I don't have a clear picture of his intent, but I'll toss this out: As a tile backer and/or shower surround, a mud job is king. It allows the walls to be floated perfectly plumb and square, and with mesh properly embedded in and wrapped around the mud wall corners, you can actually grout your shower's inside corners instead of caulking them. It's rock solid construction. Now moving on, he mentioned "acrylic or fiberglass" for the shower floor and or portions of the walls. I translate this as a manufactured acrylic shower pan and an acrylic shower surround unit. Installing an acrylic surround over a mud job doesn't quite make sense to me. Or were those offered as two different choices? In an ideal world, I'd use the floated mud walls as the base structure. Kerdi over that would give you topical waterproofing. Tile/glass over that and you have an installation that will last for generations. An acrylic or fiberglass surround, it really depends on the quality of the unit. Lesser quality units, especially flimsy bases, can flex and crack around the drain, sometimes in a matter of years. Better quality ones can perform well for years. As to a waste of money, I don't think a mud job is a waste of money unless it's to be covered by an acrylic surround. I don't think Kerdi is a waste of money unless it's to be covered with an acrylic surround. A cheap acrylic surround can be a waste of money, a failure in the unit can cause unseen water damage, if it's flimsy and the base flexes underfoot it can give an uneasy feeling when standing in the unit. A good quality acrylic surround can give excellent value for the dollar and perform very well. But it can be installed over drywall. All totally my opinion. Could he have been describing an acrylic or fiberglass waterproofing over the mud job? I think I'm not fully understanding his intentions.

acrylic showers have thier place if you can live with it, it will be cheapest route. they do atleast dry out between showers, can be easily serviced. the only downfall of them is the wasted/lost space. In a average 32 acrylic the actual room inside is more like 28 1/2" and thats anywhere there is no shelf or handle, you loose another 9 inches in each corner, thats where they need the most support (for shipping) I am continuously asked about this question by my clients. Here is my opinion and why. I suggest the use of a poured cultured marble pan. we do the others but this is why. I do not like the way that the drain attaches to the liners in a wet-bed, I have been called back to 3 showers in the last 5 years where they have began to leak. none of the 3 were my fault, but all 3 had to have the floors removed, and rebuilt. all 3 was from the plumbers flange, 3 different plumbers were used by the homeowners. 2 leaked because the seal gave up on its own over time,(obviously they were not tight enough) plumbers had to pay me to redo. the 3rd I was paid by homeowner, because he admitted to plumber to using a toilet plunger to try and unclog the drain, that was full of hair. In doing so he blew out the seal, when the clog would not move. but there are more reasons than that. I have repeatedly been called in to redo showers here in the south (NC)because of mildew/mold. if you live in humid states rubber liners with wetbed is just not smart. it is just that a wetbed. Anyone can say what they want, seal it every year, or not the floor of a tile shower takes days/weeks to dry out after a shower. this combined with the fact that the floor and every wall contracts with temperature guarantees you that in a tile shower the corners Will crack no matter how small. relevent to leakage, no thats why the walls are sealed before the tile, it is enevitable that water will enter behind the tile in some small amounts. and move down to the pan. True they make caulking in every color that they make grout in, and should absolutly be used. but this does not take away from he fact that there is no possible way to keep water from getting under the tile level on a tile bottom shower floor. liners are not there incase the tile fails, its a working part of the shower system. and in this system (the cracks around the corners) there is an eco-system that is perfect for mold and mildew to survive, and spore out into the rest of your home continuously. cultured marble bases removes this continuous dampness, as well as having a standard flange that can be easily changed/worked on in case of any cause. Cultured marble pans are flanged on top, come in stardard sizes up to 4x5 feet, then you could build a bench all the way around the outside of that for a party shower. If you use cultured walls as well, corners are siliconed in, as well as a second sealed corner trim strip. so leakage is an impossibility, so is moisture retention. Recesses, and shelving no problem, even adding them later. smooth single no seamed surfaces are easy to clean and no maintainance. I make money if I do the tile, when I do bathroom remodels, I use outside contractor if they want the cultured marble and I make nothing for that. Facts are facts, I want my clients to get what they want, and what they need is info to make thier own decisions. Other people have said clean and dry your shower after use, I say what are they thinking. I want a VERY low maintainance place to get clean, not a place where I have to do maintainance every night, I wont dry me and the shower after every use. There is still the water in the cracks that you simply cannot get to to dry, along the bottom of the wall to floor seam. if you use the cultured marble base , and tile walls, you will have no worries as well, the possible problem is in the tile floor base.

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Ezzie, I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but putting travertine next to fiberglass seems like hanging a crystal chandelier over a card table. Maybe you could remove the surround, replace the tub with a solid one ($$$), and tile the surround and floor? Then you'd have higher quality materials across the board. I've got a heavy old porcelain coated tub and I ripped out the nasty fiberglass surround, put 3 or 4 ml plastic sheeting on the studs, cement board, and tiled it with porcelain wall tile. John Bridge has an outstanding tiling forum to answer all your questions. I would either go all out for the great bathroom or save your money.