MeeeOwww! That was just to funny! My husband did not laugh!(about the head injury)

As much as I enjoyed writing my little screed in the OP, I do want to say that our GC is always helpful in resolving these problems. I've never done such a huge remodel before, and I find it puzzling that there have been so many errors. We tried to provide all the right information up front; sometimes we didn't get it all down in writing and we've had to go back and review things with the builders. But just as often we've had things in our plans that they just missed. I took an opportunity on Friday to talk to one of the GC partners about their error rate on our job. He didn't think our project was so unusual for their company, but he did talk a lot about this vent fan issue and admitted that there were three opportunities for them to get it right and they missed each one. After that conversation I went back into the house with my dad and showed him our progress. Then I noticed that the HVAC sub had put an A/C vent outlet in the wrong place. After we'd asked for 3 weeks for him to put it in, showed the project manager WHERE to put it, given him a drawing of the new closets they were building there - still it is in the wrong place. sigh. Another conversation for Monday morning.

catherine, hah, I just realized that your email wasn't associated with the message...I received your post in my email account and I hit reply. I just checked, it wasn't from your email account, so I know you didn't get my response! sorry about that. Here is my email: Hi Catherine, First, thanks for the compliment. That is very nice of you to say. Glad you ordered samples from MS&T. Did you see the new colors? If you do order, make sure you talk to Mary Elizabeth there, she is so nice and she would love to know you saw my kitchen on GW or AT. (don't forget they are offering the 10% discount with the code "THERAPY". Now, as far as the grout goes... You will need to grout it. Although it looks like the tiles fit together snug, they have various spaces between them. It is handmade tile and each one varies slightly. Also, The grout gives the tile a different look. The grout sort of fills the space and helps everything look uniform. It's hard to describe, but, even though in the photos it looks like the tiles are not touching, underneath the grout, they are. It is the bevel that causes this. Very hard to describe. I have pictures somewhere of the tile during the process. I'll find them and email some of the photos of the tile pre grout. (send me an email so I can send them directly to you when I find them) Also, there is a 1/2 grout and 1/2 non-grout photo, that shows a lot too. You will also have to tell your installer that the tiles are set on an angle, rather than going across the bottom row first,then the second row, etc. It is more of a pyramid pattern. I know it sounds crazy, but this way you keep the vertical lines straight. Not sure if you want to tell your tile guy or not, but, it took twice as long to do this than was expected. Although, in all fairness, my "tile guy", is a friend who I didn't let see the actual tile until he showed up on a Saturday morning. He thought that they were on a sheet from the photos. He and my hubby worked from 10 am until around 1 am, then they were back at it on Sunday morning to finish laying the tile and then the grouting began on Sunday. They used a piping bag to fill the spaces with grout. I chose Permacrete White for the grout. Bill_V suggested this to me. He said it is the ONLY grout that is white that actually is all white. All the others have some sort of caramel color in them, and since this grout was going to be so critical to the design, I wanted my grout to be really white. Also, this stuff doesn't stain. Kind of important on a white backsplash. Also, the 10% extra rule? Go higher. Waste is much more than that. Ask Mary Elizabeth if you order extra if you can return it. Well, these are all my "tips". I'll find those photos, but I just wanted to get back to you and let you know, that I can't imagine NOT grouting this tile. -Bee

That was very good! LOL