I am no Bill or Mongo, but I live in bay area and have been searching for contractors for 2 bathrooms remodel who have worked with Kerdi too. I always was told that "hot mopping" is the way to go. I found 2 leads after searching for a month - One is a guy who advertises his remodeling company on craigslist for SF bay area (he is at SF city and says he works with Kerdi) and another one is a tile depot called "Bullnose tile" in SJ where they have staff who are trained at Shluter and can refer an installer. My problem is that I do not know how good they are. So, I am eager to see if Bill or Mongo would refer a good local guy who is comfortable with Kerdi and Ditra.

Bill, Mongo- thanks. We will definitely give it an extra day. My husband will be disappointed (!) I did take a bath last night- heaven. I have the cleaning crew here again today doing picky things like feeling all the tile surface with their hands for haze and grout smears and touching up baseboards and walls. I do not feel guilty in the least, either. I told them not to run water in the shower. When my husband gets home tonight, I will have him help me move in the linen cabinet and rehang things. Can't wait to turn the floor on either- I wait 30 days from SLC poured?

The job is supposed to make you happy, not them. You know if the job is good or not. Put in writing what you want corrected, give them a copy and keep one for yourself. Everything should be consistent including the color of the grout and the caulk. Take some pictures or get some from a magazine and show them to your contractor so he knows for sure what you want. Find a tile guy who has done work that you like and ask him to come out and give you a opinion. You'll probably have to pay him a little but it will be worth it. He will explain what is correct and what isn't and then you won't have any questions. Make sure you tell your contractor what you want in writing and keep a copy. I had my shower retiled and told the guy I wanted all the corners coved. He came out and started setting the tile without cove corners. I had coved corners written in the estimate. He said the tile maker didn't make the cove tiles. I told him to stop the job and I would order from a manufacturer that made coved pieces. Next day he had the coved tiles. Another instance, I remember my uncle making a tile guy redo a curve around a kitchen four times. After all that, if the guy can't do the job you want, get someone else, but keep your letter and take photos of his work.

This from someone who was originally interested in HELPING you: In a recent interview Mrs. Selber mentions teaming up with Al Gerhart who has some interest in the granite \radon scare. Al Gerhart is a carpenter whohappens to own a website called the SolidSurfaceAlliance.org. He educated himself, regarding materials he works with that may expose him to harmful elements." Upon further review it seems this "personality" is well known for his view of natural stone. All one has to do is look at the website to get the gist of his viewpoint. Coincidentally, there also seems to be a new business venture for Solid Surface Alliance as the website now sells Geiger counters to detect radiation His debates have earned him quite a place online in forums discussing the subject. After a certain debate on a well known residential forum, a renowned geoscientist in the industry concluded: "Al attempts to hijack debates by choking the system with verbal diarrhea. The problem appears to be that he has a bit of knowledge about some things but not enough sense and understanding of the subjects. In that debate on the Garden Forum he threw in so many fabrications (plain made up lies) that his credibility just plummeted to zero. Anyone who operates this way (by including a number of facts to gain an element of credibility in the eyes of a generally uninformed audience, twisting facts deliberately or because of his lack of understanding, and then throwing in a number of lies) does not deserve extended airtime. Many years ago when doing science psychology I still remember my professor giving the advice to his students that you should never engage a nutter in debate. You can never win an argument with such people. I recognized this early in the forum and that is why I would not engage him in "debate". One of his major problems is that he does not know what the numbers mean and how they are derived." In response to the buildclean tactics, The Marble Institute of America is in the process of doing their own independent study: "The Marble Institute of America (MIA) is grateful for the preliminary response from the members to the newly established Truth About Granite Fund. Based on this positive response, it's clear that their colleagues share their commitment to protect consumers from needless fear mongering by establishing standards for the testing of granite so consumers can safely and comfortably enjoy the beauty, durability and practicality of this natural stone." When we asked the MIA why Sara Speer Selber consider The Truth About Granite Fund as a draconian move that is being waged against BuildClean(TM), they simple responded: "The Truth About Granite Fund was established to help raise funds to develop unbiased, scientific standards for the granite industry, including the testing of granite for radon. No such standards currently exist in the natural stone industry. Previous tests of granite samples have found they are safe. However, the Truth in Granite Fund aims to take advantage of new, advanced scientific instruments that make testing both more practical and more accurate. Our goal is to make sure testing follows consistent protocols, so that future studies are meaningful and based on consistent, approved science not isolated methodologies or unapproved instruments. Ultimately, our goal is to make sure the granite we sell is safe." This latest sales tactic received the attention of an independent group called the Natural Stone Restoration Alliance (NSRA). The NSRA saw Radon testing as an added service that their members could provide to the homeowners along with all their other services for natural stone. I am one of the lead testers and trainer for the NSRA , invited times Members of the SolidSurfaceAlliance.org to discuss and provide proof of this threat to the home owners. The SolidSurfaceAlliance.org agreed to provide an alleged radiation producing granite sample that they claim to have in their possession to do independent testing. After an initial agreement between the two groups it seems the Solid Surface Alliance has reneged on the delivery of the alleged material. I was disappointed of the outcome. The NSRA than requested the name of the company that Mr. Gerhart claimed to just have rejected over 10k worth of radon producing granite. When the information was not provided, I ask if he could purchase the next slab that Mr. Gerhart rejected. But for some reason Mr. Gerhart could no longer find a sample for testing. Mr. Huligar went on to say: "All we care about at this point. As for whether are not Stone adds a measurable amount of "radon" in a home, Mr. Gerhart had agreed to come to NY and pick out a hot slab that I would place in my own home after testing my home for radon. Once the granite was installed I would test my home again as described by the EPA and have it tested by someone approved by the EPA. Not only would we do the short and long term test, we would also video tape the whole event, the selection, the creation, the install, and than setting up cameras for anyone to view the stone and meters on the net. I was looking forward to do this, but at this time it appears that Mr. Gerhart has no plans on doing as he said which is a big disappointment." The NSRA plans to push for this simple test, they feel that the consumers only care about one thing; "whether or not adding granite in your home would significantly change the radon levels in a home". At present, the most prudent consumer should watch the outcome of this debate and make an informed decision, not taken in by a scare tactic by advertisers.