Oops posted twice

No, you are not being too picky. A company called Schluter makes edge transitions for tile. The cracked or chipped tile should be replaced. Are you working directly with a tile installer, or is there a general contractor involved?

Thank you. It is a general contractor.

Also do you think white, soft white or light grey grout would look best?

I think a light grey would look good, but that really is personal preference. The tile installer should be able to provide you with grout color chips, which you can hold up to the tile or hold between two extra pieces and see which you like.

I agree that in photo 1, the edge should be done with a Schluter strip. That should have been specified by the designer up front and ordered with the tile.

I do think you are being a bit picky in some areas. There are always some fissures and chipping of natural stone. A full crack (as in the two pieces were separated) is different from a natural fissure. Can't tell from these small photos which you have. Whoever calculated the quantity needed for the installation should have assumed that extra would be needed - and sometimes the calculation is still under what is actually needed once the material gets there and is inspected.

It depends upon how the contract is written and what you have been charged for. Our tile setter does not inspect tile or products, and does not do design work. He does what is laid out and specified when he arrives on the job site - he is a technician, not a designer and not a quality control clerk. He assumes everyone up to that point has done his/her job and he is there only to install the product. When the tile was delivered to the job site, it is up to the designer who created the plan for the backsplash (or the contractor if he/she was the designer) to inspect the tile for issues based upon the quality of tile that was ordered. Truly damaged tile would be culled out. We charge extra for this service as part of what is needed in order to deal with natural stone.

The tiles themselves should be bullnosed with sandpaper to get a finished edge. I wouldn't add any trim. You aren't being too picky when it comes to the grout joints as they should be using spacers or wedges to get the joints consistent. Carrara marble chips and bruises very easily so I wouldn't have him pull out all the ones with chipped edges or scratches. If you do, he'll be pulling them out and replacing them for weeks. The grout should cover the chips.

Also, if there are chips at the edges, if you go with a contrasting grout color, those chips will be even more noticeable.

I agree with Presidio. The edges should have been polished or bullnosed as I hate the metal edge transitions. The slight gaps in the grout joints will not be noticeable once grouted in a color that matches the tile base color. If they use a bullnosed edge transition then the edge will lineup with the counter. I would recommend you consider a brushed aluminum for a better match than stainless.

The schluter strip should have been installed before the tile on the edge and the grout lines are all over the map I would not accept this work and as GC he should have a tile setter he uses

I'm seeing more of these strips in bathrooms, is that usually the case?

I do like the schluter strips, but only with glass or porcelain as you can't polish them the same way you can stone.

I keep showing him the random lines but he insists once the grout is in I won't notice. They have already had to take it down once because they left the original 6 inch backsplash up, then the side above sink because it was a much darker set of marble (said they got wet and would dry lighter) but that was not the case. They are so nice but is it time to try to find someone new?
I appreciate all the opinions.

Duplicate post

it's very amateur tile work. I had that happen to me. And then I had an exert tiler do another project. It's night and day. And it's NOT the tile like they try to tell you. An expert tiler can take a $1 tile and lay it straight and perfect. What I see in your photos is amateur work. Sorry.
Regarding metal edge transitions - you just don't use them with marble. It's absolutely fine to use them with porcelain but with marble, you gotta do the bullnose or mittering, like someone said above.

lil inspitation. This is a Jan 2016 Question. Pls check dates before posting - it's probably resolved by now. You may be new, so just an fyi.