Bathtub aggravations

We put men on the moon. We remote-controlled rovers on Mars. We demoted Pluto. You would think "We" could design a perfect bathroom shower by now. True, we lost our bolts on a recent space walk at the ISS. Maybe even our Ivory soap and loofah...

My condo was built in the late Seventies, but didn't utilize the NASA Tang technology available. The tub/shower "surrounds", or the three walls around the shower, are tiled in textured white 4" x 4" ceramic squares. The surrounds have built-in ledges and soap holders. The grout around these tile amenities tends to leak or crack causing tile to fall off, and invites insect visitors to the moisture-damaged wood. It's a continuing "blessing" of condo ownership.

My dad's house was built a quarter century earlier. His bathtub surround is sheets of Carrara glass. Carrara glass is structural glass, also known as Vitrolite, and was first popular in the Art Deco period. Dad needs some alterations made to the shower while he recovers from his broken hip. The idea of drilling holes in the Carrara glass for supporting grab bars is aesthetically daunting. The Carrara glass has done far better at being low-maintenance, aesthetically pleasing, and moisture-shielding than my more modern condo bathroom materials.