Advice on the shower tile finish
I spent about $6–7k hiring a highly rated team from Thumbtack in Seattle to redo our 4’ x 4’ shower floor.
We spoke with 4 different contractors before choosing this team.
Original Issues:
The old white grout was developing dark/moldy spots, making the shower floor constantly look dirty.
We also only had a ceiling-mounted rainfall shower head, which made cleaning the shower very difficult.
What We Asked For:
- Reposition the shower head from a ceiling-mounted rainfall setup to a wall-mounted shower head.
- Redo the shower floor, including:
demo, waterproofing, new tile installation, epoxy grout
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The project manager seemed very detail-oriented during the consultation (which is honestly why we hired them). He took notes and appeared professional.
However, the actual tile work was done by his crew, and attention to detail seems lacking.
The project lasted 6 days. The project manager checked in about 3 times during the process, but he was not there on the final day when the grout was done.
When I saw the finished result yesterday, I honestly couldn’t pretend to be happy with it. :(
I immediately noticed multiple issues:
- Tile misalignment
- Uneven spacing
- Holes/gaps in grout lines
- Uneven tile leveling/lippage
- Overall inconsistent finish
At this point, I genuinely want professional opinions…
Is this considered acceptable workmanship for a shower floor remodel at this price point? Or am I right to feel that the quality is below the professional standard?
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Update on 5/10
The project manager came by to inspect the work, and thanks to everyone here who shared professional opinions, I was able to tell him that I was not okay with the quality of the work. He agreed to redo the shower floor.
I told him that this time, I need to see how the tiles are laid out before the grout sets. I’ll probably have to check in hourly to make sure the job is done correctly this time around.
He kept saying that some variation is expected even after a redo, and I pointed out:
“What we were looking at … you can’t seriously tell me that’s expected or up to professional standards. We need to define what your acceptable level of variation is, because right now it’s your word against mine. And I don’t want to have this conversation again. It wastes both your time and mine.”
So we agreed to redo it, and he said he’ll send a different subcontractor.
He also mentioned something that I’d like opinions on: he suggested using a lighter grout color because darker grout makes imperfections and slight misalignments much more noticeable. At this point, I told him I’m okay with that if it makes the install easier as long as we use epoxy grout. I’m even okay switching to smaller square tiles if hex tiles are harder to install properly. My bottom line is that the bathroom cannot look worse than it did before.
He also said:
“We already waterproofed the wall tiles, so this time we’ll only waterproof the floor and reinstall new tiles. But again, I want to set the right expectations that some variation is expected.”
He mentioned that he would rather lose money than damage his reputation.
At this point, I still plan to talk to another tile expert to get a second opinion on whether I should continue with this company or cut my losses and hire someone else, even if that means losing $3.5k.
Thanks again, everyone.