This old thread got revisited. @dani_m08 to answer the question about extra probe, I believe I ordered an extra one when I bought the set up. The probe wire is just setting in the junction box I think but honestly I cant remember. When I laid out the underfloor heating and the probe, I just ran another probe near the first probe, and it was then sealed into the floor self leveling compound as per instructions. then the end was just threaded into the wall like the one that would be live, and not connected, but just laying there in the box. Regarding the tile layout. I just decided to run it this way, after getting instructions on the 90Degree way, IIRC. The herringbone that I love is from my childhood and the side walks in my neighborhood that all ran at 45Degree. so that to me is herringbone. I know you posted on @sochi thread about her amazing bathroom and a wall mounted faucet. I would totally do it if I had the right sink for it. In my case I had made my sink out of soapstone and an integrated backsplash. The pictures of this bathroom reveal are no longer available because of the use of photo bucket, when it was Gardenweb. I did not keep my account with photo bucket. I'll add some of the reveal pictures so you can see the sink and floor. Regarding the sink there is no ledge for water to drip from my hands when using the faucet. The water drips right into the sink. In my other bathroom with a deck mounted faucet I am always wiping up drips and it is a nuisance. I much prefer the setup for this sink. Below: I love the flush finish from the faucet to the bottom of the sink. nothing drips on a counter or edge of a sink. Below: looking in from the doorway. Below: Here I am finishing up the sink. the backsplash was epoxied on as a separate piece. The whole soapstone install in the room took next to nothing to buy as they were all small pieces that I epoxied together with a 3 part stone epoxy. Below: this is the counter at the tub, and is in 2 long pieces but I was able to epoxy them together at there edges to make a wide slab for the top. All the soapstone was finished with a 60 grit sandpaper to be rough and this lovely soft tone of blue/green/gray/white. I did not oil it so this color tone would remain light. Below: If I recall correctly @sochi helped me decide on this Hubberton Forge Mirror. I have 3 different metals in this room, but they are all a cool silver to black color. Below: the center of this tower shares space with the kitchen on the other side of the wall. there is also some extra space that houses some electrical wiring. this is an old simple house. this bathroom was an add on when it got move to the farm in the 30s IIRC. The plumbing was all rearrange and some of the details that were orignially there I kept but updated it, such as this tower feature. The old one went and the carpenter did a wonderful job with this one. Below: This feature was another thing I kept from the old bathroom but flipped it from the other end and had the carpenter put drawers in it. Before it was a hell hole. things got lost and the build was soooo old and creapy I didn't like using it for storage. Now it is perfect for storage.

Lovely! I like the classic white tile and porcelain and how you used furniture pieces in the bathroom. I love that the storage at the end of the tub has pull-outs that can be reached from the toilet. Your custom sink and backsplash and counter are unique and beautiful. Yours may be the first bathroom sink I have seen in which a small or medium dog could be washed! That is a good thing! I showed your pictures to my DH because I am thinking of classic tiled walls with a chair rail for when we redo our bath in a couple of years. He liked it! I was expecting him to say, "too old fashioned." He did not, he said it looked nice. From him, nice is a compliment. He even liked your rows of listello. I was just at the Tile Shop's site the other day looking at the Hampton tiles because someone was selling some on Craigslist. I am hoping to do as you did and get what I can cheaper there, and fill in the rest from the store. I can see that you worked very hard to secure all of your materials - and then cut the floor tiles to size and culled the Hampton tiles, too! You succeeded very well in getting the look you wanted while saving money along the way. Congratulations, and thank you for the pictures and great detail and supply list.

Yes, with paint, you just need to clean really well, prime and paint. It's stain that requires the old finish be removed. And then you stain, and then you top coat. I haven't used gel stain, but in the other bathroom, I used a stain/polyurethane "one step" product, without stripping the old finish. It doesn't look nearly as nice as a properly stained product. It was almost impossible to get it not streaky. I looked into gel stain for other products, and it looked like the only benefit to it over liquid stain was that it wouldn't run. Not any less prep. And I googled it to see where someone might have told you the opposite. Young House Love painted without stripping. They used a deglosser, I've only ever used TSP to wipe the cabinets down. It's not the same as stripping and sanding. They did some sanding, but only because they used wood putty to fill cracks and holes. (Another reason to paint vs stain, even "stainable" putty never comes out the same colour as the wood, without a lot of trial and error to get the right putty for your stain and your wood.) The Frugal Girl did a lot of sanding, but didn't remove the finish, either, from what I can see. And it wasn't necessary. Since oil paint isn't very popular anymore, and banned in many states. I recommend BM Advance paint for cabinets. I have also used a product called Cabinet Coat, which I really liked. But it's hard to get in my area. The Benny Moore stuff is easier to find. It takes a few days or weeks to get really hard, but once it's cured, it's really tough. It's dry to the touch in a few hours, but will scratch easily for the first couple of weeks.

@Angela - The OP's first paragraph stated marble over a concrete slab. " I really think you should remove the old tile." Why? If it's set properly It should last the lifetime of the structure. Bonding to it is not a issue. You'd need to remove the underlayment/top layer of subfloor to even the floor anyway after you rip out tile. If this was wood framed how could you determine that without knowing what underlayment was used and condition after rip out? Plywood, mud bed, CBU's, uncoupler, antifracture membrane etc. The OP is trying to gain height. Most likely you can leave the underlayment in and apply a self leveling underlayment on the top to achieve desired height.