drawbacks. While it is without question more economical to install a prefab shower, you will be reduced to dealing with whatever size and style might be available, although these days there is quite some variety. Where there is no variety is in the fact that you need to put a prefab shower into the space you have, and possibly make do with a less than perfect fit.
In addition, once the prefabricated shower is in place, if a crack develops it will be harder to fix than a crack in a tile which can just simply be replaced. In terms of longevity of the two different installations, a prefabricated shower is likely to need to be replaced a lot sooner.
A custom tiled shower on the other hand will give you the flexibility to really work within the parameters of your bathroom, and afford you to take advantage of whatever layout you have. You can basically have the shower of the size, shape and character that you want and use every last inch of space available to suit your imagination. The variety of tiles available is practically limitless,and the only thing that curtails the design of a custom tiled shower is the size of your budget.
While this may sound good, a word to the wise: tiled showers are tricky to install by yourself unless you have extensive experience. They are also time-consuming under the best of circumstances. A professional will have the expertise as well as the right tools to do the job correctly and beautifully, while at the same time be available with his expertise to counsel you on the kind of installation, fixtures, type of tile that suits your needs.