Contractor told me this is how they do for the "big houses".

The cuts are nice and clean instead of being chippy.

The spacing is sure irregular though. How's it look from a bit further away?

I was in a rush so just posted two pictures.

It is the inconsistent grout line that bother me the most.

From 1/16 to about 3/8, the light silver grout lines just show all the inconsistency like a map.

And at the first picture, where the 45 degree angle cut tiles meet, just look weird to me.

Yes, from a distance, the wall looks ok.

Thanks,

Niches are always tricky and the only way to get them to line up with the tile layout exactly is to plan the tile layout in the framing stage and or build some adjustability into the niche so it can be tweaked and moved a bit and then waterproofed as the tile is going up. It's tedious. I would say that the variation is probably within standards but it would bug me just the same.

Since GC insisted that the tile job is ok, so he gave me the phone number of the tile store and told me to call the owner.

I called and leaved a message but no response.

The bathroom is almost finish except for some wall job and painting, and

I need the whole thing to finish before Thanksgiving.

Should I have peace with the "industrial standard" or keep calling the tile store owner?

Thanks,

No one can tell you a thing without more pictures. Unachievable Deadlines often make for stupid decision making.

Unless I pay him again, there is no way he will redo it. He doesn't think there is any problem with this tile job.

"industrial standard"

Have him show you this in writing.

I don't suppose he'd object to this "industry standard" paired with his company's name and license number on the internet then--but you should ask him.

Would it be possible just to fix some very wrong part instead of knock down the whole thing?

This GC is recommended by a friend/neighbor, her husband works for him and has faith for his good job.

I really don't want to put anyone in trouble, but just can't get over these so call

'industry standard".

I can see why you are upset and though we shouldn't have to do this it seems that we must educate ourselves before any kind of renovation and then watch very carefully. I would ask him to show you the specs that say that install is "Industry Standard". Did you have a GC overseeing this project. If so he/she should be addressing your concerns.

Unfortunately I would let go of the idea that this bath "must" be completed by Thanksgiving. It is something you must live with long after many Thanksgivings have come and gone. So why accept what you don't like for only one day out of many years.

I would also be concerned about the waterproofing behind the tile. Did he use poly behind the cement board or a surface coating?

Good luck in resolving this to your satisfaction.

FWIW, there is an industry standard. TCNA, ANSI.

Yes there is an industry standard for and this install includes slivers snd inconsistent grou, that's why I said have him show you the industry standard. His work won't stand up to the standard.

just told to the owner of the tiles job company, and he said he can send his people to fix the tiles to my standard "by hour".

He said he just introduced the person who did the tiles job to my GC, made sure this person got paid by the GC and did not make any money by it.

To hmorton,

GC used red-quard around the window and niche on the cement board for waterproofing.

2 of 3 bathrooms are under remodeled, the whole family has to share the only bathroom in the morning since September, and I promised DD her "white bathroom" will be ready before her birthday, that is Thanksgiving.

I'm sorry but I believe you have bigger issues. Waterproofing must cover the whole of the cement board. I will let experts speak to that as I only know what they have told me.

as to the finish date missing your child's bday. Ask yourself is it worth it if in a year you pull it all out because of water intrusion? Beside the fact that it is expensive to redo.

I am not saying anything about the waterproofing because I didn't see it. Pictures from standing back are typical of what I see in new construction of moderately priced housing in my area. Grout lines around the windows included. I would not be be happy about it but that's what standard seems to look like.

It’s not Houzz photo worthy. It is average. What did you pay for the job? Houzz job pricing? Or average pricing? Did you expect someone to reinstall the window and flatten the wall out as part of the tile job, or part of the General contractor’s work? Who did you pay? The GC? The tiler?

We see this so often here ... don't homeowners and tile installers talk to each other? I've worked with 3 installers the last 7 years and we always go over the layout and where the cuts will be. My installers also used all the tools available to do a good job in their trade -- tile spacers, laser level, leveling spacers, sharp/new blades, etc.

There's not really a way to center the tile around that window and not end up with skinny pieces. That's a function of the sizes.

Had all the tiles ready before I hired this contractor.

I told him what I want and he provided his bid.

For downstairs bathroom ( bathroom floor, shower wall and shower floor, ) is $1481.25, and the upstairs(around the tub) is $866.25 to lay the tiles.

But when he finally came with his tiles man(who claimed he did not do my job just introduced a man who spoke very little english to do the job), I had to change some of my origin ideas to fit in the price quotes.

No spacer used for the subway tiles. Tiles are from floor&decor with "leg?" on the edge.

No matter what, thanks for everyone who read and response to my on and on problems.

By the way, tiny pieces are eyesore, but the lines are really, really bother me.

Beyond bargain basement cheap labor pricing and Houzz expectations of top 10% skill do not mesh. At all. You got more than you paid for. By quite a bit.

Quadruple that rate, and you’d still be low to be at an average skilled labor wet zone tile job, done properly. Average would be 5-7K. Just labor. That wouldn’t cover redoing the wonky windows and walls either.

Zoe, I hope this works out for you.

To Sophid: I really have no idea how much is fair to paid for this job. His price bid came at the middle, but I picked him based on the recommendation of a friend.

To Jim: For me, GC=General Contractor=contractor.

No matter how I call him, he is the person who bring plumber, electrician, tile man and other people to do the job.

I think it's on the low end of "average".

For the price you paid the work is most likely within standards. To get the perfection you desire, in my area atleast, would cost three to five times more just for labor to tile and waterproof those size areas. Decide if cost savings and completion date or perfection is most important to you and precede from there.