It CAN be done, but that doesn't mean it SHOULD be done. They do make covers that can go right over the present drain cover, and then you can tile right over its flange, and that's what holds it down. You first need to make sure there's no foreign material on the tile-- no soap scum, no body oils, no nothing. Then hit it with a sander to rough up the face of the tile, and use an unmodified thinset mixed with a liquid latex additive.

Not much you can do now. If you are willing to redo it all you can keep your boarder detail level all around and add you sliver at the bottom. Sometimes level does not work in a mock up and you need to set this course a little off level. Not much but sometimes this look is preferred to that of a missaligned tile laye out. If the tiles where "Glued" on then they should come down with ease. A simpilar option might be to add in a corner shampoo niche and break up the sight lines. This would be a easy fix and one that will not cost you a fortune to do. Layout is key people. We layout all this detail before we even start the plumbing and electrical. Planning, options, forethought all take time and cost money. An older home can hide some of these "Character Marks" and it is up to your trades to help you find a happy medium between what you can afford and expect and what is realistic in any given renovation. Slow and steady wins the race. Don't dive into these installs but map them out first. If it works on paper it most likely will work in the field. My thoughts. Good luck. Love the window by the way...

I have opposite problem/question. My house came with fireplace that has 8" tall hearth with slab on top which seems to be sandstone, and which now has a hole in it the size of a few quarters. I never liked the color anyway, and I would like to have granite instead. It seems the easiest least expensive make-over would be to just put a slab of granite on top of the sandstone (with mortar in between). Is this feasible, or is the sandstone too weak to support the granite?

We have oak floors in our master bathroom and we did keep them when we remodeled. People told me to change to tile, but we like the warmth of the wood. It's worked out fine for us because kids don't use this bathroom. I think if kids are going to be using it, there may be more water issues. I find the wood floors in the kitchen harder to keep up with because it's such as busy work zone. If you do decide to keep them, there are a couple things you can do to mitigate any water concerns: consult a wood floor specialist, consider having your shower door (if using) swing both inward and outward, have a very good exhaust fan on a timer, and use a large cushy mat. We leave the door pushed inward while the exhaust fan is running so that if the door drips, it does so inside the shower. We haven't ever had a toilet overflow. I can't think of anything to do to mitigate that other than having a good toilet. We have a separate WC for the toilet, so we could have changed just that section to tile, but elected not to. If you have a separate WC you might consider doing that and maybe waterproofing the floor as well.