I think the best suggestion in the whole thread was Holly's suggestion to have them kneecapped! LOL! The prices are robbery. For that amount, I'd expect custom mosaic work to the level of the baths of Pompeii. Something truly artsy and spectacular. You're getting I-95 truckstop quality work instead. They are in over their head. I know you like him, but there is something not quite right here in the fact that your GC hasn't already addressed the issue permanently. He is failing in his primary role if he does not. If he is the one paying them, then it's HIS problem to sort out the materials from labor here. You shouldn't even know there's an issue with their contract. You shouldn't have even seen the contract between the two. It doesn't involve you. Your role is to insist on the quality of work that your fee should be providing. His role is to provide that quality by selecting the appropriate subcontractors and supervising their work. Even if he has to eat some fees here or take a loss by severing the relationship with this sub, it's HIS problem that he agreed to the vague contract. NOT YOUR PROBLEM! He needs to cut his losses with the subs and move on. If he doesn't do that, then he is either getting kickbacks from them or he is related to them. There is some other hidden motivation to keep them. It's NOT a "court thing" at all. He has the right and obligation to set the quality standard of the work that the sub provides, and if the sub doesn't provide to that standard, it's his job to get rid of them, even if it costs him. He is the GC and you pay him for the headache resolution. You don't keep people who screw up and cost you money---unless they aren't really costing him money.

You can upgrade your photobucket account which will show your account status. That's how I found that my white kitchen on the design around this thread was getting a lot of action other than and off of the homesite or gardenweb or photobucket. I didn't always have privacy settings but now I do but only on some albums. I can see that someone knows how to get into my private albums though as the account status breaks it down. However, sometimes it shows hits from "site unknown" so you don't know where your pictures are being viewed. Sometimes you are lucky and photobucket lists the site. I did try to find out through advanced google on some of the unknowns but had no luck. I don't really care at all unless it's a business using a picture as something they did or they sell. We are big DIY-ers so don't want some Joe taking credit.

Cynic's rule #2: If you get an email (or post) that says send this to everyone you know!!!!!!" DON'T! It's amazing how these hoaxes just keep on going. I worked for a gas station for a number of years. My pumps were checked regularly by W&M. In talking to the the guys that test the pumps, about 80% (or more) of the pumps that aren't dispensing accurately are actually giving more than they should (for a variety of reasons). But it's usually no more than a few tablesppons at best. When you watch them, it's a very non-technical way of testing the pumps. They use a special 5 gallon can and the top has a narrow glass cylinder with markings to rate how accurate it is on the dispensing of 5 gallons of gas. As the fluid approaches the top (rather an inverted funnel shape) it goes up into the clear glass cylinder. It pretty much tells within teaspoons how much over or under. The gas is then dumped back into the tank and a certificate is left with the store to adjust their pump records for sales since the pumps will show the test fuel as dispensed and it has to be credited to the cashier to avoid a shortage. They run 2-4 tests and the tests are averaged. When one thinks about it, it's almost amazing the pumps are so accurate. I don't recall the actual amount it has to be off (and yes, they'll redtag a pump dispensing too much) in order to redtag the pump and put it out of commission, but it's not much. Once tagged the pump has to be recalibrated and retested to be put back into operation. Our company always would calibrate to be a whisker over just in case the test can used for calibration didn't match the test can used for testing. There was a time when another station had all their pumps redtagged. What happened was the test can used by the company calibrating it got a small dent in it! This of course made for less room in the can so it screwed up all the calibrations! I felt sorry for the owner, but found it humorous. Here in MN, and I think it's probably the same in all states, W&M puts stickers on the pumps when it was last tested by W&M. And yes, you can call them and report suspicious pumps. Be sure to note the pump number, date, level of gas, etc when you report it. But when people say "I put 15 gallons into a 14 gallon tank - it must be the pump!!!" they show ignorance. First the tank size is estimated, secondly, tank size doesn't include the filler neck and though people shouldn't, they do seem to always fill to nearly spilling. Which brings up the other point, if gas truly expands as much as many would have us believe we surely would be popping tanks or at least blowing the gas caps off cars quite regularly. BTW, just filling a 1 gal can, unless tested, wouldn't tell much. Why? First, most gas cans are made to hold more than they say for adding oil and additives. So when you fill the 1 gallon can and it holds 1.1 gallons don't get misled into believing the calibration is wrong. You can, however, take that gallon can, fill one gallon, then take a measuring cup and measure the contents. You should do it a number of times and average the results however, to be comparable to a true pump test.

It really depends on the situation and every home and need are different. In the basement overcooling situation, you gotta do it for the comfort. Some people have insulation between the basement and living space so you don't want to lose your heating to that area. Then there is the problem with imbalanced pressures. If there are supply duct openings, where is the air going to go? If the basement is closely coupled to the area with a return (upstairs?) and you don't mind a little air down there to dehumidify, or warm it up a little bit, leave it alone. If the basement is sealed off from the return upstairs, it may leave the area more closely coupled to the outdoors. It will be pressurized and the air will tend to leak out through the openings and cracks to nature. That will, in turn, depressurize the living space and suck unconditioned air from random cracks and openings up there. It might even come down some flues. If that is going on, you gotta fix it. You can do it by adding a return or sealing the supplies. Ducting systems are complicated. I hate them.