Bill, my plan was to use a single 13x13 tile for the back of the niche, and 3x13 bullnose tiles for the top, bottom and sides. Would that work? And is it too tough to do this on the same horizontal and vertical grid as the other 13x13s on the wall. (In other words, it would be as if someone took one of the 13x13s in the middle of the wall and pushed it back into the wall a few inches.) Is that going to be too hard to line up, considering the framing is done before the tiling starts, or if it's calculated correctly, will it work out fine?. Would like to hear from you or others on the height, and also what to do about soap for the tub if the niche is placed at shower height. Thanks! -- Eric

"... Her house build demonstrates that. She described the floor and stair riser issues in her first post ..." She does not go into detail on why the condition of the construction is the way it is. You are assuming it was all the gc's fault. While I am certainly not going to defend the GC she fired, I will say part of that condition might have been from the house being open to the elements for a period of time. ANother part was that she never gave the original GC the opportunity to make the work that was done ready to be installed over. The GC did not complete the project and was removed from the job before he could finish his work, so of course it was not ready to be installed over, because the work was not completed and the original GC did not have the opportunity to make sure the stair system or any other part was in a ready state to be installed over. She very well may have had just cause to remove the CG, but nevertheless she took on the GC responsibility on herself to ensure it was ready for finish trades. I believe it is apparent that this house was not ready to have finished trades in it performing finish work, and it was her responsibility as GC to make sure it was unless soneone else accepted that responsibility by contract. "...A person does not require a GC to have a floor put down. ..." The problem with this is that it was not as simple as getting a floor put down in a home that was ready to have finish trade present. Again, we do not know what caused the stair issues, which could have been: Framing problems caused by the GC's incompetance, or being open to the elements, which flooring installer holds no responsibility for because its a hidden condition, unless it was a tile contractor who must check for build stability, and deflection and rigidity requirements. You might not be aware that carpet, wood, and resilient installers are noit trained for, nor do they hold any responsibility or liability for framing issues. All of which she holds responsibility for as the project GC. The only way the flooring installers would hold liability and responsibility for framing (hidden conditions) issues is if it was addressed on their bids that they agreed to do the work. Any flooring installer would address this in their bids if they elected to take on the added responsibility and liability from stair framing condition and height requirements she may ahve had which could only ahve been taken care of with additional prep they should have addressed in their bids if they wanted to take on the additional responsibility and liability for an added fee. Additionally, she admitted she has no local building codes for such things as stair height. Could they have done better...sure. But it begins and ends with who is liable and responsible. She took that on by electing to be her own project GC. "... While it might have been possible for her to have stepped in earlier to babysit the install where she would have seen that they weren't able to handle the job, stopping it sooner than what happened, that doesn't relieve that company of their total responsibility for having installed a floor over an (obviously) unsound substrate. You can't remove prep from the flooring equation. The flooring company is the professional here and in charge of their own work. It's their job. Once they start putting the floor down, they have accepted the substrate as sound and taken ownership of the results. They did not act responsibly or professionally. Period. Doesn't matter who did the hiring. They and they alone are responsible for their own incompetent work ..." Again, (and again, and again, and again) an installer absolutely is responsible and liable for the surface they install over. However, I will disagree that prep cant be removed. It very well can, and often is removed. While most professional flooring installers do much surface prep, others do not, and FEW, if any, will concern themselves with framing issues AT ALL. I do, but most do not. It all boils down to what was included in the bid. Flooring installers have no responsibility to do added prep work unless they agree to be contracted to do it. They ahve every right to stop work, tell the GC this or that prep needs done before continuing, and tell them to give them a call when its ready to be installed. Lastly, you seem to be taking everything she says as gospel. I dont. I have alot of experience with customers, and customers lie alot... and often. Mostly to save face, save a buck, and/or to shirk their responsibility. The customer is not always right. Thats a falicy. I find it hard to believe that she had issues with the GC, then issues with all the trades. Everyone was wrong in every aspect of this project ... except her. I dont believe that for a moment, but I am not saying its impossible. What I see as possible is someone who bit off more than they could chew, and is blaming everyone else. I am not stating no one else holds any blame though. Could be a little of each. Bottom line its mostly her responsibility unless she has a piece of paper saying different ...except the subfloor issues which the installers absolutely are responsible for if they elect to do the prep and/or install over it.

Thanks so much for the comments, info and help to everyone that responded!! I need to keep an eye out for two chairs to accompany it now. Caramia, your sofa looks great recovered! Can you tell me what kind of fabric is on it now, I can't tell from the picture. Reno .. I thought the fabric was kind of cool too. I think for someone to truly like this sofa, they have to 'embrace' the retro -'ness' of the fabric. *LOL* It's totally not everyone's cup of tea. I wish I could get a better picture, I've tried .. it looks much better in person than in the photo, I think I'd need a better camera and lighting though to convey it. CooperBailey, I think the sofa is comfortable to sit on and hang out on for a period of time, it's actually very roomy and can easily fit me and the three girls comfortably on it. I don't find the tufting part uncomfortable on my back, I know that it bothers some people. I read a lot and I think the sofa would be plenty comfortable to hang out on with a good book. Now with that being said, I'm not sure most people would find it comfortable enough for a TV room that's used a whole lot. Where you'd want a large, cushy sofa to sink into. That's most likely where the sofa will be going here, but we honestly don't watch a whole lot of TV. The girls stay really busy with sports, after school clubs and playing with friends. If it's half way decent outside and they are home .. they're outside playing. If it's raining, we normally have a whole troop of kids upstairs, they have a huge TV up there to watch. About the only TV my DH and I watch are a movie or two at night on the weekends. So I think this sofa will work out just fine for us.

With my other bathroom, I used this same gel stain and the plywood end next to the toilet was the spot I started with, and how I found this technique. I put the gel stain on with a dry brush, and coated it evenly. Then I dipped the brush in a cup of thinner and went over the whole thing, wiping off the excess onto a rag every so often. That thinned it without wiping it off. When it was the thickness I wanted - the right amount of grain showing through - I went over it one more time with just the very end of the brush and that feathered out most of the brush marks. But I sanded the plywood end on this bathroom down too much I think, and the gel just wasn't as workable. I didn't sand anything except that one end, so the rest should be easier. I also used a rag, a nylon one I think, to do the drawers and doors and didn't have any problem with it going on too thick or wiping off too much. I tried a cotton rag and it did take off too much.