I was staying at a friend's house waiting until my move-in date for my new home. The only place to sleep was on the couch, in the living room. Just a medium size couch with fabric cushions, and a few extra pillows. Within one day I noticed that I had a headache when I awakened. I wrote it off due to stress of the whole moving situation. As the week went on....my headache was getting worse, and lasting longer. After about five days...I was concerned that something was seriously wrong with me. A pounding headache, lasting all day; was something that I had never experienced. To make a long story short: (while I was not home) my host had been spraying Febreze in the living room and all over the couch because he wanted it to smell nice for me. I was flabbergasted that a product whose use is supposedly healthy to use daily on clothes, fabric and in the air, could cause such symptoms in a single day. Of course that was the end of spraying Febreze...and it was about three days until my headache went away. I have never been a fan of chemical deodorizers...but if inhaling the fumes can cause such terrible symptoms (I thought I had a brain tumor), why would I ever want to use Febreze on my clothes or in the air that I breathe. I'm just a regular person who thought someone might like to hear this story. J in Chicago

Well, ask the guy you hired 'how' he plans to remove the backsplash. That would be a good start to easing your mind or at least being prepared for the work. Take lots of pictures of your cabinets/countertops/appliances etc. just before the work begins so you know exactly where any new dents/scratches came from. Ask how they plan on protecting things like your cabinets/counter tops/appliances. Ask what happens if something gets damaged. Have the answers in writing. If I recall, when I briefly explored having our newly installed backsplash torn out (it was a love/hate thing for a couple weeks but my wife landed on 'love' thankfully), I believe the discussion revolved around removing the actual drywall behind the tile - cutting it out completely. Not trying to remove the tile from the drywall. So it would involve removing all the outlets, scoring (deeply) the drywall right along the edges of all the cabinets/counter tops, and then likely beginning in one of the outlet openings if there are any, ripping the drywall off along with the tile.

If you use thinner, you need something to protect the floor if it's anything other than a ceramic tile, and even then it's a good idea to put down something. Also if you're going to work with thinner, make sure you use the right kind of gloves. If the thinner gets trapped against skin, it may cause a nasty burn.

Oh goodness that sounds awful! We basically rebuilt the entire house up from the studs, and added the kitchen. But I was onsite every day and never noticed any mess that would attract vermin. It was a very neat and tidy job site, with a contentious crew. Not to say something didn't get into the walls, but I can't see them sealing something in without noticing it. I just can't figure out why it comes and goes, or what the coming and going is related to (weather, appliance use, HVAC cycles, phases of the moon......) Did your smell wax and wane, or was it a constant bad odor? And were you able to sniff out where it was coming from, or was the exact source difficult to pinpoint?