That stinks. I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

I don't really have any ideas on a solution, but one thing I've learned from perusing these forums is that anytime a contractor says something to the effect of "Once we finish you won't notice" it's generally a very bad sign, because basically what they mean is, "Once we finish you'll still notice that we screwed up but it will be too late to fix it."

The builder's trying to claim that when the trim, toilet, & everything get in there that it won't be noticeable. Hah! Is that likely?

Actually, I was just thinking the same thing. I can't see the wall that comes off the far end of the tub, but the one on the left, once the base goes on, if you use 3/4" base, should just about cover the black triangles closest to the camera, and all you'd see is white tile up against the base. As for the tub being skewed, I don't think I've seen but maybe a handful of tubs over the years that WEREN'T skewed, and if he based his whole layout off the tub, shame on him.

What you might tell him is that if it IS still noticeable when finished, you reserve the right to have him tear it out and redo it.

But I tend to agree with him, from what I see in those pics. YOU will be the only one who notices after it's all put together.

Awww, this stinks...
We had a very similar problem and had to have our master bath floor ripped out and re-done, after hiring a new installer. It really held us up but it was so unlevel, I could see it with my eye. I could actually fit my outstretched hand under the level in some places.

I hope it's not that bad and that whatever action you take goes smoothly! BTW, I LOVE your tile and paint! I knew I would by the looks of your pics over in the building forum. Best of luck!

Sloppy and unnecessary.

When framing I save my straightest studs for the bathroom and the kitchen walls, walls that will be tiled or have cabinets hung from them. Same with squaring the partition walls. Get them dead on and no worries down the road.

I dunno about the tub being skewed. Could be, but why wasn't it properly set? And if it wasn't properly set, why didn't the tile guy grumble about it? I'd ask why your GC didn't catch it on his walk through?

Little mistakes lead to big mistakes, big mistakes are not tolerated.

Should never have happened.

While base trim might cover the missing and partial black diamonds, it'll simply emphasize that the next row of diamonds is off. My opinion though, I'm a stickler for tight layout lines.

I hate when builders do things like that. Remodeling you can get stuck with it. New construction? No excuses. No viable ones anyway.

If caught during framing, often times a sledge hammer can be taken to the sole plate to knock the sole square. But then your door will be off. Unless the door is off now and knocking the wall square will plumb up the door opening. Have someone who can work a level take a level to the wall and see if it's plumb. the wall itself and on both sides of the door.

A shoddy cover up would be to remove a certain amount of the perimeter tiles and add a black border.

And if it wasn't properly set, why didn't the tile guy grumble about it?

I walked off a job today because of the walls and tub being skewed to the point that when I put up the Durock on the walls, the back left corner and front right corner of the tub lip were sticking out past the durock. No way I could tile that and have it look acceptable, much less half way decent.

Called the contractor (who wasn't there) and told him to call me back when he's ready for me. (that was just the last straw)

Thanks for the sympathy & advice. I'm going to have DH measure the actual amount of the offset when he goes over to the house, tomorrow. I guess we can see how it looks when the molding goes on and take it from there.

Unfortunately, the "good cop" (DH) went off to SC while the "bad cop" (me) sits at home stewing. (DH is retired and I want to conserve some of my annual leave.) The builder is trying to give him the old "I've built dozens of houses and no one else ever complains about this stuff." So, is this the 1st time the tile has come out cockeyed on one of his houses? If so, he should be bending over backwards to correct such an anomaly.

Mongo, you went right to the heart of it when you wrote about not letting little mistakes turn into big mistakes. That is so true in my line of work, as well. If the guys installing the tub had just taken the time to check it with a square, we wouldn't be here. And, if the tile guys had done a double check before they tiled the surround & floor, we wouldn't have this mess, either.

BTW - you think a black border would show the skew less that white. What color would we use for grout, in that case?

rookie_2010 - that you like the floor tile is high praise coming from someone which such fabulous tile as I've seen in the pictures from your house. I'm going for a retro vibe in this bath and have cross handle chrome fixtures, schoolhouse looking lights for the vanity & the cabinet maker & I designed the vanity to look like some old stand repurposed for the bath. (That's not the paint. I think I will use the light camel color in our palette so I have lots of options for the curtains, etc.)

Thanks for the help - Jo Ann

The builder is trying to give him the old "I've built dozens of houses and no one else ever complains about this stuff."

Regardless of whether or not it would be seen, or how easy or hard it would be to fix it, that statement right there would be enough for me to dig in my heels and demand he fix the damn thing if he wants to see ANY kind of paycheck. What a DINK!!

What color would we use for grout, in that case?

In ANY case, I'd use a charcoal grout.

Oh, Bill, that is so beautiful. I want my bathroom to look like that!

We get that line all the time about no one else complaining about how things are done. Look, I know we're engineers and tend to be more precise and picky, but either this is the 1st time he's had these kinds of screw ups, the other clients aren't are fussy as we are or the others have complained & he's just trying to make us feel bad. I can't imagine that he hasn't had complaints, before. He builds $1mil+ houses in the Cliffs (our's is custom, but not in that league). I assume those folks are pretty particular, too.

I hear what you were saying about letting the trim go on & see how it looks. I just want to make sure they pause at that point, let our neighbors assess it (she's been a realtor for years & he's an engineer; we trust their opinions) & then proceed with either accepting it or ripping it out. I don't want the custom vanity I designed to be in place and all the painting do and then decide that the floor just isn't acceptable.

Thanks for the support & "listening" - Jo Ann

Awesome threshold, Bill! I'm still debating thresholds in my bath remodels. It seems so many home leave it out these days.

Oh I love that charcoal grout! Drjoann, I hope you go for the charcoal!

Well, DH talked to the guy who was at the house doing some other work, but not the one that did that floor. The walls aren't square, but the tile is only out by 3/16" overall. Apparently, the sheetrock bows out near the tub. Tile guy said that is usually the case.

DH,says the tile is as straight as an arrow at the doorway. So, we're going to let them put on the trim and see how it looks, then.

Thanks - Jo Ann

A strategy for disguising any discrepancy would be to remove the black triangles at the edge and replace them with white; Then there would be nothing to catch one's eye.
Casey

Thanks, Casey, that's a good idea if it still looks out of whack when they put on the trim.

Jo Ann

You know, I never asked...but if the room itself is square, and it's just the tub that is skewed...and if the tile is set off the face of the skewed tub...then your pattern should be off not only on the left wall as shown in the photo, but it should be out of whack where the tile meets both sidewalls as well as the third wall opposite the tub.

Bingo bango bongo.

Yes, DH said that the tile is off on the parallel wall, too. He didn't say anything about the wall opposite the tub. I think is is a combination of things because the walls are a bit out of square, too. When DH gets home, he can sketch things out for me.

The parallel wall will mostly be hidden by the toilet & vanity. Much of the opposite wall will also be hidden by the vanity. But, the wall shown is the picture is what one will look at while sitting on the "throne of reflection", so that will be the most obvious.

It is the guest bedroom en suite and not the master bathroom, but I've put a lot of thought into the design of this space and I don't want the tile to throw it off kilter.

Jo Ann

If it helps, and it probably doesn't, I have that same tile in my family bathroom, from the p.o.s and it looks like it was installed during a hurricane. The sheets were not well matched up, so some tile is close to the next sheet and some have a wide divide. The black squares are twisted in many places (and not even full squares where they should be in some) and the entire surface is rippled and hilly.
I cannot wait to rip it all out and it is sad because the tile itself is not at fault. They used white (at the time) grout and it did not age well either. I have bleached the heck out of it, but it still never gets fully white next to the white of the tile. The advice about charcoal grout is 100% right.
I have had people suggest we DIY some of our tile work to save money and there is no way in hell I would risk using nice tile and installing it improperly. I am game to try paint and other simple things (because frankly, no one will be as careful about a smooth surface as I will). The installation with tile is more than half the outcome and there is little margin for error. I'd take a picture of Bill's floor and show it to your builder.