Being in Texas, saving water is an important aspect. Cartridge filters help some in that they don't get backwashed. Have the PB put a 3 way valve on the pump exhaust so you can lower the water or vacuum to waste with a cartridge filter. Some PBs put a hose spigot on instead but this prevents vacuuming to waste. Your fill water is pretty hard but not overly so. Calcium will build up in the water so watching it is called for. It is one of the chemicals in pool water that can only be removed by diluting. The water has a slightly high pH and high alkalinity. This will need to be brought down with acid added. Not a big deal to do but skipping it will cause the calcium to drop out of solution and stick to various surfaces like steps and pool walls and floors where the circulation is slower. This is called scaling and is random in where it occurs in the pool. It also takes time to form and is a gradual process. It isn't something that would stop you, just something to be aware of when maintaining your pool. While seemingly premature in the discovery process of building, taking it into account can help you later in making your equipment choices and layout. Blazing hot means a relatively a high evaporation rate. Have an auto-filler so you don't have to put a hose in every day during the Summer. Remember, calcium doesn't evaporate so the CH value will rise. Occasionally, you will need to lower the water in the pool and put in a significant amount of fill water. This will also lower your salt level and raise your alkalinity and pH levels when you refill. Your blazing hot Summers may lead you to a desire for a cooling solution. Some opt for a heat pump that works in reverse or solar panels that when the pump is run at night, radiate the heat and cool the pool. Please note that this is additional run time. A pool pump needs to run during the day. Scott

I had all these questions a year or so ago. Ended up deciding to go ahead and use the glue-down cork in the MBR (to avoid a material change from bedroom and closet). We are doing two coats of the sealer-- I don't recall what it was, but it was a two-part solution that you mixed just before applying. It went on pretty easily. (We didn't do the tile installation, our GC did, but he used whatever they recommended at the cork store.) You are not trying to "fill the pores" in the cork, you are trying to seal up any micro-openings where the cork tiles are butted up against each other. We decided this would work for us since it is our bathroom, we use a shower mat, and anyway, it won't be used by kids who leave giant pools of water behind (how DO they do that?)

I like that plan a lot Keywest, except I would probably nix the window in the closet. Another design we are throwing around. Pretty much checks all the boxes. Door location is not ideal but workable. I really like how this one and yours above has everything open and allows for sunlight and a view no matter where you are in the bathroom. (Except on the toilet of course. lol) This design has a large closet door, and equally centered windows which is great. The toilet is right when you walk in, but I think by putting it in back in the alcove, and opening the door away from it like this, it wouldn't be too bad. Our current toilet is literately the first thing in our bathroom and it never bothered me or even occurred to me until you guys mentioned it on one of my plans. Not a deal breaker. This is my dream bathroom. I love the marble, grey vanity, bench, and especially the pony wall between the vanity and shower. What I'm imagining with built-ins above the tub, marble, and large windows. Our furnace is direct vent, and we are really limited on where we can put it due to crawl space issues. Pretty much have to put in in the addition, as per HVAC guy. Putting it inside the closet inside the bathroom on the far side is our best option. CO2 detectors are a must.

You need documentation no matter what comes next. You need all your in-progress photos, all texts and emails between you and contractor, the contract, the texts and emails from the tile people, printed out manufacturer’s instructions for the waterproofing materials he used such as wall boards and pan liner, texts and emails from the local rep for the manufacture (if you contacted them), etc, etc. Buy the TCNA handbook and read the shower chapters. Ask for a meeting. In meeting explain what your concerns are and cite all the things that he did wrong, with in-progress photos and cross-referencing all the violations to the standards, codes and instructions. Ask what his plan is for re-building the shower. If he refuses, ask him does that mean he’s quitting the project? If he says yes, that means he has quit, you did not fire him, document/confirm that in an email. If he says no he’s not quitting, then tell him remedying this situation is part of the project, so ask him which day he’s coming over to demo and re-build it. He may quit at that point. If he does try to re-built it, if/after that fix fails, you can fire him. Then send a demand letter certified return receipt asking for full refund plus the cost that you will have to pay to hire a new tile professional to demo and re-build (use local averages or get actual bids). Cite all the violations like you did in the meeting with the references. We had to do all this stuff when our GC quit rather than fix the issues. It’s a PITA but we got double our money back. Read my “Project Goes South” post, you might find some helpful info in there. Now, if you don’t have any of the documentation I listed above, don’t have a contract, etc, etc, I don’t know what leverage you have. You can still have the meeting and send the demand letter, but if it goes to court documentation is your friend and you want max documentation. Hopefully you can dig up some photos of the waterproofing process involving both the floor and the walls. If you don’t have much, add this to your meeting: ask the contractor to simply explain each step (like he’s teaching you) he used to build your shower, starting with framing. Then write down every word he says, asking him to slow down or repeat if needed. Don’t correct or challenge anything he says; let him explain his process. That can substitute a little bit for your lack of other documentation. Then you can cross reference any wrong info he told you to the codes, standards and manufacturer’s instructions, and proceed from there with demand letter. If he refuses your demand letter, which he will, you can decide about suing him. In my state justice court (small claims) is non-binding. We didn’t sue our GC, but he sued us saying we fired wrongfully him. We responded with counter-suit in District Court and asked that the lower case get rolled up to that level because of the $ amount and we wanted a binding decision. It’s a pain and I hope we never have to talk to a judge again, but we had to respond to quit-GCs suit and go through the process. Best of luck to you.