Just bought one at Lowes last week. In the lamp/ceiling light section. They had several different widths and styles. Slapped that baby up on the ceiling and you can't tell the difference between real and fake. I didn't even have to paint it! I think the cost was about $5.00. Home Depot probably has the same thing.

I think the congress would come down on my head if I screwed with the medallions too much LOL Our house is actually known for it's medallions and it's hardware (door brasses etc). There's actually a conservator coming to do impressions of them so they can be sold at a local Kmart near you :oP (ok not kmart...are they still around LOL but at a reproduction place). I'll post one pic and I think you can click right on it to the link for the house pics which show a few more. They are actually in all rooms aside from my son's room (for some odd reason) and the servants quarters. But there are several originals in the water tower which we'll use as we restore the rooms (they're in original white plaster and weigh a ton!) You'll see in the pics, my problem is not with the medallions but with the lighting. They're wonderful, but the lighting is either not period appropriate or it's too small. I'll post the master as an example. The medallion in this room is huge and impressive, yet the fixture is earlier than the house by about 20 to 30 years (house is 1889). You might have seen it in a home that was simpler (because these things were saved) but this house began with electricity and gas so we'd have had light'o'leers or something more spectacular than this fixure (which by the way I love and will use elsewhere in the house): We're actually going to replace the lighting, but over time since it will be an investment thing. Probably as we do each room. I'm toying with the idea of the canvas painting for the dining room though. I have do to some research on it, but I was thinking if I had a maritime scene done in there it would be beyond cool..beyond affordable :oP BUt since the back up plan is bradbury papers, maybe not so unaffordable LOL We are going to do bradburys in many of these main rooms so for instance the master with the red light will have different lighting, keep the medallions and the ceilings will be papered to highlight it. I'm a big fan of decorating the ceilings in a room :) Right now I'm doing the smoking parlor (you see it in the pics with red carpet and seating verses the red dining room). It's going to be a deep blue on the walls, but I'm toying (I toy a lot) with the idea of reproducing a piece of italian silk I purchased many years ago. It's almost burlap in texture, but in a gorgeous ivory silk shot with silver and gold threads. I just wonder if doing an entire ceiling (14 ft) will make me batty LOL

Thx yes was going look around the control valve next. Looks to me that the tile has not been routinely maintained (sealed). So some aging and cracking in grout may have added to the problem. Been in the house two years with no visible issues with daily use, it looked perfect (e.g. no staining in bottom grout until suddenly now). This disscussion really makes me wonder about the way tubs are sealed to walls. A Silicon seal acting like a ~1/4" water dike trapping and holding water makes no sense. Seems to me that there should be a 1/2" gap under the wall backboard with current recommended water barrier behind extended 1/4" further overlapping the tub flange. And their should be engineered a flexible polymer strip to be inserted in the gap to seal between the tub ledge and the tile. It should have antimicrobials in it and be treated annually with an application of antimicrobial treatment. The invention could be a firm microbubble nondegradable polymer. And it should have a GoreTex film like property, where free water can't get across it, very little moisture is held so it dries quickly, and moisture settling behind the bottom tile can excape as water vapor. Slight permeability to the flexible material and a fused backing of the Goretex oriented towards the flange wall could accomplish this. It could have a thin flap on the back topside so it is installed along with the bottom tile and act as the standard 1/8" spacer below the bottom tile. Being flexible and supported from the back edge it could flex downward if the tub ledge moves downward when weight loaded, still helping block water entry. If the tub settles a little permanently, the permeable membrane would still help block transport water out of the gap. A spongy expandable sealed bubble like strip material would allow the most water blockage with flexing and also be best at preventing any air gap developing. Just an idea ... on my wish list.

Yes, the height is what made me think I can't do it myself--it's an awfully long way up! Thank you for all your advice, everyone, and for confirming that $500 is crazy! Maybe it's because I wasn't going to have him paint that ceiling, originally. Maybe after he agrees to paint the ceiling, he won't charge me extra for medallion? Fingers crossed! I don't know what material it is, but Rustoleum is supposed to work on anything, right? Ceiling will be Chantilly Lace. I assume I just get "White", right? Any particular formulation better than others? Sorry that I'm completely clueless!!