We installed wood look porcelain tile in the bedroom areas of our home on the first floor and on the entire second floor, except for the bathrooms. We choose a tile from Spain, purchased by our contractor from a reputable tile supplier. Installation was very expensive, and the tile ended up costing more than the white oak wood I was considering, but I wanted a maintenance free product.
After installation, the floors were immediately covered to protect them, and I did not have a chance to inspect the installation. Once they were uncovered, after baseboards, built-ins and closets were installed, the floors were uncovered. There was grout residue all over the floors and missing grout in some places. When the grout was cleaned, I discovered extensive chipping (over 50 chipped tiles) and some lippage. The tile installer has been fixing the chipped tiles by filling the chips, but it looks terrible. Some of the most severe lippage was fixed by replacing tiles, but the tile installer said the other lippage was normal and within industry standards. I hired a tile inspector who has reported the tile was not installed within industry standards, and that the chipping is unusual, and the filling of chips has not been done to industry standards. The inspector said I was well within my rights to demand that it all be replaced. Replacing all of the tile will require extensive work to be redone, including removing all closets and built ins, not to mention creating a mess. Our house is over a year behind schedule and this will cause further delays. I love the look of the tile, but have no idea what I should do. Our contractor is telling us once we move in, we won't notice the chips, but I think they will drive me crazy. Any advice? Thank you.