Translucent glass should normally be set with a white thinset (not mastic), and as you wrote, any trowel ridges should be knocked down, or the tile back-buttered, to assure complete bedding.

While I'm not trying to justify the installation, there is a chance that as the thinset fully cures and gives up moisture that the ridge lines will lighten. The differential shading might become less apparent. Or it might not.

Obviously you need to contact your installer and have a conversation. I'd call him ASAP even if it's just to leave a message. Relate the problem, then any delays in his response to you are on him, ie, he can't come back with "You saw it on Saturday and you didn't call me until Monday?"

If the tile does have to be striped from the wall, the sooner the better.

should have used a flat edge trowel, not a notched one.

Thx folks. I did call contractor right away. He is coming over tomorrow (Sunday morning).

What is a reasonable expectation on what he can do to fix this? I'd really like the whole thing redone with him paying for new tile. Is this realistic?

In a perfect world, yes, he'd give you a brand new installation at no additional cost to you.

But he's simply the installer. You hired him directly, and you provided the tile. In a typical job where a GC hired the tiler, it'd all be between the GC and the tiler, and you'd get to simply sit back and watch them negotiate a solution at no cost to you.

But the negotiated solution now falls in your realm of responsibility. The only leverage you have is his labor, and that's a fraction of the overall cost.

It really comes down to how conscientious he is as a tradesman and as a professional. Have a conversation over a cup of coffee and simply ask him what happened, why did it happen, and how long will it take him to fix it.

I believe those are paper-faced sheet tiles? They can sometimes be reclaimed, reinstalled on sheets, and reset on the wall, but it's not pretty. Depends on the square footage and how much the thinset has cured. Sometimes yo have to start over from scratch.

Edit to add: Some tradesfolk can eat the cost of the tile. Others can't. If he really is a good and conscientious tradesman and he simply screwed this up, you can sometimes negotiate a solution. Example, let's say the existing tile can't be salvaged. You then buy $1400 worth of new tile for the redo. He tiles for free. Then he does $1400 worth of tiling labor at no charge to you on a future project.

In the end it cost you nothing, and he's not out any cash out of pocket, but he had to work for a few days that he might otherwise have had off.

Just an idea. Good luck with your meeting.

This post was edited by mongoct on Sat, May 4, 13 at 22:19

This sort of happened to us except you can see the red thinset behind our glass tiles. I'm very irritated. The tile guy said it's no big deal because it's in a niche and the shampoo bottles will cover it. I am making him redo it. I can't get over the lack of judgement these days.

Why is the bottom of the mortar visible through my glass backsplash? And can it be fixed without pulling off the entire backsplash?

When I bought my glass tile at a discount tile store, no one said anything about potential issues. And , I asked the contractor if it would work. He said yes. So when those white lines showed up on the clear beveled edge, the contractor said he would make it right and sent me to choose another tile from his supplier. As a customer I had no clue, but a good contractor should know.