Thanks for the heads up and suggestions!! --I did realize that the mat was more...but thought it might be worth it in a DIY install...might be just too much more to consider when trying to cut costs. --We have all the time in the world to get this done since we've been living in this house only using one bathroom for five years...so it's nothing new. We could certainly thinset the cable or mat and then wait to cure...no problem. --We don't need the radiant heat to heat the bathroom--it's actually the toastiest room in the house, having a nice big window with southern exposure and a big beast of a cast-iron radiator (another one of my reasons to maybe nix the idea of radiant heat). --The exterior of the house has blown-in insulation and we do have storm windows (although the windows themselves are original and I plan to keep them that way...I LOVE the wavy glass...much to the chagrin of friends/family who think everyone should get replacement windows! Not me!) --We have been upgrading the electrical and this bathroom was gutted down to the studs, so it will be all new wiring. Kitchen was down to the studs too, so little by little, we're changing out all the wiring. Walls are all original plaster (except new bath and some that were changed out in the kitchen). --It's not really a "master bath," per se. The downstairs of this house has one full bath and the upstairs has one full bath--at the back of the house next to the sixth bedroom--actually as far away from the master bedroom as you could be in this big 'ole house! So it kind of has to be an "everyone" bathroom. When indoor plumbing was introduced to this house, they kept it all in the back right corner of the house--for the kitchen and up/down baths. We someday *might* make the designated nursery (a 10'X10' room off the master bedroom & the hallway) into a real master bath...but that would take running plumbing to the front of the house, which my husband thinks would be very difficult and cost-prohibitive. --I don't think the layout of this bathroom is tricky at all--it's just an 8'X6' rectangle (not counting the tub area). The only "tricky" area is that we will not be tiling under the cast-iron radiator--it's got sort-of a painting piece of wood that it sits on, slightly higher than the adjoinging floor...maybe 2'X1'. That's the only tricky area. :) Sarah

Hi Fun to Learn. I am not sure if my answer exactly matches your question. With my Kitchen Remodel I decided to replace my old 30yr casement window with a larger window to attract in more light and better views. (the Contractor basically enlarged the opening by around 3ft w and 1ft H. I bought the window about a year ago for around $700, using the Home Depot no interest plan and paid it off in about 3 months. I had doubts about my choice because it was standard no frills anderson. The contractor that I am using gave me a price of $1750 which included installing the window plus finishing it on the outsie, wrecking out all the old plaster walls, lathe and ceilings down to the beams and rafters and taking down a non load bearing wall to open up my DR and Kitchen into one room. Prices really vary out there so my advice is just keep getting quotes. The less of a hurry you are in the better. I think the contractor that I chose was the least expensive but also the best of the 10 or so I got prices from. I thought this was very good value. It took him 3 days to do the work and he also jutted the window out about 12 inches to create a nice cottagy feel. His work gave me a nice 12" window sill which will be perfect for displaying pots of herbs or such... Plus his handywork with the way he finished everything changed the whole feel of the window. I think it helped that I bought the window ahead and so we were just talking labor. I would send a pic but I am still struggling with posting images. If I can finally get this working I will send you a pic. Also has your friend considered Craigs List. I have seen plenty of nice windows, used and new at bargain prices. Good Luck:)

Live in MD. We're going through this right now. We've had varying prices from the pool companies - they've all come in about $12 for non-tumbled (straight edge) and $13 for tumbled. We actually called the stone place directly and talked to the guy. The pavers themselves cost $2.65 SF and $3.60 SF for tumbled. The matching coping is $1.80/piece and doesn't come tumbled (pool company to install). He said normally installers use CR-6 gravel at a 4" base, tamp and then sand overtop for an even surface. Now they have come out with #7 stone that is crushed smaller so no need for sand. He said for a 1000 SF patio we would need @ 17tons at $31/ton to = $527.00 (1SF is $51/ton). Basically we're looking at @ $4.15 (tumbled) SF plus the rental of the tamping machine. We are DIY'ers and figuring the pool company has to grade anyway and it's really not rocket science, we would much rather have the look of pavers...and save a TON of money - hence being able to do our boulder waterfall. We are going to have our yard guy help us - who did our front path - for a minimal cost. I've babbled enough already but...I also got a 10% discount for mentioning their web ad and free delivery. If you live in the area I'd be happy to give you the company names.

Davidahn, please don't think I'm just an angry man. Know that I've tried to adapt and deal with the situation as it is but I can't. I refuse to compromise quality and service for price and that is what it seems I must do to survive. I try to run my business in such a manner as to be fair to everyone. I pay my employees well, provide them with company vehicles, benefits etc. It's what I need to do to keep offering my customers quality service and an excellent finished product. Every time, without exception lately, As soon as I provide a quote on a specific piece of hardware my client calls to ask why I charge so much. The fact is that I mark-up my materials by what I consider to be a fair percentage but the internet shows them pricing at least equal to if not lower than my cost. My customers tend to be wealthy people, and I don't imagine that they got that way by selling products at cost or pricing their services low, but it seems that they expect me to do so. I simply cannot afford to work for bare wages. I have insurance, compensation, office staff, vehicle costs - all the things required to offer them the service they expect of me, yet they think I should install a product at their home for the price they see on the web. It baffles me to be honest. Last year I built a pool and spa for a nice fellow. I sent him to my distributor to choose his tiles. He spent some time there dealing with the staff and left with some samples he liked. I got pricing for him, again with a fair mark-up, and he price checked t on the internet. Of course, the online pricing was some 10% below my cost so he chose to order it there. When the time came, of course he expected me to measure his pool and give him quantities. Seems reasonable of course but in my estimating I used to work this into the price of the tile so now I'm essentially working for free. I give him the quantities, the tiles arrive, and we begin to install. Sure enough we're short of tile. I freak out a little, measure the pool again and check my notes...hmmm...should be enough. Talk to the owner and it turns out that he decided that I had over estimated and he knew better, cut the amounts by some 15%. So now my tile guy needs to go away and come back 10 days later, holding up the project and costing me money. Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. In this case I had a long discussion with the client about how I priced things and why he should allow me to order the tiles but of course he knew better, at my expense. I'm not trying to get rich on every job here, just offer a good product at a fair price. Last year I made a whopping profit of about 4% after the dust settled. I've pretty much had it, it honestly isn't worth the risk anymore.