Help! Can A Just Tiled Kerdi Shower Niche Only Be Redone?

11 years ago

Made a poor decision or had a bad tile job or both but already chipped off a penny piece of tile in what has turned out to be an awful niche job and I am horribly upset and not sure about options.

The contractor overseeing small hall bath remodel job subbed out the tile work for the area around a tub/shower and the floor. He installed a Kerdi niche - none was there before - and I picked penny dot tile for the niche to give him a bit of texture.

I told him to put the 12x12 penny tile in the entire niche but I had no idea how terrible, rough & unfinished it would end up looking.

My contractor had said he would come back when the tiler was done today but he didn't and when I came back and looked at the job I was so disappointed.

I also saw what looked like a black mark on the tile right above the niche and got a sponge to see if the mark would come off & accidentally pulled off one of the "dots".

My husband is upset with me that I told the tiler to put the penny tile all around the niche (back, sides, etc) & said it should only have gone on the back & the wall tile around the sides & bottom.

The contractor told my husband he will take care of it and talk to him tomorrow.

Can anyone please tell me what realistically our options are at this point?

Sorry the images are so awful but the recessed lights are covered in paper as we are having painting done this week.

The wall time is Urban Landscape Brighton White. https://www.flooranddecor.com/porcelain-tile/urban-landscape-brighton-porcelain-tile-912101380.html#q=urban+white&start=1

The penny tile is just a white mosaic

https://www.flooranddecor.com/backsplashes-decoratives/white-penny-porcelain-mosaic-912100645.html#q=white+penny&start=1

Suggestions are greatly appreciated. I am so upset about how this turned out.

Thanks.

Featured Answer

StoneTech

11 years ago

While the penny tile looks OK on the back, I would remove it elsewhere and replace it with the field tile, or bullnose, if available.Having it on the bottom, particularly is a wonderful place for soap scum, standing water, etc. You would need a rather healthy slope there to deal with that.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Dallas Arts Salon
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks.

Is it going to be difficult to remove it from all the areas except the back?

We do have both the bull noise & field tile left.

You really learn from your mistakes. Never did a remodel before & had no help. You can look at a million pictures & think in your head how yours will look & then be so off.

I chose a 12x24 tile to run horizontal & didn't think about how in a 5" long standard tub/shower tub, how much cutting of tile there would end up being & that I would have been better of buying 12x12 tiles in terms of cost and need result visually.

If I could I would rip the whole thing out & start over.

Thanks.
Related Professionals
Fresno Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Sioux City Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Durham Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Londonderry Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Paducah Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · York Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Cave Spring Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Denver Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Hialeah Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Leander Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Miami Glass & Shower Door Dealers · San Bruno Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Saratoga Springs Glass & Shower Door Dealers · Mount Prospect Cabinets & Cabinetry · Rockford Window Treatments
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
11 years ago
DallasArts:

Take the dimensions of your niche to a local solid surface fabricator and have them make you a solid surface insert that color matches. I'd fabricate a perimeter flange and a sill and silicone it in place. Simple, relatively inexpensive, waterproof, beautiful, functional, and no demolition required.
dzrgrl
11 years ago
Shulter Systems makes a bunch of trims for edging tile and transitions. Ideally those are done when the tile is installed. He might be able to find something that can be used at this point after instal.
loves2read
11 years ago
Needless to say you got a terrible job and I wonder if the person doing the install did a very good job with the Kerdi membrane...
jellytoast
11 years ago
"You really learn from your mistakes. Never did a remodel before & had no help. You can look at a million pictures & think in your head how yours will look & then be so off."

You had a contractor and a tile installer ... there is your "help" right there. They are the experienced professionals and should be advising you as to what will work and what won't.

The tile installer, if he knew anything about tile at all, should have advised you about how the edges of the tile would look without trim. That he went ahead and laid it that way and left it that way is ridiculous. It looks bad and reflects badly on him.

Vote for StoneTech's solution, and while I like Tre's, too, I'd be concerned about losing available space inside the niche if the tile wasn't demo'd first. If setting a prefab box on top of the existing tile, I'd make sure there was room for the size of the shampoo bottles you intend to store there.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
11 years ago
" I'd be concerned about losing available space inside the niche if the tile wasn't demo'd first. If setting a prefab box on top of the existing tile, I'd make sure there was room for the size of the shampoo bottles you intend to store there."

That's the beauty of the sill; it can overhang an inch or so, adding space, and look better than flush tile.