You are not crazy. Whats the rest of it look like? b/c this part should be redone

It depends on how noticeable this is in the room. Since I can only see a close up of it I am not sure how much of this tile there is in the room, how noticeable it is, will furniture be covering etc? IF it bothers you now it will probably always bother you. Your expectation of getting a professional looking tile job is the secondary issue here:

"since our contractor is getting angry each time we ask him to fix something" This is the primary issue. Do you really want to continue to work with someone who "gets angry" when you are discussing a problem? You are the one paying the bills! I would sit down with all parties involved and come to a good working understanding of how to deal with problems as they come up. Problems & issues are going to happen, dealing with them in a professional way is part of a contractors job.

Inconsistent spacing will mean inconsistet grout lines.

Hexes butted against each other means NO grout.

The gap between the floor and the walls should be at the very least somewhat consistent, not 3/8" difference.

Most hexes are chipped - no excuse.

One of these may be able to be overlooked in my opinion. Together equals a do-over. My other issue is if he has no attention to detail, what else did he screw up since he obviously did not score well on the visuals? What type and brand of waterproofing system did he use? What sort of shower pan? In progress pictures? Flood test for the pan?

If your contractor wants to quit fixing things, he should pay more attention to detail the first time around. Getting angry is a bullying ploy, used to shut you up. If it works, he'll keep doing it.

these tiles are extremely difficult to get consistent spacing. sometimes the actual tiles placed on the mesh are not properly spaced or there are slight differences in them. I know this because I have 3" hex w/the same issue, although on the floor.

Do you have a leftover sheet? place it flat and look closely at all of the tiles. are they all perfectly sized and spaced? probably not.

On my flooring, some grout lines are thinner or closer together. Because yours are on a wall, the mesh dropped when he set them, causing the lines to close together. the tiler should have foreseen this and used something to keep the sheet from sagging. It's too late now.

as for the side cuts, it could have been better, but it's not out of the realm based on where these are located. can you take a pic from further back so we get some perspective?

Spacing issue should have never happened if spacers were used, from what i understand of the trade. If you can live with it, leave it alone, if not then contact the tile guy who did it and see if they are willing to redo for a reduced fee.

oh my,,,,that's how they left it??? they're finished? what in the world is up w/that drain and the thick grout line, first pic, far right?? extremely poor clean-up. someone needs to take a fine edged too to gently scrape away the excess grout in the joints.

but that drain! holy hannah. what's w/the paper? and why isn't the tile flush w/the drain? I would take up all of those chipped pieces around the drain and demand they be recut. those are horrible. You drain looks like it sits below the til

so you came home and found this. Is this complete? i just want to confirm this is their finished job? grout is very difficult to remove off of tiles and in the corners once it cures. so, who is going to fix yours?

what do the walls and other tiling look like? can we see the whole space?

do you know how waterproofing was done?

GASP!

the only way to get this fixed is for you to withhold final payment.

You do not leave a grout job, unfinished like that. how are they going to clean that up when it's dry?

if you show that drain pic to your GC, and he says its perfectly fine, throat-punch him and tell him he's insane. (kidding, of course).

If he's grumpy because you complain, tell him, "Look hon, it's my money. I don't care if you think I complain, because it's apparent my complaints are warranted. Now what are you going to do about this because no one is getting paid until I'm satisfied".

So sorry. Not a professional job. Many issues. The hex's, and some other mosaics come on mesh sheets. The lower quality, we have found, will have more issues with spacing. Regardless, we cut the mesh backing and re-position the individual tiles to assure uniform spacing if needed. The chipping on the edges, perhaps the result of using a grinder rather than a wet saw (no no). Finished edges of natural stone should be cut on a wet saw which keeps the stone from heating up and spalling. The gap at floor and wall is unacceptable AND you use silicone caulk at change of plane, not grout! The drain, well, I could go on but you get the picture. And of course, there is the concern that, given the poor quality of the tile install, as others mentioned, there may be issues with the prep work underneath which is your biggest concern. We say this over and over again, and don't mean it to sound like a lecture at all (but out of concern and to educate) : please vet you contractors carefully. Often we can tell what result you will receive based on what you paid. Unfortunately homeowners often do not understand the importance of this. It's sad for them and for the industry. Hopefully you have not paid in full. Good luck.

whoa..why have you paid so much? 50 % should have been the max. what's done is done,,,so try however you can to get this fixed. Is it possible to talk to the tile installer yourself?

dragonfly has great points. not everyone knows how to install tiles like these. it's an art. GC prob hired joe blow, paid him the least, and pocketed the rest

Just saw above post while I was posting. Another bit of advice. DO NOT pay your contractors final payment until AFTER completion. We bill monthly for work performed (for larger, long term jobs) and final payment at completion. The only time we bill for anything in advance of install is for the tile, when we purchase it on behalf of the home owner. Turgotine, this may not help you but perhaps others can learn.

You do not have a general contractor, but a "jack of all trades". A "General Contractor" is just that: a general. He/she brings in the trusted trades to do their jobs. He may have a specialty expertise that he does himself and then sub-contracts the rest. But, anyone who does everything, doesn't do more than one thing expertly. Be careful about having someone else come in and "re-do" the floor. Tearing out and replacing the floor will compromise the waterproofing (quality of which is still undetermined at this point), and proper waterproofing of the pan would require, at the very least that you remove the wall tile from the floor upwards to at least a foot, or above the curb line. Sooo, not an easy fix. We will not do most "fixes" of this sort for many reasons, including that we will not warranty any work we didn't originally do. Hate to sound like a negative Nancy, as you don't need that right now. Just want to offer information/education.

Wood has no business as a curb, do-over. Hardi-board is not waterproof nor any poly behind, = no waterpoofing, do-over,, added to the visible crapwhich he left you with = complete do-over. As I was afraid of, one doesn't overlook "details" on the visible portion and follow protocol on the hidden................................

Turgotine, You may want to contact the NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) as one option to obtain info about qualified tile contractors in your area. This is one source. http://www.tile-assn.com/search/newsearch.asp

I think that it would be wise to have a recommended Tile Pro locally assess your situation. On-site assessment is really necessary. We are, after all, on the internet, which has limitations (to say the least).

And waterproofing of surfaces is done prior to installation.

Ha!! They should see what others have to say about their work. I have emailed a link of my granite ordeal thread to the “installer” who made that mess in my kitchen.

swhughes23, Just curious, who's work are you referring to?

Fully understand with the legal stuff, I’m going through that as well.

Dragonfly- I’m talking about the numerous threads on here with questionable work. It’s a recurring theme. Some homeowner hires someone to do a job, the job gets botched, the person doing the work claims the homeowner is too picky...the homeowner posts on here “is this acceptable?”...many pros comment that the work is shoddy. I think the original person who did the shoddy work should have to see what others, especially the pros, have to say about their work.

I understand, it’s the job of the homeowner to do their research, but it can be overwhelming. I’ve been there more than I care to admit. To have a so called “pro” do sloppy work is not right. I feel they should be called out on it.

To further clarify, all of the photos of work done by the various pros that post to Houzz have looked amazing. I only wish some of these guys and gals would have done work at my home. I get sick thinking about what I’ve paid to get a certain quality but instead gotten something much, much worse than I thought was possible. Especially after doing the research I should as a consumer. Doesn’t always pan out unfortunately.

But the crooked, chipped up tile with funky gaps between the tiles...to me, that looks pretty rough. I feel for anyone who spent the money for a job that, no doubt was promised it would be perfect, and to has to settle. I would be unhappy with that. I’ve had a contractor get angry with me for asking why he did things sloppily. Ethics are lost on a lot of trades these days.

lol...i still want to know what he says when you show him the finished shower floor and drain.

I would so like to comment about this, and yes, swhughes23, you are correct. We will revisit when we can.

Ive used that exact tile. Its hell to cut properly. It chips and splinters.

Anyone contemplating this tile, just say no.

Beth, he said "we will re-grout if you want" and "this is the best it can get, it is the fault of the tile". He did not say he will tear it down, he did not say he would subcontract to a tile expert.

jn3344, I have seen tons of pictures using this tile, and it was just fine. It looked a lot better than what I am dealing with.

re-grout? why,,,so they can just leave a half assed grout job again? and how exactly is he going to re-grout? dig out all of the current grout? Such a stupid reply he gave you. You should have said, "if you can't grout correctly the first time, why would I have you bother with it the second time"? Show him a picture of this tile and how it's supposed to look. show him a picture of a properly set drain against the tile around it. show him pictures of you tile properly cut. Look him dead in the eyes and ask him to quit giving you lame ass excuses because plenty of workers manage to do much better work in homes with crooked walls, and 100 year old houses and much more intricate mosaic tile. Seriously,,,ask him all the excuses? A person who knows what they're doing will plan accordingly for difficult tile, or less than perfect walls.

We now have big reasons to think he did not waterproof the shower curb, which means even if he waterproofed the shower floor he probably did not waterproof up to one feet on the shower walls. But the only way to know would be tearing down the whole thing... I thought maybe I could hire an inspector, but we won't know until this is torn off... I just don't know what to do at this point. ..... help!

You have (or had) progress pics showing NO WATERPROOFING. You have progress pics showing a RAW WOOD CURB.

Call your unit of government and ask - city or township or county.

I'm not sure about local codes. The "accepted industry standards" we follow are detailed in the NTCA (National Tile Contractors Association) reference manual, which includes reference to ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards as well. NTCA does have a Recognized Industry Consultant Program. see here: https://www.tile-assn.com/?page=recconsultants  There is one located in Raleigh. Might be worth a call: http://www.tileconsult.com/

so here is how he said he made our shower pan: "i use a non porous concrete about 4 inches thick and top it with a waterproof modifed thinset. its my proprietary method. every shower i do is done like this because the way the builders do, i've seen then leak"

The modified thinset he is talking about is mixing Latex modified mortar with Latex Mortar Additive (both are TEC brand). There is no PVC liner anywhere. Someone has told me that a PVC liner is not required by code. However, the method he has used doesn't seem like a standard in the industry either.

Has anyone EVER heard about such a thing???

Also, no waterproofing on the walls. Just cement board all the way from bottom up. The shower curb is wood, enclosed in concrete.

I opened an account on johnbridge.com but somehow, it has not been approved and I cannot post and receive their advice.

I've had a basement shower leak before because of no liner. It was done before we bought the house, so not our fault. Don't accept this. Frustrating, yes. In the long run, this is going to be more of a problem than is worth arguing over right now. Cut your losses. You knew this was shoddy workmanship or you wouldn't have posted to begin with. I'm right in the middle of a remodel myself, so I feel your pain. People (subs) just don't care about things or take pride in their work like what they used to. I work at home so I'm here all the time when these guys are working. I can't imagine subs working without supervision (like myself or my husband), because they look to cut corners, which is completely unacceptable. Having personally dealt with a water problem and a shower issue like this (and only in my basement, thank God!), I wouldn't tolerate what BS he's trying to feed you. He didn't do the work like it should have been done, plain and simple. Excuses, excuses...take pride in your workmanship. I'm sorry you have to deal with this!!

A pan liner is REQUIRED in a mud pan system. No question there. They have been required for over a century. They use to be made of lead, then we moved into rubber membrane pans that wrap the curb and up the jambs and perimeter of the shower and corners. The thinset is NOT waterproof and what you described is NOT how a pan system works. That pan protects the sub-floor, the walls, the curb...It is your first line of defense. Sorry.

And I have to respond to some of the other comments about the trades not caring anymore (sloppy work, lack of ethics, etc.). For those of us who have dedicated our lives to quality craftsmanship and service in our dedicated trade, it is sad to hear of such impressions of our craft. But we get it to a point, and make no excuses for the disasters we hear here, yet they don't really represent the majority of experiences. So let's be fair. It doesn't represent the industry as a whole. If someone does a bad job, the customer will tell 30 people. If someone does a great job, they might tell one or two (and oh, then there's the internet to add to this "discussion"). Here are some things that we think have contributed to some of the poor tile installations you hear about today. 1) The recession: Too many construction workers went off on their own to make a living and were not technically qualified, nor had the business skills to serve the market well. 2) Lack of interest in the trades as a career: Little value is placed on trade occupations and training (It's all about expensive 4 year college degrees pushed by high school guidance counselors and society as a whole). 3) Lack of respect for the trades overall: Related to the above but an evolving cultural shift from days gone by. 4) Younger folks that ARE working in the trades are from a different generation with different values and expectations. 5) Consumers often do not do the homework they need to do: This is BIG. 6) $$$$$$: Yes, I know there are times when someone paid for a quality job and did not get the result, but MANY of these poor executions were likely priced below the market value for quality work. Our customers pay us to deliver top notch quality. They tend to be seasoned home owners who have experience over years, expect quality, will pay for it and promptly, and respect us as we respect them. If I were a younger home owner today, I would start gathering my "go-to's" for this and that. I would use them repeatedly as need be and develop relationships that are built on respect. Because the circle will go round and round. Our two cents (and we are only here to pass on a little wisdom in our "seasoned" years as craftsmen and business owners).

Get rid of this guy. Don't even let him attempt to fix the issues. He has absolutely no idea about what he's doing. Even if you can't get your money back-- it will cost you more to keep him there, and in the end, you'll end up having to get it redone, anyway. Get rid of him. I can't stress that enough, and it's not often that I say this.

"For those of us who have dedicated our lives to quality craftsmanship and service in our dedicated trade, it is sad to hear of such impressions of our craft. But we get it to a point, and make no excuses for the disasters we hear here, yet they don't really represent the majority of experiences. So let's be fair. It doesn't represent the industry as a whole."

largely what we see here on Houzz is Poor hiring decisions many times based on price point. Not "always" the homeowners fault as I realize some dont know how to ask the right questions and suss it out. Its odd we rarely see people come here to Houzz asking tilers for hiring advice but they are sure coming in droves blaming the entire tile trade. This rant aimed at no one person , rather the world at large. Hire wisely