I definitely agree with Laag on this one; if the contractor screwed it up the first time, it is highly unlikely he will do any better the second or third time. Unfortunately you have learned a lesson here, and it pays to get good references and check them. Had you also been shown examples of his past work? In general it is important to be consistent with riser and tread measurements, but these can vary between sets of steps if separated by a landing, and the tread widths can vary if the walk is curving or zig zags up a hillside rather than a straight run. It would have been better to have been more precise with your criticism of his first effort, by spelling out that all riser and tread measurements were to be redone to a consistent measurement, and to have indicated all of the steps which didn't meet this criteria and were to be replaced. If it makes you feel any better, I am also dealing with a landscape project in a garden I am landscaping, where the homeowner selected his own contractor to deal the steps/masonary work, and it was shoddy work from day one. I kept telling the homeowner he should have the guy stop work and fix it, but he bought into the guy's spiel that it would be okay when completed. Bottom line, it all got ripped out and is being replaced by another new contractor. My feeling is that this was all preventable if the homeowner had been willing to have it designed in plan with proper levels and measurements, rather than winging it. I should have insisted he let me do so, but for multiple reasons it didn't happen this way. My crew did also need to redo all the imperfect subsurface drain lines and gravel backfill behind newly built wood retaining walls on this same job site, as they didn't connect to the existing outfall drain lines, nor were they located deep enough at the base of the walls. I was shocked at how incompetent the original contractor was, and the client faced paying several thousand more dollars just on drainage and backfill work to get it right. So it definitely pays to check references, and never hire a contractor based on the lowest bid, or at the very least, know something about proper construction methods and be around to inspect the work as it occurs.

... and I certainly can't argue with either of you. Perhaps not well stated enough to make it apparent, but I have been in agreement all along. The reason I even broached this subject matter is a mirror of Pam's comment: "But the designer and educator in me will continue to try and broaden the way these posters look at their property and expand their approach in creating their own landscape to address those issues they by intent or ignorance (and I don't mean that in any sort of derogatory manner) choose to ignore..." Perhaps I am rooted in a paradigm far removed from normal. As a young boy on the farm, I was constantly being regaled with admonitions to consider the down line consequences of your actions. It was especially driven home by my father to give consideration to placement of things like building siting and fenestration. At an early age it was pointed out to me which direction the prevailing wind (especially winter wind) blew and to give it a prime consideration. Shingles and siding were to be lapped so that they would not catch this wind. Building openings were placed to minimize the impact of weather. Trees were planted in locations to take maximum advantage of summer shade, yet not create snow drifting problems and/or provide shelter from blizzard winds. Even the corn rows were planted in certain directions to minimize wind damage. In many ways, my father taught me early-on to avoid the classic, old conundrum of painting oneself into a corner. One of the potential benefits of this forum is that a few people will hopefully begin considering a few things beyond a shiny-new, brass kick plate on the front door of the home they are considering for purchase. My hope is also that a few more folks start to realize that it is their money on the line and that entitles them to be more demanding. For the most part (at least within reason), the builders don't really care (and it costs no more) where you decide to place things as long as they know about it beforehand. However, if you totally abdicate all decisions to them; well ... I guess they show about as much concern as you do. Unfortunately, you are the one who gets to pay for their dumb decisions! Landscape design involves more than flowers. As but one minor example: The placement of my garage was crucial in my planning stage; long before any dirt was turned. Firstly, I was adamant that I was not going to live in a home that said, "Welcome to my garage!" It quickly became apparent that was going to require me to purchase a corner lot; and there are not a lot of those. Secondly, I was adamant that my garage was going to be on the north and west side of the home to blunt the prevailing winter wind in order to conserve heating requirements of the home. Along the same energy conservation theme, I moved the setback of the home 4-feet to the south; which correspondingly made the garage stick out 4-feet to the north. This gave me a protected 4-foot nook to not only conceal my A/C unit but also create an area that was always in full shade; which bolsters cooling efficiency. I also made the garage 6-feet deeper than standard (very cheap to do at this stage) in order to accommodate an additional stairwell that went directly into the basement. Another change that I made from the conventional garage plan was to move the garage service door to the rear. This accommodated direct entry onto the rear patio for things like barbeque grills; which could now be conveniently stored out of sight in the garage. As a side benefit to moving the service door to the rear, it forces people to enter my home from the front doorway entrance; the way that I designed the home to be entered. I chose to be involved in all of these decisions. Invariably, most of these choices cost no additional funds. In fact, in many cases it saved me money. The largest investment was time spent in thought. However, the real benefit is that these active choices made my home (not just house) so much more livable. As Laag has repeatedly maintained, "Most problems are to do with elevation and grading." Even with all of the pre-planning, I was unexpectedly forced to deal with a cheapo-contractor that quickly slapped up what he called, "a luxury spec-house". He realized that digging a shallow hole for a basement costs less than a full depth hole. This placed that house a full two feet higher than any other home in the development. No problem! The eventual first-time home buyers never even noticed because they were concentrating on the shiny-new, brass kick plate on the front door. However, this forced me to adjust the previously intended grade levels of my garage floor, house foundation, basement egress window well and eventual patio. Grrrr... Anyway, I am just throwing a few of these real-life considerations out there for novices to see. There is no sense in making everyone "test the electric fence". IronBelly

suschmoo2 you can have it the way you want it. My guess is you will end up with a custom built shape floor, and so this is best membraned with a liquid, paint-on or trowel-on membrane like Redgard (or many others). You can build a small speed bump, as a sill, if it's a small shower. To make the shower floor slope, you can build up a slope on top of the slab, or cut a bit into the slab. Your drain can be a trench drain, either by cutting or by building up. All this assumes you own the slab (if it's not a condo) and you know enough to be sure the slab can be cut without risking other problems. It assumes also that you want to breathe concrete dust by cutting. The point is that you must plan for a slope, and it is either made by cutting down or by building up. I found john bridge and the key people at his site to be dodgy about helping anyone study options that would result in a non-Schluter solution. Schluter makes Kerdi, Ditra and other good things. Also, at the time I was there, some key contributors didn't understand that there is no deflection in a slab (it's not made with joists) so this alone might raise eyebrows. Also, they couldn't handle the idea that a homeowner might want a flat sloped floor with a straight line drain at the end; instead the inverted cone floor with a centered drain was the only way to go... I could give you other examples of a lack of understanding in general, but I'll spare you the details. They are good but only so far and not more. The pro's in their pro forum do not help newbies with non-Schluter or non-Kerdi things.

Thanks for your help! I am going to the city building dept to see what I can find out. On the STC number, even though it will give us better results than the current sashes, I am really worried that if it doesn't block the traffic noise, we will have devalued our home. This was such a big deal to us when we bought the home. If you were going to recommend the appropriate STC/OITC rating for windows in a high end home adjacent to exit ramp for two interstate highways, what would you recommend? Also, I would like to say that I have been so impressed with the level of interaction on this site. I don't have any skills that could pay back for everyone's help, but if there is anything more I can do than say thanks, please let me know. Gratefully, Novice77