We installed a tankless about a year ago and have only regretted it one day- when we lost power. The savings are far above what we expected, we no longer worry about running a load of laundry before giving our daughter her bath, and we've never run out of hot water. As far as filling the tub with a heater producing 5 gal/min, won't you be mixing the hot with cold, therefore filling more than 5 gal/min? I have NO professional experience in this sort of thing, so I may be wrong. We did get a rebate from the gas company when we installed it, and some sort of tax credit, so we are recouping cost long before we expected to. Good luck with your decision.

I have two Aquaglas units in my house, but they are both acrylic. Acrylic seems much thicker, sturdier to me than fiberglass. We installed a one piece, no seams, in DH's bathroom about 18 years ago - looks as good as new. It also has the dome top with swing-out door with fixed side panels. I have an old one pice tub/shower combo that is about 30 years old (harvest gold - dont' laugh). It is still in immaculate condition. Will be updating that soon with another acrylic shower. Will probably go with AquaGlas again. I will point out that the one's I have looked at in bathroom fixture stores are much better quality than those at Lowe's - but they cost more also. It is recommended by the pros to put a mortar bed under the units, but I know that we did not. DH says he thinks they put some 2 x 4 type braces under ours. Regardless, even not using the mortar bed, mine are are very sturdy - no flexing at all. When guests use our showers, they always comment that they don't feel like the typical builders grade fiberglass showers. Tuesday

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!

My tub was from 1999 so way worse! Yours does not look bad! I updated 3 years ago to a free standing tub and love it! You will have to replace flooring though since it will show on a free standing tub. You will also have to fix the walls where the tile was. We did a total master bath remodel. My recommendations would be to go to a large bath/kitchen showroom and sit in some tubs to see how you like them! Also to figure out the size you want. Most run very large. I am only 5'2" so didn't want a 7' tub where I would just float around in! Mine is 5 feet I think and its perfect.