Variation in grout widths in a floor is not uncommon, because tiles are not precisely all the same size. This is because tiles are cut before they're cooked, and experience different shrinkage factors. The exception is rectified tiles which are cut after they're cooked. The way to judge whether he's doing a good job is to step back and take a look at the whole layout to see if the tiles are laid in a straight line and in a proper grid pattern. Can you post a photo?

Weedyacres, I can handle a little variation but the variation is so much. I will post pics after my client leaves to see the tiles and give me his opinion.

The border he created that I did not want would look nice for a bigger floor. My floor space is only 4' X 4.33'.

The border is what is adding more problems with the spaces. The front foyer is so small and would look better without the border so there would be more than 4 full 12" X 12" tiles. He told he he had no choice but to do the border. I wanted the tiles on the diagonal. He told me there would be 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4" tile sizes all along the edges wasting many tiles and the area was crooked. I see only that two sides with 6 tiles would have had 1 3/8 to 1 3/4 size small tiles if there was no border. IF he would have started at the door as one other installer told me we should, only one side would have 2" small diamonds along 3 tiles and then the quarter rounds would go on top so little pieces would not come loose like he said.
He is such a nice guy and hard worker and the price is not much but this is bothering me so much. Now I wish the tile came in 13 X 13 so no little pieces and I see the install would be easier.

A client/friend is coming by to look so pics later on. He said he would be here at 9 AM and is not here yet at 9:28 AM so that is good.

My posting of what is happening on the kitchen forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: My posting of what is happening on the kitchen forum.

You can avoid slivers of tile at the edges by shifting the pattern to one side by ~1/2 a tile. Any good tiler does a dry layout first to make these kind of adjustments before starting to lay it.

Again, need photos to judge what he did.

"I wish when the installer asked me where we should start the tiles, I wish I would have told him, "

A tile installer is not going to ask a question like that to a client. He should have found his center points and then shifted the layout to where it all would fit and look good and then marked the grids.

Jerry_t, thank you for letting me know that a good tile installer would know where to start and would adjust the tiles so that the layout looked good.

I also feel a good installer would not do a border if a client did not want a border. I know the border was pretty but in person, I felt it made the area look smaller and I knew once the quarter rounds were put back on the wall, those tiles would be off in thickness from the other tiles.

I have no quarter rounds in my bathrooms where there are tiles. I think they used caulk? There are no borders either with just some smaller pieces near the walls.

I am so drained from so much stress in my life (this is just a tiny bit of extra stress but it wasted two days of mine again that I did not have time to waste... took me hours to clean off those tiles) and now two foyer areas are just cement and gated off. I must try to get this mandatory work done today or I will have so many problems in my life.

I will check back for replies. I just know the pics do not show how bad I felt it looked in person. I know he tried so hard. I wish I would have just waited for the professional installer that had said he could come right after Christmas and focused on my work. Now if I want him to do the job, he is booked until 2009.

The way it usually goes Lynn, is a tile guy knows several different ways to approach something. We will normally come up with 2, 3 or 4 layouts and if the client is home we go get'em and let them decide. After all, you are the one who is going to be looking at it everyday. It makes no difference to us other than a particular layout could affect the labor cost....up or down.

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for letting me know a good tile guy goes over the layout with a customer. I had told the tile guy right from the beginning that due to the tiny sized area, I just did not want a border and just wanted a plain diagonal design to be installed with as little cuts as possible. He wanted to do a border and pushed it on me when he said we were stuck with little pieces all around. He was wrong about that. There would only have been a few little pieces even with not starting closer to the door.

But it is past and I am drained from not sleeping well thinking about how behind I am in my work from all these flooring decisions and problems with contractors.

Now I know behind every successful person, there seems to be a spouse that takes care of all the personal headaches so the other spouse can work. Or if both spouses work, then they have each other to make decisions and take turns taking care of the time consuming personal problems. It is so difficult trying to fix my home as I work with no real help. But at least I have this forum to support me so I don't feel totally alone.

I have an installer coming by tonight to give me an estimate. What should I ask him to know if he is a good installer. My client claims he is a good installer and recommends him but he has not showed up so many times in the past. He claims now he had a family emergency out of the country and that is why he never returned my phone calls. I am hoping for a few estimates and for me to ask the right questions and to find someone who can start now.

It should not be difficult to do a floor that no longer had any flooring on it but cement with the quarter rounds already having been removed?

From my pictures, does it look like my two small areas have any special challenges? Should I put the same PVC tile in the small utility room that I have never really asked an installer to do for me so that was not part of the price since my brother said he would take care of the tiny utility room but my brother who lives 2.5 hours away still has not taken care of it since the 6-11-08 water damage and I want it fixed ASAP so I can move on with my life.

I hope someone can start soon an if they did a good job, I would give out their cards to my clients by keeping them in a little card holder on the corner of my desk during my tax season.

I had an installer here today giving me a quote (will call Monday to let me know when he can start if I want to use his services) that was twice as much as the guy that was just here and did a poor job but half as much as another quote I had from someone who can't come by until 2009. But to be fair the twice as much quote included removing the engineered wood in the two foyers which does not have to be done anymore since both floors are just cement now since I removed the tiles myself (from the poor tile job) and cleaned them.

This new installer wants me to return the Antique White TEC Grout Color (I will be charged a $4 restocking fee which is 10 of the cost) and buy the Lowe's Laticrete Spectralock Grout in the Mushroom color I loved that he also liked the best. I think he is right since I want to use a color I feel matches the tile best.

He was amazed at how close the Akoya Beige Tile from Wayne Tile matched the lighter Rialto Beige Tile from Lowe's I had here on me that I could not find a lot in the Lowe's stores that matched it.

I was in love with the lighter Rialto Beige tiles so I chose a tile that looks so much alike but is 12.125 X 12.125 square inches instead of 11.75 X 11.75 square inches and the Akoya Bone is more rough for more slip resistance. If Lowe's would have had the lighter lot, I would have stayed with the Lowe's tile.

He wants me to buy gloss paint in white to paint the primed quarter rounds he will buy and I will reimburse him. I guess I am curious now since I checked my bathrooms and they have no quarter round on the walls but of course they have tile going up the wall so they have caulk. I saw a picture of Weedyacre's beautiful bathroom tile job with the perfect Mushroom grout color that went so well with the Rialto Beige tiles she used that are beautiful an she used quarter rounds. I love the color of her trim. What color trim did you use in your bathroom, Weedyacres?

So I am curious if most foyers have quarter rounds on the walls? If they do, what width is used? He felt 3/4" high X 1/2" wide?