It wasn't like indoor grout; it seems to be more of a mortar, it's streaked on the steps and I've had little luck getting it off. I didn't think there would be a color change from the sealer, I was thinking more of extra shine. Is it invisible?

I have a visceral reaction to what is happening to you because I have just lived it, and now I am on the other side, with a beautiful, properly constructed bathroom. Last year, the bad contractor said I was too hard to please because I questioned why they didn't do a pre-slope for my shower floor. Then I was too hard to please because I asked why they built me a moisture sandwich for my shower walls. Then I was too hard to please because I asked them why they weren't using good cutting tools, spacers or levelers and my tiles were all wonky, jagged and spaced out weird and crooked. They walked off the job in the middle of a bad bad tiling job because they were sick of my questions. Nine months later, the judge didn't think we were too hard to please, and awarded us the total cost of the re do with an excellent contractor (found thanks to this forum). Make lots of contemporaneous notes, take lots of pictures, get the TCNA manual and read it. You can pay for a download; I think it's about $40. Get an inspector (pay them) to come and do an inspection and write you a report of all the stuff done wrong and not in keeping with the TCNA manual. If you can't find someone to do that, read the manual and create your own report. We filed in county court, not small claims, represented ourselves, and it worked out to our favor. This was almost a year after the new excellent shower and beautiful bathroom was completed. You will want your bathroom back, so will probably need to re do your project before knowing if you will get any money back or not. Get educated, get the job done correctly and then deal with the money side of things. The judge was pretty cool with us, the clerks will help you figure out what paperwork to file, and you can learn a ton of stuff online for your local jurisdiction. If you're lucky enough to have a lawyer friend or relative you can ask them some questions or ask them to look at a document before you send it. That's what we did, but the lawyer relative never came to court or wrote anything for us, just kindly talked things over with us as we went along. The crooked contractor came with a lawyer in a cheap suit, and couldn't explain why they did such a crappy job. Oh, we had it written in the contract that they would construct the shower in accordance with the TCNA guidelines. That helped because the contractor couldn't tell the judge what those initials stood for. But even if you didn't do that, having lots of pictures, notes, and a real tile expert's report will help. It also helped that we had proof that we gave the contractor multiple chances to remedy the situation. You have to do that. If you just out and fire them at the first sign of trouble, then you are the bad guy. You need to make contemporaneous notes of all this and make sure that you have written proof (such as emails) that show you gave them a few chances to fix things. That was important to us; the judge specifically asked about that and we showed her the emails. In the meanwhile, you want to get your bathroom redone. Maybe someone on this forum can recommend a real pro in your area if you give your city or zip code. I can't remember the names of the 2 or 3 organizations that have a referral service for tile pros, but maybe someone on this forum can provide that info. For me, unfortunately, there was nobody in my area on those particular lists. A direct referral from a GWer is what helped me when I was at my wit's end and asked for a referral near my city. After that I had complete success and a beautiful bathroom. The pro I hired is so wonderful, professional and careful, I'll never hire anyone else. I'm trying to get all my projects done before he retires or moves. A note regarding some comments on this forum. I have received tremendous help from the kind and generous people on this forum. I don't think I could have completed my kitchen or bathroom without the help here. But every once in a while there will be a rude and presumptive remark that implies or straight-out states that you hired cheap and so the disaster is your fault. The bad bad contractor I hired was not cheap. Actually, almost exactly the same price as the re-doing excellent contractor. Sometimes you think you are hiring someone great, you reject the ridiculously low bids, you ask lots of questions, but you end up with a crook anyway. I think it's rude for anyone to accuse the homeowner of trying to do something on the cheap just because they ended up with a horrible contractor. We certainly didn't go cheap, ended up with a hack, and I got comments like the one you got above. So don't feel bad or ashamed. You are not the crook, they are. Good luck.

I will agree that it is poorly done.. I disagree with the level of deference to the tile setter. Subs don't run the job and when they do - that's the work you get. We don't know if there was a trim carpenter onsite but if there was popping that apron and notching the casing could easily have been done while he waited. Literally 10 minutes worth of work and it would be done by the time the tile setter was done setting up his saw. More importantly why didn't the tile setter communicate what he needed before he came onsite ? "This is what I need before I can come on the job to install the backsplash." If he can't communicate or he choses not to it is not my problem if has to wait once he's on the job that's on him. And if that work is acceptable to him you don't want him on your job anyway. On our jobs we say it all has to get done. And the guys and the crews that get the repeat work, and the price they want, work together to get it done. We do not allow for a culture of prima donnas.

"it could be the lighting" I would increase the color temperature of the lighting. If the lights' color temperature is 3000K, try 3500K or 4000K. Don't go higher or the bathroom will look like an operating room. If changing the current lighting would be a hassle, you can test color temperatures by getting a cheap, "selectable", recessed light (example: Juno 4BEMW SWW5 90CRI M6), attaching it to a table lamp, plugging the lamp into a bathroom outlet, and switching among the various color temperatures.