I don’t blame you for being bothered by these imperfections. That being said I don’t think this is a disaster by any means and definitely does not appear to warrant a tear out.

Maybe raise concern with your installer and request a reasonable discount consistent with the number of issues you notice.

Looks very unprofessional to me. If you replace it, also replace the installer.

Further to Jan's comment above, you can use a pre-cast unit for soaps, shampoos, etc., as shown in the shower below. Although it breaks up the unity of the tile, in the big picture of the entire bathroom it's not a big deal. It's clearly not the first thing anyone notices when using this bathroom.

I agree this tile setter was not paying attention IMO niches are the thing I always talk my clients out of they are a PITA to tile properly almost always when there is a leak problem it is the niche and contrast gout shows every tiny imperfection for sure . Is it worth a tear out that will be something you have to decide. Usually when tearing out tile that has already beed grouted there is a risk of damaging the waterproofing ( I am hoping the tiler did not do the waterproofing)

I would not be happy. At the very least, you should call him out on the chipped tiles. Price adjustment???

We all do learn to live with imperfection - for years I could look at a densely patterned wallpaper job I did and immediately see my 'goofs,' though I doubt anyone else ever did.

It's not a professional tile job. Nothing our professional industry would support. But there are plenty of low cost (I'm not insinuating that you paid "low cost") so-called installers out there that are not actually professionals in our trade. They just "do some tile work" too, and that's what you get. As for the niche, most of our clients request them and they are rarely the cause of a "leak" if properly built. Actually, the vast majority of shower failures is due to a pan failure. Regardless, your niche looks like it was tiled by an amateur. Hire wisely. Sorry you got this result.

taco shy of a combo plate. agree with dragon

Sorry to say, this was done by an untalented someone without a clue as to the basics. Poor layout, bad spacing, grouted "changes in plane" where it should be caulked.

I am not familiar with “grout refresh” but if it’s essentially paint I would not accept that as a solution. Paint means significantly more maintenance. Any chip in the paint would be very obvious with the dark color underneath.

I would live with the imperfections before I ever thought about painting brand new grout for brand new tile. Just my opinion.

Epoxy grout colorants are a great choice to change grout colors without going through the hassle of removing enough grout in order to redo it. They are permanent, and seal the grout as well.

Most of what you've pointed out, with the exception of the sliver behind the toilet, you'd never even see if it weren't for the heavy contrast in the grout. Your installer needed to know that when using a contrasting grout you really need to step up your game. When I first got into tile setting (back when my dinosaur would carry my tool bucket by the handle in his mouth :-) ) I used to love using a contrasting grout, SPECIFICALLY because it would show off the workmanship in the project (or the lack thereof). In this case, something that would have been acceptable (albeit not top notch) , now really should be redone.

LOL....... : ) Matt. I will have Bill Vincent for Veep, thank you.

Ron, try cleaning off the grout shown in your first pic (the niche). looks like that one corner you've pointed out actually has dried grout on it. (unless it's chipped, and then it should be replaced)

here is a similar niche my tile guy did for someone just so you can compare.

it's a close up shot so any little imperfection will be magnified, but there are no chips and all the grout was cleaned off well, with all the tiles lined up in symmetry.

your guy didn't wipe up the grout all that great. The chipped tiles should never have been installed. The pic against the wall is horrible (pic #2) and I would want that redone.

have you paid in full?

Absolutely reasonable to withhold payment until you are satisfied, it's actually pretty common in the industry to only get a final payment after a walkthrough and job completion. I always write contracts now with any GC or subcontractor and put in a payment schedule and usually withhold 20% for the end, and state final payment upon acceptance.

Ron, yes, give him a chance to redo it. on the one he caulked, I still see some mistakes. it also looks like his saw blade didn't cut very well

you can see where I circled the jagged cuts and excess grout.

tiling a niche isn't easy, especially when you have to change directions and line up all of your joints

this one, while neat looking, would drive me nuts because the grout lines in the niche don't line up w/the border lines. and, the symmetry is off on the tiles that outline the niche (right side is smaller)

I wish people would just stop watching HGTV and getting artsy with grout. There is nothing wrong with a tile wall or floor making its own statement as a unified field of color. It does not need every tile outlined in a contrasting color. Subtlety is its own reward.

And, as I have noted a jillion times, contrasting grout requires a high level of precision in laying the tile in the first place--something we seldom see in here.