"One more question-I was going to see if the builder could get another tile guy in for a consult-to come up with the plan and then this guy can follow that - is this reasonable? Somehow, I'd like someone involved that knows exactly what they're doing. this is so frustrating!! " I'm a builder, but I also do everything from framing to finish work. So I've seen this from both sides of the issue. Now I don't know your tiler, but after years of seeing pretty much all there is to see, and hearing all there is to hear, I'm more concerned with end results rather than assuaging tender personalities. The problem is not that he's working with tricky materials or with a tricky layout. You have a basic layout and a basic tile. The problem is not that "something just doesn't look right" and it's so minute, so buried within the overall aesthetic that we just cant pick it out. It's not a proportion that could have been tweaked. It's not that the golden rectangle could have been honored and it wasn't. Your installation has repeated flaws. They are all obvious. The layout is bad. Grout lines are uneven. Tiles were cut without being measured for the individual space they will fill. That's why having your builder bring in another tiler as a consultant probably won't help. This guy is ether having a rough go of life at this time, or he's simply ignorant and apathetic. His inadequacies are now a part of your house. In your bathroom. Is this what you want to wake up to and go to bed to each day? If you want to nurse him along and offer him yet another chance at redemption, it's up to you and your builder. Honestly? I'd cut the guy loose and bring in a competent tiler. From the builder's point of view, unless he's enamored with this tiler for some reason, the builder wants to get the job done in as few hours as possible. He wants to pay for the job once. Not twice, or four times. I'd put it on your builder. Simply tell your builder that based upon what you've seen, for whatever reasons, the current tiler is not up snuff for executing this job. If your builder insists that this guy be given a second chance, hey it's on your builder. But then when an outside guy needs to be brought in, that'll be on your builder too. Your concern is that the job be done properly. It's up to the builder to bring in people that do competent work. Your mantra that you need to repeat to the builder is that you want it done right; to industry standards and in a workmanlike manner. If you agree to give this guy another chance, legally you've seen the level of his work and you're accepting it. That's why your sole concern is to demand a certain quality of work, and it's up to the builder, not you, to bring in a technician capable of producing. When you agree to a certain person doing the work, you're accepting that person's ability. If they have a good day, you're fine. If they have a bad day, you're stuck. If you agree that the work be done to a certain quality level, then that's what the builder has to provide, whether it take him one try or forty tries. There's a bit of subtlety in that language, and I hate to bring it up, but I've done construction arbitration, I've been a witness in legal cases, and sometimes the minutiae is important. Not that you;re headed in that direction, but I'm tossing that out for consideration. I highly recommend that these things be put in writing. email is fine. Just get written communication going so you have a record of your concerns. The builder will probably drop the "well you know, getting someone else to come in and do the work might cost us a couple of weeks on the timeline" to try to scare you. Just give him a deadpan reply of "well you better get on the phone and start dialing now". Two day, two weeks, it seems like an eternal stoppage at the moment. But when the job is done properly, it'll have been worth it. Remember, this is business. It's not your job to coddle the incompetent. Or pay them YOUR money for work that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck for the next 20 years. If you plan on selling in a few years, it's more important. Do you want potential buyers seeing this bathroom and saying oooooohhhhhhh! or do you want them saying Ugh. You'll make money with oooohhhh. With "Ugh" you'll pay for this tile again when you have to drop your selling price. Brevity is not my strong point, Mongo

What StoneTech says. The total system is so important, not just the esthetics. PICTURES. Always take pictures of the process. I am a DIYer in several areas of my remodels and I take a million pictures of my progress. IT IS SO HELPFUL :) The "top couple feet" of drywall you mention, is that in a shower? With shower surounds there are a couple of feet above the unit that is drywall, so I don't think that is an issue unless it is in the actual splash zone. The ventilation and the paint must be first rate to prevent moisture condensation damage. In my current bathroom project, I will be tiling to the ceiling but not the ceiling. I have a vent fan in my shower, approved for wet areas, to control the moisture. And I will be using paint specifically designed for bathroom use.

I'm not formally trained in this, but I've studied it some, and would offer these opinions: If I understand you correctly,the 4 brass vents around your firebox, 2 to the right and left slightly above it and 2 to the right and left close to the hearth, are connected to a duct system that circulates air that has been heated by the fire. There may be a blower fan connected to the ducts to promote greater circulation of heated air into the room. Whether you have a blower fan or not probably does not matter. So you want to cover these vents for cosmetic reasons in your re-design of the fireplace. I think there might be a concern if you are covering the vents with combustible material (wood), for 2 reasons. (1) If the air in the duct system gets very hot, it could degrade the wood over time. You might be able to avoid that problem if you stuff some insulating material into the ducts. (2) I think there is one other issue you need to consider to assure yourself that you are not incurring a risk of fire: the clearance between the edge of the firebox and the edge of the combustible material. If the latter is too close, it could theoretically catch fire. I do not know how minimum clearances are calculated, or even if there is a general formula for doing that. It depends on how hot the fire gets and how combustible the combustible material is. You might be able to sort this out on your own by making a really good roaring fire, letting it heat up for a good 15-30 minutes, and seeing how hot the vents get, especially the sides of the vents that are closest to the firebox. If they are too hot to touch or almost too hot to touch, then you know that you don't want to put anything combustible like a wood surround that close to the edge of the firebox. But if it gets just slightly warm to the touch, you can probably put a wooden surround that close without any danger of fire. Incidentally, since heat rises, the clearance between the top of the firebox and any combustible material above it will probably be more important to be concerned about. If I were you, I would consider a black metal fireplace surround, to replace the brass surround you have in place now and to extend out so that it covers the vents. Sheet metal fabricators can make one that looks like cast iron (which is too expensive), and that would blend in very nicely with your brick, and you would not have to worry about clearances. You can still get your wooden mantel, positioned one step removed around the metal. Of course, that's a matter of personal taste. You have a really nice fireplace, and with a little careful planning you can make it even nicer. Good luck.

I think you have to go with what feels right - you're standing in the room, we're not. The problem (IMHO) is the math is off for the entire room. Lord, that's sounds awful doesn't it? lol! But it's really not that tragic. :) It just makes it harder to balance and distribute contrasts, texture, color, etc. Math is a wonderous thing and is key in any kind of design whether 2 dimensional in a graphic or artistic sense or 3 dimensional in an architectural sense. Get the math right for stuff like crown widths, door height, mantle height, where light switches are placed, or whatever and it's a lot easier to decorate -- things just seem to *fall into place* with little effort or stress. Thing is your room is (I'm guessing) just like the majority of rooms out there. The math is off. Happens for various reasons. Original drawings are altered to fit the lot, carpenters do one part while masons do another, and on and on. Often there isn't one person involved who knows about golden ratios passing calculators out to everyone and double checking this to that. The trick to use wall space with varying widths of trim is a good trick to make moldings look more expensive and substantial but probably not necessary in a room with 9ft ceilings. Because the math doesn't work out right. That's why I suggested just taking the small bead of trim off. But ya can't. So absolutely try it the way you think will fudge everything into feeling right. It can come out just fine and no one will be the wiser about the stuff that might not add up perfectly by the numbers.