It's true that travertine can be fragile. My tile guy took mine to be bullnosed at another facility and didn't take any extra - sure enough, one broke so he had to go back with another tile. But that's not to say that it can't be done.

Ok, so your large tiles are porcelain? I think he did a good job mitering the top ones, which started out as bullnose tiles, right? I think the thing that would bug me most about your corner is that it's half mitered and half not. I'd suggest having him try again on mitering the bottom - there are only 6 tiles there (do you have extra in case they break?)

As far as the border, as a compromise can he alternate how the bricks are stacked so that there isn't the straight vertical grout line, but instead a more...ummm...brick-like look? This is hard to describe - hope you know what I mean. You'd still have a sharp corner for the border though - could this then be sanded down so that it's slightly bullnosed?

Yeah, it's the half-mitered and half not thing that's bugging me. And then for the border, if he just butted it the other way, I think that would be fine. The short part of that corner is going to be hidden by the free-standing cabinet I'm putting there, so I don't care if it doesn't look perfect there.

Is it a big deal to ask him to redo a few tiles? (I'm pretty sure I do have some extra...)

I guess I'm a little timid about this, but I do think it looks funny. It would probably only bother *me*... I didn't even notice it, really, till I stared at the pictures for a while! (Before that, I was just happy at what my tile looked like in general. :-))

Yeah, it's the half-mitered and half not thing that's bugging me.

The problem is that most manufacturers that offer bullnose, do NOT offer outside corners. You then have two options. One is what he did, and the other is to take two pieces of bullnose, and MAKE an outside corner, as shown in the picture below:

The piece is cut at a 45 degree angle, and then a triangular piece of bullnose added, so both top and side have finished edges. The thing I don't like about that is it leaves an extremely sharp point afterward, that if not chipped back a bit (to where it'll show a touch of the clay body of the tile), it could very easily cut someone's leg wide open.

As for the tumbled stone. I agree with what he did, but with one exception-- I would've turned the pieces around, so that the cut edge was buried, and showing the "factory" end of the stone at the corner.

Thanks for your reply, Bill! I was really hoping I'd hear from you before I went and spoke to the tile guy!!!

I was going to ask him to redo the corner, mitering all the porcelain tiles, but it sounds like that would be a bad idea. Do you think it would be a big deal to ask him to just redo that bit of border? Or do you think it's not worth it?

Hi, Charlikin,

I just wanted to throw my 2 cents worth in. When I looked at the first pic close up, the inconsistency really jumped out and bugged me. When you show the wall, it is not eye catching at all. I think even if you leave it the way it is, it will come to look fine to you.

Just having finished with my own outside corners, I can empathize with the aggravation. I was lucky to have tile guys who thought it through like chess players, always thinking many steps ahead as to how any individual decision would affect other areas.

It looks really great so far!

Anita

I love your tile job so far! However, that corner would drive me nuts every time I walked into the bathroom. I think the upper, lower and border tiles should all be consistent, however you two agree on doing them. I personally would not put up with it as it is done now because even if no one else noticed it, if it was something I was unhappy with, my eyes would be drawn to it whenever I was in the room.

You are paying a lot for this project; be absolutely sure it is something you can live with each and every time you walk into the bathroom. Just my .02 for what it is worth.

Like Sandra, however you decide to do the corners, they should be the same. That's just sloppy work :( I have 3 outside corners in my bathroom that consist of porcelain and natural stone (traverine) I don't have a problem with them being sharp...maybe sharper than "rounded" but not sharp. When grouted, the corners become smoother.

First of all, I love the tile! It's going to look lovely. And I agree with the other posters that the corner would bother me, and I would ask for it to be redone with mitres. We mitred our marble on outside corners, and it looks good.

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback! I spoke to the tile guy this morning, and I think this is going to end up staying the way it is. He had various reasons (excuses?) for what he did, and honestly, I think that since he usually uses those vinyl strips, he just doesn't have the skill level to do outside corners well. For all I know, I could make him redo it and it could come out worse.

Maybe I will regret this decision, but it isn't a prominent corner, and I'm hoping I won't notice it after a while. As Anita (nomoreblue) said, it looks bad in the close-up, but not so noticeable in context. (It certainly wasn't the first thing that jumped out at me when I first looked at the tile work.)

I don't know. I'll take another look at the work tonight and make a final decision. (He was going to finish tiling the bathroom today and enhance the travertine border; tomorrow he's planning to grout.)

I actually think it looks fine. Might've looked better to not have mitered the top row, but still it looks fine. Once it's grouted I don't think you'll notice or care.

I'd atleast have him recut the tumbled stone and turn the cuts around.

Guess I'll throw in my two cents, to. The butted large tiles wouldn't bother me at all. Once it's grouted, it'll look fine. I think I'd definitely have the top row corner redone to match the butted edges down below.

As for the trim band, I wonder why your tile guy didn't interweave the ends and sides so that on each face you see a short end terminating one row, a long side on the next row above, then another short end on the next row above that. That's how a mason would construct a corner with bricks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Image: Interwoven Outside Brick Corner

I was thinking the same thing, but I figured it'd be tough enough just to get him to recut and turn the pieces around!

I might catch a 15-yard penalty for piling on, but I pretty much agree with everyone else.

The tiles should all match...either all mitered, or all butted.

If butted, without knowing how the rest of the room lays out (traffic pattern etc) my initial reaction would to have had the seam show on the minor wall instead of the major wall.

I'm a fan of mitered corners but I do understand the limitations of working with some materials.

The travertine? Either mitered or the interwoven "log cabin corner" look, with tumbled ends, not the cut ends, facing out.

Well, all the rest of the tile went in today, and he enhanced the border. (He gave me a long strip of border this morning with half enhanced and half not so I could make up my mind and call him later. The consensus at work was to enhance. :-))

{{gwi:1493572}}

The outside corner in question is just to the right off the above photo. Got kind of a wonky photo showing the corner with the walls around it tiled... I think having everything tiled camouflages the problem somewhat.

{{gwi:1493573}}

Anyway, Bill, he gave me a lot of excuses about the sizes of the tiles in the border and how it hand to line up this way, and he said it would look better after he grouted it and sanded it down a little tomorrow. I am going to be putting a tall narrow cabinet in that little corner alcove (it'll stick out a few inches), so I don't think anyone's even going to see this corner.

Bill, Mongo - next time I have a big tile job, I'm hiring one of you guys! (Or one of your disciples... ;-)) Seriously, I have new-found respect for just how much skill and chess-like thinking-five-moves-ahead smarts goes into tile-laying. You guys ROCK!!!

MEANWHILE - I *am* very happy with what my tile looks like in general. It was extremely difficult picking it - it wasn't the tile I had in my head originally - but I think it was the right choice.

Ilva releases ceramic line with cross-cut travertine appearance
Ilva's Pietre Travertine Porcelain Tile

Posted: February 12, 2003

Argentina-based ceramic tile manufacturer Ilva SA recently introduced Pietre Travertine, a porcelain tile series that emulates the look of cross-cut travertine marble. The tileÂs smooth surface gives the impression of natural stone, the company says.
The product -- which is offered in shades of bianco, beige, noce, and rosso -- is complemented by a collection of matching borders, listellos, bullnose, and inserts. Pietre Travertine is available in 14-inch- and 18-inch-square floor tiles, and also in 7-by-7-inch wall tiles.

In addition, the series includes a full range of trim pieces including torellos, matitas, sink rails, quarter rounds, and corners.

So your tile is Porcelain that looks like Travertine. Your color was what I had wanted. I just love it so much. Since you live in NY and I live in NJ, did your contractor buy it for you or was there a local store you were able to get samples to see what the tile looked like. From the pictures, I feel it would be perfect in one of my rooms in my home (Either Kitchen, bathroom or foyer).

I love the border! Thanks for sharing. I know it was the right choice the beautiful spa-like tile you chose.

P.S. Charlikin, What width grout line do you have since the tile is rectified? What color grout did you use since it looks nice. Thanks again for sharing.

Hi Lynn! The Ilva tile was recommended to me here on these forums (by blondelle - thanks again, blondelle!). I bought it at Venezia Tile in Whitestone, Queens, which happens to be my contractor's recommended tile store. I swear I was in there a million times and never really noticed it (since it wasn't what was in my head) until blondelle mentioned it and I noticed the label and did a double-take. Very happy with it now.

Note that not all the different pieces mentioned in the Ilva press release are actually carried in the U.S. (Quarter rounds and corners would have been particularly nice. Grrr.)

We used a 1/16" grout line. It's not grouted yet, but we're going to use "antique white wall grout" - the brand isn't listed on my receipt. He's grouting tomorrow, so I'll post photos tomorrow night.

...and he said it would look better after he grouted it and sanded it down a little tomorrow."

That's why I have the homeowner inspect every tile job before I grout. Seeing tile set with no grout really causes the lines of the tile to jump out at you. It's easy to pick out discrepancies at that time.

Grout which has a color that is in contrast to the tile dos the same thing. It accentuates the lines of tile.

Grout that matches the tile in color blends things together and hides imperfections...until you finally notice them two weeks later.

I'm of the mind that it's better to solve problems than to camouflage them.

I do like your bathroom, it's a nice look. I'm sure you'll enjoy it even more once the job is done.

Best,

Mongo

Wow Charlikin- wasn't it just a day or 2 (3?) ago that you had a demolished bathroom and no clear way to put it back together again? It sure is lookin' fabulous!!
As for the outside corner issue, I agree that it might not be optimal, but isn't is amazing how with everything else falling into place and perspective(like the cabinet that will be there as well) that it is almost not an issue unless you seek it out. Not saying that the job shouldnt be perfect- of course it should be if possible; but reality sometimes sets in and you know the rest.
Bottom line, it looks great and I am amazed at how quickly it is happening.
ME? Still thinking about what I might do in the master bath. (Translated, zilch decisions yield zilch progress)

Charlikin, Thank you for letting me know the name of the tile. I am going to call the store right now before getting back to work (I am eating lunch and obsessing and must finish a deadline)to see if they can send me a sample over since I love the fact it takes such a thin grout line and the color in your bathroom is wonderful. Thanks again for sharing. I can't wait to see more pics.

Monikam, I also love your tile (I have to do my foyer areas, kitchen and bathrooms so I can see this tile also in one of those rooms) and really would love to know the name of it. You can always lick my email and send me more information privately. Thank you so much.

Hi Sheila - it's amazing how fast it's all happening. Considering that I like to absorb things in a slow, methodical fashion, it's a little scary! (Like having to decide whether I wanted the border enhanced - I had two hours to make that decision!)

Today he's grouting the tile and putting in the medicine cabinet. Then the plumber has to come back to put in the sink, toilet, faucet, and shower fixtures. Not sure when they do the glass shower door... And the tile guy will put in the towel bars when he comes back to do the backsplash, so I might be living without towel bars for a few weeks. (Knew I ordered a shower door for a reason!!!)

So, Sheila - has my saga scared you off doing your bathroom yet??? LOL!!

As I am eating dinner, I am visiting this post to see if there are any more updates. My neighbor (not the next door neighbor but someone in the same complex as me) let me see his renovated townhouse. He redid all the rooms and they looked great. His bathrooms and kitchens are amazing with new cabinets, counters, sinks, showers and tiles. But I still love your bathroom tile the best Charlikin. It seems like everyone in my townhouse complex has renovated their kitchens and bathrooms but me. But in a way I started since I bought the LG French door refrigerator that I love and now I am getting ideas. I also had already replaced all my window treatments and I am slowly doing each room s I learn from this wonderful forum with so many caring and helpful members. I try to help out in other ways by looking up tiles since I am good at Internet research. I have been just renovating the rooms that need it most due to damaged floors or ruined blinds.

lynn, did you get my email? I replied to your private email last night at 11:40.
Monica

Thank you Monica for your links. I just replied. I am having a stressful day with clients finally sending me their documents overnight to finish their deadline on time.

You and Charlikin both have such great taste.

Bumping up this thread for the hope to see updated pics of Charlikin's beautiful new bathroom.

As requested, here's an updated photo of the bathroom:

{{gwi:1493574}}

Various things wrong in it: they mounted the sink at the wrong height, used the WRONG p-trap under it (I have a beautiful contemporary brushed nickel bottle trap, not this old-fashioned chrome thing that's completely out of character with the room), and installed the handshower slidebar where they felt like it rather than waiting for me to tell them where I wanted it, as instructed. Currently it's too high and too far into the corner to be useful to me. Plus there's still the outstanding issue of having to reframe the medicine cabinet because they were a little ruler-challenged getting their centers straight.

I have lots of extra tile left over for them to do a do-over. :-:

Wait, this isn't the diatribe thread... sorry 'bout that!

With regard to the original subject of *this* thread - I think that issue actually became somewhat of a non-issue. Partly because more important issues usurped it, but also partly because he tiled the *other* outside corner around the shower the same way, and somehow the symmetry helps make the oddly butting bullnose look okay-ish.

I'm just in a choose-your-battles situation here.

Charlikin, I am sorry that things are not going as planned. Contractors are so difficult to deal with. But the tile and design is very pretty and we are all here for you hoping the contractor makes everything right for you. I learned the hard way, that when a contractor does something for me, I have to be right here to make sure they are following the plan. I had problems with a painter which is not the same thing but I wish I had been watching what he was doing since he cut corners and in one room, the paint looks terrible still and must be redone. He also did not paint the boards like I told him to before installing shelves in a closet for me where I was going to keep old files boxed up and some of the spaces are too small. But my dilemma is nothing compared to yours. I would make sure the contractor fixed what he did really wrong that is bothering you most. I knew something was up when new pics did not arrive. Again we are all here for you and the end result will be beautiful despite the very stressful journey to get there. I do not understand why contractors do not listen.

Charlikin, so sorry you're having trouble with all these details. I just wanted to mention that they might not have installed the bottle-type trap because I am pretty sure those are not allowed by code in some places (NYC included).

WHAT?! No bottle traps in NYC? Are you serious???

Then why the heck did the plumbing supply store sell it to me???

Good grief.