The insurer suggested another company, one that the adjuster said was "next up on the list for referral." Apparently, contractors pay to be on a referral list. The insurer would only suggest one company and not several to select from. We went with the company that was hired by the insurer to do the clean up because we thought this company (it is a large one) would have less of a tie to the insurer and would more likely listen to the homeowner. We tried to do a due diligence for the company, talking with 3-4 previous fire damage customers and my sister looked at one or two homes of these customers. The referrals were all quite positive and the homes looked great. However, the work done in those home and for those customers was not by the same project manager who was assigned to this project. The project manager for my sister's house has not done a good job and several of his subs have been bad. In addition to this tile problem, there are other problems. The shingles on the roof are bubbling up and new flashing was only put around part of the chimney. The backsplash in the master bathroom has a 1 inch gap between the backsplash and the wall that he proposes to cover with quarter round. The casings of three doorways in a hallway are all of different heights. I think you get the picture.

Karen - There are several ways to do this. I have NOT done either of the first two, but am fairly sure they will work. Just pick one and give it a try. Better yet, give both a try at the same time with similar pictures and see which you like better. How To Make Your Own Decals Using Fingernail Polish How to Make Your Own Decals with ModPodge And of course you can go to an office supply store and get special paper to run through your printer than willl instantly make decals. Just be sure you get the box that is compatible with your printer (inkjet or laser).

A common way to make these is to buy decals of the letters, fire the tiles in a kiln and put cork on the back. You can fire about 125 tiles at a time in a small 17x28 hobby sized kiln. The decals are high temp inks and so they withstand the 1300 degree firings. They apply just like a regular decal, and you let them dry and fire them. Now I don't know how much she wanted but blank glazed tiles are about 15 cents each and the decal is 50 cents. Another way is to buy decal paper, print the letters with an inkjet printer, apply like a regular decal and bake it in an oven at 250 degrees. But these designs will fade in about a year and if they come in contact with water for any prolonged period, will come off.

I have had great success with fabric under clear glass. I lay down a sheet of plastic, then the fabric, right side up, then coat the piece of clear glass with Mod Podge. Then I press the glass down onto the fabric. I hold it down firmly, then release. Then I go back several times and press down firmly to make sure that the glass is completely adhered to the fabric with no gaps. After it is thoroughly dry, I lift it up and with sharp scissors I cut the fabric close around the edges of the glass.