It‘s a little hard to see. Can you take a couple more photos? Do you have any in-progress photos?

AJCN Thank you for the reply. I found a couple in-progress photos taken about a month ago, when the tile floor was first completed and the discoloration was more noticeable. They’re included below, along with a zoomed in picture of the dark splotch circled in red. You can see the dark spot circled doesn’t span the entire tile square, which to me just indicates sloppy work? But maybe I’m wrong, I really don’t know the first thing about tile installation. If you tap/click on my original photos it should bring up larger images that are more clear.

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

Unfortunately I don’t. I didn’t realize this issue could be related to waterproofing. What questions should I ask my contractor in regards to that?

Ask them how the shower was waterproofed and what materials they used.

Ask him exactly how the shower was constructed step by step.

Thank you all for the replies and advice. I have no experience doing this so I’m doing my best to research things and improve my knowledge, but there is a lot to learn! Can you advise me with what the proper steps/materials are for waterproofing? What red flags should I look out for in his answer that could be the cause of this tile issue?

I should add that this shower has never been used for an actual shower. They probably ran it to test plumbing, etc but that’s it. Would waterproofing still be a concern in this case?

cpartist Thank you, this is very helpful! Will do.

“Notice the difference in color on the shower floor tiles, and the dark splotch in the upper right hand corner of the second picture. My contractor said it’s because the tiles were laid at different times, so as the adhesive dries it will get lighter.”

So these two areas were laid at different times, I take it. Do you know why that is? How much time elapsed between the two tiling spurts?

It took several months for the natural stone tile in our local quarter-billion-dollar mall to even out.

Thank you all for your helpful input and advice. Yes, the two darker areas outlined were laid at a later point because they ran out of tile. From the limited pictures I have, my best deduction is that the darker areas were laid 2 weeks after the rest of the tile. My first question to him when I noticed the issue was “Could the new tile batch have been a slightly different color,” and he assured me multiple times it was all the same color.

Turns out he was wrong! I talked to him last night, and he pulled out left over tiles to show me the color. It is, in fact, darker! I had no idea he had left over tiles this entire time. Ugh. So, that issue is solved and he will order more to hopefully get the right match.

The dark splotch circled in my picture attached here remains a mystery. When I asked him about waterproofing, this was the response: “The whole shower was waterproofed before it was tiled. You’ve got a pan liner running up the walls and over top of the curb, and then you’ve got a topical waterproofing on top of the mudset.” When I asked about materials used, he said he “could send me the specs.”

Learning a lot through this process, and am thankful for the help found here!

Now the problem becomes getting the tiles off the floor without damaging the pan systems waterproofing.

PRO TIP for homeowners.

When you are hiring A tiler you should request a photo file dump of the entire build of showers and floors especially the prep work Make sure there is a permit and a flood test inspection involved and be present.

You will know youve found a proud tiler when they say of course, daily photos of each step.

(Very common we send zip files of process photos to clients at project end.)

Extra important especially if its a sub contracted job w A gc or builder in between. so few gcs and builders are up to speed on 2020 TCNA/ANSI specs.

@op your shower displays A quality install on the outside( accept dye lot match)

w a liner and an ebbe drain there is a very good chance youve got a full mortar bed build and the entire floor can possibly be replaced. (Hopefully they didnt do the divot method)

wet areas ? bird baths are to be corrected when the flood test is done and draining reveals low spots. lets hope thats not the case w a bad preslope here.

good luck

“The whole shower was waterproofed before it was tiled. You’ve got a pan liner running up the walls and over top of the curb, and then you’ve got a topical waterproofing on top of the mudset.”

This gives me serious doubts. When waterproofing, you EITHER use a pan liner in conjunction with a pre-slope and a final mud bed over the liner, OR you use a single mud bed with NO liner, but a topical layer (Hydroban, Redguard, Kerdi, etc.) over the mud...but NEVER both. In using a liner, as he has, residual water is designed to migrate down to the liner and on into the drain's "weep holes."

This is referred to a "water in/water out" construction. With a topical covering, surface water stops at the membrane and with no way to move to the weep holes, can have a tendency to saturate the thinset and the marble, thus causing discoloration. Even more so if there happens to be a low spot in the floor.

A topical installation has no weep holes and uses a different configuration drain assembly...a "bonded flange" type unit that allows residual water to move quickly to the main area of the drain, obviating any need for weep holes.

Might last you...might not, but those are the facts....

With an additional topical covering, (modified for clarity)

you can do a divot and skip liners and still have a weep drain w full topical waterproofing, it is a more advanced method than most tilers have the skill for. Many novice tilers end up with a liner, and then try to mix topical waterproofing wrongly w clamp drains and weeps. Look up divot method Avanti, learn your trade!

Quite familiar with the "Divot" method and know the gentleman that perfected it...but there was NO mention of this tiler using it and I seriously doubt he has a clue about what it is...