If the floor was indeed fixed to be flat enough for installing the larger format tile, using a leveling system could have minimized the lippage you are experiencing.

Darker grout really sets off any inconsistencies in installs with light-colored tiles. People often mention regrouting like it is an easy fix. It isn't. It is a LOT of work to remove hardened grout from the joints, and even the most meticulous person would have a difficult time, and they risk nicking and chipping the tile if they aren't careful. This installer does not appear to be meticulous.

As for tomorrow's "awkward and unpleasant discussion with the contractor" ... perhaps it won't be as difficult as you imagine. Anyone with eyes can see that the shower curb has issues that need to be fixed.

Looks like a DIY job, not horrible, but not good.

The floor can be ground down fairly easily and re polished to eliminate the lipage on the contractors' dime . The mitre joint is a bit more tricky , but should be salvageable.

Looks clear the tile setter didn't use quality tools or a quality diamond blade when making those cuts.

"The moral of the story"

make smart hiring decisions next time. you are learning the hard way illtelluwhat taking responsibilty for bad choices is harder than complaining here in GWeb. quality costs money is the moral of the story no?

Thank you, Jellytoast and neu2u. Gives me a little insight for tomorrow and getting started resolving this.

telluwhat - interesting drive by comment. I guess I left out the part where I know and trust this contractor, having used him for several projects in the past. If there's anything I do, it's take responsibility and accept when I've made poor and/or uninformed choices. Not sure I made the bad choice of the contractor, as I've been satisfied in the past, and as for the subcontractor/tile guy-- I didn't hire the sub. I'm less complaining than trying to get a fix on what's acceptable work or not, what can be fixed or not--before I actually DO complain because I hate to complain. If you have any input on that, would be glad to read it.

neu2you, the floor is porcelain, not stone, so grinding down the tile to eliminate lippage is not a solution I would accept. It could be that the porcelain tiles are bowed, contributing to the lippage, but again, a leveling system could help with that.

bear1777, for what it's worth, most of us here won't see your concerns as complaining, but rather as an attempt to find a solution. That's what this forum is for. It's your GC's job to provide you with experienced and qualified subs. In this instance, he has failed. Hopefully he is a stand-up guy and won't want his name and reputation attached to this kind of workmanship.

I'd ask the GC when he's going to have the new crew in to tear out that work and have it redone. When he asks you what you're talking about, invite him over for a look-see.

The lippage? Yes, high spots can be ground down. But it looks like you have a few divots in there too, and to blend the area surrounding divots you can end up with a few bird baths in the floor. Grinding and subsequent honing/polishing only works on natural stone floors though. And it's not a "spot finish". After the lippage is treated, the entire floor is usually honed/polished to end up with an even sheen. Again, that's for natural stone.

Overall the floor looks like a train wreck.

The whole mitered corner and the curb above it? The fill-ins on the mosaic? Ghastly. Seriously. The blame doesn't lay with you for making the hire, you hired the GC. It falls on the person who does that work and accepts money for it. And it falls most importantly on the GC for letting a sub of that caliber into your house. He needs to do a better job vetting his subs and QCing the work done under his supervision.

The wall tile, while not top-notch, looks okay with the quick glance I gave it. The grout however is less than desirable. Pinholes are visible in several photos and it looks like too heavy of a hand was used when cleaning up the mosaic, the grout lines look like they are raked out a bit.

My opinion.

Big miss read on my part, sorry. Thought the floor was carrera like the shower.

It's a tearout like mongo say then.

Neu - When you say tearout - floor, curb….what else? What could be salvaged, if anything? If the curb goes, does the shower floor get pulled up too?

The back story on the shower curb (originally planned to be subway tile) was that the slope of the floor would be more evident with subway tile along the floor. Thus the solution was to use the marble mosaic not only for the shower floor, but to wrap over the curb to blend the line of where the floor met the curb.

The floor tile is indeed porcelain, not stone. If these tiles are simply unsuitable for the state of the floor (which has a new subfloor and was [sort of] leveled using some compound), what size tile works for a floor that's flawed? I had been looking into smaller scale tile (such as a basket weave) so that it might "flex" better over a very slight slope, but then the contractor said the 12x24 was ok.

Is there a better pattern for the floor given the slope and given that the floor seems like it isn't going to be level no matter what's done?

So sorry you have to go through this.

Work like this, however, completely baffles me. Who in his/her right mind continues installing the tile once they realize that there's an issue? Or don't they realize? Or do they realize but think you won't notice? Or you won't complain?

"Is there a better pattern for the floor given the slope and given that
the floor seems like it isn't going to be level no matter what's done?"

First, I'll write that from the close-up nature of your photos, it's tough to tell if your lippage is a result of the tiles being bowed or if it's just a sloppy installation. Or a combo of the two.

However:

Many manufacturers have installation instructions (which may include pattern recommendations) for large format tiles such as your 12x24s.

"Long" tiles, like your 12x24s can have a slight bow or arch in them. The arch (if any) can be identified by stacking two tiles glaze-to-glaze. The tiles will touch at mid-point and the ends will be gaped. The top tile will rock back and forth on the bottom tile.

With bowed tiles? When installed in a 50% or half-offset pattern, the ends of the tiles (low points) in one row are going next to the highest point (the high mid-point arch) in the adjacent row.

To minimize this, manufacturers may recommend the tile being installed in a pattern other than a 50% offset. A 25% or 33%, for example.

It's an installation factor/limitation/restriction that most competent and conscientious tile installers are aware of.

And if not aware? When the installer sees that the lippage as the tile is being set? Work should be stopped and a bit of research should be initiated.

We just used some of these tile levellers and they seemed to work quite well. Tile leveller clips

I have some lipage like this in my guest bathroom. It's not bad, but it's not 100%. I just live with it because its not worth tearing out and it's just a guest room floor to me. As for the shower if you are not happy then it needs to be redone or a MAJOR discount. I would not be happy with that curb, but the subways look nice to me in the pics.

I'll toss this out as well, even though it may not be related to your installation.

Let's say the installer did everything as recommended regarding layout and set the tiles with no lippage, but came back the next day and found lippage everywhere.

It could have to do with the mortar used to set the tiles.

Thinset shrinks as it cures. That's why it's only supposed to be used in installations where a "thin" amount of mortar is needed to "set" the tile.

If thinset is used in excessive thickness under the tile, as the thinset cures, it can shrink and pull the tile out of plane, creating lippage with adjacent tiles. In an installation where you need a thicker setting bed, it's prudent to move away from thinset and towards a medium or thick bed mortar as needed.

Again, just added info.

Adding to Mongo CT's spot on comments Do to the lack of knowledge clearly visible I would be just as concerned with the waterproofing that is not visible. Put in a drain plug and flood test that shower. I'm not trying to increase your concerns but it would be better to know now.

On the positive side of things, depending on site conditions and the like, this is id say a 2 guy 1 day and a bagster demo/removal job, with an attractive price point, and i know its All about an attractive price these days so id say around $1500 is fair, but thats a gut job no salvage of materials.

That's a terrible tile installation. If the tile was bowed, they should have noticed and stopped the work and checked before finishing and grouting the tile!! It doesn't look like bow to me since the ends of the tiles are raised in some places. We had 12x24" porcelain tile installed and it is perfectly level with no noticeable lippage at all. It was inexpensive Lowes tile, nice and thick and flat though. If it wasn't, the tile installer would have brought it to our attention before installing!

The shower curb is ridiculous, I've never installed tile myself and I am certain I could have done a better job - or at least known to stop and not proceed if it looked like that.

It's unfortunate that your GC was probably not there to supervise - but if he's as reliable as he sounds then I am sure you will have no problem bringing this to his attention, it's obviously unacceptable work.

The wall grout, I don't mind the color (better than white grout in the shower) but it does accentuate any uneven lines, and the grout doesn't look smoothly applied.