Just an FYI, I'm having technical difficulties with the e-vite. I'll post here once they've been sent out.

OK, invites have been sent out via MyPunchBowl (purpletrail was not cooperating). If you didn't get one, but would like one, please send me an email and I'll be happy to send you one. Looking forward to it! Tara

My life is in a heck of a mess, and my stress levels off the charts. I sure hope I DO manage to get some plants potted up, and make it to the swap. What a year this has been so far - can I skip the rest of it, pass go and collect $200? -Rosalinda bump

Bill, I too am very grateful to you for sharing this information about the up-coming Kerdi price increase. I was already planning to order the Kerdi for our shower tomorrow but now I want to be sure to order everything we need at once. Our shower is 31 ½" x 72". It will have a 24" long curb and a 5Âhigh x 48" long tiled wall instead of a glass door. (Note that the wall is anchored to the ceiling with a post as you suggested:) The shower opening will be doorless. We have installed three niches on the back of the 5' wall. Please advise on how much Kerdi, Kerdi band and how many inside and outside corners we will need. The drain comes with 2 inside and 2 outside? Do we really need the Kerdi fix or can we use a less expensive sealer around the drain and shower valve? (The dealer told me that he doesnÂt sell much Kerdi-fix even to those who install the Kerdi products for a living.) To save money, we are planning to do a mud floor rather than ordering the kit. Would it be a lot easier to use the kit? Would the kit fit our shower? My brother is sending us 60 sq. ft. of Kerdi that was left over from his shower install. In addition, we plan to order the 108 sq. ft. roll. We will put the kerdi up to the height of the shower head (74") and cover the floor, the 5 wall, niches and curb. If we have enough, we will also Kerdi the outside of the 5 wall. I read on one of your posts that the niches should not be placed too low because they will fill with water. Do these niches look too low to you? They are 37 " and 45" from the floor. The shelves are slanted about 1/4" to allow the water to run off. We havenÂt decided whether to install the large triangle Better Bench on the shower-head wall. (Not sure if it would get in the way too much.) How much more Kerdi would be needed to cover the Better Bench? One more issue to resolve before I order the Kerdi drain. We dug a trench in the concrete so we can move the drain about 34" from the shower head wall. Unfortunately, there is a pipe that crosses the trench for the drain. The top of that pipe is 5 ½" below the floor surface. Can we run the drain pipe over the (blue)cross-pipe or will it cause the drain to be too high? When I attach the shower drain pipe, the top of the drain pipe will be 2 ½" below the floor surface. Thanks in advance for your help. Photo below shows shower-head wall (at back) and side walls.