Bad time to catch it. Maybe a second or third opinion on the quality of the job would be in order (without mentioning to that person the specific problem). Is it grouted already? If you don't mind me asking, how big is the bathroom and how much is this remodel costing?

I had a friend who got a lousy tile job on a bath remodel, with the tiles really out of plane. It was ripped out and redone by the contractor, at my insistence. But that was an obvious botched job. Prior to the rip-out, same scenario of "how bad is it?" Glad it was redone in that case.

The bathroom is not huge -- only 7 feet by 5.5 feet. The remodel, which was actually a complete gutting and redo (all new pipes, new electrical wiring, adding a fan, sister-boarding some water-damaged studs in the ceiling, creating a new floor, and adding new sink/vanity, toilet and tub) is costing approx $18k. It is grouted already, but the faucets have not yet been installed. The bulging wall is the one where the faucet will go. Part of my concern is that it might look to a buyer that we have a water leak causing the bulge. Thanks for any further opinions.

Anyhow, I live in DC, and have seen anomalies like this, even in nicely finished old homes in upscale Georgetown.

And since it's an old house, my gut reaction is to leave it alone and call it "character". (MY father would say that 's part of the charm of the house.) The demo might vibrate and crack the rest of the job - more headaches.

But if you want to go for it, perhaps they can selectively remove the tiles in the area, use less thinset, and reapply.

Perhaps Bill Vincent in these forums will have a better opinion for you. (Tile professional.)

By this I mean removing only the tiles (not durock).

And as an "out of the box" thought, perhaps they could take a grinder to the durock and thin it down just a bit, if needed, before reapplying the tile in that area.

Keep in mind that some plumbing work may also be necessary to push it back in plane with the adjucted tile. (Is there an access panel behind the shower wall?)

18K - $467 a square foot - to remodel a tiny bathroom? I'd accept nothing less than gold-plated perfection.

Yeah, man, for that much, you expect to have your walls not bulge! Of course he's not going to volunteer for it, he goofed and it's going to cost him time and money!

How much is it bulging? For 18K I'd want it redone if its noticeable. THey should have caught it before tiling and redone it. If you decide to not redo it I would want a substantial discount. And yes I think during resale people will notice and wonder whats happened underneath.

I also think that in an obviously unrenovated bathroom, w/ period tiles, etc., you might accept some imperfections.

But I agree w/ you that a buyer will think there's something wrong under that wall, esp. since it was obviously remodeled, so why wouldn't they make it level?

I'd tell him, "gee, it is too bad you didn't catch it before you tiled, because of course it'll be harder WHEN you fix it now."

Before you have the contractor ruin the new tile wall, try this fix...

Remove the sheetrock (or plaster) from the back side of the wall (bedroom, closet, hallway, whatever is there) and cut a kerf 90% through the bowed stud. As someone delicately pushes on the tile wall, that kerf will open up, and a shim or two can be squeezed in to hold the stud in it's straight position. Repeat the procedure on any other bowed studs if necessary, and when the wall is acceptable, sister new 2x4's to the old ones with 3" screws.

Sure, you'll have a patch job to do, but that's easier than tiling a wall over...

Alex399,

Clever suggestion...thinking like a real problem solver.

Creative, but I would be concerned about tile breakage, especially if the wall is covered with larger tiles. Even if smaller tiles I would expect some breakage.

It is an 80 year old house where bowed walls would be a norm. Part of the "charm". Of course, more easily said when it is not one's own home.

Paul

A new tile wall is not the place for that "old house charm"

My house is 150 years old, it has lots of charm, and character...

Anyway, unless the suspect stud had at least an inch of bow to it, the tile wont crack. You may however lose a little grout, but that's a relatively easy fix.

Creative, yes... thanks... But I do it for a living, so I have a bit of experience with this stuff...

Thanks everyone, for your thoughts and suggestions. I asked my contractor to fix it, and he has agreed to do so. He was not happy about it, and gave me somewhat of a hard time at first, but after determining that the bulge was a good inch or so out, he agreed that it needed to be fixed. As someone pointed out above, and made a lot of sense, it's one thing if an old wall bulges -- but it raises questions if an obviously remodeled one does so. Makes it look like there is a problem behind the wall, or that the remodel job was not high-quality. Given what I paid, and all that we replaced, I can't live with that result.

It remains to be seen whether he will want to charge me for this fix. I have already had to pay for new tile for the wall they are pulling out (he said there was no way he could fix and save those tiles) and I think that's all I should contribute for the repair. (For those of you who would suggest I don't pay for the tile either, trust me, it's not worth the battle with him.)

Sometimes remodeling is very frustrating... Thanks again for all the input.

Our house is only 30 years old, and because it was built on a hillside, part of it was sagging and bulging. When we ripped all of the old drywall off, our carpenter immediately saw where the walls were out of line, where the bulges were, and where the low points were.

Because he had recommended the drywall sub, and he knew that the drywall guy was a perfectionist, he immediately offered to fix all of the imperfections in the old framing. As he put it, the drywall guy would refuse to hang drywall with the condition the wall studs were in.

He was able to correct the framing by creating long shims that brought the vertical framing back into plumb, and also jacking up part of the house from the basement to line up the rest. All in all, it was only about 1/2" to 1" of change, but it did make a huge difference in the end, and didn't cost that much. Kudos to the carpenter and his great eye.