Getting about 1 or 2 parts an evening done. Darn rain will not stop around here. Anyway, I keep thinking there must be some way to 'bond' the sand from Oscar's sandbox. Some of these gaps are no bigger than an 1/8" of an inch. Force the sand into the openings and then pour something liquid (maybe wood glue that is really watered down?) into the sand and hope it seeps? If Marlene gives me the go-ahead, I just might be willing to post a picture. All I can tell you is that as was the deck, this is a bigger project than I anticipated but one hell of a lot of fun! Calamity, I thought about concrete or plaster-of-paris, but I think the freeze-thaw cycles will turn either into dust in just a few months, and I don't know how I could clean them off the already sealed pieces. Oh, meant to include this is the last post - anyone ever work with decomposed granite?

In that case, using the Schluter valve membrane will help with potential water intrusion around the valve. But it still won't help with tile support behind the too-large hole, and as-is, a bit of the the Kerdi valve membrane will be sort of flapping in the breeze a bit as it floats over the gap. I'd dry fit the valve membrane over the valve and see how much unsupported Kerdi membrane there is. If the neoprene ring on the membrane fills a good portion of that gap, you could pack the remainder of the gap with stiff thinset, then pull more thinset out on the surface of the cement board, comb it out, then embed the valve membrane in the thinset, carefully smoothing everything as you go. Don't goop so much in the gap that it drips behind and gets on the copper plumbing or the brass valve body. The cured thinset will provide support to the previously "flapping kerdi", and the Kerdi will provide support for the thinset, tying it in to the cement board. So to speak. A little mutual reinforcement and synergy. So to speak. But again, if using larger tiles, it's not that huge of a deal. The edge of the tile could span that gap. Regardless, since you have it I'd use the valve membrane and thinset it to the cement board. Then when you Hydroban the walls, HB over the cement board and onto the fleece of the valve membrane. Just like the floor, where you'll HB down the mud slope and onto the fleece of the Kerdi Drain. Off-topic: Don't forget fasteners. Make sure you have adequate screws through the cement board and into the wall studs. Do realize that thinset has "thin" in its name. It's designed to be installed in "thin", not "thick" amounts. Reason being that it shrinks as it cures. The thicker the application the more prevalent the shrinkage. As to the Schluter membrane for the valve...they are primarily for protecting drywall cutouts when Kerdi is installed over drywll. But they can be used on cement board too. There's a neoprene ring in the center of the membrane. The thicker part of the ring (it sticks out about 1/2" from the surface of the Kerdi) goes IN the wall, the 1/2" thickness of neoprene essentially protects the 1/2" raw edge of the backer board from potential water intrusion. If the valve membrane fits your valve body, you can certainly use it, even though you have cement board.

Yeah, I never really put too much thought into the wood behind the stove. But, you make some great points. For me, I'm not a big cooker. So, it's never been an issue. But, this house will be a rental in the coming years, and probably best to cut the wood out and do stainless or something more durable to heat. i think i'll actually be able to use that wood to fill in where i'm taking out cabinets above the fridge. I'm going to frame in that side next to the wall, move the microwave over and will keep my fingers crossed that I can find a peice of granite that matches the rest well enough! If not, then i'll just use some stainless steel that feeds down from the backsplash.

The majority of issues with gaps around HVAC supply boots installed in the first floor of a home over a conventional (vented) crawl space are associated with air from the crawl space being drawn into the home via stack effect and any negative pressure inside the home. I don't want air from the crawl space entering the conditioned living spaces of my home. Sealing around those gaps addresses the problem. The issue with gaps around HVAC supply boots installed in a ceiling with conventional (vented) attic space above is similar. In my (mixed-humid) climate zone that results in warm, moist air being drawn into the home, moisture condensing on the surface of the drywall around the HVAC supply and creating favorable conditions for mold and mildew growth. Neither is attributed to duct leakage. I agree with Worthy about air leakage in conditioned spaces being dismissed as of little consequence because the leakage is into a conditioned space. The problem is that any amount of leakage reduces the amount of conditioned air being directed into spaces by design.