No you are right ! You are paying 12k for this you have the right to be too picky .

Agree w Jan on all points except maybe the glass tile. The tile and edging work in the shower looks great.

[A timely question share youre experience here[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/why-all-the-tile-related-dramas-pt-1-dsvw-vd~4184710?n=25)

I know not where you live nor the bigger scope of youre project.

I will say while 12K is a serious ransom to myself and most all homeowners, its also A small figure for a bathroom with A walk in shower.

A properly built custom waterproof shower with quality visuals in the finished tile work and pro grade materials alone is around 6-7K for a smaller 3x3 shower.

I think I'd have wanted a metal edging for the glass tile as well, for exactly this reason -- there are always cuts. But given that you seem put out about the edging on the shower, perhaps he was trying to avoid your wrath...

From my experience, it's always best to sit down with the GC & list everything out in detail so everyone is on the same page. I must confess I do have OCD tendencies. With that being said, I don't think you're being too picky by the drain & rough tiles. GC's need to realize (& sometimes be politely reminded) that most homeowners do not renovate homes often. Homeowners hire GCs to manage the project & rely on the GC to address with the homeowner any decisions that need to be made.

I really don not see anything here that I would not consider standard unless you specified otherwise. If you did not want the metal edge trim then this should have been discussed with the GC or tiler. The rules of engagement are that unless otherwise specified standard construction techniques and materials shall be performed and used. Cutting glass tiles can be tricky and they do have a tendency to chip along the cut edge, given that these cuts are exposed they could have buffed the edges a bit to minimize this. Replacing the drain cover is an easy fix. Using the existing drain pipe is common if there is nothing wrong with it.

Graham

Does your porcelain tile come with an bull nose option? We just had the basement bathroom done in a large format porcelain tile and for the edge, they had tiles with the edge finished.

Jan is correct in her critique. Some of your issues are the limitation of the materials. I'm sure many of us would have never used these materials in the conditions you have placed them.

I'm no pro, but I think it looks very nice. The Schluter strip seems to suit the installation well.

Ditto what flopsycat1 said and why would you need a new drain cover? That one looks like it is in great shape. Obviously I can't speak to pipe but if that was working also, why would you replace? No need to create more landfill junk just so you can say "it's new".

I see nothing wrong with the install either. Penny tiles cut around the drain are great. If no drain was talked about for the shower or provided then expect the installer to reuse the old one, and he did a splendid job. Glass cutting was done well, no heavy chipping. Personally I too do not like the schluter edging but if the tile did not have proper bullnose then I guess it's the only route he knew to do. Overall the install looks good.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

Couple things- we do love the tile install itself. The penny tile looks great and does does the larger 12x24 in the shower. This is our first remodel ever, so perhaps we should have worked more closely with a designer to determine some of these details. However, our GC is also a builder/designer, coincidentally built the house 8 years ago. We just bought it last year. Anyway- these were definitely some items that me and my husband just didn't think to address. For example- the black ring around the drain. We didn't know it would look that way as a finished job and to us it just contrasts so much against the penny tile. So to Jan's point- yes, perhaps, unfortunately assumptions were made.

Regarding the 12x24 tile: we had discussed with the GC in advance that we wanted a frameless shower door and curb. In that discussion, tile edging was never brought up. We did say we wanted the tile to extend to the wall and that we wanted the door hinges to attach to the tile in the entryway. But tile edging was not mentioned to us, nor did he express concerns with the tile we chose. So, we were just surprised to see the metal edging in the wall since we hadn't discussed it and didn't really know what it was. This tile does offer a bullnose edge- now we know this after the fact. Sounds like I failed to ask enough questions.

Overall we are pleased with the quality of the tile work. We've definitely had some learnings along the way, which is why I turned to Houzz for some feedback.

Thanks again!

"Too picky?!" UGH! I can NOT stand when Contractors tell US, the paying customer, that we are "too" something... That is absolutely ridiculous and unprofessional!!!!

I'm extremely sensitive about this right now because I am finishing up a kitchen remodel and know this experience well.

My painter did not like, from day one, when I would point out any "issue" with the work by his laborers. He considered me "picky" because the day he came to spray clear coat over my stain/glazed island and paint/glazed upper and lower cabinets, he missed some areas...leaving them vulnerable since they weren't "sealed" with clear coat. He flew out the door so fast (without telling me) that I didn't have a chance to ask him about the un-sprayed areas. I immediately got a hold of him (before he drove too far away) and told him, in these exact words, "Corie, I'm sorry...I wanted to catch you before you got too far away from my home, but there is an area that got missed by clear coat." He replied with, "In all my years of painting, I've never met anyone that got down on their hands and knees to inspect my work."

WHAT?!! WOW! I was shocked that he didn't simply say, "Oh, I'm sorry...I'll be right back over to spray the missed areas." Instead, he chose to berate me in an unprofessional manner. This is PRIDE folks! Some men do NOT like women telling them something was missed...

I've had 7 contractors work on various areas of my home and landscaping and I've NEVER had an experience with a contractor that I've had with this Paint contractor. It was the most painful part of my kitchen remodel!!!! Took the joy right out of it!

All that to say, NO...you are NOT being too picky!!! You pay these folks to do the job RIGHT! And if these guys don't have enough pride in their craft, but are simply more concerned with getting in and getting out as fast and painlessly for them as possible to make a buck, then I'd say you have a legitimate complaint regarding the craftsmanship.

I would recommend that you do NOT pay them UNTIL they come back and replace the broken glass tile (which, by the way, is due to them not knowing how to cut glass tile that is a very tricky product to work with). You did NOT pay to have broken glass tile installed!

I would also suggest to you that you have them straighten up the crooked metal frame. That's SHODDY workmanship.

Again, I highly recommend you do not pay them off UNTIL they complete everything to your satisfaction...otherwise, you'll never see them again.

I think in these lean times, It is paramount that the contractor Communicates "Client expectations" prior to accepting A JOB. I know I do ad naseum.

Along with a price point comes a give and take of quality and fine details. If we both communicate from day one as to what youre getting and NOT getting in the agreed price we can both win in the end.

I think there is a lot of low level contractors taking jobs without discussing fine points and showing multiple version of the actual finished outcome.

I am not saying you got a price point and the quality to match. Im saying There is indeed varying quality and it is indeed related to price in the form of labor/time. We contractors have to guess A total job or project time consumption to estimate labor on hard quotes and as such we need to manage expectations and be forward thinking both of us..

I ask so many questions before I give a price because absolutlely nobody except repeat clients will pay my rates by the hour.

Again im not bashing you im showing you a side of a coin you may not have flipped before........- best

I would like to add that, we, as homeowners, are not the "experts" in remodeling. We do not know what we do not know; therefore, we rely heavily upon the Contractor to tell us what we do not know and to ask all the pertinent questions in order to make sure the job is done to the homeowner's wishes/expectations. We do this maybe only once in a lifetime, but Contractors do these jobs daily. Again, we do not know what we do not know and if something gets missed and isn't talked about, I think the Contractor is just as responsible as the homeowner. It's very difficult finding a good Contractor that can be trusted, but I'm so blessed that out of 7 contractors I've hired over the past 18 years, I've only had issue with this one...whom I will never give references for.

Tundra Finish Works LLC May I ask if you are directing your last comment to me, or DesertDweller?

You and the world at large. Hope it makes sense

M Sm - Fully understand what you are stating. But one should realize that no one is perfect, even the well experienced. When we analyze these situations after the fact it is always easy to find and place blame. It's not always that simple to anticipate every possible variable in advance or when a situation arises to choose the right solution when there may be several possible solutions. Not sure of your profession, but if you have to write a sales/marketing proposal is your first draft 100% correct; requiring no edits or grammatical corrections. And if it is not correct the first time around does your employer demand that you reimburse them for the extra computer time, printer paper and them some further paycheck deduction for pain & suffering. I doubt it. I'm not justifying incompetence or an unprofessional attitude, just saying that everyone needs to look at things from both sides when things go wrong and come up with a fair and amicable solution.

Graham

"You don't know what you don't know" Yes , that may be true. Just like in school, it is NOT the contractors job, or the tilers job to test you and every client daily, to pull out of you, that which you do not understand.. The single BEST thing you can say to any professional is this:

"I am really counting on you. I have waited so long to do this, I am so excited. What if anything can we go over and review? Am I missing anything you need to know? Can you just briefly walk me through this, and I will do my best to stay out of your hair."

That is the kind of dialogue MOST trades can not resist. Your trust. The thing that makes them want to go the extra mile to make you happy. And that type of statement will more often than not, get you MORE than you expected, particularly when you do your due diligence and are organized and prepared; much of which is readily available right here on HOUZZ.

Pretend you are at the doctors office!!! PS.... what mother said is true: "You will catch more flies................."

I will quickly add that (above) is EXACTLY how designers get the most out of the tradespeople they work with. They create the maximum skill within the skill, with trust, and a "poopload" of honey, and an exceedingly prompt payment. That's why we have the best of the trades.............and we never, ever pretend to know, that which we DON'T. If dollars alone bought perfection. .....Well hahaah they do NOT.

Yes, you're being too picky. Especially for a 12K bath. Should have hired a designer to oversee all of those details if you have that level of expectations. And up the budget by about 10k, if that's a hall bath. If it's a master, up it by 20K. That gets you to a low end average for a master done by a professional team. And you would be working with a more expensive and exacting contractor who had worked with the designer before, and who could exceed your expectations. You don't get what you don't pay for.

What you have is perfectly fine. Other than I would have wanted Schluter everywhere. Bullnose and large format just looks wrong.

I have some difficulty with some of the pro comments to this homeowner and the "dilemma" question she/he has presented. The client ALWAYS should have a GC who consults w/the client regarding decisions, REGARDLESS if any designer's charges are involved/consulted. A client DESERVES a GC who thinks ahead w/questions for the client and communicates choices vs making decisions for the client. Keep in mind "industry standard" (in my area) is paying your GC around 20-25% over materials and labor.... so asking your client if maybe a new drain cover for 15$ is not a big deal/big cost or require a third party to ask the question. Ridiculous. Bull trim is also a cheap item, greatly improves the "finished" look, but takes a bit more finesse (i.e. time/labor for GC to pay the tiler) to install and requires the GC to "think" a bit more in spec'g a job to the sub. Sounds to me like your GC is all about speed and not the details. SO this "licensed" GC's overlooking small details that greatly change the clients value of end product/investment and then telling the client they are too picky? RIDICULOUS; thumbs down on this GC. My experience w/ "credible" "reputable" remodeling companies.... you need to be very involved and let them know from the beginning you expect them to come to you for all decisions "not specified"; and get it in writing so you can decide if you want to pay the "extra 15$ for new drain cover" etc. Cutting corners to skip the details is the difference between "meeting subjective industry standards" and "exceeding/improving industry standards".

At the end of the day, the homeowner is the client & is entitled to ask questions & make decisions. With any profession -- no clients -- no livelihood.

Sure, the homeowner is entitled to do all of that. On the front end. If little details are important to the HO, and the HO is doing the designing, then it's up to the HO to specify all of that on the front end. And tell the contractor what they expect. Not after the fact, and when the details weren't specified. You don't get to change your mind in skydiving after you've left the plane. You get to pick your parachute, plane, and co diver, right up until you step out of that door.

The Skydiving analogy is duly noted, it will be in my arsenal from here on out. thx for that SW

When you choose to only work through a GC then that's what you got, a "General Contractor". They are much needed but their title explicitly describes the breadth of their role. The expected detail on this project required the input of a "Designer", their role is to design. The Designer designs and the General Contractor organizes and oversees the trades to build what the Designer designed.

Graham

The brutal truth is, as a homeowner with a G.C in charge, you are to a very large degree, the designer, AND the G.C, and that G.C is your foreman with the subs! You may not like that. But this fellow is not your designer in any way. Nor is the salesperson at the tile shop, nor the one who helped you at the plumbing supply when you chose your sink or toilet.

This is not to say you will not find helpful folks to answer your many questions, point you in the right direction, or even save you from a potential mistake you will later hate. But you are in charge. You can resist it, you can embrace it, you can be mad I said it. It is fact. It is so MUCH fact, that any designer will usually make every effort on the planet to wrest the job from your hands, put you with her own people, because she already knows the scope of the job, and her own people will know that she is the one in charge.

Nobody would say it can't be done by a homeowner, or done very well. It is just more work and due diligence for someone less practiced.. The breakdowns in result vs expectation, happen when someone, in this case a homeowner, doesn't realize the very broad scope of that more complex job "description".

The Kitchen Abode Ltd., I appreciate the marketing proposal analogy, but may I humbly suggest that in the original poster's photos, there are two areas that are obviously lacking in craftsmanship that need to be readdressed by the GC: the cracked glass tiles and the crooked Schluter edging. Though she didn't know she needed to talk to the GC about tile edging, she certainly did NOT pay for CROOKED edging; nor, did she pay for BROKEN tiles to be placed on her walls. When/if you purchase a pair of jeans and take them home, only to find out that there is a rip in them, don't you take them back to the store for a replacement without the expectation that you have to pay for another pair of jeans. That's all I'm saying. Shoddy craftsmanship is unacceptable. In my case in which my painter simply forgot to spray clear coat on an area of my stain/glazed island, the expectation and what I paid for was a fully coated island, not a partially coated island. For my painter to call me "picky" in this case is absolutely ridiculous and unprofessional. If he thinks doing a partial job is "industry standard", then I think the "industry" needs to change.

Sophie Wheeler, the simple fix is if the GC doesn't know what the homeowner wants in a particular area, then they need to open their mouths and ASK the homeowner. It's not that hard, folks...

imhofan, Well said! Bravo!

The reason the tiles and Schuluter edge look rough probably is because he didn’t change to a new tile saw blade when the old one got dull. The bathroom is remodeled to look new and the old drain should never be put back in. It is the contractor job to ask you if you want to buy a new drain cover of your choice from high end ones or he could provide a basic one ( $25 ) at least. He should ask you what type of schuluter you want to use as shapes ( square, round,...) and color ( chrome , nickel, brushed , polished,...). The contractor is supposed to discuss with every client what are the options and not just does whatever he like or using whatever material they may have left from other jobs as grout, mortar,...also. It may be the first time you remodeled a shower and of course you would not know what are all different materials and options out there since you are not a handyman. For 12k, he could did a better job. The pictures are blurry and hard to tell the details. But as you could see all the work imperfections, he is overpriced .