My grout still needs to be cleaned up a little bit my guy used the rondec (rounded) so it doesn’t over hang like yours. As for the corners , maybe will be hidden with grout?

It doesn’t look great. Not terrible either. but no need to apologize for wanting a discussion about it with contractor

no you aren't picky

grout lines should be consistent. 45 cut corners should be done better. grout will not hide it (are you doing brushed brass grout? no. )

you also shouldn't have tiles that sit proud from other tiles or the liner. if the wall wasn't flat and plumb, that's on the tile setter.

I would have the liner redone and I would have any tiles that stick out redone, as well as the tiny grout line tiles.

(mine were done on a square)

I also would have placed the niche so that you didn't have those thinly cut tiles surrounding it. see how mine is placed between full tiles? I purposely measured and did the math so that I would not have to cut the tiles lengthwise (like yours are)

take a picture from further back to show the entire shower

You are not being too picky. Have the meeting with the contractor tomorrow, and always bring the conversation back to business: not about you being picky, but about what the contractor’s plan is for completing the project to your satisfaction. If they go off on a tangent about you being picky, always bring it back to what their plan is. Why would they not be picky about their own work? I certainly am. I’m sure you are as well. They should be.

Do you have in-progress pictures of the shower construction?

I just looked back at your pictures.

Maybe a pro can weigh in, but why are words showing through the red coating in the shower boards? If that’s red guard, shouldn’t it be thick enough that you shouldn’t see the words?

not necessarily. I've done it with only one coat, but I think they recommend two coats.

and I hope the wall doesn't have a vapor barrier too. it's one or the other.

thanks guys. I have no clue about the red coating or vapor barriers but let me post some picture of the entire wall :)

OP, if you post in-progress pics, the pros on here can help you better prepare for your discussions with the contractor tomorrow. And be sure to take notes, and confirm any verbal agreements by email, so there is documentation.

Here are the manufacturer’s instructions for Wonderboard Lite.

https://www.custombuildingproducts.com/products/surface-preparation/cement-backerboards/wonderboard-lite-backerboard.aspx

I’m not a pro, so I can’t tell from your pictures if he followed these instructions or not, but I don’t see that the seams are sealed and taped like the instructions say.

AJCN,,,look at the other wall. they're taped and mortared on that one. perhaps the pic was taken before he could do this wall. (although the gap is rather large)

don't know why he's tiling before the other wall is is finished.

panda- one issue I see is your long tile. those should not be set on a 50/50 layout due to cupping. in order to get these flat/level, no more than a 33% offset should be done. look at the install instructions for those tiles. it will tell you how to lay them. will prob say, "no more than a 33% offset"

Do NOT let him grout those vertical corners or where the floor meets the wall. should be 100% silicone. (it can be matched to your grout color)

Cement board is not attached correctly. Need a mil gauge to determine if the redguard is applied properly but that definitely looks to thin to be effective. His topical works appears sloppy but definitely not the worst we have seen. However when the topical work is subpar it always seems to lead to the fact that if he doesn't care to make the finished product look good, what the hell is he hiding....................

Installer doesn't like screws? Wrong screw layout and the other obvious issues.

Niche's and pebble floors, I just dont get the obsession. They cause so many issues. Problem is you are picky and your installer is not capable of installing to that degree of quality. I am sue when done and grouted it would look fine to most. Will it last 25 years? Doubt it but this does not look like a pro job. I hope it was either a friend or discounted instal?

You are also zooming in on defects the overall job when grouted will not show as bad as it does now. I am not going to get into the other issues as i doubt your going to gut and restart? Hopefully on slab and you should be ok. Tiling is never perfect as tiles are not the the of product that allows absolute perfection in cuts. Of course there are better levels of quality than we see here.

That waterproofing does not look right. All the waterproofing should be done with 2coats of Redguard before he started tiling. And at the bottom where the board meets the floor looks wrong too. I’m guessing the whole thing needs to be a do over

OP, this is what I did when I realized things were going wrong with the waterproofing of my shower about 2 years ago. Read this, especially about how to prepare to discuss these problems with the contractor, and how to document everything thoroughly, so that there is a "paper-trail" of emails, texts, dated photographs, etc.

I'm the OP on this attached thread, but HOUZZ won't fix my username. Whenever I use my PC, I'm Shadowpiper.... On my phone I'm AJCN. They can't or won't fix it, but anyway, here's what I did when my project started to go seriouly south.

Do all the photo-taking, documenting by email, etc, etc.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5725013/what-to-do-when-a-project-goes-completely-south#n=54

Let us know what the contractor has agreed to do, or not do, and maybe the pros on here, and regular homeowners like me can help you get to a resolution.

Stop the work now. Pay a professional for an estimate to properly install your shower. There is so much wrong in the photos.

Cement board, waterproofing application, tile appears to be spot bonded, layout etc.

For some reason there is a second layer of cement board over the existing on valve wall. Perhaps plumbing rough in was off. Earlier in progress photos will be helpful.

Creative,

it does look like spot-bonding. I didn’t notice that before. Spot bonding was one of the first clues to me that my tile pro was a hack. It’s a huge red flag.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/832015/tile-failures-understanding-why-spot-setting-should-be-banned

Ok guys thanks so much for your input. We spoke with the contractor on Monday and pointed out what needs to be corrected. He said he will correct all the miscuts and redo the niche. Nothing has been corrected since. Meanwhile he has finished the entire shower. Husband spoke to him yesterda. He said he will put the grout first and if we still think things need to be corrected then he will correct them. Husband said no payment till done To our satisfaction. Has he been B/s-ing us the entire time? I am not letting him go away with trying to mask his poor job. He insists on putting the grout first and we will decide then. This is stressing me out. I’m 12 weeks pregnant and I shouldn’t be stressing out. Don’t even feel like arguing With him anymore. So I hid the grout lol. I feel like saying grout is not available till errors are fixed lol. Childish, I know. but how else can I make him fix the stuff first?

we should have pulled the plug long time ago but he kept on promising that he will fix everything...

I believe it will be harder to remove once grout is in , of course a professional will know more. I am with you. Fix first then grout. He is thinking once it is grouted it will be less noticeable and you will be fine with it. Some things may stand out less depending on your grout color , but if you know you want it fixed , hold out and have him fix it before grout.

So he initially agreed to fix the problems, and then just blew you off and proceeded to “finish” the shower without correcting the:

- wrongly installed boards

- spot-bonding

- inconsistent grout spaces

- and what’s going on with the floor and the curb??

Hiding the grout is pretty funny, but the tile hack *could* say you interfered with the work site, so maybe just put that back.

You need a sit-down business meeting. I didn’t give a very detailed description of what happened during our business meeting in the “Goes South” story because it lasted 3 hours!! The reason it lasted three hours was because the contractor did the following:

Bullied, yelled, asserted that it was built correctly and that we were wrong, stood up and threw arms around, insulted my husband saying he was lying and that he had never been to the worksite the entire project so he had no right to speak up, bullied some more, lied some more, etc. etc. etc.

My husband was very professional and calm, and he kept bringing the meeting back to the purpose of the meeting. Those were:

(1) the exact things that were done wrong in the shower such as wrong waterproofing, no pre-slope, punctured in pan liner, butte joints, huge gaps, jagged cuts, tiles hanging off at angles, spot-bonding, etc.

(2) what the contractors plan was to remedy the situation

The contractor continued to assert that the team was his A-team and the shower was perfect. This went round and round. His denial, and DH bringing it back to the facts.

Finally GC probably needed a drink (Friday at 2), and agreed to come back to us on Monday with a plan for proceeding with the project. Monday morning, got the email from GC saying “we don’t want to have anything to do with the shower anymore.” We asked “does this mean you’re quitting?” Then he went radio-silent and would not answer emails and texts. The rest is in the “Goes South” thread.

Dont tell GC you’re pregnant. He’ll try to use that to further BS you.

"I believe it will be harder to remove once grout is in , of course a professional will know more. I am with you. "

Doesn't matter, that entire s**t show is a complete gut and do over. He can spend a month grouting that and it will not fix a thing with the basic structure.

I’m pretty sure you have now satisfied the construction law (in most states) That says you have to give the contractor at least one chance to remedy the situation. It sounds like you’ve given him that chance, because he agreed to fix things. And then the shower proceeded. That is you giving him the chance to fix things. So now you can legally fire him and withhold all funds. If you decide to do that, it is very very important that all your communication is in writing. Anything verbal you need to confirm by sending an email So that there is a written documentation of your verbal agreements. If you haven’t done that kind of documentation so far, start now. Send an email confirming that he agreed to fix things, and then site all the dates or approximate dates and the problems he agreed to fix. And then write some sentences about the fixes that he attempted, if any. This lays out the timeline in writing of his attempts to fix, that’s showing that you gave him a chance to fix it. Then wait for his reply by email, always assuming that your words may end up in the public record someday, so keep them very professional and clear.After this back-and-forth a couple of emails occurs you should have the paper trail needed to show that you gave him a chance to fix things, and he failed again. Then you can fire him. Remember when you’re writing these emails that your only goal is to create that paper trail. You’re not really trying to communicate or negotiate with the contractor at that point. Your only goal of these messages are to create that paper trail.

A business meeting might not even be needed at this point. Sounds like you already:

- raised issues

- gotten Contractors agreement to fix

- made work site available

- not interfered with attempt to fix (put grout back!)

If you have a paper trail showing that you have satisfied all 4 of those elements, you can fire him and withhold payment (and ask for refund of anything you paid so far).

If there is any one of those elements above that you cannot prove with a paper trail, start creating that documentation now.

Really awesome contractors are out there. After this chapter is over, you’ll need to find a real pro. First, work to close this chapter, and then take a breather to de-stress before proceeding.

What state are you in?

Florida. The grout was not at the work site yet. It was still sitting in my garage. I feel like I should be allowed to move stuff around as I please in my garage lol but ok I’ll put it back.

he do not believe he did spot bonding. the entire walls were extremely crooked and he used tons of glue for the tiles to lay flat. From what I saw there was tons of glue showing around the entire tile so I’m assuming no spot bonding. unfortunately I do not have a picture of that. now he’s saying that on one wall he had to use glue with something (cement? i’m sorry guys I have no clue about that stuff) so he won’t be able to fix any tiles on that wall.

The situation is a little delicate because he’s a Friend iof my husband‘s friend And he’s giving us a “great deal” from what I’m being told

Oh dear, not such a great deal if he doesn't have the skills to do it correctly. Ask him to show you the bucket(s) of materials he used, such as this "gue" he's talking about, then post the pics here. He might mean mastic when he said glue. I'm told by pros on here that's a big no-no.

Re-read what the pros have said further up in this thread. They are saying it is a fail and needs to be re-built completely. If you don't stop the work, aren't you afaid it will leak and grow mold in the future, damaging your floors, walls, etc? Water is life; but is very destructive when it goes where it's not supposed to be.

Grouting will not fix the fact that this was not properly waterproofed. If it's not properly waterproofed, that means it will leak and you will wind up with mold behind the tiles at some point. As well as water that can leak into other floors and walls.

This is a complete redo. He needs to be fired.

Florida seems to be on the top of the list for tile hacks. don't know what it is w/that state.

Tell him grout isn't going to fix any of the errors.

here's what you do,,,,put the hack on hold. Go to a quality Tile store. like, big dollar tile store. talk to the manager. ask him, "who did the tile work in your home" ? get that guy. or someone like that guy. have him come out to your home and pay him (it will be worth the few hundred) to do a complete inspection on your shower. show him pics, have him take off one of the tiles (to see the spot bonding) etc. Get his expert opinion and the price it would cost to have him redo everything. (including demo and buying new tile)

I already know what he's going to say. So now go back to hack and show him this report. Tell him he can redo the entire thing to these standards, or he can leave w/no payment and reimburse you for the ruined tile.

take a picture of the 'glue stuff' he said he used. He should be using Thinset Mortar. it's powered and comes in a large bag. If he used the premixed stuff in a tub, well, lets hope not.

Take a pic or write down all the products he used. There is no 'glue' for the walls used w/tile. It's cement mortar (thinset) And he would prob have to break the tile to get it off the wall. look on the back of the tile. is it completely covered w/thinset or are there 3-4 blobs?

I'm also going to mention this again. any tile over 12" long (usually) requires no more than a 1/3 offset layout.

yours are 1/2. see how each tile is set in the middle of the other?

even on the box the manufacturer will recommend no more than 33% or 1/3. The reason being, this type of tile, length tends to bow or cup. Put two of the tiles face to face. look at the middle. see any gaps? Back to back. do they lay perfectly flat on each other or do the corners kind of dip up? Now, I could be wrong w/your tile, but normally these aren't not supposed to be laid on a 50/50 offset. look up the stats for your tile. it will tell you online, or on the box.

Florida. The grout was not at the work site yet. It was still sitting in my garage. I feel like I should be allowed to move stuff around as I please in my garage lol but ok I’ll put it back.

he do not believe he did spot bonding. the entire walls were extremely crooked and he used tons of glue for the tiles to lay flat. From what I saw there was tons of glue showing around the entire tile so I’m assuming no spot bonding. unfortunately I do not have a picture of that. now he’s saying that on one wall he had to use glue with something (cement? i’m sorry guys I have no clue about that stuff) so he won’t be able to fix any tiles on that wall.

The situation is a little delicate because he’s a Friend iof my husband‘s friend And he’s giving us a “great deal” from what I’m being told

That's no deal if it was done incorrectly and it was!

Is he even licensed? If he's not licensed you don't owe him anything and you can report him for fraudulently working. Additionally did you file the proper permits? Where in FL are you?

I'm in FL. You have to give them a chance to correct and correct in this case means tearing it all out, and rebuilding it according to proper standards. This is not proper standards.

Do as AJCN says with the paper trail and the one chance to fix.

get that guy. or someone like that guy. have him come out to your home and pay him (it will be worth the few hundred) to do a complete inspection on your shower. show him pics, have him take off one of the tiles (to see the spot bonding) etc.

Actually if the tile guy pulled the proper permits, then the inspector from the city or county should come and inspect it all.

well, I believe Florida is a state where you don't need a license to tile. hence the no permit part, and ditto is why we hear of all these horror tile jobs in Florida. Go to JohnBridge. they talk about it all the time

And, if the guy was going to pull permits and get inspections in the first place, he wouldn't tile like this. they kind of go hand and hand. It's a friend of the husbands doing them a favor for probably a good deal. you get what you pay for.

This is a redo from the studs out. There isn't enough redguard on the CBU. The CBP website for redguard RG shows pictures where the RG is installed over CBU. You can't see through the RG. The RG looks like a bright red painted wall. There are a number of failures in this shower. The RG is the easy one to see from my desk.