There are Schluter trims that give a nice clean edge in niches and that is what they should have used here.

Not using the bullnoses keeps the niche's edges raw, just cut. A trim edge is needed for a finished look. if you are redoing have him just use 1 tile piece in back of niche.

These are the finer details of tiling. You get the ultra fine detailed niches first written into your contracts detailed scope (IE mitered edges at niche, Metal flashing at Nice, bullnose edges at niche etc.) This will then reflect in the price of your project and force one to select a skilled enough tile professional accordingly to meet your desired result.

What Im seeing is a semi skilled more novice approach to detailing one likely matching a price point.. Who did you hire and how specific is your contract? These days we are fine mitering niches, Bullnose and Metal flashings an upgrade from what you have and clean miters being Best in class..

"I requested a shower niche using my original tile without using a bullnose." That discussion should have continued to established the detail you did prefer.

"He said this is the only way to do it without a bullnose."

Agree w ctec. But then theres this bull

I hired this guy off of Angie's list and he had over 90 A reviews and one bad one. We didn't know where else to go for reviews. He certainly isn't the cheapest guy- I would say average and more than the price of the GC's tiler (but the GC didn't like the idea of us extending heated floors through closets so quit). However I tried my best to my knowledge explain the details I want to this tiler- including researching acceptable waterproofing systems since every guy we interviewed had a certain approach they stick to and most of them using liquid waterproofing membrane.

The picture above is the wall around a stand alone tub so it's not waterproofed. However as the wall goes into the shower - denshield was used with a rubber shower pan extended a foot out for a cut less shower (which had a presloped mortar and then waterproof liner added and then a second mortar bed. I requested this because the contracter set the subfloor appropriately for a curbless shower. However the contracter got another job and didn't like our need for heated flooring so we had to hire another tiler. My husband found this tiler who has been doing it for 45 years. My husband wanted someone with reviews. I discussed his waterproofing mechanism and read up on it and requested adding a liquid paint on membrane at the seams which he didn't agree with and so that was thrown into away. He claimed it deters from good adhering of the cement to the denshield and he's done it for so and so years. Then I told him why a preslope is important even if is not always required by city code because it helps with draining rather than stagnant water below a base.)

Anyhow he started tiling and some of the aesthetics we couldn't be on him for because contracters don't like that. However to top off this issue I must add these pictures as the shower wall extending up seemed to be poorly tiled.
I had him remove the top tile because we feel the inner wall tile could've been approximated better against the wall (as you can see there's an airspace). He is telling me that's impossible because my wall is crooked and he didn't build this house. Based on the leveler it's not really bad and even if it were crooked how would that affect how close the tile could've been pushed in up there? If a tiler can please explain that to me. Does a crooked wall (barely if so) result in airspace with such a dramatic forward slant in tiling.

Also for those who said this isn't the right tile choice- why not? Some of the 23.75 inch tile could've been set right by him measuring the shortest wall and compensating be starting the bottom tile just a few inches back and each row would stagger a bit better and we would have had an adequate tile amount at the top I think. However in the beginning if we brought up anything he tried saying we can't remove anything it will wrip the wall out. Now I've pushed for that to be fixed.

I'm in the leawood, Kansas area. I would love to find another experienced tiler to get him in here but have nobody to turn to. Some of these contractors really get disrespectful with any questioning. I know there's great contracters out there but I've come to realize that it's hard to judge in one meeting. I have twins at home and am really nervous bringing up concerns but don't want a botched project as I've put a lot of time and energy into it.

Additional pictures

That’s a complete flustercluck and the entire thing needs to be redone.

What did you pay for this job? And why did you decide to act as the GC yourself on it?

Oh that's gonna look weird. You want either bullnose or schluter edges on there.

How did you resolve this @Sid K? Can you post a picture of the final product? In the process of installing one now. Knowing the right terms to use when speaking to the tiler would help.

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Finally someone said it!!!

U get it fixed? I’m inNY but I go everywhere and my tile is 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I float all my walls they are perfectly plumb, square and level and I miter all my corners or bullnose or decorative tile

So yes what is done is done up to a certain standard. You would not have any legal recourse. I would never butt my edges. I would miter the corners at 45 but that's me and I charge for that. Also there is nothing wrong with your tile choice not sure what that guy was talking about. That could have been done a bit nicer and you dont need bulldoze or schluter strips. Your tile is solid not glazed so the top of tile looks the same on cut edge so it could be done with no additional product and if done well with patience and an eye for detail could look very nice. The red gard or paint on membrane would definitely not effect the bond of the thinset as long as the thinset is latex fortified. Your contractor is wrong about that for sure. I would never do a job without using some form of waterproof membrane. That's asking for trouble. You get what you pay for these days and a curbless shower with niches and heated floors is not done cheaply. That's an expensive remodel that should cost 40k to get it done right where you sleep well at night. That being said if that bathroom cost less than that you went cheap and butt tiles and acceptable standard is what you get. Nice costs money. I would never have done a poured shower pan. They leak. They always have leaked. We know they leak and weep water. They can never get the pan perfect and then have a nice smooth perfect shower floor. Mortar is tricky. I poured pans for 25 years and the day pre-made pans were invented I immediately learned how to install them and have not turned back. I'll never pour a pan again. Right now the wedi system is the best thing going. Perfect pitch smooth as a baby's bottom. So completely water proof and reliable. All walls and pan are completely sealed for worry free installs and happy homeowners. I will say installing tile on a not plumb wall is a nightmare especially at a corner. That wall should have been discussed and either fixed so it finishes nice or explained that the tile has to go on plumb and will float off the wall and will have a gap that will look like an eyesore. The corner tile has to all match at each corner. It forces the first wall of the corner to be plumb at straight. The second tile that goes on the other wall will have to go up straight to match which will cause it to also float off wall. He is right about that. To push the tile in tight to the wall will open up a gap at the corner because it's not meeting at a 90° angle. He's right about the install but he should have told you that and told you your options and solutions to fix it. If a change order is necessary so be it but if you don't want to pay extra to have him fix the wall then you have to live with it. That is really why you don't butt outside corner tiles. If you miter them you have a bit more flexibility to close that angle but it still may not be enough to come together and meet a way out of plumb wall. And that wall is way out of plumb. You can see it's out of plumb and it ain't barely, it's visibly out of plumb. 1/4" from floor to ceiling on an 8 ft wall will look barely out of plumb on a level but when installing LFT tile on a wall you already have a decent thinset bed that holds LFT tiles 1/4" off the wall plus a 1/4" out of plumb now you have a 1/2 gap off the wall up top. That's a big deal. There are 1000's of contractors that can do a job that is up to industry standard but just a few who can do really good, stand out from the crowd, impressive work and those guys get paid good money to do so. Their schedules are booked out for 1 year or further. Good contractors can't be found to do work tomorrow because a contractor walked out today. If a guys schedule was open and available ask yourself why? Why was he available on short notice? If he was any good he has more work than he knows what to do with right now. My schedule is set for the next 12 months and I have almost 14 jobs that do not even have start dates because I can't try to realisticly schedule out past 12 months. There is no easy fix at this point and the work he's done isn't awful. Grout hides a lot and the grout lines aren't black and standing out as they are right now without the grout. It really won't look as awful as you think. There is no simple easy fix that is inexpensive. Sorry for your situation it sucks when work isn't done to the standard you would expect. I believe most of this stuff arises when the job is originally discussed and these specifics aren't squared away before the price is given then the contractor gets set in at a price they give and then you have an expectation that wasn't discussed ahead of time and that expectation costs a good deal of money for example liquid paint on membrane alone just the product is over $100 plus several labor hours to do the work and then it needs to cure 24 hrs so it adds another day to the job, all expenses that were not expected for the price given. As a kitchen/bathroom remodeler I see both sides of this and think that maybe there was not enough discussion done before the job was bid and now there are issues arising from that. All I can say is it sounds like you did your homework but then didn't have enough discussion about those things when the contractor initially met with you and left without the full picture and gave a bid without enough info and they appear to not do good quality work but instead good enough work that won't cut muster 5 years down the road. The only way is the right way and the right way is to waterproof every wall water comes into contact to and always pour a pre pan then rubber membrane then the pan because that's the right way to make sure water drains out and the pan doesn't deteriorate because of standing water they may leak from a seam at the corners of the membrane if enough water seeps through the pan. Water proof all cement/fiber board with liquid membrane and use fortified thinset. Corners get 45° meters and all walls not plumb get fixed so all tile sits tight as possible to the wall. All specific details of how the niche gets tiled, the wall pattern and how benches or corner seats get tiled and trimmed. Details all the way down to specific materials used should be discussed if all that matters to you. Don't ever leave any detail out assuming that of course they will do it that way because as a contractor I can tell you only 5-10% of the guys out there will do it the right way if it's completely up to them. Every corner cut is more money in their pocket if they feel like they can get away with it. They cross their fingers and say it should last a year and that's when their warranty ends so they're done and in the clear. I've rambled on enough. Good luck hope all worked out for you in the end.

Wow, on a 3 year old post.

Yep because info is info, you came across post for a reason as did I. Not so much for homeowner as future folks looking to find stuff out.

Yes, that was very nice of you to go into so much detail.

OK, I found this by accident, so let's get into it. Great post for a life lesson; albeit many years old.

Lots of things can be said about other people's work, but there are artists that cost a lot, like a boutique shop for tiling, and then there are projects that follow a paint-by-number system. They both work. One costs $10 million at auction, the other $40 at Walmart. They both hang on your wall. If you go to Walmart, you're probably not finding an original Monet for $40. Just remember, if someone has done this work for 10+ years, it will almost always turn out nice in the end. They see it finished, whereas someone with no experience sees the mess of the process and freaks out. In this particular case, regardless of style (bullnose, miter, tile trim, Schluter trim, tile butt, etc.), once the grout goes in, everything disappears and the next homeowner won't see anything but the finished product and will love it, as long as the basics were done and it doesn't leak of course.

To have a home-owner come in AFTER the cement has dried, but BEFORE the grout has gone in, wanting to re-do the work, is really bad management on the part of the homeowner. If you know exactly how you want it done, do it yourself, OR stand behind the person doing it at all times to make sure everything is exactly what you want. This is called micro-managing, but can ONLY be done while work is in process without extra money.

I don't do this professionally, but I've done my own home, family and friends home, and I spend a lot of time getting cuts rights, corners right, waterproofing right, etc. It is done my way, because I took the time to learn how to do it, and maybe more importantly, how NOT to do it. The tiler is right, the homeowner is right, and all of the professionals who responded are right. Everyone just has different glasses with how they see this. However, this situation is completely on the homeowner. You specifically said you didn't want bullnose; however, you didn't seem to care about anything else, until AFTER the cement was dried?

If you don't want to wait until it is finished to see the final work, and instead, you want to make artistic decisions at each step, then you MUST stand there as every tile is laid. Like hiring Rembrandt to do your portrait, and telling him which colors to use and which way you want the brush strokes, that you don't like the way your eyebrow looks, or the lean of the head. But it can certainly be negotiated. Let the tiler know you will be doing this and the person can add a "design-as-you-go" or "educational/journeyman" cost, as the person shows you how it is done, and allows you to do the process through them. However, if you want straight walls, they need to be straightened before you tile. Your "barely," is correct from a yard-stick, but unfortunately is a bigger deal from a tiling point of view. But fixable; and again, BEFORE the tiling begins. If you want perfectly straight tile, you should ask if the wall is out of plumb before tiling starts. The answer almost ALWAYS will be "yes, of course it is out-of-plumb." It would be rare to find a perfectly straight wall anywhere, in any house. Have you seen the number of beer cans around the guys building houses? You always have a choice with cost vs. look. You can't wait until the tile goes up and say, my wall is crooked, but not by a lot, make the tile straight. This is insane.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people wait until something is done before coming in to Monday-morning quarterback. Just say, "I didn't know anything about it before you started, I chose not to pay attention, and now I know what I don't want. Try it again, and I'll wait until you're done and let you know if we need to re-do it." And this is not just in tiling, but in life. If you know how to do it, then do it. If you hire someone to do it, do your homework, get someone with experience, explain EXACTLY what you want BEFORE the person starts, put it in the contract and let them do the work. If you don't really know what you want, until you see what you DON'T want, and expect to have someone keep re-doing it until they guess what you want correctly, then expect to continue to pay 2x or 3x+ more than the contracted amount.

I know this is years old, but if you're reading this as a homeowner, and know EXACTLY what you want, at every step of the process, then communicate it. If you plan to wait until it is half-done to critique and make changes because you really have no idea, you're going to have an expensive mess. No one, in any walk of life, likes working with someone who can't communicate, but always wants it changed once it is done.

If you're reading this as a professional, pay attention to what the first contractor did. You should run, and run quickly, from this type of homeowner.

If you're reading this as the poor sod who is under constant scrutiny for your work, with constant changes and dissatisfaction by one who keeps coming in to "supervise" the project after it is finished, please remember to smile and tell them, "Anything that can be done can be undone. But it costs money, and I can't get to it until next week."

And finally, if you don't know what you're doing with tile, and think you can get by with just guessing as you go along, no matter who you are, well stop it. You're not helping anyone.