sawdust maker, I am actually pretty handy. My family used to call me "Kelly Vila, this old townhouse" because I was a big DIYer in my last house. My question was more of "will this work? versus can I do it?" Thanks for the reply on the artist brushes. I know I have some of them around. The wax sticks sound like a great idea, too. linda, the good news is that it is not a factory finish. It was stained by a painter a month ago and he left me some stain for the door and the staircase. (The scratches are on the right on the lower half. I seem them very clearly in person. lol.) kmealy, thanks for the link. That is a great website. jon, sorry that you can relate. Hopefully, this will not happen very often. I usually keep the dogs in the lower level but I did not secure the doggie gate very well. We had a scratching incident on the old door but that was about four years ago. Thanks for all the replies and advice. Here is a pic of the devil. He looks like he feels bad doesn't he?

This is just my 2 cents, I'm certainly not a contractor. I would get rid of the shower and shift the vanity over to the right so it's in the middle of the wall. You should be able to do so without having to move the plumbing. I would also make it a good enough size so it can hold your linens as well. But not so huge that it looks ridiculous. I think building a closet in that corner won't look quite as clean. You can save that money and put it towards the vanity and working on the rest of the bathroom. I also think you can totally get rid of the bathtub and put a big shower there instead. Would be pretty great to have a spacious shower. You can do the combo tub/shower thing but it won't look as good obviously. Hard to make style suggestions without knowing what the rest of the house is like. For some reason though, I do picture darker wood flooring and white walls. Not so sure how wood flooring holds up in a bathroom though.

GINA REID INTERIORS: "Who is responsible here?" Clients can have a very unrealistic "retail" version of who is responsible and what the remedies are. They are used to taking the item back to the store and getting their money back. Whereas that's not really reasonable in a remodel job. It's your responsibility as the professional to define roles, what services you are providing, what are the limits of your responsibility, etc. Also know that when you blur those roles and responsibilities, it makes it hard to extricate yourself later. Indeed I think you blurred the roles and responsibilities quite a bit -- and that's why you are in this situation. Legally, who is responsible for the leaky filler? Delta has a very clear warranty, I'm sure. Beyond that, I'm not sure. You received a fee for overseeing the project. Does "overseeing the project" include overseeing warranty issues and callbacks? Did you spell that out in your contract? If you didn't, why didn't you? Either you are working as the GC, the homeowner is, or another party is. If you are working as the GC, you need to be clear about your role, what you are providing, and the limits of your liability. If you are simply a consulting designer and the homeowner is the GC, then you need to be clear about that up front. Don't mix those two roles. If you are acting as the GC, then you need to have a markup on things that you supply (faucets), because you are going to have to deal with the callbacks and warranty issues. Here's what I really think: I think you need to say to the client "Hey, I don't think I was as clear about my responsibilities as I should have been from the beginning. I am a consulting designer and my responsibility for this job stops when I have provided the agreed upon services and/or you have signed off on the completion of the job. However, I'm going to work with you to oversee this warranty issue. I'm not going to be responsible for the cost of the parts or labor, but I will facilitate this specific repair." Note that this is a repeat client and that it sounds like you, as the professional, didn't spell out roles and responsibilities and at what point your role stops. You should take your lump and look at it as a cheap lesson (and hopefully retain the client).

Thank you all. Here's another question. One of the reasons we had to have the shower redone is because the original tile work when the house was build was not done correctly and we ended up with grout coming out and efflorescence. This contractor understood the problem and swore to us that the way he did the install that it would not happen this time because he did it correctly. We chose ceramic tiles. His words: "1) We will use rubber cement on the backer board which will alleviate any moisture being trapped on the backer board and tile. 2) we will use anti-mold sanded grout that will alleviate any mold growth or build up". He then offered to thirdly "3) seal the grout and tile with the coat of sealer. The third step really isn’t needed with the new tile and new grout formula." So, what do you all suggest? Is that 3rd step necessary or not? I'm really scared the efflorescence will come back w/out that 3rd step, or am I just being paranoid at this point?