Ideally, no it should not look like that, but once it is in and grouted, there is literally nothing you can do about it aside from demolishing the installation, repairing the sheetrock, and starting over.

I suspect that one of the problems is that the tile setter did not have the right blade in the tile saw. There is a special glass cutting blade that makes smooth cuts in glass tiles while a regular tile blade will chip glass tiles. I had this issue with an install in my bathroom a few years ago and the problem was solved by buying a $15 blade. I don't understand why a tile setter won't bother to change to the proper blade in these situations.

Not the best material for an outside corner. I would have used a complementary trim piece to deal with the corner.

My GC would probably have taken one sheet, cut it in half and individually hand mitered each piece to wrap around the corner! Yeah, not too many with that level of pride and detail in their work.

He had me buy a diamond drill

bit for tile as part of the materials and I still dont know what he needed a special drill bit for. Seems like he should’ve asked for a special saw

blade instead.

And I welcome honest feedback about the contrast between the backsplash and the quartz countertop. I sort of regret the design choice and wish I had not chosen such a busy tile design since the quartz is so bold, ir

vice Versace. But I’m hoping it looks interesting and not terrible.

Cindy- It’s a warning sign when any contractor asks you to buy tools. Given that anecdote and his marginal quality tile install, I wouldn’t use him ever again.

I think the tile and counter look good together. Give yourself a week to sleep on it and see if you still care about that edge. I have been able to realize something that really bothered me......didn't matter as much a week later. If it still matters to you, maybe it can be adjusted. But give yourself some time first. I would let the contractor or tile setter know you are bothered by it, but trying to live with it. Maybe they will volunteer to make it better. or tell you how much work it would be.

Cindy, I don't love that style of backsplash tile and if you had asked before buying the tile, most here would have told you to find something else. But it is done now and you actually ended up with one that really picks up the colors of your counters, so it looks much better than it might have, if the colors were slightly off. You can live with it for a few years and when you get tired of it, you can freshen up the kitchen by just replacing the backsplash.

Mosaic is not much used these days but honestly, yours looks nicely matched . At this point, it is what it is. I think you soon will not notice the deficiencies. Just enjoy it.

I’m curious about your comment about mosaic not being used much anymore. The tile stores all show a lot of it still. Do you think it’s out of style or just not a good material to work with?

It would be more precisely described as pencil tile. It is past its peak in kitchen trends, but as you said, stock is still extensive in many retail tile stores. Enjoy it for now, and you can always switch it up in a few years if you want.

Not to beat a dead horse, but this is actually the vertical grout line that I was asking my initial question about. My first picture didnt really capture it and responders commented on the Image of the corner joint, which is another area of concern. But what can be done about this jagged seam where the wall bends 20 degrees? Installer said I could get a grouted caulk and they could make a wider grout line to look more clean but I dont really want an even wider grout line.

The contractors have not finished working on my property yet so I would like to know if I should press the grout issue with them and request money off the invoice if they cannot rectify the issue. Of course I’d rather have it look right than get a discount for shoddy work. Is there any solution other than ripping it out?

Is that grout in the vertical joint? It should not be, all changes in plane need to be silicone caulk. Especially since there are issues with the cuts, potential movement of the walls will open that joint up in short order.

The main issue seems to be on the tiles that appear to be textured/wavy. You will never get a straight grout line in those cuts because the grout fills the uneven/random depressions in the glass tile surface. They would need to manually scrape off the excess on those particular tiles to give the appearance of a straight line, but it might still look jagged from different angles.

I feel a lot of the problem is what Chispa said. We put an accent strip of tile like that in our shower about 7 years ago. It was such a pain to get the corners to look good. I had to go in with a toothpick and Qtip to clean up the grout/caulk line. A contractor probably isn't going to take the time to do that.

Contractor admits that the saw

blade might’ve been a bit dull and offered to give a discount on final invoice. The backsplash job is $1370. how much of a discount is appropriate?

Milkworkman, should the joint where backsplash meets countertop also be

caulk? They used grout for all of it.

Any and all changes of plane need to be caulk, never grout. Everything expands and contracts, and different planes will move differently which will cause the grout to crack and potentially fall out.

Thank you, I will address that issue when they return to finish tomorrow.