"I could also just get a pull-down faucet for the sink and aim it at the tub to fill it." You could - but you won't like it. The most one of those will fill is 2.2 gallons a minute - some less that that. Divide your tub's capacity by that and you're looking at 20 minutes to fill +/- Not good. beekeeper - I have one of these and have placed more than half a dozen in projects over the past few years. What you get for your money is a machined brass body that mounts in the ceiling or wall and a plated trim piece. The body is a substantial piece of hardware and chrome,brass, nickel plating costs $$$ too. Whether that's all worth 500 + bucks, is up to you. Like davidro says, it doesn't matter what the delivery system is, this is just an opening for hot water to come out of, albeit one with a bit of engineering. GD & Spanish - the splashing is very much dependent on the mounting height of the unit AND the tub selected AND the location of the water column inside the tub. Mine hardly splashes at all. The ones I have seen that splash only do so for a minute or so until their is enough of a pool in the tub to counteract it. Flat bottom tubs with tall ceilings are going to splash more than one from 7' into a sloped contact point in the tub. Besides , we're talking water in a bathroom, generally tiled so what's the big deal ??? It's not like the amount of splash is the same as taking a shower and leaving the door open. 2. While you are correct in that "the water cools off much more than it would from just a regular tub filler", it's not as if it cools off enough for anyone without a thermometer to tell a difference, and a very sensitive one at that! Sure the air cools the water more from a stream falling from 8 feet than one falling from two feet. But bath water that is 100 + degrees is not going to cool down to 90 deg. in the xtra 1-2 seconds it takes it to fall from the ceiling- get real. Additionally , that filler produces a very dense column of water (laminar) that has little to no air in it, so one might argue it will be hotter and less prone to heat loss than a "regular" filler that introduces room temp air into it's stream - thus cooling it off on it's way to the tub. So don't worry Spanish -your tub will still be plenty hot with that filler if you choose it. IT'S A NON -ISSUE people. I've already alluded to the real issue for lower tub temps - FILL TIME. That's directly related to the delivery system ( valve). If your valve and accompanying filler will only deliver 5 gallons a minute it's going to take a while to fill an 80 gallon tub, and there will be some heat loss. Select a valve that delivers 20 gallons a minute and you can be soaking quicker that most people can undress. Here is a link that might be useful: laminar valve body - see page 2

I understand your desire to replace seldom/never-used tub with walk-in shower. We put a walk-in shower (without door or curtain necessary) in our previous home, which we built 25 years ago. It was one of our favorite features in the house and, when we built our current home put in a walk-in shower in the master once again. We didn't include a tub to gather dust. However, we do have a second full bath four our adult disabled child. Our child doesn't like showers and only takes baths. However, we included a showerhead with the tub for possible visitors or in case our shower was out of commission for a while. I think, if you're not worried about resale and don't figure on children/grandchildren in the future, you'd be fine without a tub if that is your preference. However, if, like most of us, you do have the possibility of resale in the future then you would have to be willing and able to put in a tub in order to sell the house. While I don't want a tub in my master bath, I wouldn't want to have a home that didn't include an available tub (even if DH and I never use it).

Ask your structural engineer about the weight of a porcelain over cast iron tub like those from Kohler. Get a licensed, insured pro to do the installation. Check references and go see their tile work. An acrylic surround and tub is fine unless tile and cast iron tub are more typical for your neighborhood.

I am planning a tub/shower combo (with a shower curtain, not glass,) but my husband, a big guy, tells me he wants a air/jetted tub. What I am worrying about is that most of those tub seem to have a contoured bottom — is it safe to stand in a tub like that when showering? Do the jets/nozzles get in the way? Does anyone know of a large tub with jets and/or air that would work well in a tub/shower combo? Is anyone with experience with this willing to give me advice or suggestions?