Q. I have a SLIGHT problem but first a little background. My husband owns a very sucessful construction and remodeling company.Any work I want done around the house he does it without complaining and puts as much pride in the work he does himself here as he does in the work that people pay his company to do. From building an E85 plant to remodeling kitchens.Here is the problem. We started to remodel our home, every color, fabric and so forth I picked out and yes I asked him did he like it before I made the final choices.Recently after 2 1/2 months of remodeling our upstairs bathroom gutting it to the bones ripping up the floor and even instaling custom made cabinets it is complete. And.......I HATE IT! I hate everything about it, I hate the color, I hate the new heated floor, I hate the windows I hate the cabinets I even hate the shower curtain! How do I tell him? As I type this I am sitting in our computer room it is 1/3 painted something I told him I'd do before he got back on the 3rd of Feb. The upstairs doors are supposed to be getting new hardware, again something simple I said I could do, but I havent! I have no motivation at all and I dont know where I can find my motivation or infact why it was lost I use to be so thrilled that we were redoing our home. I put off everything these last 3 weeks from doing dishs, laundry and I even for the first time EVER have dust above my door frames. How do I tell him I hate the bathroom without him freaking out, and how do I remotivate myself to complete the things Ive been putting off before he returns home?! ha ha buzz or is it bizz anyhow like I said I picked everything out and I was taking care of our speical needs terminally ill daughter and now 8 month old son. I'd go upstairs to ask did he need help but he usually refused it. As for what I hate about it, I hate EVERYTHING I dont like the color of the cabinet or even the design.Before he ordered them he told me to make sure it was what I wanted because it could not be returned. The bathroom isnt the only problem, we have a new bamboo floor in our kitchen that are you ready for this: It just pisses me off looking at it. Soon our living and entry way are scheduled for remodel I had THOUGH I wanted tile or marble heated flooring but I am changing my mind. Maybe all these projects are overwhelming to me thank god Ive not made any choices on our "flip" house yet. I just dont know what Im going to do he did work hard and it was expensive even w his "discounts" and I dont want him angry

A. I think you are suffering from "project fatigue". We've experienced it ourselves and have seen it with clients. Here is what I suggest. Live with the bathroom remodel for a little while. Try to introduce new elements, like color, with towels, throw rugs and accessories in what you think you would like to change the color to. Ask yourself whether it is the design of the new cabinets or the wood tone/color that is bothering you. What would you change about them to like them more? Are there window coverings (i.e. cornices, shutters, draperies, shades, blinds, etc.) that you could use to change the way the windows look? Is there a theme that you are particularly fond of that you can implement to take the ambiance of the bathroom in a different direction? (ie. French country, Tuscan, spa, mid-century modern) In other words, what can you change to change your perception of the room? Admittedly, my hubby (a well respected interior designer and architect) has implemented some of my designs in our own home that I found myself not happy with upon completion. (Yeah, I know what you mean about being just pissed off looking at something you hate. But, you are really just angry with yourself.) We have corrected what I was unhappy with by additions or subtractions that took the project in a different direction. You are not motivated to do anything further until you resolve the anguish you feel about the bathroom. I have always found that telling my hubby straight out that I am not thrilled with the results of a project relieves my anxieties while setting the creative wheels in his brain rolling. (He doesn't get angry, he gets quiet and withdrawn for awhile.) For example, he came up with the brilliant idea of putting wallpaper inside of a molding on a wainscotting he installed on half the walls in our bedroom. I simply hated the look of the wainscotting plain, the wallpaper helped but I added a wooden relief in the middle of the molding boxes and the hole thing came together. Explain to him that you are not motivated to continue the other projects until these issues are resolved. Unless there is schedules involving subs, you are free to stop and start progress on other projects while this is being resolved. Also, admitting mistakes and changing your mind are not crimes, they are opportunities!

Q. My brother is coming to live with me, so i need to make a Room Addition and remodeling of the bathroom; I live in Hialeah, Miami Can somebody help me? My friend told me about http://www.remodelinghomemiami.com but he haven't used them...

A. I used Miami Home Improvements last year, they had really good prices if you do the kitchen and bathroom remodeling. We also made a room addition with a new bathroom and painted the living room. It was really fast too, i recommend it http://www.remodelinghomemiami.com/kitchen_remodeling_miami.html you can see also they do free estimates

Q. I have extreme experience in plumbing, among other trades and I want to install a new shower faucet and such, but the apartment wont' let me cause I dont' hold a license in this state, Since this is an condo I never encountered this. I got the hotwater figured out, question is the main cold supply. But is there some way around this?? perhaps i could cut the pipe, then quickly attach a compression shutoff supply then go from there. I would think this would be an idea, I'm going to test this theory with another supply with a shutoff before I attempt but main importance is homeowners dont' care, and are really fustrated that about the situation, and said if i can get aroudn it to do it, They own the condo, and it should be their right to do it. So any suggestions from professional plumbers? Yep thats right, years of experience, over 14 to be exact, electrical, plumbing hvac, roofing, new homes, additions remodeling, foundations, Now im experienced as in own a "sucessfull" company, I do all trades therefore am not master of none. I know plumbing many roughins many many remodels, jacuzzis, sunken and surface, copper sweating no problem, So in saying this, Its a condo, as in you have to jump through hoops, I am out of state, visiting family. They want their bathroom remodeled, All I need is the water off for 5 minutes, to solder a shutoff on there, But they want a licensed plumber. NOW...If I didnt' know what I was doing then ok, perhaps, but only hold back is fact that they want that paper, Where Im at they wants $350 just to come out. And the reason im in a hurry is because I need to get back to my state so I can continue my companys business. Now I have always been able to shut off water everywhere I been, this is new to me. Just looking for solutions the reason im doing this is for family, I can't shut the water off cause its a condo with shared water. I think this is stupid, but Im not from this state.

A. Shark bite fittings can go on quickly , no solder and easy to work with. There is a freeze system that freezes two places on the pipe so you can cut into it to repair or (in your case ) modify .This may somewhat hard to find at a rental place. Best bet is to use the shark bite set up ready to go and turn off the water cut and slap it together and turn the water back on maybe 10 minutes of the water being off. They may want the "license" for the bond with the freeze system you don't have to turn off the water as it is frozen inside the pipe and therefore plugged

Q. My family would like to add on to our exsisting 1200 square foot traditional rancher. We'd like to add on a 2 car garage, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, family room and knock out a exsisting wall in the kitchen, we are having are electricity done for free and i would greatly appreciate what the approximate cost would be and how can i save money with an addition like this?

A. You have to figure in alot of things - will it have a foundation ( basement) or slab ( for the concrete)? Plumbing will need to be run for the bathroom- the further away from the main lines ( drains and water) more itll cost) . You'll have to figure in for wall studs- roof rafters, sheetrock , insulation , nails/screws, roofing materials ( shingles,tar paper, gutters), flooring, siding , finishing materials ( vynal or tile finish floors, paint , decorating , lighting, doors ,mouldings, windows), demolition ( for the removal of the wall) , a dumpster ( for waste materials) . Rough guess - Id say $50,000 - over $100,000 easy and always make it higher for unexpected changes - so top end will probably be an easy $200, 000. Will there be a company doing all the work? Are permits included in the bid? You almost have to figure if its cheeper to locate a larger house then add on to the exisitng one ( unless theres a ton of property). Its a big expense.

Q. The laminate floor in my bathroom has dye/paint on it and I don't know how to get it off. The color came from the dye/decoration on a plastic bag that got wedged under a hamper and got wet. The ink transferred to the floor and now I don't know how to get it off. The flooring is not the best, and I know that if I use a scrubby on it I'll just damage the floor. Any suggestions? The floor is off white, so something that would bleach out the color without damaging the floor might work, but I don't know anything like that either (regular bleach will not work). Thanks!

A. I wish I knew. Sixteen years ago, my step-son and I were dying Easter eggs and some of the dye spilled on the flooring. I am the guru of cleaning, but I have found no solution to this problem. Good luck.

Q. I am set to install porcelain tile flooring in a bathroom where the house currently has carpet. Provided it is in good condition (which I am assuming it is), is it OK to install the porcelain directly on the floor? Do I need to prepare the floor? If anyone has any pointers, I would appreciate it! Thanks!

A. First things first.. Is the floor concrete or wood? If it is concrete: Take up the old carpet, pad and tackstrip. Scrape and clean the floor. Check the concrete for any cracks and prepare them with a good crack supression system ( I recommend Protecto Wrap ). After this you are ready to install the ceramic. If the floor is wood: Follow the above with the added steps of a sturdy cement type backerboard, Wonderboard, HardiBacker or DurRock are just a few name brands. Wood floors need this in order to reduce the flex felt in a wood floor. I have known some installers to nail/screw this down without thinsetting ( tile morter) it down with good results. The correct way is to thinset the board down and then nail/screw it. The reason for this is to bond the board to the floor to reduce movement and thereby reducing cracks in the grout and tiles themselves. I hope this helps, Good Luck.

Q. A customer of mine has got someone to put ceramic tiles down in their upstairs bathroom. He has told them to rip up the floorboards and lay 12mm thick waterproof ply instead. Floorboards should be no less than 18mm thick, so whats he going on about?

A. Floor boards need to be screwed down in all cases. You can lay on boards with timber fix also use as grout (slow buts works). You can ply floor sealing the rear and edges of the board before screwing at 12" centers. You can level floor and fix wedi board. Fix tiles with flex andhesive and flex grout. over 35 years in trade and still at it.

Q. Right now there's vinyl flooring there and I want to put down this laminate that looks like stone. I just don't know if I have to remove the toilet to put it in or do I cut around it and caulk? I want it to look as professional as possible. I just don't want it to scream "AMATEUR".

A. If you are going for the pro look you will certainly want to pull the toilet to install your floor. When you go to reinstall the toilet you will more than likely need to add a spacer flange as well as a wax ring w/ horn to the original flange to accommodate the new floor height. Make sure you follow the laminate flooring manufacturer's installation instructions for wet areas. Regards, Indy