Is it possible for you to do the tile vs. a subcontractor & save some $$? You can get a precast base in your choice of material for the shower floor so you don't have to worry about the slope for water drainage & texture of the floor. With a simple block pattern design and a class or two at your local home improvement store you could easily do it yourself. Especially if you use oversize tile, it would take 1 or 2 weekends to complete (Saturday to lay the tile, Sunday to grout. If your shower is huge, it may take 2 days to lay the tile.) Tile spacers come in a variety of sizes to choose from so you can get the size grout lines you want & they will be consistent tile to tile. See if you have a tile outlet in your area for further savings on materials. I'm not much of a "do it yourself-er", but I tiled our guest bath in our last house and it turned out great. I think I spent around $125 maximum in materials-12" x 12" tile, spacers, mortar, & grout. We borrowed the application tools & tile cutter from my dad--application tools aren't that expensive & you can rent a tile cutter at a decent price. It took 2 days start to finish. If you go this route, see if your GC will give you a credit for materials & labor for the vinyl shower to put toward your cost for the tile one and have him substitute tile backerboard for sheetrock in the shower enclosure. Good luck!

If you have hard water, know that it will leave deposits in the grout which will require the use of CLR and some elbow grease. We remodeled this entire house built in 1989 except for the master shower. It's HUGE, tiled with seats and the double sink counter matches it. I wasn't a fan of the existing tile, but could live with it. It is rather light beige with bunches of flowers here and there. The cost of replacing all that tile would have been prohibitive! Just know hard water will make it harder to keep clean. This is how it looked during our remodel. Took a long time to get rid of those hard water stains. The junk is from them replacing the fan and light in the ceiling. This shower has no door. It doesn't need it. HUGE!

Hi Cheri, You aren't nuts, but this will take some care. Ocean and river stones can have deposits which will inhibit the mortar's bond. The most obvious culprit with ocean stones is sea salt and organic matter, but there are oils and waxes that also get into the mix, sadly enough. ALL of your pebbles will need to be washed aggressively!! I'd use a solution of Tri-sodium Phopsphate (hardware-grade TSP) in a wheelbarrow and REALLY stir those rocks up. Use a garden hoe or some other long-handled "mixer" to churn the stones so that they rub against each other. Not only is the TSP working to remove "bases" from the surface and pores of the stones, but the abrasions of all the stones against each other will expose fresh surface area too. Be rough! :^) With all of that done, then rinse the stones very very well and then let them dry. If they dry chalky, churn them again in just plain water until the TSP is completely washed off. Then you can start setting them. Remember that you should wear protective clothing and equipment when working with TSP. It's caustic and will irritate your skin and can damage your eyes! Gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection are a must! Best of luck, Shaughnn

Thanks, all, for the response. Lazarususa thanks for the information on QuartzLock. I will ask the tiler about it vs. sanded grout. It looks like QuartzLock is harder to install because it dries very quickly and needs to be wiped immediately. We'll see what he suggests. Mainly I want to be sure the shower floor is not slippery but I don't want to apply a spray non-slip product. I would like the small 2" tile and grout to do the job. Even though the small tiles will have a narrow grout line because they are rectified tiles, my tiler said the surface of the tile is what's important. They are matte porcelain tiles, not a glossy surface. Between the matte surface and the grout every 2" it should hopefully have enough grip when wet!