Sometimes the walls have not been dealt with to make sure they are square and then when tiling starts those slivers become neccessary a good tile setter notices the issue and hides the slivers where they are less visible . Now if you want them removed and redone the waterproofing could be damaged in which case the whole thing will need to be redone. From what I see this could have been avoided with proper experience and a different tile layout.

Those slivers are ugly and based on my non-pro opinion, the tile setter didn't determine the appropriate configuration so he wouldn't wind up with slivers at the corners.

I am attaching a photo of my recently tiled shower when it was in progress. ALL of the tiles that meet at the corner are uniform and the layout was obviously planned with care so that there would be no slivers. The same is true in terms of how he dealt with the top and bottom of walls.

I am no expert so perhaps there is some peculiarity in terms of the size of your tiles or whatever but based on my admitted lay opinion, this looks like he took insufficient care to design the tile layout based on tile size and shower size since your tiles are larger and there appears to be fewer tiles to play with.

So I guess we are stuck with it? If we changed it does that mean all the tile backing would have to be ripped out from both semi-tiled walls and replaced?

The time to remove the tile is NOW, not Monday. The longer you wait, the more likely there will be damage to the waterproofing. Since you approved the layout, it is on your dime to pay for any changes, including new waterproofing if needed. It looks like he was more concerned with having exactly half a tile at the outside edge, with disregard to the impact at the corner. However, you did approve it. How is he planning on finishing the exposed edge, and how is he detailing the tile on the tub leg (specifically the rounded edge of the tub)?

AH - you are not "stuck with it" - but as you approved the layout after a few rows were up you are probably stuck with the costs of any revisions. As others have said, this might involve waterproofing as well as additional tile/adhesive costs.

@sudedonim75 - Well thank you for your unsolicited comment on my taste. :-)

I am so happy I didn't go with gray, beige and white safe tile choices as I find them boring and banal beyond belief.

If you don't like my tiles, you would REALLY despise the rest of my design choices LOL

Suedonim really? How pitiful is your life that it feels good to be so nasty?

How was my response condescending. I stated that the slivers were indeed unattractive - not that the tiles themselves or the design was unattractive.

The slivers evidence a poor level of workmanship by the tile setter. I made no comment about the tiles selected.

I inserted a picture to show that properly installed tiles don't have "slivers" at the corners. My tile corners are perfectly symmetrical and were obviously thought out to avoid uneven edges.

AH, this is poor planning by your tile guy. It looks like he is centering the tile on each wall and not considering the effect in the corners. If you had used a pencil liner or quarter round tile on the outside edges you could probably have shifted the tiles on the side walls enough that you wouldn't need the slivers.

My tile guy spent at least one work day dry laying all the tile, measuring, figuring out cuts and calling me in to review the different options.

I assume there is a 4x8 cap / bullnose that the installer planned on reaching the drywall. If there is distance to shift the layout the width of the sliver and still cover the waterproofing and meet drywall then it is a installer error. If not could something have been done prior to waterproofing? Of course I don't have all the facts. You have Kerdi membrane on the right wall so that could be easily replaced if it's over cement board. If it's drywall the paper face could be damaged.. Left side is Kerdi board which also has a paper face which will most likely get damaged. Also Kerdi board requires fasteners at a max of 12" with 16" O.C. studs. That valve wall is questionable in your photo. Kerdi board is not very rigid so I suggest following the fastener schedule.

Layouts are dictated by several variables. So don't take my comment as gospel. With white grout & sealant they won't be that noticeable. If it is a installer error consider negotiating $$$ to accept as is or rip it out. Your home. Your choice. Some folks could live with it while others would go crazy.

Remove those as soon as possible as others have said. It's still early enough to start over without a lot of wasted tile. Many post pictures of the disasters once it's almost done and by that time it's a lot more money in material and labor to fix. Take pictures of the sections you are not happy with, remove the tile asap, and have him re-do it again.

But yes, once you said the job "looked good' you took ownership of that part. Will cost you more on material and labor but better now than later.

Good luck!

@Helen:

WOW..

That is, without a doubt, the most gorgeous tile work I’ve seen in a contemporary installation. Really — it’s on-par with something from another era. Btw, I tried desperately to “Like” your post, but it’s not working!

@suedonim75:

Please post a picture of your shower.

The "Like" button will not work for me either. Complained to Houzz 2 days ago. Still nothing!

Nor me

Helen,

Many of your posts are condescending. You did everything correctly, and when you reply to a “help me, vs inspire me”, it is condescending to those seeking help.

While you do not “suffer fools kindly”, your “ I did it right posts” are condescending.

Lots of money makes lots of things happen that do not otherwise happen without lots of money. Better front end planning can often compensate for not a lot of money. The key is the proactivity of intentional design, and not the reactivity of correcting impulses and mistakes.

@Jim Mat - What a stupid insulting post. I didn't do "everything right" but thank god I took advice from posters and exercised common sense in terms of hiring excellent work people. I was smart enough to know what I didn't know although I did a lot of reading and research so that at least I could ask intelligent questions and have some sense that the people I hired knew what they were doing.

My doing "everything right" was essentially at the front end when I chose my designer and GC prudently. If my procedures which I think were right were in fact "wrong" in your opinion, then the appropriate way to do that would be to challenge my "right" opinion.

At any rate, I think there is a tacit kind of etiquette on the Board in which people don't insult other's end products in terms of taste which most forum participants adhere to. If someone solicits an opinion on matters of taste, it's open season but pretty stupid to just add an "I don't like - it's hideous" when that isn't the subject matter.

And I am not "insulted" by what anonymous people post on forums. I just am writing this because I think posts like yours and the one insulting my finished product make this forum less productive because it creates a potentially hostile environment for those either seeking input or those offering input. I like my bathroom tile work a lot which is all that matters AND I know that the behind the scenes stuff like waterproofing was done properly - that was a combination of my reading lots of threads on showers on this forum - reading other stuff - questioning my GC, designer about how they were going to proceed. So yes, I did feel I did something "right" in terms of proceeding.

If someone thinks the slivers in the OP's picture represent attractive high level of workmanship, then so be it - that's their opinion.

My experience and those of others is that a high qualified tile setter spends a lot of time before laying a single tile to determine the optimum way to configure the tiles. If the tiles have some kind of variegation, they also spend time laying out the tiles so colors and patterns aren't clumped unattractively. My bathrooms had layouts posted showing exactly how the tiles were going to be laid before a single tile was placed.

I write this "manifesto" because down the line, perhaps some person will then realize that SOMEONE needs to discuss actual layout with the tile setter or the end result might not be what they want or the optimum aesthetic end result.

Like button not working for me either

Manifestos, are by definition, condescending and narcissisti.

I would remove the tiles on the wall with the slivers, redo the waterproofing membrane if needed, and re-tile properly. No competent tile installer would do a layout like that. It’s a simple wall, and easy to avoid having slivers of tile. I would find it annoying to look at what you have every time I used the shower.

This would frustrate me for sure and I would probably be bothered by it every time I went into the shower. I actually just went to look at all our showers to see what they are like and they are all stacked not brick layout so everything in a row is lined up. Sorry you have to deal with this!

Helen I thought your comment was fair. You just said you didn’t find it attractive and gave an example of a better done job layout wise.

Helens comments are based on her recent experienc, very relevant to some posts. IIRC, she also posted; in progress photos. That said, her posts may have become condescending to someone who has, “no horse in the race” but read Helen’s message for a year or so.

Manifestos, are by definition, condescending and narcissisti.

That is entirely incorrect.

Helens comments are based on her recent experienc, very relevant to some posts. IIRC, she also posted; in progress photos. That said, her posts may have become condescending to someone who has, “no horse in the race” but read Helen’s message for a year or so.

That makes no sense.

@seudonim -- all the photos show is white subway tile! if you're looking at purple backerboard and orange waterproofing and taking that as a design choice, it is your own ignorance that is showing.

OP -- you have to decide which is more important to you, to avoid slivers or to have an exactly 50% offset between rows. to avoid the slivers on teh second row (after starting the first row with one whole tile), he would have had to set it at like 55% offset instead -- would that also have made you nuts, or would you find that preferable? I mean, imagine the second row shifted over by the .25 inch to make the sliver disappear; does the asymmetry of the joins make you crazy? you could shift to 1/3 offset rather than 1/2, but that means redoing the back wall as well. I'd just use color-matched grout and move on, rather than risk an imperfect fix to the waterproofing system.

Helen said nothing wrong and Jim Mat if you have an issue with Helen’s posts all you have to do is scroll past.

Suedonim75 who the heck made you an arbiter of good taste? Obviously you have no clue regarding good design.

It is entirely possible that the tile work accepted by the owner did indeed look good. If the tiler started with a full row around the bottom and then started up the long wall, the slivers wouldn't have been placed yet. We don't know the approval point so it is questionable to claim the customer accepted the entire layout without that info.

I find Helen's remodel to be a good example of a customer doing appropriate research about materials and services and getting a good return on her investment. I am sure that I would not have picked the exact same materials but I can still enjoy pictures of how the elements fit together.

When I was working on the design for my master bath, I unpacked about two boxes of tiles to check them and test layouts. I like to take photos of the layouts as sometimes I see different aspects of the design when I look at a picture . I have worked with the same tile guy for several different projects and he is usually quite good but we have had a few differences on layouts. He can get stuck on the full tile in the center layout even if it doesn't look right over the entire space.