Low end materials (builder grade 4" white ceramic) plus labor would be around $1000 in my area, which is a low cost labor market. (Plus shower door and installation.) It could very well be double that for the same materials but in a higher labor market. Pricing is always local. If your builder is getting discount pricing, don't expect but maybe a $150 price credit for the shower stall unit and they typically charge whatever their trades person charges plus their % plus a change order fee, so that $1000 tile shower could end up costing you $1500 from your builder. The least expensive part will be the tile, so that's not a place to choose something just because it's less expensive. A pretty tile with a simple deco band at about chest height might add all of $300 to your costs and would look a million times better than a white "builder grade" 4" tiled shower--which would look a million times better than any fiberglass shower unit I've seen.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question - it helps a lot. I think we will have to really look at going this route.

In a high labor market (SF Bay area) we just got the following quote to redo an existing shower as part of the complete reno of 2 1/2 bathrooms:

Labor cost to redo a shower 3x5 foot , including new waterproofing but not including tile or demo: 3300.

The allowance for plumber's labor was 1200 (we have 3 shower heads and was going to replace valves and drain.) This cost did not include the plumbing.

With the Heath tile I wanted, a new frameless shower door, and some new Grohe shower heads, that new shower was going to cost $10, 000!!!

We decided the old tile didn't look so bad, we are going to redo everything else and leave the shower tile. It is in perfect shape, it's just dark blue, LOL.

So... we're going to get a new framed rather than frameless door, upgrade the shower nozzles, and add a Solatube to bring in more light. Instead of a bigger niche in a new shower, I bought an assortment of Ginger Splashable baskets today.

Another great alternative would be www.southshoredreambath.com ..... If your in Massachusetts its an option :)