Touche @ Cinar interiors so you are saying fine sand cant be micro fine sand? really ?Like i said months ago What your doing is repeating stiuff you learned from me right here .Honesty factor into your sales at all? best be honing in and reading up on your outdated scant knowledge of the tile business and industry standards. Like i said you put your foot in your mouth daily I hope dragon also knows better. Sealer may cover up mediocrity but if were being honest here on the upscale hooz instead of selling junk theres a real polishing issue that only gets rectified PROPERLY one way. You all have gone soft. focused on sales when you should be looking at your ethics and bettering the industry. really how many sales or clients have you gotten here??

100% I'd go with engineered hardwood over Vinyl plank. I just don't understand why some people seem to feel engineered hardwood is not a good choice. I think it is fantastic and is the best choice for certain installations. I don't think engineered flooring is in any way inferior. If you like wide plank you can get that in engineered as well - up to 8-10" wide. Although a more common size is 5-6" wide. We've had engineered hardwood down in our cottage for more than 3 years. We have had no issue at all with it and I haven't noticed any fading in sunlight and we have a lot of windows. Follow the manufacturers instructions and put in good underlayment - it really can make a big difference to the comfort and sound of the floors. There are so many colours and wood species available in engineered hardwood. I know you've said you spent a long time looking at your LVP - hopefully you can find some hardwood that is similar to what you were hoping for. I think this will turn out to be a lucky accident and in the long run I hope you will be very happy with whatever you choose.

Ask your installer if he ever got the 'cut the edges' order from the Technical Support Team at Real Wood Floors. It is the only way you will get anything out of the company. Without the written statement the company will back out of any warranty because herring bone is not listed as a form of installation. The photos done with inlaid tile and/or herring bone are specialized installs that cost an arm, a leg and your first born...possibly their first born as well. Your pro would have to be TOLD how to achieve the herring bone BEFORE s/he bid on the job (I know it was 2 years ago....but let's pretend it was a little more recent...just for argument's sake). At that time the pro would have understood the requirement (splines) and would have double the herring bone installation cost (yah...s/he would have doubled the already expensive herring bone quote). At that point you would have been able to say, "Oh my! No thank you!". Please find out if your pro has any written documents from the company saying to trim the edges. Go from there.

How is the niche waterproofed, that it won't be messed up if tile is removed? It looks like the niche opening is not square. On the back wall of the niche, measure the length of each side as well as the top and bottom. Then measure the diagonal lengths at the back of the niche. The 2 sides should each be the same length, the top and bottom should each be the same length, and the 2 diagonals should be the same length. If not, then the opening is not square. Are the top and bottom level from side to side? Is the bottom pitched toward the drain? It doesn't look like it is.