I thought you were in MA, not ME. The good news is that if it's the PT that shrank, it's done. The bad news is that if the soil is undergoing expansions and contraction cycles...it's unstable. I don't have a vast amount of experience working in clay, but I had a big bucks job in clay years ago. We actually set up something similar to a drip irrigation system around the perimeter of the foundation. The purpose was that the drip irrigation would keep the clay continually moist so it wouldn't undergo movement cycles as the clay dried and rewet. It'd essentially stay permanently wet and not move. Any excess moisture was removed by foundation perimeter and footing drains. Now, you wrote that the crawl space is sealed up... 1) For clarification, I'm assuming that there is a concrete foundation around the perimeter of this addition? Or is it built on piers? 2) If it's a poured foundation, was a rat slab (thin 2" poured slab) or a full slab poured in the crawl space? Or is the bottom of the subfloor open to soil on the ground? 3) With the clay, did your dad have any engineering analysis done with regards to soil movement or stabilization? As to "what now"...was this a Kerdi shower? Or did it have a topical membrane (HydroBan, RedGard, etc)? I remember your shower but forget the specifics of how it was built. If Kerdi, the cracks are sort of inconsequential when it comes to water penetrating into the walls. The cracks are more cosmetic unless they really open up. I'd get in touch with your installer regarding the details of the walls. Depending on how the walls were detailed/waterproofed might give you a warm fuzzy regarding letting things sit as they are while you see if movement has stabilized versus taking action (caulk the crack, etc) if water penetration may be a concern. I'd mark the ends of the cracks with blue tape and keep an eye to see if the cracks extend or if the movement has stopped or stabilized.

I'm not too worried about it anymore. We bought it, and there have been no changes. I was kind of worried about it because I have a tendency that whatever I do, it almost always screws up in the most magnificent way possible. Common sense told me it was fine, so it's not perfect, well heck, it's old...no biggie. And to be honest a little bit of lean here and there, a crack I can patch, a creaky floorboard or loose railing....I don't care. Peeling wallpaper....I don't care. It's "character". It kind of sits up on a hill, and we took out some bushes, and now where we did this (not close to the house, but still) is eroded a little because we need to get it rocked and plant grass in the other areas. But my guess is, as long as we keep the gutters clear, and divert water away from the foundation, it's fine. This house is a monster. The brick walls are three layers thick. Literally...my walls are over a foot thick. How could it even be able to settle anymore? The dirt under it has had three layers of brick forty feet high on top of it for 150 years. And it's only off by 3/4"? That's unbelievable, IMO. But, you know how these people are, they come look at something, and act horrified, like it's AWFUL and NOT SAFE and OH. MY. GOD. You have to fix this NOW, it's TERRIBLE...and I start thinking....well, maybe it's a big deal...I mean, that guy was measuring my kitchen floor, saying, "Oh, this is NOT good....it's not straight..." and I'm thinking, yes, I know, that's why my freezer door always goes open so far it will hit the cupboard door if it's open and I don't hold it....but, so? My other house was over 100 years newer, and I figured out it wasn't square when I put up wainscoting and crown molding. It didn't bother me. If it's not so you can just look at it and tell it's" off", or if things don't go sliding across the floor, it's not going to bother me. If there is a little crack I will either ignore it or patch it. In the upstairs bathroom there is more significant cracking and peeling on one wall, and rather than re-sheetrocking it, I'm thinking about taking the plaster down and treating the exposed brick, and just leaving it that way. Exposed brick is lovely.

"My understanding is that any color of Corian can be attached to any color Corian." practigal: You are correct. Corian colors are remarkably consistent throughout the years, so a match shouldn't be too tough. Some Corian vanity bowls are thermoformed from sheets and the heat from the thermoforming alters the color from the sheet it will be attached to. A bevel edge instead of a rounded edge fools the eye fairly well in that situation.

Part 5: So, after this whole saga, I have some advice for anyone dealing with a similar situation. Of course, always try to hire a real pro in the first place, not a hack like we did. Look up and read, or buy, relevant industry information that relates to the type of project you are dealing with, such as local codes, ASNI, TCNA, etc. Also read the manufacturer’s instructions for the products your contractor is using. Take BEFORE pictures. It’s fun to look back on the ugly before pictures and see how you improved your home. Take DURING pictures every single day. It’s fun to look back on the in-progress photos. I’ve been taking in-progress pictures of all our project for 30 years. If you work from home like I do, it’s easy. Take pics when the workers leave for lunch and in the evening after they leave for the day. Don’t interfere in the work space, or take pictures while they’re working. Take pictures of every part of the project from different angles including all the buckets of products they have left in the space and all the tools and such that are sitting around. If you don’t work from home, take pictures when you get home at night. If you are traveling and have decided to let the contractor work while you’re gone, ask a friend or neighbor to come over and take pictures for you each evening (give them a really nice thank you gift). Note: Last year the sibs and I helped my Dad remodel his whole vacation home which is 1000 miles away. I was able to go up once and sibs were able to go up twice. We all took tons of in-progress photos. When I was up there, tiling was about to begin. I looked up the installation instructions for the wall-board material they were using for the showers. There were no rolls of fiberglass tape amongst all their supplies and products, but it was called for in the instructions. I emailed the GC and expressed concern that the tile pro might not be planning to tape and seal the boards. The GC took care of it and the project proceeded. The GC was very professional and responsive, and it all worked out, but what if I hadn’t taken pictures, read the manufacturer’s instructions for myself, and brought up this issue? If an issue comes up during the project, email or meet with the GC and it will probably get resolved. Confirm the resolution by email to ensure everyone is on the same page. If your project goes seriously south like ours did when the GC quit, or if your project is really messed up and you are upset with the botched job, still try to have a meeting with the GC and ask them to provide a plan for moving forward to complete the project. Confirm all the communications by email so that there is a record of the communications. Confirm the understanding of any verbal agreements by email. If you and GC are not in agreement, or they quit, then you really have to pause and think about what to do. -- If the GC quits out-right like in our case: Ask for a refund by email or send a demand letter certified return receipt. Then embark on the process of finding a new contractor to re-do your project. After GC says no to the refund request, you can let it go like we did, or decide to sue them in justice court (small claims) or district court. -- If GC sues you, like our quit-GC did, you need to respond and go through the process. You’ll need to download and read your state’s civil procedure laws and construction laws. It is a real PITA, but you have to go through the process. -- No matter who is suing whom, you have to decide whether or not to hire a lawyer. In our case it was just a bathroom, not a whole house, so we decided to represent ourselves. If something like this had happened on a whole house build or remodel worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, well, then I think we’d be hiring a lawyer because the stakes would be so much higher. If the GC still wants to fix things: Ask them to write up their plan and send it to you by email, and then make your home available for them to attempt the fix. Take pictures the same as explained above. If the fix really does fix things, that’s great. If/after the fix fails, you are allowed (under most states’ construction laws – you need to read the law in your state) to fire them. We don’t have any experience with firing a contractor, we’ve never done that. But in our research, we learned that you have to give the contractor a chance to fix things before firing them. You can’t just get mad and fire someone because you have a concern, or even if they really did legit screw something up. You have to give them one crack at fixing it. Reflecting on the trial – why I think we won: We had a bench trial which means you are just talking to the judge and witnesses, no jury. DH conducted the case and called 4 witnesses: the quit-GC, the foreman, me, and the new contractor. We were well organized and prepared, but it was still surprisingly nerve-wracking; I was sweating and felt like I was going to throw up all day. Do the “superman” pose; it really helps. Do it at home, in the elevator, in the bathroom; seriously, it helps. Neither one of us had ever even talked to a judge before. Here are the important things we did that I think made the difference for us. DH prepared and organized all the important documents. He wrote out his opening statement so he could read it instead of talking off the cuff. He had all the exhibits prepared to hand to the judge, and copies to give to the plaintiff. He had extra exhibits on hand that he thought he might need in case the judge asked certain types of questions. All the emails and text messages were put together in one exhibit in chronological order. DH organized his statement and exhibits into 2 “chapters.” The purpose of the first chapter was to prove to the judge that we gave the GC a chance to remedy the situation, and that the GC had quit, not been fired. The purpose of the second chapter was to show why the amount of money we were seeking was justified. For that we used the new contractor’s report and the photographs of the bad work to show that it was necessary for the new contractor to demo all the way back and start over, and that new materials had to be purchased. And the financial analysis showed how we got to the number. The new contractor’s report and photos cross-referenced each problem to city plumbing codes, TCNA, and ANSI, and he walked the judge through the whole report and photos, explaining how things were done incorrectly. I wish this kind of situation would never happen to anyone, but sadly, it will. When projects start, you never think they are going to go south like this. But just in case it does: - Have a contract. - Take before and during photos. - Use email and text for all communications instead of relying on verbal communications and agreements. - Assume that your communications will, one day, end up in the public record, and make sure you always use professional language.