Staceyneil, thanks for the reply. I actually called the tile guy that regrouted my walls. He basically said the same thing as you. That the pan should take care of any water getting through the grout. But since living in the house for a year I have found things that the builder either did wrong or he cut corners. So I was just worried about how he built the shower. So I really have no idea what he used to build the pan with. As for the shower door. Once more thing that I did after blowing up the balloon to test the pan was to put a shower curtain on the inside of the door. This way when I showered no water could hit the shower door. When I did this the toilet paper stopped getting wet. So that is how I knew it was related to the shower door. So I started looking at the shower door. Well sure enough the previous owner has caulked over the weep holes in the shower door. So I thought to myself, where is the water going that gets into the bottom door track?? The threshold that the door sat on was not tile, but one continous piece of corian. There was caulk on each side of the threshole where the corian met the tile wall. So when I took the door off there was a small hole in the caulk right where the bottom track of the door met the vertical track of the door that goes up the tile wall. There was also a small gap between the bottom track and the wall track of the door. So to make a long story short. I think what was happening was water was getting into the bottom track of the door, leaking through the small gap between the bottom track and wall track, through the small hole in the caulk, and then leaking into the drywall.

I'm extremely disappointed in Fireclay. Why aren't they forthcoming about appropriate uses for their tile? It's not cheap, I'm willing to pay whatever...but why are they the only manufacturer that says crazing is ok in wet environments? If they had a proprietary improvement in their tile, I'm sure they would share it! I don't think they do. I had a custom tilemaker tell me that their tile is perfectly fine to go into the wet environments...followed 30 minutes later in conversation by saying there likely will be some soap scum in there and to be very careful because the grout will go into the crazing (so don't use contrasting grout). So, to me, that is NOT perfectly fine! Tile - especially at Fireclay's prices - should not have ANY of these issues - and because they will, Fireclay should be forthcoming about the technical specifications and appropriate uses. They even say their tile can go in swimming pools!!! That leads me to believe it's sealed - but then there are these issues with the grout seeping into the crazing, even after sealing upon install, so clearly it's not. Bar Keeper's Friend?! After paying a RIDICULOUS amount for their tiles and WAITING for it to be custom made...not being told the proper technical information, then being told use Bar Keeper's Friend?!!?! Wow. Gosh, Lisa, I'm so sorry. Fireclay's website has a beautiful steam shower with gloss tile with crazing ON THE FLOOR of the shower. Every tile manufacturer and salesperson says not to do that - and common sense agrees - it's gloss and you'll fall on your booty! I tried to research applications on Fireclay's website because I wanted to be assured that the tile is ok. Their new Essentials line - the blog posts are clearly computer generated (same exact bathroom with different color tiles). The tile I wanted in a hotel - couldn't call the hotel because they have no phone number. Shady. Oh, and I Googled "Fireclay complaints" to see if anyone was unhappy with their crazing or the durability of the tile. No consumer complaints, but I did see a settlement with the State of California for violation of environmental regulations (i.e. polluting). That was the cherry on top for me, as SO MUCH of their literature is how good they are for the environment. Fireclay makes a truly beautiful tile. I'm very disappointed that I will not be moving forward with them. I wish they were just honest about proper applications - I'm shocked they wouldn't be. Wouldn't you want happy customers?!?!?! If there wasn't a series of red flags, I would have bought it for the whole house!

Part 5: So, after this whole saga, I have some advice for anyone dealing with a similar situation. Of course, always try to hire a real pro in the first place, not a hack like we did. Look up and read, or buy, relevant industry information that relates to the type of project you are dealing with, such as local codes, ASNI, TCNA, etc. Also read the manufacturer’s instructions for the products your contractor is using. Take BEFORE pictures. It’s fun to look back on the ugly before pictures and see how you improved your home. Take DURING pictures every single day. It’s fun to look back on the in-progress photos. I’ve been taking in-progress pictures of all our project for 30 years. If you work from home like I do, it’s easy. Take pics when the workers leave for lunch and in the evening after they leave for the day. Don’t interfere in the work space, or take pictures while they’re working. Take pictures of every part of the project from different angles including all the buckets of products they have left in the space and all the tools and such that are sitting around. If you don’t work from home, take pictures when you get home at night. If you are traveling and have decided to let the contractor work while you’re gone, ask a friend or neighbor to come over and take pictures for you each evening (give them a really nice thank you gift). Note: Last year the sibs and I helped my Dad remodel his whole vacation home which is 1000 miles away. I was able to go up once and sibs were able to go up twice. We all took tons of in-progress photos. When I was up there, tiling was about to begin. I looked up the installation instructions for the wall-board material they were using for the showers. There were no rolls of fiberglass tape amongst all their supplies and products, but it was called for in the instructions. I emailed the GC and expressed concern that the tile pro might not be planning to tape and seal the boards. The GC took care of it and the project proceeded. The GC was very professional and responsive, and it all worked out, but what if I hadn’t taken pictures, read the manufacturer’s instructions for myself, and brought up this issue? If an issue comes up during the project, email or meet with the GC and it will probably get resolved. Confirm the resolution by email to ensure everyone is on the same page. If your project goes seriously south like ours did when the GC quit, or if your project is really messed up and you are upset with the botched job, still try to have a meeting with the GC and ask them to provide a plan for moving forward to complete the project. Confirm all the communications by email so that there is a record of the communications. Confirm the understanding of any verbal agreements by email. If you and GC are not in agreement, or they quit, then you really have to pause and think about what to do. -- If the GC quits out-right like in our case: Ask for a refund by email or send a demand letter certified return receipt. Then embark on the process of finding a new contractor to re-do your project. After GC says no to the refund request, you can let it go like we did, or decide to sue them in justice court (small claims) or district court. -- If GC sues you, like our quit-GC did, you need to respond and go through the process. You’ll need to download and read your state’s civil procedure laws and construction laws. It is a real PITA, but you have to go through the process. -- No matter who is suing whom, you have to decide whether or not to hire a lawyer. In our case it was just a bathroom, not a whole house, so we decided to represent ourselves. If something like this had happened on a whole house build or remodel worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, well, then I think we’d be hiring a lawyer because the stakes would be so much higher. If the GC still wants to fix things: Ask them to write up their plan and send it to you by email, and then make your home available for them to attempt the fix. Take pictures the same as explained above. If the fix really does fix things, that’s great. If/after the fix fails, you are allowed (under most states’ construction laws – you need to read the law in your state) to fire them. We don’t have any experience with firing a contractor, we’ve never done that. But in our research, we learned that you have to give the contractor a chance to fix things before firing them. You can’t just get mad and fire someone because you have a concern, or even if they really did legit screw something up. You have to give them one crack at fixing it. Reflecting on the trial – why I think we won: We had a bench trial which means you are just talking to the judge and witnesses, no jury. DH conducted the case and called 4 witnesses: the quit-GC, the foreman, me, and the new contractor. We were well organized and prepared, but it was still surprisingly nerve-wracking; I was sweating and felt like I was going to throw up all day. Do the “superman” pose; it really helps. Do it at home, in the elevator, in the bathroom; seriously, it helps. Neither one of us had ever even talked to a judge before. Here are the important things we did that I think made the difference for us. DH prepared and organized all the important documents. He wrote out his opening statement so he could read it instead of talking off the cuff. He had all the exhibits prepared to hand to the judge, and copies to give to the plaintiff. He had extra exhibits on hand that he thought he might need in case the judge asked certain types of questions. All the emails and text messages were put together in one exhibit in chronological order. DH organized his statement and exhibits into 2 “chapters.” The purpose of the first chapter was to prove to the judge that we gave the GC a chance to remedy the situation, and that the GC had quit, not been fired. The purpose of the second chapter was to show why the amount of money we were seeking was justified. For that we used the new contractor’s report and the photographs of the bad work to show that it was necessary for the new contractor to demo all the way back and start over, and that new materials had to be purchased. And the financial analysis showed how we got to the number. The new contractor’s report and photos cross-referenced each problem to city plumbing codes, TCNA, and ANSI, and he walked the judge through the whole report and photos, explaining how things were done incorrectly. I wish this kind of situation would never happen to anyone, but sadly, it will. When projects start, you never think they are going to go south like this. But just in case it does: - Have a contract. - Take before and during photos. - Use email and text for all communications instead of relying on verbal communications and agreements. - Assume that your communications will, one day, end up in the public record, and make sure you always use professional language.

Live there. You can address any issues behind the tile when you re-do it. Not a crisis.