Builder fibs. I have darker grout and all aligns.

The builder is correct. Think about it, if the grout were white it would blend seamlessly with the tile, and any imperfections would be much harder to see.

The floor has some slope to it because it has to drain. I don't know where the drain is, but you have to have some slope. It doesn't look like there is a drain in the middle.

I'm sorry but I don't like how it turned out, too crooked.

I just finished tiling my shower. First time job for me, and I feel like he or she could have done better with the alignment and more precise cuts in the corners and ends. IMO... Really love that tile choice tho!

Tile is beautiful. Dont care for the grout color though.

Has that "Affordable" "Craiglsist deal" look to it.

Translation: Dark grout shows off how really bad my installer is. Lol

I would say this is not below average. I wouldn't be happy, but it's pretty typical.

Your builder is correct in the sense that the dark grout highlights the spacing variation. I have seen worse jobs than this look better because the grout matches the tile.

You are not being too picky —- bad tile job - tiler too lazy to do it right. We purchased a pre-owned home with bad tile work - not “horrible” but not right and my eye was drawn to it every time I went into the bathroom. Maybe it wasn’t bad enough for others to see, but I saw it and it drove me crazy. Then we had a custom home built with exceptional contractors - the tile in 3 bathrooms, kitchen backsplash and laundry/mud room is PERFECT - every seam lines up, everything is straight - good tile jobs are out there and should be expected...

Houzz exposure to top 1% renovations has raised expectations of average 99% tile work to unrealistic standards.

That ^ is builder grade average. Not immediately horrible. Not good. Just average, from an affordable “tile guy” rather than an actual Tile Contractor.

Is this a 7K-9K shower ? Or a $500 tub surround. You don’t get what won’t be paid for. You can have it ripped out and replaced, with work by someone in your market’s top 1% skill level. If, you’re willing to pay the price to do so, and wait the 6-12 months to come to the top of his list.That demo, new waterproofing, new tile, etc. would run 8-10K.

Unless your contract references TCNA or ANSI standards, quality levels are subjective. If it meets your GC’s standards, for the money spent, worry about less visible issues in the project. IF this was a top 1% project. If you didn’t get what you paid for, that’s one thing. But, you won’t get what you won’t pay for either.

If you demand better work, you have to be willing by to pay the price of obtaining better work. You cannot have your budget remodel and get top 1% work both. Having your cake, and eating it too, simply is not possible.

Or you can get some epoxy grout colorant and recolor it white, where it won’t accent the average work, and go on with it.

In other words, your ability to be picky is in direct proportion to your budget for the project.

Although it's correct that black is difficult because it's more noticeable ..but some tiles are also not cut well. The easiest solution is to re grout ..maybe in grey ...? The installer should see his cuts are not well done , also tiles are not equal in most cases or the walls are uneven . When you use black ...you have to know all the pitfalls and brace for them ..it seems the installer did not do that . It's always good to have markers on every corner to have the exact distance in all places .

Yojimbo - okay, you're being too picky. It's Houzz's fault. :-)

I wouldn’t accept. I have no idea if a supposedly very reputable tile contractor did the work or not but your contractor has some explaining to do.

He's partially right, does make the spacing look off it also accentuates when the tile is not aligned and tiles properly cut.