This just happened to us in a guest bath. I was so distraught and just wanted the guy out of my house so I did pay him and told him how disappointed I was and asked him if he was proud of his work and he said no. I asked what he thought we should do about it and he said well if you hire me to do more work I could fix it then. At this time I considered I was dealing with an unreasonable incompetent, unprofessional and decided to cut my losses and move on. It was not easy as I don't have a money tree in the back yard but I couldn't even look at it. Like you, we had tile falling off and he poured grout and caulk into the places he didn't cut the tile to fit, it was crooked and the thresholds were metal strips he found somewhere that looked more like carpet tack strips. OY VEY. We hired someone else and I had to go and buy new tile because they said it could not be saved. They charged me extra to tear out the old. It makes me sick to think about it, but it looks nice now. Remodeling is not for the fainthearted and heartbreak is nearly always involved. Disappointment in people always included. It can be a little depressing both for the outlay of money and for the things you learn about people that sadden you. Good luck! Cut and run...

OMG - what a horrible job cutting the tile. Looks like he used nippers to clip the tile or his snap cutter's cutting wheel is still the original one from the 80's. "...How and where did you hire the handyman claiming to be a tile setter, was price the deciding factor?..." - Tundra I think this is a fair question myself. If you are budgeting a job that is priced buy the square foot, some times the added skilled work is ommited. A skilled installer like myself or Tundra come with proper tools and experience. Check out Tundra's photos online and you can see he is a tile ninja.... I think a diamond Riffling File and some time might fix it but best to replace the cut tile with new better cut tile. Placing cut tile in the field of view is tricky unless the installer uses care and proper tools to make it look nice. And really the Dal Tile Home Depot stock is not really Top Shelf product anyway. Could be the tools where good but the glazing crap.

The hard part now is finding a new guy to come in and meet your expectations. You best outline a standard and what you want. So the new guy does not think you are going to be too hard to please. When I come into a job where the other guy was walked I always ask why. Then I listen. Sometimes what I hear is alarming. One lady told me she did not like the guys lunch. Said it smelled.... I was like OMG in my mind and I bid the repair at $14,000.00 it was a $5,000 job. Lucky for me I did not get that job. Another lady said she hated that tile and pointed to the wall. I could not see "That" tile. Priced that repair at $4,000.00 lost that work as well since it was really a $1,000.00 do over. Unless the new guys know your not being overly picky and just want a good clean job you will find I think the quotes coming in really high. Watch out.

Thanks for the opinions guys. This is my first home remodel and due to that I do not have experience with what is correct water proofing or how a tile installer consults with the home owner before laying the tile. Part of the issue is my expectation of the marble having very little grey on the samples. I'm referencing this picture of a Calacutta gold shower and what I was expecting. This shower looks nothing like mine. The majority of the issue is my installer not telling me or my interior designer that he was going to install the shower that day. I walked in and the job was over halfway done (A++ for getting the job done quickly, F for lack of communication). I had 4 boxes of marble left by the time he was at this point and they all petty much happened to be very white, creamy or very light gray...so he happened to use the very dark gray tile boxes that I had no idea existed. My final issue is that he was telling me couldn't replace the dark gray tiles which is not entirely true apparently. I was able to look at the shower with my interior designer today and get him to change about 20 of the really dark tiles to get rid of the gray patch in the corner and the stair steps/octopus leg looking dark tiles. If I had known that I needed to blend the marble for him then I would have spent a whole weekend doing it. YOU LIVE AND LEARN. I think in the end it will turn out decent but like Amy said, but it will be ordinary. Onto the waterproofing everyone brought up. I'm pretty sure it's cement board with the membrane on top. Y'all have me freaked out about the niche. I'll ask him tomorrow what he plans for that. @Tundra Finish Works LLC do you have any recommendations for making sure the niche is water proof? You seem to have the most knowledge about this. He did say he would have to patch the membrane behind the tiles he replaced today. Is this incorrect to do?