Hello jbantick, thank you for your interest in this saga! I have now fired the builder as I have been advised by the Dept of Fair Trading NSW that until such time the licence # is issued the builder cannot continue working. He had previously agreed to strip the walls back to the frame however this has not occurred. He has only removed the tiles and has left numerous holes in the walls and there are a lot of areas that has had the first layer stripped off. He told me that this would be addressed when the tiler renders the wall with Ardent. My concern is that if and when the foundation moves will it crack the render and have a follow on affect with the water proofing and grout. He was also suppose to organize for a skip bin to dispose of the rubbish. When I queried him about that as well he said there was no way he was going to pay the $300-$400 when he can use his ute to dispose of the rubbish. Everything he has formally stated he would do has not been done so it has left me uneasy. At this point in time I have only paid $4,000 I have asked for a full refund as all the work was carried out whilst he has been unlicensed and I have asked for the replacement of the tiles and the rubbish removed. I have also notified the Service provider I had sourced him from. He has responded to my email stating that he will need to account for his costs and will re-issue a tax invoice accordingly. I have also notified the Dept of Fair Trading and will lodge a formal complaint in the event the Service Provider will take no action and the builder doesn't comply with my request. I have been advised it will be a long process however it is the principle of the matter even though I may not get a full refund. If it helps to prevent another person going through the same thing I have had to then it will all be worth it

Great question siriusky! In the laundry the cabinetry is a white with a careaera marble tops. The splashback will be white subway tiles. So I am thinking black handles and a black or very dark floor, (knowing it will show everything. In the first bathroom, there is a Tasmanian wood (Macrocarpa) bench that runs the length of a wall with a white basin on top. The shower in this room has a white base fitted so I am looking for wall tiles and a floor tile and am keen to carry the dark theme through and run it up the wall behind the wood and the basin but something much lighter to form the wall of the shower and behind the toilet. The 4th wall I will paint. The 2cnd bathroom, again dark tiles on the floor, the walk-in shower needs to be lighter color along with the walk-in toilet. There is a spa and double basins which again sit on a macrocarpa wood top. So wood white and hopefully a dark floor.

Hi kristymacd, after changing my mind many times we went for a built in 1700 bath! Mostly as builder and tiler thought it would be easier to slope the floor properly and I liked the idea of the slightly larger built in compared to the 1590 back to wall. I’m sure a back to wall would’ve been possible and been fine, it all just got a bit hard and I knew both would look good. And I don’t think a back to wall would be any harder to clean than a built in - with a built in you have the hob and tiled face of the bath and back to wall there is the floor either side of the bath - same same! Here’s a pic of ours, not totally finished yet but really happy with it.

I've wondered about the practicality of that style too. Our first house had 70's plastic taps with gentle curves that were troublesome enough, progressed to the four pronged style which was easy to turn.... and turn and turn, now have levers, and the only improvement on those I can imagine is motion or voice activated. Perhaps those circle taps have a non-slip surface treatment which helps with grip? Though if that's the case does the surface also hold dirt and soap scum. It looks like an illogical design for the purpose but I'm interested to hear from people with personal experience with them too.