u/mmhmmye

I cancelled an order of polished marble tiles after realising I should have ordered honed since I have a dog and apparently polished scratches easily; but my tiler was very keen to do the job on the day we had scheduled, it would have taken another five days to get the honed ones in, and he had already taken up the old ones a couple days prior. So rather we agreed he’d just pick up replacements for our current ones, the Enis black from Topps Tiles, which are porcelain slate effect.

Really disappointed though since the tiles are so much lighter than the ones we had (and I’m not entirely sure it’s from grout glaze, though I’ve picked up a cement remover cleaner to test on them tomorrow). They look hideous. Plus the grout REEKS even though it’s been over two days since he grouted them. The person at Topps said that could be because I cleaned them (with warm water) 24 hours after he grouted, when apparently he should have advised us to wait 48 hours. I can barely be in the bathroom a few minutes, it smells so bad. And I have the window open and a dehumidifier with a HEPA filter running 24/7 in there. I so wish I had just rescheduled the tiling job for whenever he was next available.

Anyway, my question is: how difficult would it be to pull up the tiles and retile with the marble I wanted, given that he laid them on ditra mat?

Any advice much appreciated.

We had a heatwave in the UK this week and I was sweating buckets every day and noticed that my skin smelled heavily of iron every time. This happened both when I worked out and when I sweated at night or at the hottest points of the day, when my study is a furnace.

I hadn’t applied lotion, I’m not on new meds or supplements. The only potential slight change is that I had bresaola (cured beef) for lunch three days in a row this week whereas I usually only have it once a week. I was drinking lots of water and having electrolytes (elyte by bodybio) to replenish lost salts so wasn’t dehydrated as far as I could tell. I’m slightly freaked out by this since I realised that this has happened before — like probably every time I’ve sweated for the last few months (ie daily). I’m 43, nearly 44, for reference.

Replacing bathroom floor tiles and going a bit mad trying to choose the tiles. I really want white Carrara marble and have narrowed it down to two suppliers, Mandarin Stone and Travertine, since the marble Topps sells is obscenely expensive and very grey.

Most of Mandarin Stone’s Carrara marble in the different styles I requested is quite grey. One is less so, but still more than I’d like. Their customer service has been excellent however and they said that if I don’t like the colour, they will arrange the courier collection — though I would have to cover the cost and a 20% restocking fee.

The marble in the photos I’ve been sent by Travertine is quite white, if a bit crystalline, but it turns out all their Carrara tiles are from Turkey (how it’s legal for them to sell “real Carrara marble” that isn’t from Carrara is beyond me, but whatever). I’ve also been underwhelmed by their customer service, which is bordering on rude, and if I don’t like the tiles I will have to organise and pay the courier (though not a restocking fee, thankfully).

First world problems I realise but would really appreciate input from anyone who has dealt with either supplier or has had marble floors fitted. Mandarin Stone has 1,500+ reviews on trustpilot and is rated 4.6, excellent. The negative reviews seem concentrated pre 2021. Travertine and its sister supplier Stone Deals Uk which sells the exact same stock have comparable reviews but very few (T has 46 reviews and is rated excellent; STDUK has 47 and is rated 4.1). Also, I really wanted polished but someone told be that’s a big slipping hazard and to go for honed. Is that true..?

Thanks for reading this far!

Not a huge crowd but they’re saying awful things (and comparing themselves to the Suffragettes???)

Just to clarify, the comments I’ve added are all quotes from the idiots speaking. Even more nonsensical when reproduced here.

Really depressing seeing kids playing there. And so many police. I’m grateful they’re here, but equally it’s such a waste of resources.

I’m having a not insignificant existential crisis after having been made redundant.

There are no jobs in my area in the UK or continental Europe atm.

There were three this winter: I was shortlisted for one but didn’t get it, longlisted for the second but didn’t get shortlisted, and I haven’t heard back about the third.

I have a lot of publications, two books, a small grant, and ten years’ worth of experience but given the state of the market that’s not enough, and I know I need to start seriously thinking about alt-ac options. Anyone here in the humanities have success stories moving out of academia or suggestions for out to do so?

I’m having a not insignificant existential crisis after having been made redundant. There are no jobs in my area in the UK or continental Europe atm. There were three this winter: I was shortlisted for one but didn’t get it, longlisted for the second but didn’t get shortlisted, and I haven’t heard back about the third. I have a lot of publications, two books, a small grant, and ten years’ worth of experience but given the state of the market that’s not enough, and I know I need to start seriously thinking about alt-ac options. Anyone here have success stories or suggestions?