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Reply to: I don't sense agony here. Seems they are trying to create a small bathroom that after all the money and work they actually like the look of. I know little about measurement requirements for bathrooms. (I'll leave that to the pros) but, I have had many bathrooms the size of your smaller bathroom and think you are using all of the right tricks for small: -Floating vanity with good storage drawers. - Uniform wall colors/finish for the shower and bathroom walls. - Large utilitarian medicine cabinet/mirror - Use single hole faucet - gives more usable counter surround. - Get smart recessed lighting - one in shower, one in center of space between shower and door wall. I like the marble wall tile in your small bath inspo pic, but the vanity and floor look terrible with the walls and with each other. I have never met a shower half glass wall that actually keeps water inside the shower. Consider glass wall with door. Nail down the layout of your larger bath first, then talk finishes. Also, who uses each of these spaces? Age, number of people, what are adjoining rooms and halls like?

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Reply to: @HU-535354181, @hallettco, thanks so much for your reply! I just found this "This Old House" video which I think it is kind of relevant so I'm share it here: https://youtu.be/LuEAVdpny2U?si=or-VJRZTWxbYK7sf BTW, I noticed that under the fuse box, there is a black box which seems to be empty? Does anyone know what that box was for? Thanks

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Reply to: For the most part there are not issues with quartz as a backsplash behind your cooktop, but there are some cooktops that are designed for island use and don't have the necessary space or heat guards that protect your walls. Most drop in cooktops require a 2" space. This model requires a 12" space or the purchase of a heat guard. It caused this damage to a quartz backsplash after using the self cleaning oven feature. And this damage to a tile backsplash after using the self cleaning oven feature. That said, there are tons of homes that don't have a backsplash and simply have painted drywall behind their stove and tons of people that have tile and quartz behind their stoves and have no issues. I have a MCM home with a 60 year old kitchen that has the original Formica countertops and backsplash (the kind with the metal strips at the seams). I think thousands upon thousands of homeowners had a Formica backsplash back in the day. Mine hasn't discolored from the heat yet and I think the heat resistance for quartz is quite a bit higher than Formica. Granite is less likely to scorch, but high heat can crack granite and many slabs of granite and marble are resin infused to strengthen the veins and fill in small fissures and holes. I don't know that those fissures wouldn't risk staining if exposed to extended high heat and grease from a self cleaning oven vent placed directly under it up against the wall. Best bet is to follow all building codes and installation instructions.

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Reply to: You have done a really awesome job of the kitchen no cheap in any way why on earth go fake plastic stone for a counter and for sure never for a backsplash behind any cooking appliance . There are tons os beautiful white granites that would make this space look fabulous and can be used for both applications These are 2 of many that IMO would be awesome

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Reply to: @W C Here’s a visual of what I envisioned

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Reply to: We are thinking of having a 60" floating double sink vanity in one of the bathrooms. No to duplicate sinks in a 5' vanity. Yes, two sinks will fit, but that'll leave you with little-to-no drawer space AT the sink. Think about how many things you need by your sink -- without drawers, those things will clutter your countertop, which is messy to look at and more work when it's time to clean. In a 5' vanity, you can have one nice sink, centered, a good faucet (best is wall-mounted for ease of cleaning) and a good bank of drawers for each spouse. Or two sinks pushed too close together and a cluttered countertop. Two more small things to consider: I see a hand towel on the left, but what does the right-side sink use? Where's your trash can?

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Reply to: You will not get continuity going from hardwood floors to wood-look tile. The odds of finding wood-look tile that matches the real wood perfectly is close to zero. It will be an obvious miss. If you were doing wood-look tile throughout the house, then it could make sense to run that same tile into a bathroom. Use a tile that complements your wood floors. My wood floors next to marble-look tile. I used matte on the floors and polished on the shower walls, from the same tile collection.

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Reply to: What Theresa said. One sink in a 60" vanity. All the more so because the vanity is flanked by at least one elbow banging wall.

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Reply to: think about how the light from either (both) of these lights affect the interior spaces. I personally do not want a motion sensor light flashing on and off, when I am getting my midnight snack. a carriage style light often shows a bare bulb. I do not want to look eye level into a bare bulb. Think dark sky lighting. read up online. Light your rose garden with light to create atmosphere and accent the space. have you considered solar lights? is this a outdoor dining space, conversation, sunning, play area? think it through.

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Reply to: Your contractor should not be designing your space . I like outdoor lighting to be just like indoor , what do you do out in this area ? Do you dine here you need light for the table , is there seating it needs light . That is how you decide any lighting I would never combine 2000K and 5000K light together is a tiny space I would never do motion sensor light in a seating area of a outdoor space so IMO the light over the door to the garage can be on a switch inside to access that door and one on the inside of the garage to turn light on there they should be a 3 way to work from either direction . I would like to see the plan for that outdoor space to really see what is needed for lighting . We BBQ all year so lighting by the BBQ a must , we have an outdoor dining space it needs lighting , the outdoor seating area needs light . That is how outdoor lighting is planned so post a pic of the plan then we can help with the light plan. At least tell us the size of the space .

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Reply to: Thanks everyone! @kevin9408: I ended up returned the Vesta and paid $89 more to get an Navien NPE-240A2, just for a little bit peace of mind. By the way, I was thinking of installing a descaler and a water filter. However, after I called Navien local distributor, and that guy (Tim) was so kind and helpful and asked a lot of his guys, he told me that for San Francisco, the water quality is darn good (47 PPM and 2.7 GPG). He mentioned that Navien only recommend adding a descaler "PeakFlow S" (for residential) if the GPG is larger than 4.0. So I guess I won't be installing a descaler and a water filter, just to keep it simple. Will probably do the vinegar descaling like Cathi mentioned. By the way, my biggest learning point is that (1) Vesta.DS seems to be a group of people originally from Navien and started their own company. Navien seems to have a proprietary recir pum, while Vesta.DS uses grundfos 1558 pump, which according to Vesta's tech support, is a slightly better pump. I also "tested" calling tech support for both company, and both were the same. A real human did pick up the phone. I heard that a regular customer can not directly order parts from Navien though, which I'm not sure if that's true. Anyway, just want to share all these info with everyone here. Hope this helps (man, I probably spent too much time on analyzing this)...

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Reply to: Never mind, I finally found a video: https://youtu.be/06dmS2PyTWM?si=GGT7c0_xU86PMeB7 Thanks!

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Reply to: Generally speaking, is it a good idea to place dishwasher right next to fridge? My dishwasher and fridge are next to one another, and it's a non-issue. Both are insulated items, and they have the cabinet end between them. Not a problem at all. A positive in this layout: All your water-items are next to one another, which will be cheaper to build /fewer places you can experience a leak. Another related move is to specify a 24" sinkbase instead of the 33" it appears to show. I value a good, big sink. It's the single most-used item in the kitchen, and it's not where I'd skimp. Bosch lowish end model would be my choice. I despise my Bosch dishwasher. I wish I could drag it out into the driveway and chop it up with an axe. The layout of the tines is ridiculous -- it's fine for tableware but is problematic for serving dishes, Tupperware and cookware. It also takes forever for a load to run. However, since nothing's all bad, I'll say that it's quiet.

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Reply to: BTW, it looks like the Hansgrohe is much easier to replace the wallbar slider than the Grohe one. Here are two videos to share with you: https://youtu.be/eMcPk_Ay4j0?si=5PiJJJXL_KvEnS3P and https://youtu.be/eMcPk_Ay4j0?si=2Bth40-axnPQ2rgy

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