what needs to redone is your contract, it needs to have a detailed scope of tile shower build with tile selections sizes and layout, grout colors and choices and methods of installation with industry standards.. An elevation drawing as example or a clause to have client confirm and sign off on all the above.

You dont get that with a budget builder grade project. You the homeowner engaged this far along and are gonna have a hard time now with a change order.

All Homeowners first timers especially should educate and understand the finer points of even A small construction projects contract.

Very neutral. The tile layout and spacing looks okay to me. I would go with the same grout as the shower floor. Wondering if there should be taller tile around the tub to protect the drywall there?

You already got your choice of Choice A or Choice B. That is all of the choices you get when you deal with a tract builder.

If you wanted custom details, that belongs in an actual custom home build. At significantly more cost.

This is one of those live and learn lessons, the job looks good and honestly it would cost you a fortune to have this ripped out and you hire another tile person and go shopping for tile. In my experience when you deal with a bulders design center you have few choices.I do agree to use the same grout averwhere like the shower floor it will help to mask the tile size.

Use the lighter grout that you used on the floor. A dark grout will make the tiles stand out more.

With the exception that the niche could have been centered better so you didn't have that odd cut to the left of the niche, this is actually a pretty good tile job. Especially considering this is a tract build.

You didn't say what it was you are unhappy about, so it's difficult to respond other than to what we are seeing in your photos. As others have said, it looks fine to me. Also I agree with previous posts to do the same grout as the floor. And I echo Suzyq53 to ask the builder to tile higher around the tub, even if there's an upcharge for it. Worth it in the long run.

Actually I do see one tile needs to be replaced on THEIR DIME. Note the bottom tile circled with the arrow. That should be a whole tile. It's obvious they cracked it but still decided it was ok to use. It's not.

Overall it doesnt look bad. In addition to what cpartist noted, the tiles dont line up where the wall meets the pony wall ledge, but it’s not a big deal. Also, make sure the grout in the second pic circled area stays even.

People are too used to seeing zillion dollar Houzz level tile jobs on here. They no longer recognize the standard builder level work that goes into every 200K tract home in middle America. Lots of these jobs are even worse than this design wise, and certainly implementation wise.

90% of people purchasing these homes do not notice or care. The 10% that notice and care, can’t do much about it. Not with a tract builder. They learn their lesson for their next build and go custom then. Or they rip this out and do something else after closing.

Agree, light grout, the same as used with the floor tile. Be sure that caulk, not grout, is used where tile meets tile at the perpendicular joints.

rockybird, I'm guessing the only thing they'll change is the cracked tile. The tiles not lining up is something that happens in every single tract home.

1-is it acceptable or does it need to be redone?

No redo; it mostly looks just fine for a tract house (except the cracked tile CP noted). You might not even get a redo if you asked for one.

2-I chose a dark grout so it wouldn’t show dirt so easy and now I’m second guessing that decision.

This is one of those things that gets marked down as a "you live, you learn" experience. :-) Grout should generally disappear into the tile, or be slightly darker. There are artistic exceptions, of course. I, personally, wouldn't even mention it to the builder.

The tiles not lining up is something that happens in every single tract home.

We are very, very fortunate in our tract home experience, in this regard... It's definitely super rare to get good tile guys, but we have had excellent shower/tub installations (things perfectly centered and lined up) on both production homes. :-) I never expect it, though, which always makes it such a pleasant surprise.