"So he built the sloped mudpan, coated it with Hydroban and installed the bonded flange drain with specified 1 1/4" height from the substrate and then when he went to install the tile he said that in order to get the tile height to what Laticrete specifies it should be (1/16" higher than the top of the drain) he had to build up the mortar and basically try and follow the slope with 1-2" of mortar. " If that's how he installed it, he completely misunderstood the installation instructions of the drain. The drain flange gets installed so the rim of the flange is 1-1/4" above your FLAT PLYWOOD SUBFLOOR. Not 1-1/4" above the sloped mud bed. If that's what he did, it's completely wrong. Again, the drain flange should have been installed so the rim of the flange is 1-1/4" above the subfloor. That 1-1/4" gap between the flange and the subfloor then gets filled with deck mud, and the deck mud then slopes upwards as it runs from the drain to the walls so that it's 1-1/4" thick at the drain and, let's say, 1-3/4" thick at the walls. An increase of thickness of 1/4" per foot over the 2' distance to the wall. When the sloped mud bed is complete, the drain flange should be set perfectly flush in the deck mud. Then the mud and the walls get hit with two coats of HB. You then tile the floor but leave a few tiles out around the drain. The actual drain cover (the metal grid) is attached to a threaded plastic piece that gets threaded (or screwed) into the drain flange. You thread it down so the top of the drain will be at the approximate height of the top of the tile on the floor. In your case, for standard tile, about 1/4" above the flange. So the drain height is set in relation to the tiles already set on the floor. Then you complete the floor tile by filling in the remaining tiles around the drain. If the deck mud was properly sloped, all you'd need is the standard 1/8" thickness of thinset to bond the standard 3/16" to 1/4" thick tile to the sloped and Hydrobaned shower floor. The beauty of a topical membrane like Hydroban is that with the Hydroban membrane being right below the tile, there can be no deep wetting of the shower floor like with a traditional deck mud bed where the membrane is beneath a 1" to 2" thick layer of deck mud. Your guy put 1-2" of mortar or mud on top of your hydroban membrane. You have a porous tile (marble) on top of that mortar bed. That 1-2" setting bed will likely saturate over time. If the bed does saturate, the moisture can bring minerals from the setting bed with it through the marble and grout as the moisture evaporates, you can end up with efflorescence on your marble and/or grout. And with the bed holding moisture, it can end up being a mold/mildew mess. Those are not certainties, but they are possibilities. Also, if he used thinset to make up that 1-2" thick bed, that could also be the reason the floor has birdbaths. Thinset is designed for "THIN" tile setting applications. Roughly 1/2" thickness max of thinset. The reason is because as thinset cures, it can shrink. That shrinking could pull the tiles this way and that, causing birdbaths here and there. I don't mean to be an alarmist. But if I'm reading your post correctly, your installer screwed the pooch on your shower. If you haven't seen it before, watch this Laticrete video. There's a bit of an intro, but do pay attention to the installation of the drain flange at about 2:30 into the video, and the installation of the threaded drain at about 4:30 into the video. The Laticrete system is an excellent shower system. Sorry for you troubles.

I assume the 'deck guys' worked for the contractor and were not the ones that installed the Duradeck? Once they cut into the Duradeck they essentially destroyed the waterproof barrier. Why didn't they just buy a smaller drain to fit into the wrapped pipe? I'm no expert in the field of decks but I would start over and bring in someone that specializes in waterproofing decks.

Anyone that doesn't put a dry well system in place before building a pool in an area where the water table is high needs them, I agree. Darn pain in the butt when the seal leaks pool water out. Sometimes they get put in a drain sump and are hidden by the cover. Happens every year at least once. I prefer to see the dry well system in place when a pool is expected to be drained at some interval. A lot of commercial pools in my area are in the off season. In the Spring, they get repainted (yuk) and refilled. Pulling the water from the dry well prevents potential pop ups until the hydrostatic plugs can be pulled. Then the dry well can be shut off. Hydrostatic relief valves seals deteriorate. The rubber gaskets last from 5 to 10 years. The chances of the same tech draining the pool knowing the valves are there and how old they are are pretty slim. The valves can also get crud stuck in them that prevents sealing. Scott The added costs of installing a dry well system however can deter them in the planning and bidding phase.

Liz, with chlorine exposure, etc you would want to use stain. If you located on Northeast, Southeast, or Midwest Coast use TWP 100 series stain if you on the West Coast use TWP 1500 series stain and it will provide protection from chlorine exposure and water. Just be sure to follow manufacturer guidelines and most importantly prep the surface before applying the stain.