olychick, thank you for taking a look. :) I'm relieved to hear you think a white shower pan is best. I am heading out now to find porcelain marble look tiles for the shower walls to pick up the gray as you suggested. I want a shiny finish to the walls. Tell me if you think that's a misstep. I am avoiding marble as I have a marble topped vanity now that is pock marked with etchings. As far as seeing myself in the vanity, yes, I think I will be able to do so. I was planning on a black framed mirror spanning the vanity. My current vanity is 32 1/4" high (as will be the new vanity) and when seated on my vanity stool my reflection is seen up to my chest. The only issue currently is that my knees are pressed against drawers. I failed to mention that I was thinking of using absolute black granite for the vanity top for two reasons: one being cost and the other being to avoid etching. Will doing so deviate too much from my inspiration? Lastly, I had the idea of applying pieces of beveled mirror framed by black molding floor to ceiling along the back wall and continuing behind the toilet (similar to this only floor to ceiling with the exception of base molding & crown): [Traditional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by Northbrook Architects & Building Designers Michael A. Menn Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you for reading this far. :)

Are we talking Eureka, Roundup, Two Dot, or Miles City? Yep, I'm familiar. Truly, this guy doesn't have a clue as to tiling...and we are all terrified as to the waterproofing attempt behind said tile. Due diligence; Pro tilers love to show off their work (album of before & after shots with closeups), they are happy to provide references to clients who will allow on-site visits, they are the Pros that actual tile shops (they sell only tile - not tools, or grout, they do not have pallets of tile) recommend as installers and the shop will vouch for their work. Here are some sites to read: https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=UWe2W5KDDNHEswXppoWIDA&q=tile+setting+standards&btnK=Google+Search&oq=tile+setting+standards&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i22i30.3805.9575..10814...0.0..0.142.1864.21j1......0....1..gws-wiz.......0j0i131j0i8i13i30.KnBcAXi849s Sadly, if you can't find any better talent out your way, I think I would opt for one of the other choices such as Onyx Collection or US Marble. Most decent carpenters can cut and fit the panels.

FWIW, I live in a high rise condo in Los Angeles and recently finished a gut remodel which included taking the shower to the studs and some reframing of walls. The Code in Los Angeles for a multi-family high rise requires steel framing and studs so there isn’t any wood. The framing in the shower and everywhere is metal. I imagine Code for a high rise in any jurisdiction also requires steel. I got a bit of education in construction as I also learned that the metal framing has to be placed at specified spacing. I would imagine this is for fire safety as well as structural integrity but a structural engineer would no doubt have the exact reason. Just another reason why hiring a designer and/or general contractor familiar with high rises specifically is a good idea to minimize screwups.

I recently finished a remodel which included master and guest bath with lots of tile work. In my experience, the person who actually installed the tiles did NOT frame the shower or do the waterproofing. That part was done by a other tradespeople who were hired by the GC and he was responsible for the quality of all of the work. Since GC worked with the same people for numerous jobs they were all familiar with each other so the person who actually installed the tile would be comfortable with whatever prep work was done for him. I imagine this is how good GC's operate with their trusted skilled tradespeople. As others have posted, skilled tile workers are in huge demand and so some of the finish work had to be fit in with other jobs the tile worker was doing - e.g. my hood in the kitchen was delayed and so the backsplash behind the cooktop and hood couldn't be done with the rest of the tile work as had been originally scheduled. The line items on my agreement with the GC included everything EXCEPT the actual tiles. Those were supplied and paid for by me - but I selected and ordered them through my designer so there weren't going to be issues regarding the quality of the tiles. Also, beyond the actual price of the tiles, the size and style of what you select is going to impact the actual price of the installation as some styles require more skill and labor costs will be higher. And as others have written, tile prices range in price from inexpensive to the stratosphere. Mine were $45 per square foot for 3" x 6" subway tiles and I had accent marble mosaic which was $145 per square foot :-). When my job was sent out to be bid, it included plans and diagrams for everything including the design plan and specifications for all the tile work so that would have been used by GC (in consultation) with his skilled people to determine what the bid was. A tiled shower is probably one of the aspects of home remodeling which gets screwed up the most which is why you are getting a lot of warnings from people. You should definitely get recommendations regarding your GC. I visited two places he was working on to get a sense of the quality of his work. And my contract included provisions that theoretically protected me as much as possible - and when I say theoretically, it's because any homeowner is screwed if it comes down to suing on a contract because the job has gone that bad. In terms of shower building, I am FAR from an expert but I spent some time and got excellent advice from people on this forum regarding waterproofing showers and so I was able to ask fairly intelligent questions. I also took pictures of the shower being built at various stages. And luckily I live in a place that has very serious inspectors and so the shower was inspected three times - including the 24 hour flood test so I was reasonably certain that between relying on the quality of the GC and his trusted workers and the inspectors, I had a first class shower.