Purplefaerie

Hello all, any advice will be most helpful please. I'm learning as I go along each day of my renovation, which is probably too much for 1 person to handle on my own without any experience. There's also only that much I can learn/ research online apart from camping on pinterest every night before I knock out. 1) Floor drain/ traps, my ID/ contractor says cannot change. They installed the aluminum ones which he says ís more expensive than plastic ones (that's of least importance to me..) I just wanted to change the covers' design instead of the classic round ones. The ID contractor is adamant about not changing that as 'it will affect water proofing and tiling'. Is that norm? 2) Grinding & varnishing the existing flooring (parquet) was included in the quote. I'd realised there are gaps at the end finishing of the skirtings to the floors which are not smoothly finished. ID/ Contractor mentioned ’it's normal'... Any 2nd opinion will be helpful.. thanks much!