I can go back to a job that was properly installed yesterday with the strongest thinset available, and pop tiles with very little effort. if you keep going back and trying to pop tiles, you're going to go thru alot of thinset, not to mention alot of angst. Give it time to set up!! ANY thinset needs 3 days MINIMUM to completely dry, with an initial cure in 7 days, and full cure in 28 days. Thinsets that are or more heavily modified will take longer than that!! Alice is right though. You don't want to add more water to loosen up thinset that's been mixed for a while.

This is just a guess, but I am wondering if the edges of the handle are hitting the wall's trim kit plate when you push it in. (i.e maybe it needs more room to be turned off). If it is hitting, then maybe you just need a bit more room by tightening the trim kit screws a few more turns (they're visible next to the handle on the trim kit plate). Don't overtighten them, just what you need, since it will pull the diverter (behind the wall) further out. Alternatively, if it is a Moen, call their customer service for advice. Don't tell them you "just moved in" or anything, but say that you "have this, and it doesn't work".... Please let us know how it works out. Good luck.

If they replaced the tile and the coping then you are right. The tile waterline should be near perfect level as they should have leveled the tile as they installed it then they should have come back and flaoted for the new coping. It sounds to me as if they just installed the new tile along the top of the bond beam thinking it might be level which in fact when they removed the old coping they also removed the old porland cement used to float for the original coping. I would definatly have they either fix this which in this case would mean retile and recope the pool again. Or as Mike said request some form of compensation. Good luck with this. And Happy New Year

millmacc, this is a concern in the tile industry as we hear about soooo many instances where unqualified labor is hired to perform tile work. Our industry is actually working on an initiative to expand our education outward to consumers (homeowners, GC's, designers, etc). We have greatly increased training and education WITHIN our industry but it is time to spread the message. If I were looking for a qualified tile contractor, I would start with those that belong to our industry's professional organization, The National Tile Contractor's Association (NTCA). They have a searchable feature on their website. Their website is also being updated this year to include a section for consumers. That is not to say that there aren't some good tile mechanics who are not members, but membership does often relate to industry involvement and education. There is also a certification mechanism that has been a good step forward. This is executed by an affiliate of NTCA called The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF). They also have a searchable data base, by location, of certified tile installers. I will share a link here for an overview for homeowners on hiring a qualified tile installer. And one should keep in mind that while we hear about too many horror stories, the vast majority of tile installations are NOT the fails. People don't tend to share dilemmas about great jobs. Hope that helps. https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer