Sharron, it was faucets4cheap.com, oddly enough! I called them to report a problem with one part and talked to them about my trim options - they mentioned the restocking fee, although I might be able to wriggle my way out of it if I tried, I suppose. Their prices are so great that it's almost worth it to pay the restocking, though. The other question I have (which I forgot to mention in the first post): do I even need a volume control valve? We always use the shower on full power, so I'm not worried about controlling the flow. However, from what I understand, the thermostatic valve can't stop the water from flowing so you have to have a volume control just to turn it on and off. Correct? Argh!

If you want durability, quality in valve construction, you;re not concerned about the "latest thing" style-wise, and you want a great price point...AND you're looking for pressure-balanced... Look at the Symmons Temptrol line. The valve bodies have been around for I can't even tell you how long. The valves are well-designed, spare parts if needed will always be around, and over the years the few times I've needed parts, usually for worn o-rings, Symmons has sent me replacement parts for free. They are sold at the box stores (some are at least), and they are packages valve body and trim kit together, plus some include the shower head and tub spigot. Depends on what setup you need; shower, or shower plus tub. In general, the entire package can be had for $80-$125 give or take. For economy and performance, I recommend them without hesitation. If you want the latest-greatest style, look elsewhere. A lot of shoppers will install this set but replace the shower head with another. Shower head threading is pretty much universal, so mix and match is simple.

thanks all! our house is a multilevel (about 2000 sq ft altogether) - the 3 bedrooms and 1 bath (to be tiled) is on the top floor, then the main entry (already have beige tile) and kitchen (same beige tile) and living room (beige carpet, same as bedrooms) are on the next level. One level down is the other bathroom, hallway to garage/mudroom. Then the lowest level is the basement (carpet). So 1 bathroom pretty much sits on top of the other one. And no tiles will be adjust to another... one time i'm considering for the upstairs bathroom is the one shown on the bathroom thread (see http://www.tileliquidators.biz/jadesage.html and also see the link posted below in a real life bathroom which looks very pretty, but will only using 13x13). The other tiles i'm considering for the downstairs bathroom will be in a random pattern of squares/rectangles: http://www.tileliquidators.biz/canyonsagerandom.html or this color http://www.tileliquidators.biz/canyonmuskrandom.html (the pictures shown aren't very good - the lighting was bad and didn't show the true tile colors - yes I'd seen all 3 tiles in real life). So they are different tiles, but have some similarities (tiles had variation of colors like slate). The downtown hallway is kinda choppy so the tile person thinks it'd work better with the random pattern. Thanks again for sharing your experience :) Here is a link that might be useful: jade sage tiles in a

I installed the Speakman ada slidebar in our showers, along with various brands of handheld showerheads. Properly installed, it can function as a grab bar, as well as a slide. We and our guests like the slidebars a lot. I bought one last year to retrofit a too tall showerhead for my mom, who is not quite 5 ft. She loves it. I found a Delta intuition combo head/handheld with three way diverter on closeout at a big box store for $45 a few months ago. it's the less expensive version, more olastic than metal, but that's not a bad thing for an older user. Lighter weight to hold.