Ditto.

Everything.

Nice post, Big Rock.

Looking at it closer I think you're right that the blue stuff is just tape - the liner was the same color blue, so that was my first thought as to what it was. I know the pre-slope was done under the pan, but I suspect that the slope wasn't made steep enough to account for some of the stones that stick out more and that's why there are some valley spots where water doesn't drain well. I guess we have to live with that & keep drying it by hand because short of tearing it all out, I don't know how that could be corrected.

I checked through the leftover supplies and it does look like the grout was AccuColor Sanded - the walls were done unsanded since we had polished marble & glass tiles on them, but I'm still a bit concerned about how easily it seems to be wearing away. I've bought enzymatic ph neutral cleaner spray which says it's meant for sealed marble and natural stone. I hope that's gentle enough on the materials, but will take care of the bacterial & any buildup.

I'm very new to bathroom construction/remodeling in general - does the change of plane mean where the floor meets the walls? Does this mean that area should be caulked and does the grout have to be removed there or just caulked over?

I appreciate your expertise on this - given these issues I want to be sure to ask for the right things if repairs need to be done and not just told patching here & there will solve it and then continue to have issues over time.

Yes, the change of plane means where the floor meets the wall or the corner where the two walls meet. I would just caulk over it at this point with sanded caulking that matches the color of the grout.

I would add that, if re-grouting, which you SHOULD do, you'll need to dig the grout out to about 1/3 or better before grouting. You should only use sanded grout in these areas. Unsanded is only good to about 1/8 inch width.

I have nothing to add, but did want to give kudos to Big Rock and Avanti for being so helpful and sharing their knowledge. I am hoping to embark on a bathroom remodel soon and just wish one of y'all was near me!

This floor is one I'm considering for my shower so will bookmark this thread for future reference.

Yes and no. We caulked where the walls meet the floor, which has been an improvement there. Unfortunately a few months after this post a hairline crack started from the corner towards the drain. It was several inches long. I had the contractor come out to fix it and he just dremeled the crack and put more grout. Told me that would fix it. Literally 2 weeks later the crack was back. After having used him for many remodeling jobs over the years, I found out after the bathroom was done that he'd only done a handful of bathroom remodels and usually hired out a tiler, but decided he'd "do me favor" to lower the price doing it himself instead. I'd never have hired him for it had I known any of that. Calling him again for more ineffective patch jobs on this seems pointless. I just want it fixed properly at the point. Since then I had another contractor redo a different bathroom and asked his opinion on this. Within 5 seconds he could see the slope wasn't steep enough for the pebbles. He thought the entire pebble base would have to be removed to fix it, which would be a nightmare as we have a marble bench on one end and it would likely damage the marble walls. I don't have the time or $ do literally redo a remodel so soon. He said maybe we could get some kind of custom colored grout/caulk mix from the tile company to fill the crack and keep it from spreading. With other renovations & a new baby I haven't had time to try that yet, but every time I look at it I worry that it's going to get worse and get so frustrated that something that cost so much has been such a problem from the beginning. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Hello Cheryl, seeing your post and was about to post the exact same problem with exact same floor getting little pock marks in between the stone after 1 year and not so many showers! We will probably try to regroup an seal

We get the pink also, i dont think its harmful is it? Just another type of germ that is growing? I never saw it named as you did.I tackle mine about every couple weeks with tile shower cleanser. Im not sure this actually clean or if it might harm the grout? I know its been a long time since this post but hope you found some peace with your pebbles and please tell me if you know anything about the bacteria or how to ward it off. TY!

was considering a pebble floor for my master shower, it's used twice daily...after reading this, not sure I want to go down that road.

huge shout out to Big Rock for lending his expertise!

last question, is it worth doing the pebble floor in a heavy use shower?

Brian, I can tell you that the pebble floor thing is a fad and not a good one. It has it's place in a rustic design but very limited. We do mostly high end work. None of our clients would ever consider it. It became kind of a builders special trendy thing a number of years ago and suppliers pushed it in their showrooms. Then add the "builders special" labor like in the above post and you know what you get. Sitting water is not your friend in a shower and this type of uneven floor surface is ripe for it, even when done correctly with proper slope. Move on and save yourself from this fading trend. It's NOT for an everyday use shower and it's been WAY overdone. Our two cents.

thanks for your two cents...had a feeling after reading above, NOT a good choice

Thanks again

Thank you for post. just had this installed and noticed dips in the grout, this was done two days ago. So he is back adding more grout hope to make it even across