thanks for your help. the gc wants to remove the side wall backsplash next to the sink, that is, remove the subway tiles that the tiler just put up two days ago, he said to "float" some drywall to build out the side wall enough to cover the slivers that are left in the corner; he says this will cover up the slivers. then retile with the subways. what if the corners don't match again? how is it possible to build out a wall to cover slivers that are located on the other wall where the corner meets? i'm think this fix sounds so ridiculous i'm afraid to agree to it. this problem could have been avoided but the tiler won't answer my questions -- i asked him if he had ever done subway tiling before and he answered with a smirk. i've had quite an education getting my kitchen retiled. it's been horrible but i'll know better next time (which there won't be) what to demand. the gc is offering this fix and i'm at a standstill because it sounds weird to build up a wall to make a new corner so as to cover slivers left by a tiler. i can't get a good shot of the slivers in the corner but they are there. check out the patched mitered corner! the tiles don't match here but the gc says he can fix it?? thanks

Sherriz. I absolutely love your kitchen design, color, lighting, faucet, hardware, hood! It is so so so beautiful. I was just in the Circa showroom drooling over your island lights. I wanted to use them in my upstairs hall but this size too large, and small too small. Perfection in your kitchen though. Love every square inch! Thanks for sharing this pic. I haven't been on GW in awhile so I missed your kitchen if you recently posted. awesome! Sandn, new glitch re: when tile goes in. My builder built a scaffolding over my soapstone so the tile guy wouldn't have to stand on stone, which would mean he will have to start 4 inches above the counter since this "thing" is screwed into the wall. I know GC meant well but it is too obtrusive to work around and tile person would have to come back and do the bottom section next day, adding another day to labor etc. So he is upcharging $400 for another day. Searching for another tile person and retro fitting the scaffold to work better. thanks y'all! d

pbear - Do you have pictures of your counter top? I was so unsure of going with the lighter granite, but thought that everyone, my sister, sister-in-law and friends all have the darker granite. We wanted to be different and thought to go light, so my DH chose the bianco romano. I loved it! I bought the samples of backsplash from glasstilestore.com. They come in 6x6 sample sizes, which is nice so you can get a better idea. I think I bought 10 samples, because I'm so unsure of what style I'm trying to go for, definitely modern. Theresse - are you talking about the plain white subway tile pictured with the red glass and granite. I love that as well... love it more because its .29 cents a tile!!! but thought maybe it was too plain, which is why I started looking at other choices, but everyone is telling me to go simple with the plain subway tile. I wanted some color and considered the red mosaic as a border somewhere in the middle, or thinking of just going over the range similar to this posting... oh and check out the border right above the granite. I love it. http://www.starpoohonline.com/photos/stiles2.jpg I added my link I added the design of our new kitchen. I'm looking for a gray slate tile for the floor, but haven't found what I'm looking for. I'm looking to have different size tiles that flow right into the sun room. If you look at the old kitchen and see where my fridge is there aren't any cabinets.... if you look at the new design I added a wall of cabinets surrounding the fridge. I'm so excited to have so many cabinets and the new countertop that extends into the sunroom. What do you think of my design? http://s919.photobucket.com/albums/ad40/rufinorox/Kitchen%20Before%20Pictures/ Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen design

Mapei Aquadefense is a fine product. I haven't used it in several years, but never had problems with it. It's appropriate for a shower, but not a steam shower as it's not a vapor barrier. You can find the manufacturers installation instructions online. Read them to get a feel. In general, the cement board is hung on the walls, if the boards are hung neatly, the seams and corners can simply be filled with thinset. If there are 1/8" or wider gaps, then they should use reinforcing fabric in addition to the thinset. Application of the Aquadefense will usually be two coats on all panel seams and corners. Then two additional coats over everything. The dry thickness of the final coat should be about 30 mils, but the actual number should be mentioned in the installation instructions. You can ask the person applying the Aquadefense if they have a wet mil thickness gauge. If they don't ask how they know they are putting it on at the proper thickness. That'll at least get him thinking about applying it properly. Wet mil thickness gauges can be bought for $5, maybe $10 dollars. Inspect the Aquadefense prior to them tiling. Make sure it looks good, there's no thin see-through areas, and that there are no voids or pinholes. Liquid membranes work quite well when installed properly. And to install them properly, all the person has to do is follow the directions. That's it. No shortcuts. Shortcuts lead to leaks. Benches are especially vulnerable. Considering you have a niche and a shower bench, and none of it was properly waterproofed the first time around? It's a good thing you hated the tile color! lol The cost of the demo, the new durock, the Aquadefense and the retile will be far less than what it would have cost to remediate any water damage that might have occurred down the road. Best of luck with your installation.