Thanks, Bill, for more detail about the sprays. I feel much better hearing it straight from you that it's not that big of a concern. I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and will try your tips to address the situation. Lukkiirish, I find your comments a bit stinging, but I came here asking the question so I better be prepared for the response. I actually got more upset as I read the early responses in thinking this was unusual. I was quite upset when I wrote my second post. I do take responsibility for a lot of this - even for just not supervising the contractor better. I know this is not his house, and have enough experience with contractors (we did a full exterior remodel last year) to know that they can't read your mind and you have to be extremely specific and pay attention. That was difficult for me to do with the kids around yesterday. Since then, I have calmed down considerably. I actually did call poison control and they assured me that there aren't likely to be any lingering health effects, and knowing that I calmed down. I then called my contractor and told him I just wanted to keep him informed about how we felt, and that we weren't sure what we wanted him to do yet. I explained how I wasn't happy about everything being sticky (and still don't love that they got the sealer all over my new and expensive Kohler faucet). I also talked about the blotchiness. He was apologetic and responsive and offered to do whatever we wanted to ensure we were happy with his work. At this point, I've got about half the residue cleaned up, so I can't imagine what there is, other than to have him back to even out the sealer. In the end, I've learned a ton and also gone from thinking this guy was a total idiot to being pretty darn impressed with his customer service. We had a great conversation, and while I would have preferred the work be 100% the first time, I am still pleasantly surprised that he's so willing to stand behind it. Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond and sharing your feelings so honestly. It really did help me work through my feelings on this (sorry - with my stay-at-home life I don't have many other options to talk through this stuff, and feeling alone and not quite sure how to react didn't help matters. I think I knew I was overreacting and needed validation). In the end, I feel confident we will get a good resolution. Godspeed.

My one non-negotiable item was the Pebble Sheen finish. I would've given up deck space, pool size, water features, etc. but not my Pebble Sheen. It is glorious to behold and so much cleaner to look at than our previous white marcite pool. Seeing all the little bits of dirt on the bottom of the white drove me crazy. With Pebble, the dirt doesn't show as much. Even the surface seems to require less skimming than my neighbor's marcited pool. So far, the Intellitouch remote control is pretty cool, too. But a total luxury as opposed to the Sheen which, for me, was a necessity.

Having read several of your posts, I am so sorry to hear that your situation has gone from bad to worse. So sorry to hear your news, but thanks for posting for the benefit of others (and I am sure you needed to vent a bit too). I would have thought that in FL you would have many of the most experienced pool contractors around. Is "Florida Gem" a private lable brand or copycat product of Diamond Brite as I have not heard of it up North? What is the information regarding how many square feet of coverage you are supposed to get per bag from this product? Was it printed on the bag/product info and does it state how thick the plaster is recommended to be applied? Do you have any recourse if these instructions weren't followed by your contractor? It is a shame you didn't get even the color you wanted. You might have thought from some of the pricing info on finishes that others have shared that the product cost of the colored finishes would have been much more, so I can certainly understand. Sorry again, and hope things work out better for you in the future. By the way . . . for those who may know . . . is there an industry standard for the thickness of the plaster finish on a new pool or replastering job? Does this standard vary by the type of product? Anyway, here is a link that may be helpful. http://www.npconline.org/mc/page.do? PageId=33434&orgId=npc

I had a small utility room sink -- I think it's 5 or 6 inches deep, but it allowed us to wash most of the essentials, so we didn't have to do much in the bathtub. One of the things I did to minimize the big and messy things that would have to be cleaned was to get some corckpot liners (mixed feelings about whether that was worthwhile) and to precook some taco meat, sloppy joes, plain ground beef, some Italian sausage and I think we had some cubeed chicken or turkey -- all in zip bags inthe freezer. That really helped minimize greasy cleanups and large pan washing. I also made some cookie dough and had that inthe freezer -- I enjoyed baking a few cookies when the guys got home frmo school and felt like it helped them feel less like we were roughing it. For cooking meals, we did have a grill, camping stove, a turkey fryer that we cooked pasta in, a micro, crockpot and a toaster oven. The small toaster oven was the one thing I bought to help us get through, and it was worth it. Do keep a measuring cup and spoons out, as well as the basic utensils, a can opener, bottle opener and/or wine cork and a cutting board. Things like a real coffee mug, wine glasses or even a few plates or real flatware -- depending on your needs. Don't forget pet dishes.