Bump!

He likely had to do something since it would have been raw drywall at the corner otherwise.

I think your fireplace looks nice. If you havent already, then just fill in the nail holes and live with it. It looks nicely done. It is also at an angle, which may have made it a bit more difficult.

I'd have preferred a flush tile edging (like schluyter [sp?!]), but this isn't terrible. lot of lippage for a simple tile job, though.

You express concern about “insulting the professional.” That is very considerate of you. The degree of lippage, however, would make me question how professional the tiler may be. Hope the project ends up with the result you envisioned.

I agree that it looks ok, but something like a schluter edge would have been better. it's too late for that, it has to go under the tile. one thing you can do here is caulk the gaps & nail holes, and touch up paint. it will help.

Thanks so much for the replies.

To answer a few questions, I am paying quite a bit for this, which is why I'm wondering whether to ask for a fix...or if there is one available.

My contractor subbed this work out, but I don't have any reason to question the installer's credentials...though I do wonder if they have a lot of experience with fireplace tile. It is kind of an unusual spot for a fireplace, so I understand it's not the easiest install.

Since the previous tile didn't have any kind of schluter or extra trim on the sides like this, I may have wrongly assumed the new tile could be installed the same way, with even edges.

Is it feasible to have just that outside column of tile reinstalled, or would it have to be entirely redone?

All these things should have ben discussed in advance. Conversation to have with your contractor.

You shouldn't be worried about insulting the tile "professional." I'll do it for you.

From the photo, I see lots of shadows from each tile being set at an angle. I see no pattern in that, so it apparently wasn't a design decision. On the closeups, the joints don't meet uniformly, so he didn't use spacers. The half-round trim is probably the least amount of thought you could've put into finding a moulding. There should be something worked into covering the gap under the mantel board, and even wrapping the trim around each drywall side more. In fact, I would have combined a trim under the mantel, with lowering the tile layout so there is no cut piece above the FP opening - and that looks like it would have allowed a full piece at the bottom too.

There, print this and give it to him so he knows some a-hole on the interwebs said it.

"I am paying quite a bit for this"

oh honey, no. I'm with 3onthetree in that this is a really bad job for a "pro". when you said you didn't want to insult the tiler, I thought maybe you meant because a friend or relative did it. the job looks very amateur.

did you pay in full yet? don't. you should try to negotiate a full or partial refund if possible (suggest to them that there could be bad yelp and google reviews -- including photos -- if they don't comply). or at least a free do over -- and watch them like a hawk.

if you get it redone, I'm not a huge fan of the trim used to transition the floor to the hearth. it's probably covering ragged floor edges, which is normal. one fix would be to have a tile "pad" set -- so it looks like it's sitting on top of the wood, overlapping the edges slightly. even better, a stone slab cut to fit. you would need to find out how thick you could get away with that doesn't block the vent.

kind of like this hearth below, but yours may need to be a bit thinner:

or this:

Agree with the above. In regards to it being flush like it was before. Yes, it should have been. I would have put something behind it to make it flush, like 1/4" backer board.

Thanks, guys. I feel better knowing my frustration isn't unreasonable. I am asking that it be redone by a different installer and will share some of the suggestions on this thread. I'll let you know how it turns out!