thanks jjaazzy! i too finally got to speak with john yesterday. my uneasiness about ordering from a source on another continent was put to rest. he is sending me three samples of the hammershell tile. i wanted to see the square and the rectangle patterns so he is making them up for me. the backing is porcelain and i knew about the coating from the website. so, for the hammershell tile the price is $28 US per square and he told me the shipping for 80 sq (my guesstimate) would be $300 US via UPS. i was planning to use it on the floor as a trim/border for marble or porcelain under the tub so it wouldn't be in a high traffic area. i had my suspicions about it's softness. i think by the tub would be safe though, just as long as we don't bring it out too far. i guess i'll make my decisions about that as we get a little closer. that's very strange about the shimmer under the halogens. i wonder if it would make a difference if viewed from another light source? i'll have to see it when it comes in. we don't have any lighting yet (they've just gotten to our roof) so i think i'll take it to a lighting showroom. THANK YOU for the heads up! in the meantime, let me know how you do with shelltile.net. i'll have to look them up as i haven't come across them before. i'll let you know when my samples come in. ...oh, and which of the tile are you looking to buy? thanks again!

"Mongoct-- (sorry OP) If not using Kerdi shower pan, but just a mudbed/liner, can you use a topical membrane for a shower floor? I've posted previously, but it didn't catch your attention. I'm trying to understand this more as well... " Sorry if I missed your previous post. I seem to be hit and miss on the forums these days. I'm a little confused by the "mudbed/liner" comment and the desire to use it in conjunction with a topical membrane. So let me ramble a bit: I consider "liners" to be the CPE or CPVC thick shower membrane liners, the ones where you use a deck mud preslope, then install the liner over that with a clamping drain, then top the liner with another layer of deck mud, and you tile upon that. If that's what you're asking about, no I wouldn't use a topical membrane on top of all that. Here's what I consider to be a liner installation. Now back-tracking a bit: There are folk that use a topical membrane with a clamping drain, but they have to "dish out" the sloped mud bed as it gets close to the drain. It's sometimes referred to as the "divot method". That way the topical membrane will drain to the drain's weep holes. If you don't use a divot, then the raised part of the clamping drain can sort of act like a dam, causing water under the tile to pool around the drain. The area around the drain might appear perpetually wet. The divot method is not a technique I embrace. Nothing really wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea. Here is a photo showing the "divot" carved out of the mud base: Virtually every shower I do is a one-off size or shape, so I'm almost always doing a sloped deck mud base. As to which topical membrane to use, when using Kerdi, I'll do a sloped mud pan and then cover that with Kerdi. If using Hydroban, then I'll still use a Kerdi drain in the sloped mud floor but then use Hydroban on the floor and walls. So if you want to use a topical membrane, then no , do not also use a liner within the floor. One membrane is all you want. Does that help?

The caulking should be where the tile butts up to the window frame. one thing you might consider is using a piece of travertine slab for the shelf.

Bill V - THank you - that is all I wanted to know. My gut told me the installers were not at fault with the installation - but I do not have your experience to go from. tuesday - When did I ever mention lawyers or legal or imply I in any way planned to go after the installer?! I said I was giving them the benefit of the doubt because I wasn't sure how they could have known before installing given the nature of the tile. I am still very friendly with the rep who sold me bad door trim. Its business - I was fair and reasonable with her and I will still recommend her because she did everything she could to remedy the situation and it isn't perfect but it is acceptable. Mistakes happen. The other day my dh told me my GC paid me a great compliment when the ice stone fabricator came by to talk about the fabrication he - admittedly - totally messed up. While they waited for me my GC said "L is more educated about building than a lot of homeowners and she knows how things should be, but she is reasonable. If you explain what you can do and are honest with her she will work with you." I am not looking to skewer anyone or get something for less than it is worth - but I do want what I - in good faith - paid for. CA - where I live is a no fault state - but I have no idea what that possibly has to do with ordering an expensive custom tile and receiving defective product? the "free tile" is hardly an "absolute gift" nor is it free. I paid good money for a product I saw in a showroom - I did not receive that product and if I want what I paid for I have to pay thousands of dollars to have the defective stuff ripped out and the new stuff installed. Sorry but I don't see the gift in that. Seaglass - I'm sorry you had a bad experience with Oceanside - that must have been very disappointing. While they appear to be much more responsive in this case I still don't really feel grateful or satisfied because I am still out a lot of money and the responsibility for the defective tile is theirs. My rep is a top dealer for Oceanside and said her experience with them has only been positive. I'm not giving up and will be talking to her on Monday and see what we can do. Cheri - thank you for the kind feedback. I also hesitated over that faucet. One reason I chose it was the huge expanse behind the sink - it begged for a faucet of some substance. I personally do not like any kind of pull-out - integrated or on the side - so I love how the sprayer works. I love the backsplash too - from 10 feet away ;-) If it did not look exactly like mold growing behind the tiles I would probably just deal with it - but something that looks like mold in a kitchen is just not something I want to look at every day while I work at my sink. I splurged on my backsplash because I do not have a window and I wanted something light reflective that would be visually appealing to someone working at the sink - not quite happening the moment.