If the installation is only a few days old, additional grout can be added over the existing. If the existing grout has cured well, and you're only adding a thin veneer of grout (thinner than the joint is wide), it's somewhat risky in that if you don't get a good bond, the new grout can flake. If the grout is well cured or if you want to increase your odds, the existing grout can be taken down a bit. A grout saw powered by elbow grease, a cutting wheel or a diamond bit on a dremel, or a cutting wheel or angle grinder...your 1/8th inch widths make this difficult. The most laborious, but the least likely to damage the tiles, would be a hand held, elbow grease powered grout saw. Take the grout down a bit, best bet it to make the joints as deep as the joints are wide. 1/8th to 3/16ths inch deep. Add new grout, this time the installer shouldn't be so aggressive in cleaning the joints. A light touch going 45-degrees across the joints is all that's needed. It'll clean the tile yet leave the joints fully packed. Pits in a cut edge can be painted, an epoxy paint works best in my opinion. If the grout is a color similar to the tile, the pits can be filled with grout and they will blend. If the grout is a contrasting color, grout-filled pits will stand out like a sore thumb, accentuating the raggedy edge. Sealers will not build adequate mil thickness, as most are penetrating and not surface sealers, so they won't fill the grout joints. Sealers really can't be colored, as they are usually transparent and don't create an opaque film buildup on the grout surface. They can be tinted, but it's a transparent coloration, not a solid body type of color. Most sealers are colorless, but there are grout colorants (Aquamix being my favorite) that is a colorant and sealer. If you wanted to go that route I'd get in touch with Aquamix's tech department. You might be able to get some thickness build out of the product with one or multiple applications, it might be able to fill the grout joints and cover your exposed tile edges. I'm not certain though as I've never used it in that manner. But it is an excellent colorant. Do be aware that the Aquamix grout colorant is an epoxy-type film, it sits on the surface of the grout. Best bet is to regrout and to not overwork the joints when cleaning. That will give you your original grout/tile look, preserving the original design. All that being said...rectified tile usually has a perfect 90-degree edge, so if you're already seeing the tile body color on the edges, the grout joints might already be 1/8" shy of the tile face. In that case you should be able to just add new grout over the existing without having to do any joint preparation. My opinions... Mongo

weedyacres- LOL! That was actually something we were talking about when I wrote the post. I originally intended to install chrome wire corner shelves, but we never got around to it becuase we knew we were going to have to rip the whole thing out, so we just lived with them on the floor. Looking back, I think that I would prefer a niche to the corner shelves, and I plan to incorporate one or two in the new design.

One thing I try to always keep in mind, and have to remind my wife from time to time about, is that your entire home is hand-built. Every board, every tile, every stroke of the sandpaper on your drywall mud. So expect some imperfections - it's part of the deal. Also, time = money, so if you want a perfect tile job, expect to shell out more money and insist on perfection. We're just about to lay 30 sq ft of marble tile in the basement powder room and I'll be pushing my tile guy for perfection, as it's a small space and I don't mind paying for a few extra hours work to make it perfect. If I was tiling 300 sq ft I wouldn't be so interested, as a) the imperfections are less noticeable and b) perfection would cost a fortune. Don't let these things get under your skin, and if you want to feel better, go visit some open houses / show houses of places that cost 2-3 times as much as your house is worth and look for the imperfections there - they're everywhere and you'll see them if you look for them. Inside corners of drywall, tile lippage, grout inconsistencies, gaps in baseboard corners...

kichen4us, All I can suggest is be firm with him, and if he doesnt repair or replace the job to your satisfaction, you may have civil legal recourse. It isnt the easiest nor nicest route to go, but sometimes it's really the only route. He screwed up a job and isnt making good on it. So what else can you do accept let him rip you off or force the matter legally? Our industry is plagued with uneducated installers, and for whatever reasons, whether that be ego, pride, or a lack of knowing any better, they give us a bad name daily. Consumers need to step up and require that they be held accountable. This is the only way things will ever change with the uneducated hacks. This also helps to prevent future consumers from enduring the same experiences and can have ripple affects in either: the isntaller no longer doing this type of work, or pressure them into becoming more educated if they really care. In the end it's up to you what you do about it, if anything. I hope you havent paid him or cancelled the payment until he fixes it since he obviously doesnt know enough to be doing this in the first place. Sorry If I seem harsh, but I am a firm believer in taking responsibility for your actions and installation education. It doesnt matter WHY its done inproperly, and if mistakes are made you make good on them or pay someone who can in repairs or replacements. Ok I am off the soapbox now. Here is how I would have laid out a diagonal kitchen/combo room with a hallway. Since I dont know the shape, size, and layout of your area, I created one below. Here is the way we educate all employees to approach every tile job whether that be rectified porcelain, ceramic tile, or stone tiles. Lay out the tiles on the floor with the customer requested joint sizes into a managable square (in this case lets say 3, 12"x12" tiles, with in your case, 3/16" joints. Now we have 9 tiles on the floor forming a perfect square with the joint sizes set all equal. We then measire that squares dimension and mark this on a piece of paper for reference. This we keep consistent throughout the installation process and never deviate from it, so if there is ever any error, that error only resides in that one square containing 9 tile and is easily fixed. As illustrated, this one single block of the installation grid we will place on the floor and re-use over and over again, and we have a measurement of 36&3/8" tile to tile, and 36&9/16" tile to joint, so we write those both down. Next, we want to create a temporary line parallel with the longest wall, preferrably an exterior wall. We get this by measuring into the room on each end of that wall and striking a chalk-line connecting those 2 points. Next we strike a true perpendicular temporary line down the center of the hallway and double and triple check it for being truely square using the Pythagorean Theorem and number triples for proof of a true right triangle. (e.g. 3'squared x 4'squared = 5'squared , or A squared plus B squared equals C squared, meaning, For any right triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides .. there are many pythagorean triples number sets that will work for this ... here is a handy generator). The reason I am going into the mathmatics of obtaining the perpendiculars, is that without the lines being absolutely perpendicular, the tile isntall can be off, and this is expecially important with rectified porcelain because their thin joints allow very little room for error and tile positioning withing the gridswe are going to construct. Simply laying a carpenters square on the floor, hoping its square, and striking a long line off of that very small reference is not a proper way to layout a ceramic install grid system and a perpendicular. MEASURING and using geometry is the correct way ... and it's absolute and accurate everytime. The purpose of these temporary perpendicular lines perform a few function. First, we use them to measure the other walls off of to ensure the areas are square to the lines which are square and perpendicular to the main exterior wall we used to make them, like the hallway and wing walls in the kitchen. If they are not square and perpendicular within reason, then we can slightly adjust the line sets to achieve this while keeping them perpendicular to each other. Next we want to create the first of two main diagonal control lines on a true 45 degree angle. Since we have proven that our main control lines are true perpendiculars, we can do this very easily by simply measuring an equal distance off the intersection of the temporary lines (any 2 next to each other). So if we measure exactly 10 feet in two directions off the intersection, make a mark, then connect those points, this gives us our diagonal ... a true 45 degree angle from each temporary line. We then measure back the distance to the intersection, transfer that distance on each end of our new line, then place that diagonal on our intrsection, which becomes our first main control line. We want to pick a long open spot on the floor that goes between any obstacles, like cabinets and islands so its easier to measure around them for our grid system ... a place where we can place a main control line. This line may need adjusted a little later after we figue for cut size equalization and tile placement layout. THis ensures absolutely that our grid system and all lines are perfectly square and parrallel around any obstruction like cabinetry and islands. Using the previously mentioned set of Pythagorean triple numbers we strike a perpendicular control line both on diagonals, then create a perpendicular like we did previously. Ok so now we have our 2 control lines (in red in the below illustration) that are truely perpendicular to each other, so now we dry lay outa few tiles to ensure these staring control lines are exactly where we want them in terms of tile start oints and cut sizes. If they arent where we want them we simply measure off of them and move them as needed maintaining the perpendiculars and using the new lines. It is a simply matter of measuring and laying out tiles dry, then moving the lines evenly as needed to get the correct cut size at each wall, while ensuring the high presentation area of the hallways remains on-center (as illustrated). Next we have to mark and snap chalk lines for every block to grid out the installation area using our information we wrote down from the first illustration for the tile block. We use either the tile to joint or tile to tile measurement depending on the installation justification. (e.g. all perimeter cut lines I like to set the grid to the tile edge to do the cuts first, then I use the tile to joint measurements in the open field. This allows an easier installtion for the most part, because you can be set up for all cuts, then come in and do the field, but some installers like to do cuts as they install). here is a illustration: the light blue/aqua lines represent individual tiles and they are for reference only and not meant to be individually marked on the subfloor. After the grids are all in place, the installer needs to measure random grids in separate sections of the installation corner to corner. If theya re all within 1/16" then the grid system is square and ready to install. If not, there there is a problem somewhere throwing it out of alignment. You said the isntaller stared in the hallway. If he did this without gridding it out, then I would have to say its improper and is probably why nothing is ligning up right and he has to move tiles to shuck and jive the isntall to make up for the errors. This is almost impossible with unltra thin joints with rectified porcelain because there is no room for adjustment. As to the high tiles, a good tile man will have a masons level or something similar with them laying on top of the tiles as they install them to prevent lippage. If there is any lippage, the add or remove thinset as needed for flush heigh from tile to tile. Also, I need to add that sometimes a substrate or subfloor might be wavy and this is something that is the installers responsibility to CHECK and address prior to the install if there are any issues with height and waviness. In conclusion, in my opinion, the only proper way to do a sizable area is the grid system I have shown. When the grid is completed and marked correctly, ANY problems will be within one single grid and is easily fixable. This is basically along the same lines as the carpenters creed ... measure twice or three times ... cut and isntall once. here is a copy of the full size illustration if you want it: