So you post something that fabulous without identifying it for us?!

Lucky lucky couple, btw. If they don't go with you I have no respect for their judgement.

Sorry I didn't mention the product, it's Torino Classico Italian Porcelain Tile - Vintage Wood Grain. I saw samples a while ago and it looked good, but I've never used it. I need to take a closer look.

No Fly, it's not a matter of them going with me...it's a matter of me going with them. I'm pretty much a no "BS" kind of guy. The hubby is okay, but the wife is a real treat.

I'm pretty much out of the game now, these days I pick up an occasional "pay" project for enjoyment, or I'll do pro-bono type of stuff for people who have been screwed and left high and dry by their previous contractor.

And I'm not sure if I'll enjoy these two. But I would take a bit of enjoyment by taking the job tormenting this woman. Now that might be a bit of fun.

maliciously,
Mongo

Mongoct,
You want a weekend trip to Maryland to do some pro bono work? I enjoy being tormented!!!
Homepro01

I only torment if I'm well compensated!

For pro-bono, all I ask for is an bottomless pot of strong coffee, and you get bonus points if there is a good microbrewery nearby.

Double bonus points if it's baseball season and the Red Sox are visiting a ball park near you.

8^)

Mongo

That tile is gorgeous! It looks more like wood than tile to me, which is good, since it means the nicer hubby "wins" :)

I only torment if I'm well compensated!
For pro-bono, all I ask for is an bottomless pot of strong coffee, and you get bonus points if there is a good microbrewery nearby.

Double bonus points if it's baseball season and the Red Sox are visiting a ball park near you.

8^)

Ooooo. I can do coffee, we have some excellent microbreweries, and both the College World Series and AAA baseball (Omaha Royals). We usually get field box seats for Royals games just behind the dugout...

Always (working to entice Mongo or Bill out to Nebraska) ;-)
Hunzi
she whose bathrooms may never get done, she thinks

Hunzi,
Back off!!!! :-)

Mongo, I have an espresso machine and I local coffee roaster who makes the best coffee!! Not a microbrewery but a great Belgian pub that serves so many different beers, I don't think they can keep count!! Unfortunately, we suck at Baseball but a Segway tour of the Nations capital is fun and risky all at the same time!
Homepro01

Belgian beers are my favorite. Westvleteren, Trappist Rochefort, Westmalle, their blond beers are great on a hot summer day.

You kids are all right!

Hey mongo, our tile guy is very busy at the moment and might not be able to squeeze us in in time for a parental visit next month.........

DH brews a strong pot of coffee, is a Belgian beer fanatic and always manages to find some good brews (he also has a brother who brews his own beer...!). Can't help with the b-ball, though :-(

Aw man, mongo...if only your life brought you out here...maybe you could help us fix our raxifragin' floor heat...have pity on a semi-old broken down ol' chick who just wanted warm toes in the bathroom...waah waah waaaaah (that's me playing on my tiny violin)

But compared to these folks, I don't even know anything about beer and we have a *lacrosse* team, mostly, except for the (cough) Trail Blazers...maybe in 2012 I could get you tickets to the Olympic Track & Field Trials down in Eugene, but otherwise I have no chance at all :( Oh well, back to some semblance of self respect, no more groveling...where were we...

Thanks for the name of the tile, mongo -- I'll look it up. It is very cool and I'm curious about how the wood-look-porcelain planks are when they're actually installed. (And honestly, I wondered why you would be doing an actual -- "job", as it were!)

"(And honestly, I wondered why you would be doing an actual -- "job", as it were!)"

With more free time I've been bouncing around ideas about a new start-up of some sort. I don't want to do that, as the last one wore me out.

Then over the past however long I've been contemplating building an airplane, a little 4-seater. Amazingly, my wife is all for that, but again, right now I'm not up for committing to a project like that, I just want to chill for a bit longer.

So yeah...I guess I'm looking for an occasional distraction.

But this woman? Some people are just too funny.

Um, once my new kitchen is finished, I plan to learn to brew excellent coffee ;-). I have a friend who brews his own beer. And we're getting some new baseball stadiums in NY...

Of course, by then my tile will all be finished (for better or worse). So we'll just have to sit and chit chat. :-)

I love that wood-look tile, btw. That stuff is fantastic!!!

A thought, mongo: how about volunteering/building for Habitat or some other such group? Your knowledge would be a gift from the universe for an organization like them, and you wouldn't have to commit to finishing a plane, or starting up a business. I know at least one person I admire greatly, who happens to be a master cabinetmaker/woodworker as well, volunteers for Habitat regularly... :)

I've done that.

Even went so far as to a few years ago when I was my son's boy scout and my daughter's girl scout leader, we joined fund raising and building material request/donation forces and sponsored and built a house on our own.

Kind of funny thinking back, taking a couple of 12-yo kids in their scouting uniforms, and me with a camera, walking into every lumberyard, big box, and plumbing/electrical supply house within 30 miles and asking for a donation of 20 studs and five sheets of plywood, or a sink, or a 1000' spool of 12-2 romex, or some copper tubing, or if not a donation, then how about materials at cost?

I pitied the manager who tried to turn those kids' down!

HfH up here is a quirky group. I find them difficult to work with.

I don't mean to come across as complaining, as life is good.

Mongo

Off-topic alert....And life will even be better if the Sox beat those Devils tonight (I mean Rays). Then we can see "Manny being Manny" soon again.

Mongo,
I have a business idea for you! You could be a travelling tile guy. Just the business from this forum should keep you busy for at least 4years and you can do it at your own pace! BillV should think about this too. As people who come to this forum are usually very concise and would have everything ready when you get there. You install and leave!!!
Think about it:-)

Mongo --

Can you recommend a tile company that makes oversize (16x16 plus) rectified porcelain tile for a contemporary bathroom floor? We are looking for a bright white floor tile, large squares or rectangles, matte or glossy. It's hard to find a true white.

Thanks for your advice,
ccc123

Ah, interesting about your experience w/HfH. I find your kind of experience unfortunately true with nonprofits in many sectors, e.g. we are very committed to cougar conservation (as an element of environmental protection) and the only local organization we could find is run by a bit of a crazy person...we tried to stick it out for the cause but it's no wonder she has driven everyone else away and "has to do all the work herself"...we really gave it the ol' grad school try but it came to the point of needing to avoid having our daughter mistreated, so concern for her won out over the cougars. :(

Love the image of soliciting donations with two Scouts :)

ccc123,

Off the top of my head I can't think of a pure white large format rectified. Most all of the "white" large format I've seen is either an off-white, and/or it has a screened or printed design on it. Just enough of a design to give it a little bit of visual texture.

I think the problem is that pure white just looks so stark, so it's not a popular choice.

Check out the Italian manufacturers, they are coming our with quite nice looking large formats these days. But finding a bright white might be tough.

Bill Vincent has a better mental database than I do, as he's a pure tile guy. Or you can try posting over at the John Bridge forum.

Best, Mongo

ccc123 try looking at the Porcelanosa formas blanco. Their website is kind of a pain http://www.porcelanosa.com/ but muddle through it because they have what you want. I actually have a sample sitting here but ended up picking the blanco meridian and it is being put up right now. I also picked the matching floor tiles in shiny bright white but they have a bit of texture, looks like hairspray residue but prevents slipping. I love it!

If you are near one of their showrooms, try and make the trip because their displays are incredible, very modern and a wide variety. If you go to the website, download the catalogue and look specifically at the "colors" section to find the large format rectified tiles-the whites are in that section.

Mongo, I agree with homepro, you should see the country and travel! I would have paid you or Bill to come out my way and do my install in a heartbeat!! I am not complaining about my tile guy but there is a lot of anxiety and if I knew someone like you, I would not have to worry the entire time. I think I am getting an ulcer over this bathroom remodel! It is nothing but trama and mistakes-ugh.

Monday, I have to tell tile guy he can not come after getting everything set up on Friday because after water testing the pan over the weekend, great, didn't leak but then it didn't drain! Monday, had 3 guys here fighting over redoing the shower pan and water test again, Tues morning it drains perfectly but I find out the crew that did the demo somehow filled the drain pipe up with tile and debris-grrr. Get that fixed so Wed the tile guy opens up the v cap package to find they are the wrong color! Thurs-he makes the "space" for the glass accent stripe and I come in at lunch and see that instead of 5 tiles wide, he has only left room for 3 and already has the rest of the wall tile up. I asked him to fix it, heck I bought the tile and can't return it so it would have been over $100 down the drain in glass tile. Next, the tile guy and the granite guy get into a fight over the bench and curb. Tile guy wants the curb cut a "funny" way, wins the fight and now there is a gap-grrr. They are still fighting over how to do the bench-granite guy wants to set the bench and have the tile sit on top, tile guy wants to set tile and butt the granite up to the tile-grrr. I think tile guy is winning but granite guy insists that the back edge should be smoothed and tile guy says nah?

Honestly, I would have paid for the piece of mind to have someone like you!!! The only issue would be shipping your tools all around the country but really with gas going down, you could get yourself a nice motorhome with a place for your tools and just pull up and plug into the driveway of the house you are working on. I have no idea what your rates would be but I bet it would be comparable to what I am paying less the aggravation! I hope you consider it before I have to do the next bigger bathroom...

And it's available through my favorite tile e-tailer, Build Direct. I just ordered a sample.

Thanks for sharing, Mongo.

fidoprincess,

All that finger-pointing is why I like doing everything myself. When I was building several custom homes a year, my crew and I would do everything except foundations, chimneys and drywall. When insurance skyrocketed we stopped doing roofing. I would never leave an "oops" for the next guy, because I was the next guy.

For tile/stone intersections, it might help you to think like a drop of water. If water is coming down the wall, you'd prefer it to land on the granite, not land on a granite/wall joint filled with caulk of grout. I hope that makes sense.

Usually style and substance can be combined, but occasionally one has to bite the dust. You just have to prioritize who dies first.

The biggest drawback to being a "traveling guy" is indeed tools and having the small but necessary items at hand. But I suppose if did "just tile" instead of electrical, plumbing, cabinetry/woodwork, tile, yadda yadda, it'd make things easier.

Oh well.

I'm in the middle of a small home office/library build right now. Sixteen more cabinet doors to build and hang, then it's ready for finishing. So close, but so far away...

Mongo

yadax, build direct is a great company. I've ordered from them many times and have always been happy with the product.

When I've not been able to use the minimum quantity that you have to order, every time I've been able to resell it locally. Sometimes at enough markup to almost get my portion of the material for free, sometimes I even make money.

Mongo

Thanks Mongo for your thoughts. Another question about that bench if I can sneak in here: The issue with the tile guy is that he can't make the cuts on the side tiles around the bullnose granite piece. On one side, he only has about 1/2 inch and said the tile will crack if he puts the bench in first and then trys to tile around that. Is this valid?

Because right now, he is winning the battle and the bench will have a caulk joint against the wall installed after the tile-grrrr-just what you said I don't want. It is a better bench in a floated mud over metal lathe construction. The bench is installed and mudded already, all the wall tiles are up except those 4 tiles above and beside the bench.

Any tips on how to do this better? Thanks!

I'd fly you out here now if I could, don't you want to see California?

Okay, I'll chime in here:

Mongo, I have a brutally meticulous tile job in my bath...HALF finished. My problem isn't that the Tile Guy screwed up (though he did a little tiny bit but it is only aesthetic on tile choice...and not in the bathroom, for what that is worth), but rather, the contrary: he did such a fabulous job that I can't find anyone I'm confident could match that level of work.

If you want to at least discuss this (no commitments), my email is stevet954@yahoo.com. I'm in DC-ish area.

I'd go in with homepro on the Maryland venture, if you need a second. Especially today, when I'm feeling particularly unsure about my tile guy. Good coffee and beer would be a bargain.

It's nice to know a pro like you likes Build Direct's products too. Since I've only bought for myself I always find a way to use enough product to make a minimum purchase.

We used their engineered hardwood in 4 rooms of our house and we're using their glass tile throughout our bathroom. Originally I'd planned to use glass as an accent only but their low prices made buying a large quantity affordable.

Unfortunately we'd just finished a large paver project in our back yard last year when they added pavers to their site. It's great how much they've been expanding their product line the past couple of years.

Mongo & FidoPrincess --

Thanks for your helpful advice about the large format white porcelain tile.

I really appreciate it!

ccc123

Hunzi,
Back off!!!! :-)
Mongo, I have an espresso machine and I local coffee roaster who makes the best coffee!! Not a microbrewery but a great Belgian pub that serves so many different beers, I don't think they can keep count!! Unfortunately, we suck at Baseball but a Segway tour of the Nations capital is fun and risky all at the same time!
Homepro01

Oh my gosh that was laugh out loud funny!

Always ;-)
Hunzi

Happy to oblige Hunzi:-) Ask me how I know the Segway tour is heart stopping fun!!!

Mongo

Did you mention Red Sox?

I have the perfect bathroom for you to tile - and I also have 3 tickets to Wednesday's World Series in Philadelphia. I just turned on the TV and I see the Red Sox are ahead 2 to 1.

Can they pull it off?

If they do - you can tile my bathroom and see the Sox play the Phillies. The only problem is that I'm rooting for Philly. And of course the Sox could always lose tonight.

oops - make that game 3 on Saturday!

And the Red Sox are ahead 4 to 2.

Mongo, I have an espresso machine and I local coffee roaster who makes the best coffee!!

Is that your final offer?

WE have gumbo with deer sausage, crawfish etouffee, shrimp creole, boudin...shall I go on? :)

Susan

You guys are great!

I'm going to have to shop around for a panel truck, load up my tools, fire up the GPS and start a heavy-duty road trip.

Mongo: I'm thinking a "Holmes on Homes" type TV show should be in your future, where you drive your panel truck around the country rescuing hapless remodelers.

Mpwdmom,
I can't tile but I can eat so unless you are promising to fedex some food my way:-) I think the heart stopping Segway tours is really a hook!!

Mongo,
Come on now, you know you miss working:-)

Weedy,

"I'm thinking a "Holmes on Homes" type TV show should be in your future...

Might not happen. I don't wear bib overalls, don't have a pierced ear, and after 21 years of being happily married I don't think I'd be any good at flirting with the women-folk.

Of course I could always just come to the person's house, keep my mouth shut, have a fine cuppa joe, and do good work.

Nahhhh! ;)

Homepro, "miss working" I wish! My "to do" list here at home numbers 321 items. I should get most of them cleared up once I get that extra hour of daylight savings time.

Mongo,
I think I got you beat. I have at least 300 lists of lists:-) I hope to never complete them because then how much fun will work be?
Because you aren't working you can't use the I work excuse not to get anything on your task list done!

Come to Maryland! Come to Maryland! The more I say it, the more you will be compelled to do it!!!

Homepro01