Autograff, give them an award for consistency. Because they are consistent. Consistently wrong! I cannot possibly think of a worse time to seed than June 15th. The grass stands almost zero chance of making it through the Summer with its baby roots. They want off the hook so badly that they will make a bad mistake worse. Fire them. Find a way to make it to August 15th and then reseed. Otherwise you will spend a fortune watering trying to make the seedlings survive, and you will most likely fail. I'm not trying to be a naysayer - but when you've been dealt a bad hand, do not go all-in.

POLISHED MARBLE FLOORS: I read vinegar is bad bad bad. What to use? Water is fine, a bit of soap if there is a spill or spot. Do not use chemicals or abrasive cleaning materials. EXCESS GROUT: It's all over my subway tile. How do I get rid of this? The contractor should be responsible for the tile installer, they should take care of it, not you. WOOD FLOORS: I've never had wood.... thoughts? As long as they are sealed, a dry duster should do the trick, a little water on a rag for really dirty spots. STAINLESS: I put baby oil on the outside of my stove and it worked like a dream. Can I put this on the part where the burners are. That seems unsafe somehow with fire, but maybe I am wrong... is it OK? I think you will be VERY sorry you did this, the oil will just coagulate and attract dust and turn to a gunky mess. Baby oil shouldn't be used as a cleaning agent. There are cleaners made for stainless appliances, use them instead. CHROME FIXTURES: Is baby oil ok for these too? No. Rubbing alcohol works very well. TUB/BATHROOM SINK: I used to use soft scrub -- still OK? Yes.

Thanks for the bump. I've been dealing with some other issues with a family member that sort of put this all in perspective (but definitely don't make them any less annoying)! OK this is long: By way of background, GC did the installation himself (my kitchen was a relatively minor reno - floor, counter, minor "bar" construction, backsplash and appliances). I spoke with him on Wed. He said he thought there was an issue with the tile itself, he hoped tile store would cooperate, and he thought we'd have to rip it all up and redo it. He said he'd talk to tile store earlier in the day and that they were calling their corporate office. He then discloses that the first time he installed travertine on a floor was, you guessed it, my kitchen. I said I thought he'd worked with travertine before - turns out he'd only installed travertine on a wall before, not a floor. I think to myself, "this does not bode well." I should also mention there were earlier issues with the floor post-installation. There were two tiles that developed holes a couple of months ago. One was when I was wearing heels and I saw/felt it happen - the heel just sunk into the tile. The other one just appeared out of nowhere. That, to me, seemed more like a product issue. The cracking - when coupled with GC's admission that he hadn't installed travertine before and his statement that "if it required a different installation, the tile store should have told me" -- seriously?? -- seemed like it was his issue. (I didn't mention this when we spoke the first time, I just listened). He said he would re-do it for me, that he needed to make it right, without charging me for the time, and that he'd let me know what tile store said. So, he talked to the tile store yesterday. Not surprisingly, they blame him. I don't know how much they got into what installation technique he used versus what was appropriate. As to the "holes" issue, he had notified them about that a couple of weeks ago (and had called to tell me they would be coming out to inspect the tiles). Now, they're saying they don't remember the call GC made on the hole issue. On the issue of "how are we moving forward," he now proposes just replacing the several cracked tiles. (When he installed the tiles, he went under the cabinets, removed old baseboard ceramic heaters - I guess he thinks it would be too much trouble to redo all of that). I plan to call the tile store myself and understand what their position is (reminding them of the $$ I spent there on not only the floor tile, but also the marble subway backsplash, and also the hole issue. GC is coming out next week to inspect the tiles himself. I'm skeptical that simply replacing the cracked tiles is the right move (I also noticed cracks in a couple other tiles since last posting - mentioned that to GC and he admitted it must be an installation issue). I'm frustrated, but should also disclose that I really like my GC. He's been very professional, a good guy, pretty responsive and proactive. I think he just didn't know what he was getting into with this travertine. That's where we are, unfortunately.

Thanks, Karenseb! Even with a credit, I think we have to do something now anyway - since right now there is no toilet in there, and the old tile was loose where the leak had been. I wonder if that leads me back to just putting in the new (but not overly pricy) tile and a middle-of-the-road white toilet, since they'd probably use white for any future work. But I think to advertise it as a 2.5 bath house, a toilet has to actually be in place? Kind of a circular problem - I'd rather just give them the cost of any repairs in cash, but some repairs may be needed to sell it at all... Thanks!