Thank you for the feedback. I have uploaded some photos of the grout options with the floor and the marble.

For the floor the middle grout option is the same as the photo with the actual grout and tile. Do you think that looks correct or should we go one step darker?

as for the marble I talked with the tile store and they also mentioned the staining that you did. please see the two options they showed me. white and the lightest gray. Do you think that gray option will be okay? That is what we prefer.

And as for the tile setter, we are using a general contractor who we trust, how can we bring up there marble specific requirements without being offensive?

Also we are only using the large hex tile for the floor and then the marble for the shower walls and the wood tile for the floor. Isn't that the standard number of tile selections? And we have carpet in the bedroom.

Why is your designer assuming that there will be defects in the tile installation?

hmm that is a good point. i mean I guess it just needs to be much more precise than with a lighter color. is it realistic to think the grout line will be perfect all the way across?

In my experience that all depends on the professionalism and perfectionism of the tile installer.

These are conversations that our clients would be having with US, their professional tile contractor who is working for you. Grout would be a "let's wait and see after install or at least in progress" question when you can actually see the installation and we can mock up some options for you to approve. So much comes into play that you cannot see prior to install (even lighting). Many tile stores will add a grout to their selection sheet because they are selling something. They also know if the real Pros take this job, it's out the window as the Pro will #1) have his/her preferred grout manufacturer based on the application and tile manufacturer specifications; #2) Involve the homeowner in the grout selection at the appropriate time in the process for approval.

Nobody has brought up waterproofing yet. Please ask your contractor or GC or designer what waterproofing system they are going to install. That is the most important thing. All the pretty stuff will be great but if the shower isn’t waterproofed it will fail, leak and lead to a lot more problems for you.

Ardex Slate Gray, or Ocean gray would be classic choices. This is a high performance grout that doesn't need to be sealed!

That is a good point on selecting the grout when the tiles are already up. I'll ask to do that. And isn't is assumed that a shower would be waterproofed?

There should be language in your contract regarding the waterproofing method and materials. If not, just ask them what they used.

Regarding grout, have them make you a sample board with a couple different grout color options. Your picture shows white subway with black grout, but your post says you’re using marble. Those are 2 very different materials. Marble is porous. There are porcelain marble-look tiles that would be a better choice for a shower. In addition, the dark grout grid-lines will compete with the movement in the marble, not compliment it. A very light gray will allow you to see the pretty marble, not the grid-lines.

All of the pretty stuff is meaningless without a correctly done waterproofing system behind the tile. That system should concern you about 1000x more than the fluffy decor bits. The skill of the tile pro is more important than the skill of the designer. That’s why good designers work with good tile pros, and don’t work with “tile guys”.

If you haven’t been introduced to your tile pro yet to have a conversation about the design? That’s a bad sign. Unless the designer is shouldering all of that inter professional communication? If so, why are you on a forum second guessing? Second guessing means an unease in the decisions. Listen to that voice. Find out about the waterproofing. You might want to second guess marble as well. Unless you like high maintenance.

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

I found this interesting: "And as for the tile setter, we are using a general contractor who we trust, how can we bring up there marble specific requirements without being offensive?"

We've had WAAAAAAAY too many GCs who set tile only to have the entire job redone! And I mean HUNDREDS of these threads exist on Houzz. It is a sad, sad state of affairs.

The GC may be a great guy with many skills. But s/he may not be able to do EVERYTHING...in fact it's in the name "GENERAL" contractor. They have generalized skills....and they are the GENERAL on the battle field, but they are not specialists (of course this could be the 1:10,000 GCs who started out life as a tile setter).

Please READ the link above and then start asking questions. Do you have any photos of the rebuild in progress. You stated you are ready to start tiling...which infers the preparation is complete. If you can load any progress photos we will see if we can spot any 'oopsas'.

And no....water proofing is not guaranteed (it should be...but we've seen too many problems to assume a GC will get anything right water proofing).

thanks for the feedback. With Marble I hear you have to seal it once a year. am I missing something else on maintenance.

We have decided to go with the light gray for the marble to highlight the marble and not the grout. We have asked about the water proofing method.

And we have a general contractor who is doing the communication with his contractors. I only asked on this fourm about grout colors nothing else. However, I really appreciate the feedback as far as the waterproofing and marble concerns. The issue is that wehave picked out and ordered the tile already and it will be installed next week.

We hired a designer separately to just get some of his opinions but sometimes I like to get multiple opinions so that's why I asked here.

The GC isn't doing the work. He is managing a plumber, sheet rock, tile guy, etc. And we will be ready to set tile sometime next week. I'll upload some photos when I go by today.

Also he uses the Schulter kerdi board system for waterproofing the shower.

All good news. Waiting on photos.

How funny! This is pretty much exactly what we are doing too & I just posted a pic with the same grout questions lol

Do you know the name of the grout thats shown In the pic of the wood tile already grouted? What are the other grout names?

Janelle what tiles do you have and are you going with dark or light grout? Also, the rough in is almost complete they will start building the waterproofing next week.

For shower walls We’re doing a 4x10 regular White subway tile (i wanted a 4x8 matte but I digress) with TEC charcoal gray grout. shower floor/pan is a 3”x3” white marble hexagon with i *think* white grout &

for the rest of floors it’s Very similar to yours, they’re 6x24” porcelain with TEC dove gray grout

Greg,

I encourage you to take pictures every day if you can. I always take pictures of all my projects, whether it’s DIY or if I hire a pro. It’s not to catch anyone doing anything wrong. I just think it’s fun to track the progress and to sometimes look back on pictures. Also, sometimes pictures are helpful to reference for any future repair work. After over 20 years of doing lots and lots and lots of projects, about two years ago GC really messed up big-time. Since I had pictures, since I always take them, I was able to protect myself from their false claims of correct work. I’m not saying anything is going to go wrong in your project. I just think generally it’s a good practice to take pictures along the way no matter if you’re doing the work or somebody else is. As long as you’re taking pictures, be sure to include all the buckets of materials tools and other equipment they have laying around.

I have been trying to take photos but I don't always get there every day. I'll try to moving forward thanks for the update. and I like the tile Janelle looks good

If they’re doing Schluter, those wood curbs do not belong there. The Schluter foam curbs are far superior. So are the foam walls instead of backer board and fabric. Nor does the wonky plywood on the shower floor belong looking like that. It shouldn’t have big gaps, and should be screwed down with stainless screws, not drywall screws. Not sure what is going on with that.

Be sure to have them add blocking for the potential future grab bars. And for the hinges and attachments of any glass.

Best to keep an eye out. People “say” Schluter, because it has consumer recognition, and then don’t know what they are doing to install it. That is not quite right. You need to probe further. Schluter has a YouTube channel. Watch it. Their reps are happy to reach out to your installer too. All they have to do is call and ask. Shannon Huffstickler is an installer who is now their social media specialist and easily reachable on FB. Take more pics tomorrow. Many DURING. Send to Schluter if they. don’t fix that curb and plywood.

I just remembered, my tile pro used a foam curb. There was no wood used there. Yes to the blocking for grab bars. Look up the standard height from floor and take pics with a measuring tape in the picture. Schluter has online instructions and videos; look them up, send the link to GC and tile pro, and print the instructions out and bring to the site. Schluter makes good products but what matters is if they follow the instructions. Read the instructions for yourself. I had a tile guy not tape and seal seams at my Dad’s remodel I was helping him with. I realized he wasn’t doing it because my pictures revealed there was no fiberglass tape on site. GC remedied the situation, but if I hadn’t read the instructions myself and taken pics I wouldn’t have known to bring it up to the GC.

I called the local rep for the product my Dad’s pro was using to double check that I was correct they were supposed to be taping and sealing the seams. The local rep confirmed I was correct. He offered to come do a site visit, but he was a car-day away in rural Colorado. GC remedied the situation, so site visit wasn’t necessary. The rep told me the manufacturers really hate it when their products are not installed correctly.

So going forward, if you have any concerns. Just call Schluter and ask for the local rep’s cell phone number. I’ve called our local Laticrete Rep twice, also about taping/sealing, and screw patterns. My Dad’s contractor in Colorado was using Denshield, and he was happy to talk to me as well. They’re always in their cars, so the main company person will give you their cell.

I wasn’t being sneaky about it either. I just told the GC I had talked to them to make sure I was understanding the instructions correctly, then I handed the GC the instructions. We had a good relationship, but it was still important that he knew that I can and do READ.

So when reading the contract is says "tile shower floor (mud pan made on site)" could this mean he is using a different method?

Also for the marble sealing what is the best practice.. Seal before install, install with thinset, grout, seal again
install with white thinset and then seal, grout, seal again?

I'll answer the 'sealing marble part'. Assuming the marble is the type of stone that needs sealing (not all do....but best to assume they need it until informed otherwise). The sealant is to be applied 3 times. Twice BEFORE installation and then once AFTER installation but before the grout.

This takes precision timing. The thinset used to set marble should be white or else the colour will bleed through and cause staining of the stone. The thinset also has to air dry....which means some of the tile must offer some air movement. If the tiles are sealed too early (the third application) the curing of the thinset can be delayed by several days/weeks. Whew!

The sealant must repel water. There is a STUPID SIMPLE test you can do: apply a drop of water onto a tile. If it beads on top (like a newly wax car finish) then you have a properly sealed tile. It if soaks in and disappears inside a few minutes (leaving a slightly darker water spot) then the tiles aren't sealed.

This is how the tile setter (ahem...who knows about this type of stuff) knows the tiles are ready to be installed. The two coats of sealant cause water to bead off. Once the tiles are ready, they are then set. A third/final coat of sealant is applied and allowed to cure. Then the grout is applied.

As you can see....marble is a whole 'nother ball of wax. The sealant will be the tile setter's favourite for the material...which again is another way to find out if s/he is good with stone. Simply ask what stone sealant will be used on the marble tiles. This is an INNOCENT looking question...with MASSIVE implications.

The implications are:

1. The tiler must KNOW that marble is being used and ask for his/her favourite sealant

2. The GC must PURCHASE the sealant and proper thinset for the tile setter.

3. Tiler must ask for extra time to set marble because of the extra work to seal them (ahem...more time means more money).

4. Tiler must set out tiles everywhere so that sealing can begin...this should be visible when you visit.

5. You can get the name of the sealant/thinset purchased by the GC so that you can double check the product to the marble ordered.

6. Marble will need to be ordered/onsite about a week earlier than normal.

If any of these points are missing, you will know the tiler isn't ready/aware of marble. See how an innocent question can lead to tremendous amounts of information?

On the schluter board part I called schluter and they said it's fine to use wood and then hardiboard or drywall over the wood with a membrane on top. this is what my installer is doing and what he has always done. it just sounds like it's a bit lower cost way but not necessarily cutting corners.

Greg, I'm going to stick my neck out here. It appears that perhaps you do not trust your GC and/or his tile sub-contractor and their methods. Can you explain why? Have they not explained how they will perform to standards? What exactly are you questioning about their methods, processes, etc? If this was one of my clients, I would seriously question our relationship at this point, if there is no indication of any problems. I would find it odd that they are not having these discussions with me.

haha the only reason I started to doubt them was because of comments on this forum. If you look at the first post I was just asking for color advice, which I got.
And actually the issue was that I didn't know what their exact plans were. I have talked with him and I'm good with his plan. Anyway here are some updates on the rough in. I'm sure people will comment that they shouldn't be using drywall on shower eh?

I’m not a pro but my tile pro certainly did not use drywall. He prefers Laticrete hydroban boards. I think the Kerdi instructions used to say drywall was OK, not sure if they still say that, but I don’t know any real tile pros who use it. Hopefully a pro will weigh in.

Cement board, even if it is the HD version (ie. no-name brand) will have a stamp on it stating what it is. These stamps are BIG...and they are often MULTIPLE on a single board face. I'm not seeing any stamps on these boards.

You are the one on-site. Do you think this is normal drywall? Or do you thing it is *possible this is cement board?

it is drywall. I've read online that this isn't an issue with the membrane.

Here's the rub: drywall is cheaper than cement board. Just sayin'.

yeah, I think the bottom of the shower will use cement board, below the shower valves.

here are some photos of them doing the membrane and the mortar. I'll be asking them to fix the gap in the cement board.

So apparently unbeknownst to me the shower floor is going to be 2 inches elevated because they need to have a thicker mud pan to prevent tile cracking is this common? Or is a shower floor usually level with the floor?

A shower pan needs depth so that they can add a slant to allow water to drain. Only 'curbless' showers are level with bathroom floors. And those need +++++money/time/work to get done. A two inch step-up height for a shower pan is nothing in the scheme of things. So long as the slope and drainage are calculated properly, this should be no problem.

thanks for the response. it's about l actually about 2 inches but I guess it looks weird because there is no curb. we are going to have them make the curb higher to make it with in code and to disguise the height.

Thanks for everyone’s comments, please see the final product minus the glass

Lovely!