Thank you so very much Mongo, you do a superb job of explaining things. I remember you telling me on a previous post about a small wet saw, thanks for reminding me. My husband doesn't have enough hair for spray so I think I'll use some cheapy brand; it is a wonderful tip. I can do this, I pulled it off on my kitchen backsplash with even less information and the herringbone ran on the diagonal. Those tiles were pre cut and I am thankful that they were, because I didn't have a clue to the problems that could have developed if they weren't. They were apparently cut to your equation because they matched perfectly. Crazy spacing, I like the grid tech for the floor:) I remember taping my 45* drafting square to the sides of these sections for drying overnight. One night I stayed up all night to tile. It was fun though. This was my first wall, I got better on the second wall as seen in the 2nd pic: I just picked a center spot over the stove location and started - it wasn't exactly centered though, The grout was still wet at this point: You've just boosted my confidence, and others if they are following this post. Thank you so much again Mongo, for your help on this project, and on all the other projects that us lost souls post on GW.

I built a beach house with Hiline Homes 2 years ago. I actually blogged about it specifically so people could see what our experience was like because I too could not find anything online. I haven't updated the blog with what the house has been like since we moved into it because I got burned out. But overall, I think the house was pretty solidly built. The build experience was far from perfect but that is also true of my sister's super high end build that I got to hear about going up as well. I will say the fixes and responses to getting things fixed on the higher end home were a lot better than what Hiline has done. But our house itself seems like a very good value to me. All inclusive with our land, permits, driveway, excavation/ground prep, etc, we paid about $118 per sq foot. With the builder we quoted with, the cost would have been $160 per sq ft. and the quality at that price would have been comparable to Hiline's since the builder also would have been using similar materials to get their quote that low. (By similar materials I mean the finishing touches like countertops, carpet, flooring, etc. They would have used the same construction materials, and in some cases, Hiline's construction materials were actually nicer.) So, I think you could go with one of these companies and come out okay, though I can only speak for one of them. We had a terrible project manager but he was fired after our build. Hopefully their next one is better.) Here's a link to my blog if you want to read about it. I always meant to go back and pull out the salient details that people would want to know, but I never did. So it's mostly an online journal, I'm sure it's incredibly painful to read! http://myhilinehome.com/

Even later in this post and my problems continue. My question relates back to grout not being waterproof and it is expected that moisture will inevitably be behind the tile but not going past the kerdi. Above "Every grout manufacturer will tell you their grout is NOT waterproof. Tile is not waterproof. Sealer adds some measure of stain protection but is not waterproof either. Waterproofing is achieved by a variety of approved methods which fall into 2 categories; 1- Surface applied membranes such as kerdi, Hydroban, AquaDefense, Hydrobarrier, Nobleseal, Dalseal, Kerdi board and its competitor foam board from USG. 2- Subsurface membranes such as the classic vinyl liner WITH a moisture barrier behind cement board such as tar paper or sheet plastic. As a member of the National Tile Contractors Association, I can easily attest to the above information. But it's your shower and your money and you get to decide what you want to do." I have Kerdi board behind the tile so it is waterproof but the tiles continue to gray. I may need to redo the shower surround with different tile.

Part 5: So, after this whole saga, I have some advice for anyone dealing with a similar situation. Of course, always try to hire a real pro in the first place, not a hack like we did. Look up and read, or buy, relevant industry information that relates to the type of project you are dealing with, such as local codes, ASNI, TCNA, etc. Also read the manufacturer’s instructions for the products your contractor is using. Take BEFORE pictures. It’s fun to look back on the ugly before pictures and see how you improved your home. Take DURING pictures every single day. It’s fun to look back on the in-progress photos. I’ve been taking in-progress pictures of all our project for 30 years. If you work from home like I do, it’s easy. Take pics when the workers leave for lunch and in the evening after they leave for the day. Don’t interfere in the work space, or take pictures while they’re working. Take pictures of every part of the project from different angles including all the buckets of products they have left in the space and all the tools and such that are sitting around. If you don’t work from home, take pictures when you get home at night. If you are traveling and have decided to let the contractor work while you’re gone, ask a friend or neighbor to come over and take pictures for you each evening (give them a really nice thank you gift). Note: Last year the sibs and I helped my Dad remodel his whole vacation home which is 1000 miles away. I was able to go up once and sibs were able to go up twice. We all took tons of in-progress photos. When I was up there, tiling was about to begin. I looked up the installation instructions for the wall-board material they were using for the showers. There were no rolls of fiberglass tape amongst all their supplies and products, but it was called for in the instructions. I emailed the GC and expressed concern that the tile pro might not be planning to tape and seal the boards. The GC took care of it and the project proceeded. The GC was very professional and responsive, and it all worked out, but what if I hadn’t taken pictures, read the manufacturer’s instructions for myself, and brought up this issue? If an issue comes up during the project, email or meet with the GC and it will probably get resolved. Confirm the resolution by email to ensure everyone is on the same page. If your project goes seriously south like ours did when the GC quit, or if your project is really messed up and you are upset with the botched job, still try to have a meeting with the GC and ask them to provide a plan for moving forward to complete the project. Confirm all the communications by email so that there is a record of the communications. Confirm the understanding of any verbal agreements by email. If you and GC are not in agreement, or they quit, then you really have to pause and think about what to do. -- If the GC quits out-right like in our case: Ask for a refund by email or send a demand letter certified return receipt. Then embark on the process of finding a new contractor to re-do your project. After GC says no to the refund request, you can let it go like we did, or decide to sue them in justice court (small claims) or district court. -- If GC sues you, like our quit-GC did, you need to respond and go through the process. You’ll need to download and read your state’s civil procedure laws and construction laws. It is a real PITA, but you have to go through the process. -- No matter who is suing whom, you have to decide whether or not to hire a lawyer. In our case it was just a bathroom, not a whole house, so we decided to represent ourselves. If something like this had happened on a whole house build or remodel worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, well, then I think we’d be hiring a lawyer because the stakes would be so much higher. If the GC still wants to fix things: Ask them to write up their plan and send it to you by email, and then make your home available for them to attempt the fix. Take pictures the same as explained above. If the fix really does fix things, that’s great. If/after the fix fails, you are allowed (under most states’ construction laws – you need to read the law in your state) to fire them. We don’t have any experience with firing a contractor, we’ve never done that. But in our research, we learned that you have to give the contractor a chance to fix things before firing them. You can’t just get mad and fire someone because you have a concern, or even if they really did legit screw something up. You have to give them one crack at fixing it. Reflecting on the trial – why I think we won: We had a bench trial which means you are just talking to the judge and witnesses, no jury. DH conducted the case and called 4 witnesses: the quit-GC, the foreman, me, and the new contractor. We were well organized and prepared, but it was still surprisingly nerve-wracking; I was sweating and felt like I was going to throw up all day. Do the “superman” pose; it really helps. Do it at home, in the elevator, in the bathroom; seriously, it helps. Neither one of us had ever even talked to a judge before. Here are the important things we did that I think made the difference for us. DH prepared and organized all the important documents. He wrote out his opening statement so he could read it instead of talking off the cuff. He had all the exhibits prepared to hand to the judge, and copies to give to the plaintiff. He had extra exhibits on hand that he thought he might need in case the judge asked certain types of questions. All the emails and text messages were put together in one exhibit in chronological order. DH organized his statement and exhibits into 2 “chapters.” The purpose of the first chapter was to prove to the judge that we gave the GC a chance to remedy the situation, and that the GC had quit, not been fired. The purpose of the second chapter was to show why the amount of money we were seeking was justified. For that we used the new contractor’s report and the photographs of the bad work to show that it was necessary for the new contractor to demo all the way back and start over, and that new materials had to be purchased. And the financial analysis showed how we got to the number. The new contractor’s report and photos cross-referenced each problem to city plumbing codes, TCNA, and ANSI, and he walked the judge through the whole report and photos, explaining how things were done incorrectly. I wish this kind of situation would never happen to anyone, but sadly, it will. When projects start, you never think they are going to go south like this. But just in case it does: - Have a contract. - Take before and during photos. - Use email and text for all communications instead of relying on verbal communications and agreements. - Assume that your communications will, one day, end up in the public record, and make sure you always use professional language.