We have roofers this week. The first thing they did is to walk around the house and tell us what to move or cover "just in case". Someone working above your sink should've covered (or told you to protect ) what was below it. That is why contractors have insurance! Do whatever it takes to get him to REPLACE (in legal terms "make whole") your sink top. You had a new sink/counter with no marks on it until his actions caused a problem that damaged it. Accident or fluke, it is still HIS responsibility. God had nothing to do with this. When you work on a skylight, something can happen to that skylight. Since he is un-responsive, I agree that you should go the small claims route to get your sink replaced. Check with your local court to get the particulars on what you need to do. Also check with the state contractor's licensing board to see if you can register a complaint. They have a lot of clout here in CA, I don't know where you live. Good luck. This guy isn't going to help you, so you will have to do all the work. Go get him! -Babka

I'm just seeing the new replies now, thank you again for the considerate comments and the appropriate 'vampire' responses. I have also considering asking the guy if he was emotionally scarred from a traumatic plantation shutter experience as a child. I really need to brush up on my sarcasm with him. I have some sweet friends as well but none of them enjoy decorating so yes, dianalo, it is a nice boost to get the support from this forum :) Gam51, I bought the shutters through our Home Depot, and they contract out to a Denver company called Duratex so they are manufactured close to where we live; they have been a great product but I don't know if your HD would use a different company in your region of the country. I priced out cutting my own rods from BB&B then found these ones cheaper than DIY at JCPenney on clearance.

I'm not sure how helpful my response will be either except that your experience is probably typical. Without exaggerating I probably had about 50 designs that I drew up BEFORE I called a designer in. I had researched shapes, sizes, measurements, before I called anybody. Before we called in a designer we researched them, asked for suggestions and yes, we interviewed a lot of dogs before we met our princess and the firm she works for. When it got down to the designing with our KD we probably went through 10 designs and then went back to one of my old ones which she tweaked and which is the one we have. The time frame from absolute start of the process to when the sledge hammer hit the first wall was probably 2 years. Budget fluctuated from "I don't think so" to "Let's not cheapen out on this cause we're here for another 15 years" to "while we're add it let's add a couple of more windows". If I can say one thing it would be to not rush it. While you're waiting for quotes research yourself on the internet, go and look at kitchen showrooms just to see what stuff looks like. Another thing to do is why not post the floor plan here and ask for input. The people on this forum are unbelievably knowledgeable and willing to share their knowledge and experience. The people here share, commiserate and support. Feel free to use the services.

I use a diluted castille soap spray. It kills them for sure but they do come back every so often. I use Dr Bronner's liquid pure castile soap, diluted in a spray bottle. Be careful with other soaps that aren't actually a natural soap, but a chemical detergent. From what I've read, what makes Dr. Bronner's so effective is the potassium salts of fatty acid. It's basically potassium hydroxide added to a vegetable oil based soap. "The fatty acids work effectively on soft-bodied insects like aphids, mealybugs, spider mites, thrips and white flies. These fatty acids dissolve or remove the insects cell membranes and their natural protective waxy coatings, causing death from excess water loss." It works 100% on my plants and trees. It must be a direct hit though so make sure you get everything. FYI I'm in 10b and it gets super hot here. I tried Neem oil in high heat and had significant leaf burn. It's better if you can move in to shade while the oil is on the leaf. It worked really well for me in cloudy weather for plants in the ground. Very effective. But it's too sunny here on a regular basis and the leaf burn can be bad. I also get a good amount of scale and aphid infestations on various trees and the castile soap kills them too. It's so much cheaper than the prepared insecticidal soaps. A little goes a long way. I get mine at Target. It's hard to find in the store! In my Target it's with the lotions, not with soaps, oddly. "Safer Brand" insecticidal soap is a ready made brand that contains potassium salts of fatty acids and this is from there site... So... What are Spider Mites? Adult spider mites are tiny plant pests that are actually a type of arachnid. Like spiders, they have eight legs and most species spin webs. They can be red, brown, yellow or light green in color. Natural & Organic Controls What? The combination of Insecticidal Soap and Botanical Pyrethrins will kill Spider Mites on contact if they are spotted on your plants and Neem oil helps prevent re-infestation by killing the egg and larval stages of the insect. How? Pyrethrin is a powerful nerve agent and will paralyze and kill the insect on contact. Keep in mind this soap is not like dish detergent, its a base from a blend of natural plant sources and pyrethrin oils and come from the chrysanthemum flower. An effective and organic combination... When? Spray Insect Soap & Pyrethrin as a contact killer. Use in accordance with directions on the product label. Spray the neem oil product in accordance with directions on the product label. Safer® Brand offers a variety of spider mite control products to help control and eliminate this garden pest and revive your plants. Please check out our spider mite control products for more details about how they work and how, when, and where they should be applied. ------ Reading this, it looks like the Neem kills the egg and larval stage, but not the adult which might be why you are still having this problem. The soap eliminates the adult for sure. I've never use pyrethrin but it sounds powerful lol. http://www.target.com/p/dr-bronner-s-unscented-baby-45-mild-pure-castile-soap-45-32-oz-46/-/A-10770135?lnk=rec|adaptpdph1|related_prods_vv|adaptpdph1|10770135|1