Janieful: "The advanced toilet makes sense to me - at least much more than a separate bidet would. I have never used either, but bidets take up so much space. The one in all model is much more practical." The advanced toilet seats are not, strictly speaking, direct replacements for bidets, though one generic term for advanced toilet seats is "bidet seat." The first and foremost function of an advanced toilet seat is water washing a bit further to the rear than a bidet cleanses. Cleansing the anus with water is far superior to wiping (and spreading) with dry paper. Most current models of advanced toilet seat have a second washing function called "feminine cleaning," or a variant thereof, which has many similarities to the function of a bidet. As you may guess, that function directs the water somewhat further forward than the primary function does. However, in "real" bidets, the water comes from the front, whereas in advanced toilet seats, the water approaches from the rear, so there is a difference. The various brands of advanced toilet seats approach these functions in different manners. Inax, which invented the advanced toilet seat category, determined that the optimal angle of incidence of the spray on the anus should be 70 degrees from horizontal or, in other words, just 20 degrees from vertical. The Inax advanced toilet seats therefore have spray wands for posterior cleansing that extend out fairly far, so that the spray can be more nearly vertical. Toto, the biggest player in the market, was obsessed by the spectre of "backwash," the (small proportion of the) water that rebounds off the user's posterior, and accordingly Toto Washlets are designed to spray water at the anus at 43 degrees from horizontal, which reduces (but does not not eliminate) the amount of backwash that hits the spray wand. But spray directed at Toto's 43 degree angle does not wash as effectively as the 70 degree spray of the Inax models does. Inax addresses the backwash matter with an aggressive self-cleaning cycle for the spray wands, executed both before and after each use. As to the feminine function, Toto can get by with a single wand for both posterior and feminine cleansing, with two spray nozzles in the single wand, because the 43 degree spray angle for the posterior wash already is so shallow. Inax has to use a separate dedicated spray wand for feminine cleansing, because the wand that Inax uses for posterior cleansing would not be positioned well for the feminine cleansing function. But, whether or not you use the toilet seat for bidet-like functions, water-assisted posterior cleansing is a huge step up from dry wiping after a bowel movement. There probably is no way to upgrade your bathroom more effectively than to replace a passive toilet seat with an advanced toilet seat.

I had the exact same problem. I picked out the vanity I wanted but did not think about the fact that it wasn't made to sit flush against the wall. I spent a month looking for something else, but in the end we decided to go with something shorter and have it not be against the wall. But we were going from 72" to 60" which is probably not workable in your mom's situation. I did find a lot of vanities that did have flat sides and could work in a corner, if you are willing to have the countertop fabricated. They just need to not have any trim detail on the top or bottom like the one you picked out does. I would just look at the ones without the pre-made tops. Because the pre-made top will still leave you with a slight gap because of the countertop overhang. This is an example: Avanity Modero which is sold everywhere, not just at Lowe's. The cabinet we ended up buying is an Avanity Madison which won't work for you, but I assume it is of similar quality. We are pretty happy with it. The drawers and doors have soft close but I do feel like the glides in my Ikea kitchen drawers are better quality. It is very pretty and I wanted a stained wood so I am really happy with our choice. If I had been willing to go with a painted finish, I think we might have stuck with the 72" Modero.

Our local stone yard (not anywhere near CA) had a huge pile of stuff outside that was remnants and mis-cut slabs. Perfect for grabbing a smaller piece of stone for a bathroom vanity or something without having to buy a whole new slab. Edit: If you want a piece of stone that already has the sinkhole in it, also check salvage yards for dismantled kitchen and bath parts. Sometimes you see stone vanity countertops. Or check stone yards for mis-cut counters (I saw some mismeasured vanity tops with holes).

If you have a curb, you will have the cracks develop there, too. and where the walls meet the floor. Anywhere where two different materials meet or where one surface meets another that is in a different direction (known as "change of plane"). My contractor still grouts such places, too. But I did a solid surface shower that he could not do wrong. I am keeping an eye on the place where the floor meets the shower pan, all other places are in dry areas. So there it is just cosmetic. I would guess that water can get behind your tile with those cracks. If properly waterproofed it is fine, but if not, I would get to this as soon as you can. A lot of shower builders do not use waterproofing, even though it is now required. If you do a search on this forum for "Shower waterproof," you can see many discussions about it and learn what is and is not waterproof. (Redguard yes, Durock no, for instance.)