Hang in there bro'.

totally frustrating

Codnuggets,

I read your post when the first 'saleslady' managed to lose your remnants. And now this ... not to mention one of your heated floor mats on the blink! I always tell myself in these kinds of situations, that things always look better in the morning. And surprisingly, they do. I have learned that someone else always has a story that can top mine, no matter how woeful mine may be.

Hope there's a fix that will suit you. At any rate, you've got friends... out here in cyberspace.

Ach--makes me wanna scream *for* you! (I did have to laugh, though--your DW's out knitting--well *of course* she is, she's a Portlander :))

It's truly amazing the kinds of mistakes some "professionals" make. That's why we have put ourselves through the hassle and permanent maiming that is DIYing. Even DIYed my silestone remnant countertop, courtesy of craigslist and the dear guys down at Tile For Less.

On the bright side--what kind of stone is it?

I'm waiting to her that the remnant slab I picked out for myself has been sold to someone else too. I put a deposit on it back in may, then my grandma died (we were VERY close) and I really didn't feel like dealing with the bathroom for a few months. I haven't heard from them since but it might have been just small enough and unpopular enough that it will be ok.

HOPEFULLY the skill of your fabricator is such that the seam won't be that noticeable. I don't know what kind of granite you have and how much movement there is but it sounds like the fabricator is doing everything humanly possible to make it right. I guess this is a risk of getting a remnant, it's hard to just get more. :/ Mine is just big enough for what I need too, if they screw it up I'm doomed - and I don't have tremendous confidence in them either. We'll see, that still seems so far off. Hopefully yours can do one of those super tight invisible seams that people who know what they are doing can manage.

Granite is Giallo Ornamental. It's a fairly consistently speckled pattern with very little grain movement so quite likely the only person that will see the seam is me. All in all, this isn't a big deal, it was just the tipping point of this whole ordeal.

As for the 'professionals' making mistakes... The problem is not with the professionals, it's with the $10/hour guys the professionals hire to do the grunt work. I guess you can lay the blame up the ladder, but you get my point.

On the bright side, my shower is now fully Kerdi'd and I passed the shower pan inspection. Yay! Thanks, all for the support.

Joe

Just had the tub deck and vanity top "templated" and was very unfortable with the person doing the measurements..I can only hope it all works out, as i spend way too much time thinking over every aspect of the project..1 week from today, it will be installed, and the project will get closer to the end,as the tile installer will come in the following Monday.

Well I picked up the corrected pieces today, and I'm not too happy. They cut a new 10 inch piece to join up with the good part, but didn't acutally seam it together in the shop. I set the two pieces in place, and I'm just not sure I can live with the seam as it is. I'm going to follow up with the owner on Monday and try to get them to cut me a whole new piece. Surely they can call around and find a suitable remenant at another shop. I'm trying not to be too picky about this, but after all it's their mistake, and I can't in good conscience install what amounts to a broken $100 piece of granite in a brand new $20,000 bathroom.

DW was really hoping I would get the air tub installed this weekend. Yet another disappointing hurdle in my stone saga. I am SO ready to have this resolved, it's sucking all the fun out of the project. It's not helping my efforts to cut back on the drinking either.

Tanqueray...it's what's for dinner!

Joe

codnuggets,

You're so funny! I wasn't at all expecting that last line ... pretty appropriate to the circumstances, I would say.

Didn't you do the post on the hex tiles with the small chips? If so, you ARE pretty picky, but ... I understand your sense of order. Good Luck with getting the owner to cut you a new piece. It was his guy that cut the holes wrong, correct?

To tell you the truth, since you mention that it's an easy to find granite, I would be insisting that they cut a new piece too. They could probably cut that thing off of a slab and still be able to sell the entire slab at full price without missing a beat. Hopefully they will make it right.

I think you're the one with the cool kitchen granite so I was picturing something like that where you have the last of it and might have had to make it work. My granite is also not something they generally carry and was special ordered by someone else so if they mess up it's a problem.

I spent a little time last night trying to make things work out, but I'm finding it difficult to get the 6" x 10" piece to line up with the adjacent 6" x 50" piece. They're just not milled precisely enough to get the surface, the face, and the seam to all line up properly. Yeah, I'm a little picky, but I tihnk in this case I have a right to be since they goofed.

Yeah, it was his guy that miscut the hole. I'm hopeful that he will fix things, he's been incredibly nice and helpful so far. Then again, so was my last fabricator until all hell broke loose.

OK, that's all on this topic for the weekend. I can't reach the owner until Monday and I'm moving on to other productive endeavors. Have a good weekend!

Joe

I had an epiphany over the weekend. By virtue of a happy design accident, the back side granite piece for the tub deck is nearly identical in size to the front piece that the fabricator screwed up. And because I'm super anal about balance, the single hole drilled in it for the handshower is exactly in plane with the cold faucet handle hole on the front piece. I realized that I could move the back piece to the front and all it needs is 2 more holes and an edge polished. I took the pieces back to the fabricator yesterday and they got me hooked up. There was enough scrap left to recut the back piece with a seam down the middle so it's less conspicuous and easier to level out. I just got back from picking up the new pieces, and it's all going to work out. No seam on the front edge, and I can live with the one in the back. Problem solved!

I was pretty fired up for a while, but the shop took care of me in the end. They even knocked some bucks of the top of my already good deal, and the lady that runs the shop was exteremely apologetic about the whole thing. She told me my next project was on her! Maybe the fireplace hearth needs a facelift :)

Thanks again for listening.

Joe

Wow, Joe

While looking for an old post, I ran across this. I had forgotten the name of this thread and wondered from time to time, how your tub surround issue had turned out. So glad it went well for you. See ... I told you 'things always look better in the morning!' In your case, it was 'over the weekend.' :)

And BTW, I had forgotten that I teased you in this thread about the hex tiles, or I wouldn't have brought it up in another. From here on out, that's a dead subject. I only felt comfortable giving you a hard time, because I am so very 'picky' myself! Looking forward to seeing your finished tiled shower. Oh, if I can ever finish mine, I am using an accent of Giallo Ornamental in it as a border.

Anne

This thread has seen about as much activity as my remodel lately. I've been sick, traveling, working too much, and otherwise occupied. The only real progress I've managed to accomplish is to install the granite tub surround, shower curb, and knee wall cap. I finally picked up the last of my tile today and hope to start installing it soon.

There will be pictures...someday.

Joe