Your project appears to be about a week ahead of mine; I'm also having my 50's bathroom completely gutted and redone. I would be distraught if my grout was looking like it had already failed, and it was brand new. I had a similar issue with a tiled floor I had done in my kitchen; the grout failed where two sheets of subfloor were supposed to, but didn't quite meet. The problem didn't appear until it was really too late to go back to the installer. I agree with others who urge you to insist that he fix it to your satisfaction; you are going to have to live with this every day, you have paid him well to do the job correctly, and it's best to get it resolved right now. There are plenty of photos here that you can use as examples of correctly done work. Please keep us posted! I have also learned from this thread about some of the questions to ask my installer when we meet tomorrow. I had no idea that marble basketweave tile had use ratings. I know I paid less by getting mine online than at a local tile center, but I attributed that to the likelihood that it was made in China and the little dots aren't all perfectly square with the 1x2's; now I'm gonna make sure it's going to be durable enough to hold up to floor traffic. I have saved your niche picture to my Pinterest board to show my installer; it is a beautiful design! May I ask what you used for the shelves? It's been proposed that I use the same marble as my vanity, but that's 3/4" thick, which seems like too much to me.

Laurie, Thanks again for sharing your beautiful kitchen floor. I love those tiles for my own kitchen floor when I am ready to do my kitchen. The colors in the tile are so nice and neutral with variations. I love the thin grout line. I spoke with the tile guy tonight and he apologized and told me he will be here tomorrow night (I'll let you know if he shows up... he was highly recommended by my client but I feel he is putting me last by not coming here in the day time to get started and done with the project.... sure wish I had a handy loving husband like you and Weedacres have) to start the project and we even talked about grout joints and he told me he is going to aim for 1/8th instead of the 3/8th if that would make me happy. I also love both Weedyacres' kitchen and kitchen floor and Hilltop's kitchen and backsplash. Both grout colors looked so nice that I started to think I was worrying too much since both work so well with the tile. What color grout did you use? I have to look up on another post to find out the name of your tile as well as the size since I think that your tile may look nice in my kitchen. I know for my foyer areas, I am happy with the Rialto Beige choice that seemed to work in those areas and I needed the smaller 12 X 12 size since those two areas are small.

Hello Lynn, If your SpectraLock is staining, you've got an issue with prolonged exposure to acids or some caustic cleaner. Bleach, perhaps? SpectraLock epoxy grout has gone through several versions since it's initial release and the versions previous to the current one were all advertised as "Stain Resistant" by the manufacturer. The current version is claimed to be "Stain Proof", and I have heard of no other installers who have cared to challenge that claim yet. Without seeing your tile, it's impossible to suggest a grout color but I will share with you that there are brands which I prefer over others and brands which for various reasons I try to direct my clients away from. Laticrete's Permacolor is my favorite to work with. I've never had a color issue and the manufacturer has always answered my questions in a timely and thorough fashion. I understand that Custom Building Product's PRISM grout is also dependable, but I've never used it. I don't like Custom's Polyblend grout though as it rarely cures true to the samples I show my clients, regardless of the precautions taken. Hydroment and Mapei grouts are easy to work with and tend to cure true, though I don't use them often due to my client often finding other color pallet's more useful. TEC grouts perform well also and they've had some colors which fill needs that other brands could not. I've had one experience with Ardex brand grouts and I've thrown away that sample box and will refuse to show their product to any other client in the future. As far as epoxy grouts go, two characteristics which bears mentioning is that since it's a resin-based product the final cure can sometimes look "plasticky" and there is a faint chance that people with sensitivities to epoxies will still react to the cured product. The later point is mostly important in bathroom areas where clients might be walking around with bare skin in contact with the epoxy, with their pores open and receptive to contamination from hot showers. It's an improbably complication but I always ask my clients about their chemical sensitivities if we are considering epoxy grouts. Best of luck, Shaughnn

Probably because you don't NEED a mudset job on a Kerdi Shower. If the framing and walls are true, why the mudset? Make no mistake, I have done tons of them and they certainly are great. Straight, plum and true. As to being "overpriced," yes, there is a proprietary drain assembly....which looks MILES better than the average PVC/FHA $9.00 drain and will cosdt you a hunnerd bucks or so. (big whoop!) When I factor in the time differential of mudding walls, putting in a preslope, setting and folding a rubber liner, metal cladding the curb for fat mud, putting in a final slope....all before you tile, as opposed to simply ONE mudbed, Kerdi the walls and floor and tile away...in many cases, I'm less expensive than the "Traditional" way...simply because of time. Warranty? Don't care about the Company. I warranty my stuff for life...and have yet to have a callback. What is "Life?" Until either you die of I die.....lol