That's what I'm afraid of. I highly doubt he will agree to re-do the shower correctly. :-(

With his answers so far I don't know if he would be capable to re-do it correctly,

Good point, ugh...

Sometimes grouting pebble floor can be tricky. Looking at gaps between each pebble, it looks like he needed to put a lot of grout. What we do is do few coats of grout. You do one coat, wait for it to dry, and then another one until the it covers. Also you have to make sure no one steps inside the shower for at least 24 hours to wait for the grout to cure.

The shower pan should have been redone and not add waterproofing. You install the shower pan (also going up 6" on walls), do the mud job with a pitch and then waterproof on top. The contractor was lazy and also wanted to save money to buy new pan.

When did the cracks show up ?

I'm pretty sure he did not grout it in layers/coats and did it all at once. Our house cleaner actually pointed them out to us about 2 weeks after we started using the shower. I'm not sure if they were there prior to that or not as you pretty much have to get on your hands and knees to see them. Unless the contractor stepped inside the shower within 24 hours, nobody would've stepped in it during the curing period. Do you have any suggestions for a fix?

Best way is to scrape out the grout and redo it. He has to be careful not to damage the pebble or the waterproofing. He isn't going to be happy about it but that's really the only way to do it.

Adding more layers isn't going to fix it because the crack will eventually reappear.

Scrape out all of the grout on the entire shower floor or just the section where the cracks run?

Show the whole shower. And in progress pictures. What was the overall budget for the tile work? Did that include him framing or plumbing or other work?

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

Are the cracks and the transition from shower pan to backer board in the same location? If so, the cracks may be a result of movement.

"Are the cracks and the transition from shower pan to backer board in the same location? If so, the cracks may be a result of movement."

Yes, and that is our suspicion as well. Any suggestions for a fix?

A fix is tear out and use the correct size pan

There is no "fix". As stated above, it is a tear out and re-do. You have a new shower that was done incorrectly. Sorry!

The in progress pics will tell the true tale here.

Before:

After:

Completely incorrectly designed curbless. That will leak. You need to have structural work done to relocate the drain against the wall and use a linear drain. Then the shower itself needs to be 48” deep at a minimum. Or, the entire bath needs to be redesigned as a wetroom.

Gut it and do over. Everything. Or add the curb in the redo with just the shower section redone.

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer

Ugh...what a nightmare.

Really recommend you get an onsite inspection, analysis and discussion with a very qualified tile contractor (not the folks who performed the work). There are several approaches to this. None are effortless, but onsite is a must, and a pro is a must. You already know you have issues. No more advice from the internet will solve them. If you are near any of these certified contractors, that is one place to start.

https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/find-certified-tile-installers

Or referrals from trusted sources locally. Where did you buy the tile? If it is a quality tile supplier, they may be able to provide you with the "A list". And yes, re-visit the "curbless" in your situation. At the very least, a small threshold, but this can be discussed along with the other issues with the Pro.

Point #1 - rounded riverstone on a foam base. Something I would never do nor do I believe it is approved by Wedi. I do know other systems with a much higher compressive strength won't allow it. Maybe Wedi does. A phone call to Wedi Technical should do it.

I second dragonfly's comment.

Sorry Sarah.

@Kleine Kitchen, Never heard of grout applied in multiple coats. Please share what grout you're using.

I'm a carpenter, but I do my own tile work, working slowly and carefully, so I have a little familiarity with it. I would NOT trust the nincompoop responsible for this mess to repair it.

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