This site is recommended often on these forums: Here is a link that might be useful: john bridge tile

Thank you everyone for all of your replies! Sorry for the absence...I have no internet here at the house yet. In response to questions/comments: kudzu9: There are areas of the grout that are missing, and the remainder has turned yellow. I would like to replace the missing grout and whiten the yellowed. We hope to rent out the home, so I don't trust tenants to wipe down painted walls. I'm hoping to find a complementary alternative. benjesbride: Unfortunately, the reason I have little budget now is that most of the original plumbing has to be redone. The drains are all old cast iron, and have degraded...there are lead pipes too. So, since they are replacing them, I figure that now would be the time to relocate. Thank you for your advice on "embracing the retro" and your link! nosoccermom: I cant really remove the shower head, as its the only bath in the home. I LOVE your idea of glass, and will research it. Have to figure out how to seal it from moisture and how to make area where it meets tile waterproof. Fori is not pleased: LOL!!!! I'm not pleased either! Thanks for the laugh and suggestion. I will def head over there once I have internet at the house, and am ready to make all the decorating decisions.polly929: I had considered having a company reglaze the tub & tile white, but the many opinions of keeping the original intact have made me reconsider. I am keeping the home, but am trying to fix it up to rent out for now. bpathome: Thanks for sharing your experience. I was considering adding 4x4 tile above the existing, but someone else said it wouldn't look good and hearing your experience too really gives me pause. I agree that the glass sounds like a cool possibility, but I need to research the installation issues. Would wallpaper hold up in a shower??? Yes, I absolutely need to redo the floor. Its a pier and beam home, so I am avoiding any real tile. However, I have looked at black & white LVT alternatives in both the hex and penny. jesshs: That is amazing! I cannot believe someone on here has actually had this tile! And its funny you mentioned grey....that is exactly the color I was thinking of going with on the walls! As far as paint on the shower walls, as I said above to kudzu9, we are planning to rent the home out and I worry about tenants taking the time to do that sort of maintenance. I want to go with something I don't have to worry about them taking care of. cpartist: Another retro vote! I'm coming around :) The grout is yellowed, and missing in a few areas. I'm hoping there is a way to bring it back to white. I agree with you, and everyone else, about the grab bars, as well as the shower head. And so glad to get another grey vote! I am absolutely redoing the floor. Just haven't decided what would go best. Again, THANK YOU everyone for your opinions and suggestions. Please, keep the ideas coming!

It takes sustained repeated wetting of tile to damage the substrate. In fact, damaged areas behind tile in showers only occurs in the lower half of the wall. The function of wall tile outside of a shower is to allow easy cleaning of the wall. The tile substrate should be designed like any other wall in the house. If you have a moisture problem in the rest of the house you should use mold resistant drywall in the bathroom too. There are better materials for that purpose than generic greenboard.

LOL, I knew about soldered copper, but had never heard "sweat". I learned something new! Thanks. One plumber did not know they were hard copper and can't be bent. Not good... So, the connections/fittings will be soldered if copper, or they will be PEX. They will be under the concrete when lengthened. Both plumbers said that was not to code, but they didn't seem to care since no one will inspect inside the concrete. I just want the job done correctly, but it seems like it will not be to code. Thanks for your help. Now, I will know a little more about what the plumber should do. I have had 3 or 4 plumbers come here to do the work, then they change their minds I guess. They say they will call me, but I don't hear from them, and they don't respond to my calls. I found another plumber through my electrician, and he is supposed to come Tuesday. I can't believe this bathroom has been gutted since April, and nothing has been done yet. Southeastern Oklahoma used to have cold winters, but we rarely get past freezing now. Last ice storm was 2007.