The "not all the way across" drain doesn't look that bad to me. But if I were a tile guy, I'd have snipped the sheet at the ends to individual tiles and done a better job of variable spacing so you didn't have that hideous gap.

But maybe if you have a light-enough colored grout, the gap can be made less obvious.

I'm confused on why you have two different drains. Is there another bathroom and he swapped them?

Honest question. I'm just confused as to what the drain dilemma is. It looks to be in the correct location (assuming the floor is sloped that way)

Where was it supposed to be?

My drain doesn't go wall to wall and I wouldn't want it to.

The drain and channel look centred. The only thing that needs a bit of tweaking is the penny tile set on either side of the channel. Other than that, it looks good.

The test is: If a stranger walked in to look at the shower, would they know/guess there was something odd about the set-up? If not, then it is an acceptable "oopsa" that will probably work out just as well as what you were hoping for.

I'd simply demand they get you the correct sized cover for the 31", perhaps ask for a discount for the error in ordering, and leave well-enough alone.

As long as the drain is centered, get a cover that fits for the shorter one and call it good. Tearing into the waterproofing and putting a lot of time into reworking this seems like an unwise move for a result that will make no difference. My linear drain has worked just fine in the 3 years since it was installed, and -- as I intended -- it doesn't go wall-to wall either:

If your slope was done properly, the shorter linear drain will be just fine. The only thing I noticed is that the tilework could be a little better right around the drain, and maybe that can be fixed easily without causing problems.

Thank you all for the feedback! While the tile to the sides of the drain could’ve been set better, it sounds like it’s not too egregious nor does it look off so I think I’ll stop obsessing over it and not fight this battle. :)

@cpartist your photo was really helpful and I like the way it looks! It helps me feel more at peace with the drain size.

@Creative Tile Eastern CT thank you for educating me on the joys of linear drain maintenance. 🤪 My husband chose the linear drain so perhaps I’ll share this info with him!

@Brad Smith yes, I agree with you that I think a light colored grout will be an easier and cheaper solution. :)

@Barnes Custom Builders heh my apologies for the confusion. We were supposed to install two same-sized (36”) linear drains, one in master and one in guest. We somehow got all these different sizes but the Guest bath got the smaller linear drain that looks worse off vs the master. :) it’s def in the correct location — just not the intended size for the width of the shower.

Oops sorry didn’t see the subsequent responses! :)

@SJ McCarthy and @jmm1837 i think I will just ask for a 31” cover and call it a day. I’ll double check with the tiler to see if anything can be done to fix the tiles in that corner, hopefully that is a reasonable compromise. :)

@kudzu9 i think your linear drain looks amazing! I love that tweak with the tile design to the sides of your drain. And I’m happy that yours has worked out well so far — very reassuring! Thank you for the photo! :)

Glad you're reassured...that was my intent. My linear drain was put in the middle because I didn't want to tear up the slab to move the central drain, and I thought what the tiler did where the two planes came together in the center was clever. :-).