Alright exciting progress today. I went to the store and picked up.. An aluminium 1/16th inch insect screen, a 1/4th inch wire screen and a 25 pound bag of mannapro poultry grit. I sifted the bark and ended up with this, and I'm impressed with the result. This is what did not fall through the 1/4th screen. This is what did fall through Most of the bark was less than 1/4th, the red bucket is the less than 1/4, the white is large than 1/4th. Both are 5 gallon buckets. The more interesting result i think is what happened with the oil dry. It had already been through a 1/16th inch fiberglass screen, and i kept what was on top. But i was SHOCKED how much more fell through the 1/16th inch metal screen. And most interestingly, before I ran it through the metal screen it was in a 5 gallon bucket and it was almost full to the top, maybe down 1 inch or so. After i screened it and put the good stuff back in the bucket, it was full to almost the exact same place!!! So much so that if i added the stuff that feel through the screen on top, it would have over flowed the bucket. This means that the stuff that was screened out was simply *in between* the bigger pieces, taking up precious space for air. :-) This is what fell through the 1/16th inch aluminium insect screen So, here is batch number 2, a much larger batch, with less small pieces of oil dry, and less large pieces of pine bark. Oh, and the second bag of granite was purple instead of white/gray, not sure why? Time to repot some things!

Thanks again you guys. I ended up having to postpone which is a huge relief as I'm still not 100%. I now have a new issue. One thing I hadn't thought of before is that I have arched uppers. I really don't notice them painted white--but glass will make it stand out more and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Really wish they were square like the lowers. All of the doors I was planning on doing are the "skinny" doors where the arch is more pronounced--so that figures! Lake Girl---the island was a basic golden oak builder island with no frills. My picture quality is terrible--but it really did turn out nice. This is a low budget reno so I wasn't able to replace the island with a new one. I gave my carpenter a picture of an island from Pottery Barn and he was able to pretty much replicate it over my existing island. You can't tell from the picture, but there are wide vertical planks where the stools are. The same place that painted the cabinets also painted the island and it really looks nice. I'm very happy with the color. Black Chamois---Love that kitchen! Beautiful.

Kiktx, it is not rude to ask that at all. I will probably change my seating orientation around at some point. But the reason I put it that way for now is that wall behind the couch looks really bad as it is still unfinished. That picture I posted above was actually taken before we added the windows. Those were just screens behind the couch! The original house is single wall construction and the only windows were a couple jalousie type in the bathrooms. That's what they call a 'coffee shack' here. Plus, we always hang out on the lanai whenever we want to enjoy the views. Only time we are inside sitting on the couch is after it's dark anyways. :-) Thanks again everyone for all your help. Once I get the sample tiles, I will ask for advice on which looks the best.

Well laid sheets of tile will NEVER have the look of "sheets of tile". The installer is the weakest link in the chain. If this is an insurance claim, then you may have to work with the insurance company's "preferred installers". And that normally means "low-end" quality. The preferred GC's have the lowest bids in the industry (many reputable companies will NOT work with insurance companies because they want the cheapest of the cheap). And real tile setters are expensive. Which means most of these companies will simply use "a guy" to lay the tiles. I would say you are looking at "a guy" type of install. In the world of tile this is not considered acceptable. It would be a redo. My guess is this is the best possible install this guy could manage. Getting him to do it again will probably result in the same issues...which is why you want to ensure the GC is using a tiling professional and not some guy with a trowel. I'm going to guess the GC will be quite indignant should you ask about the qualifications of his crew. Did you know that most insurance companies will offer a "pay out"? This would allow you to find your own company to do the work? I would push hard for a redo. In the building industry the original installer is allowed ONE attempt to correct an issue. Once that one attempt is made (and failed) then you can bring in another professional to do the work...at the original installer's expense. I would check your local/state laws on that one...but you are within your rights to move on should the 'fix' work out to be worse than the original install. Just a little FYI. Do you have any photos of the build BEFORE the finishes were installed? If there is an issue with the quality of the finishes, there are often issues with the quality of the water proofing, etc UNDERNEATH the finishes.