Tonight DH and I discussed how we want the contractor to finish the tub and walk in closet bumpout. And to what degree we want it completed. DH is an itch about doing things so-so, therefore it will be better to add the tiles ourselves, and do the painting as well. BUT, the electrical, the plumbing, the windows, the removal of the old pair of windows in the bedroom to allow entry into the new closet, that will be framed and cut by the contractor. Also, drywall and taped, but we will finish with a skim of plaster--or so DH thinks. I am ready to leave the closet drywall plain. I am fed UP with DUST. In the tub bumpout, I've decided I want it all beadboard...roof and walls. I think there is a synthetic beadboard mfg by a company with a name beginning with "A"...am I right? That would be very very water proof or moisture resistant. Of course the contractor will do the foundation, the framing, the roof as well. Our windows will be up high near the little rafter "tails" that stick out all around the house. The clerestory "lights" will be NON opening, and made of Lexan. DH says that if you make them less than 24 inches (they will be about 16) you do not have to allow for expansion/contraction of the Lexan. So each small panel can be caulked in and screwed down. That will give us natural light all along our northern exposure, and require no window treatments. I want these Lexan panels in the walkin closet also. I already have the wire closet kit to make high and low hanging racks and such.In fact, I might even get the contractor to install them for me. The top shelf rack will come about the height of the window bottoms. The roofline will just extend at its current angle, and we will lose a little closet height near the outer new wall...but not enough to create a problem. Having the "lights" up high will really take advantage of ambient natural light coming from the north, which is true and consistent all year long, winter and summer. For closet doors, I plan to get two pairs of bifold with frosted glass in the top panels, and louvered fixed shutters in the bottom panels. They can be installed later by us, because the brand I want is special order from Lowes. I also already have the tub fixtures/plumbing stuff ready to be installed. And the two short sconces and one longer double ended sconce for the sink, and the towel bars and racks and ONE grab bar. I plan on more of these grab bars, and will ask the contractor to place a lot of blocking in the walls while they are open. I am so excited. I've tried not to get my hopes up, this might not work out, but OH BOY I"M READY TO TAKE A TUB BATH. If the man is a professional, this job should not take very long, should it?

AND.....the hits keep coming............ I have not seen any further activity in the house. I keep checking...but nothing. Holding my breath but hopeful. HOWEVER...today I decided to clean out my shed. It is an all wood 8x12 structure that I built myself in the corner of my backyard. It is built upon four 6x6 posts (embedded in concrete) and is four (to six) inches above the ground (suspended). I had a large hardwood tabletop and a big piece of butcher block countertop stored in there. As I was removing items I noticed a large blemish on the tabletop. I thought I might have scarred it with a bicycle that I'd had hanging next to it. Nope....termites. I pulled the tabletop (and butcher block) away from the wall and they were prettly well chewed up. I soaked them with bug killer (because I didn't want to unleash live insects into the wild) and hauled them to the curb. Then I noticed that tremites had chewed up the plywood inner wall of the shed. Mud tubes (might as well be..mud WALLS) were erected in the corner of the shed. One single mud tube went all the way to the ceiling. It had all been hidden by that giant tabletop. There was damage in one other area as well....and I could HEAR the termites munching away. The damage is pretty harsh but IS salvageable (and does not appear to be structural). I doused all the affected areas with Termiticide. The termites also munched on other pieces of scrap project wood I'd been storing in there. I trenched around the back and side of the shed and (in the back) found a LIVE cluster of termites and mud tubes centered around some decorative stones I'd placed around the base of the shed. This area is CONSTANTLY moist (due to rain and shade). I soaked the trench in termiticide (including the backfill) and will complete the treatment for the front and other side tomorrow. I am exhausted. If anyone else has gone through this...I feel your pain. The destruction of these little buggers is unreal. I am confident I can patch my shed up...but man....what a frustrating pest to deal with. Cheers.

Don't add paving unless you NEED it. Based on juxtaposition, it looks like the area could neatly be returned to garden space to match its surroundings. I would fill in ... and get rid of those patio "tiles" as they would then make no sense. If you need the extra paving, it looks like you could make a tidy square of 4 x 4 "tiles."

I have a zero entry shower and used a Schluter trim (almost flat) that matched my fixtures to delineate the area (and lots of Schluter around the tile on the walls to coordinate. I also have a different tile - 2" squares of the same pattern as the 12" x 24" tile on the floor; solid 12" x 24" tile in coordinating color in the shower. It looks fine. The shower entry is not visible from the bedroom or even when you enter the bathroom; instead of a 36" opening I had a full wall about 6" wide built for a bit more privacy (it does work). My tile could be called wood look but it's not brown or gray. I was working on a strict budget and couldn't go all out with tile as I wanted to; plain was cheaper. Our construction supervisor was "fired" (it's a long story) the day the tilers supposedly sloped the floor to the drain. Total disaster; it looked like a ski jump at the entry of the shower. If our supervisor had been there, that would have never happened. Needless to say, the jackhammer was brought back and that all got ripped out and the slope meets code but is barely noticeable. But it was a m-a-j-o-r fight that lasted weeks to get the tile guy back. I also wanted to do a trench drain but, on a slab, that cost was prohibitive. I think the tile choices above are fine and I would use white cabinetry. I agree with being uber careful with the window around the window.