Any issues with the framing not being plumb and square should have been addressed before putting up the Durock. As you can see, your contractor hasn't been paying attention to the details. I suggest you end your relationship with the contractor NOW and start over. It's not going to get any better.

Don’t settle for any of this “feathering out” crap…. Especially since he took it down to the studs - things should have been addressed then, not now. You’ll kick yourself every time you look at it if it’s not done right.

If he took the walls back to the studs there is zero reason for this.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

Jeff - its astonishing to see the difference between your durock installation vs. ours. The contractors will be coming today to discuss next steps however, at this point, it seems like everything needs to be torn out and redone. Luckily, we haven't paid a dime to him other than the cost of material which we will have to scrap. Is it within our right to refuse any payment to the contractor? Trying to think ahead as I assume this will be an unpleasant discussion. Thanks

Realistic you will more than likely owe him for the work he has done up to this point. Of course you may be entitled to deduct the dollars you need to layout for the demo of his mess.

Don't pay. No one will sue.

Update -

Conversation with the contractor went well yesterday. He reviewed the work and agreed that it all needed to be torn out and redone. He ended up firing his tile worker and assigned "one of his best" to do the job and stated he would be with him each day to supervise the work. He apologized profusely and said he would cover the cost of all new material and wants to ensure we are getting a quality product and are happy with the end result.

While I appreciate his apology and willingness to cover materials, I'm still very skeptical their combined ability to deliver. None the less, with the new found knowledge I've gained from this wonderful community, I will monitor the work throughout the process very closely and post photos of the progress to this thread.

There is one comment our contractor made that has stuck with me so I'd like to ask it here. He stated when installing a tile application of our size (12x24 porcelain), it is normal for there to be somewhat of a gap between the tile and wall. This is primarily due to the sheer size of the tile and that in order to have it perfectly level, there will be some mortar build up. Is this true? It seems to me like if they get the durock hung correctly, no matter the size of tile, it should be applied with minimal "gap" from the wall.

As I stated above. 95% coverage is required in wet area installations.

With new walls that are flat achieving this is simply a matter of proper installation methods.

1) select the proper gauged trowel for a 12x24 large format tile. 1/2" or 3/4" depth. Burning the back aka back buttering is recommended to help achieve full coverage.

2) IMPORTANT key mortar into substrate prior to using gauging trowel.

3) Trowel ridges will go in the short distance direction to allow air to escape while moving tile side to side collapsing ridges.

This will explain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roVqR--taAM

"assigned "one of his best" to do the job and stated he would be with him each day to supervise the work." That is a scary statement. His best requires supervision!!!

"it is normal for there to be somewhat of a gap between the tile and wall." That ridiculous statement from the one supervising.

USG Durock Installation instructions.

https://www.usg.com/content/dam/USG_Marketing_Communications/united_states/product_promotional_materials/finished_assets/usg-durock-cement-board-with-edgeguard-installation-guide-en-CB237EG.pdf

Always the debacles are Redgard and cement board LOL

@Mint - So true. What percentage of Redgaurd installations do you think have the required mil. thickness? I'll guess 5% - 10%. We know when you ask someone if they measure with a wet film gauge you will get that deer in the headlights look and a response of what's that:) As for CBU's. Read the friggin installation instructions.

@CTEC The number 1 reason we only use Professional tile products retained from an actual Tile contractor vendor which nearly most all hacks and handymen have no access to.

Pretty sure Custom building products has no problem with failures they love selling the products 2 or 3 times w no care for Landfills, the building industry or the pro tile trades as they target the DIY HOME DEPOT crowd.

Redguard, cement board and pan liners they sell the trifecta of BAD ! and...well the numbers of failures speak for themselves . Its a RED flag warning you've hired the wrong handyman.