I hear you suze9. I live in The Great PNW. About 20 miles S from Seattle. Zone 7b I guess. Where is live is about 2 weeks behind Seattle weather wise. Normal Feb temps are 40-45, night time 35ish. The drop to 18 is somewhat unusual, even in Dec, Jan. It's been an unusual year, again. Snow in Feb is rare. March, almost unheard of. This year the ?last? snow was beginning of April. Today was 75. > Larger transplants can work well for some, for sure - > but at some point it is definitely possible to start > too soon, to the point that you don't get any benefit, > or are even set back because of it. I am trying to find that point. Expense versus effort versus results weighted. This is my third year running of 'starting way too early'. This year was the earliest yet. Last year I had my first ripe tom June 6th. That's a pretty major feat around here. 'Course the weather from June through July sucked, very cold, so the benefits were minimal. LOL. Plants were HUGE, 10-15'tall by end of season, tomato count, ENORMOUS. Ripe tomatoes, not so much. My starts are not normal put in a 1 gallon pot and let them grow starts. I continually 'repot' them into larger and larger containers. I bury the stem deeper each time. They are essentially pre-trenched plants. 1' of stem or more buried by planting time with vigorous root growth all along it. Lat year the tops are 2-3' tall. The plants suffer no delay/transplant shock when put into the ground from pots. Critical for the short season here. Growing an inch a day, to growing an inch a day right after transplant. This year, I am making cloches so my efforts are not lost to the AGAIN expected cold june/july. And by starting so soon, if things go wrong, I have time for Plan B and Plan C starts.

Taylor's Cabinets & Interiors - why would they come off - will it be ugly because of damage to what it falls on or the mess on underneath the handles. Are you talking about them coming off because of the glue? I really want to do that on my sink round and the fabricator said he could do it if I found the handles. I don't know that he was going to use epoxzy.

I'm not an expert, but for those who have not had their slabs templated/cut, please consider NOT having a seams right at the sink. I have Danby Mt White Marble and I don't have a seam at the sink. But the water/wear-tear around the faucet/soap dispenser/water dispenser requires a lot of scrubbing there, or else there's a build-up. I can't imagine subjecting 1-2seams (front/back) to that much usage and the seams still looking good. Yes, I chose to go w/ a longer seam (not pretty) to the sides of the sink than to have 2 small ones at the sink. Too much water exposure. My 2 cents. Amanda

Sounds like a well thought out shower surround. Congrats. The Mapei U is for grout joints with a max size of 1/8". Verify your grout line width. Not that I'm questioning it, just verify to eliminate that as a variable. Unsanded grout has no bulk filler in it, so if it's applied in too wide of a grout joint, it can develop micro-fissures as it cures which can lead to water absorption. That said... Mapei U is a portland cement based grout. Nothing wrong with PC grouts, I use them often. But by their nature, they are porous, more porous than the epoxies and urethanes, etc. You have a porous stone. And porosity can vary from tile to tile. On the whole, you used what could be considered to be a porous stone with a porous grout. So what your seeing can be expected. But you win unlimited bonus points for using a tropical membrane behind the marble. Because water can't penetrate into the tile backer board, your getting a fairly fast drying cycle instead of the shower structure loading up on moisture, shower after shower. Since the grout/tile edges seem to be the entry point for the moisture, I'd recommend you call Miracle Tech support at 800-350-1901, ext 1. Time zone wise they're on the west coast. Have the photos ready and you can email them to the tech so you have a common reference. Depending on what they say, you can follow up with your tile supplier. You could also call Mepei tech with the same thing. Grout used, sealer used, is this to be expected? Overall, it's a natural stone, and these things can be expected. The only negative is that if it's a high-iron stone you could get iron oxide/rust/orange blotches down the road. And I just want to emphasize again...it's wetting...it's drying. That it's drying is a good thing. It does happen with natural stones. Good luck with it.