Backsplash gone wrong! Help please

5 years ago

We had our guest bath remodeled in the last few weeks. Our designer was on a course the day the vanity backsplash was grouted.
Her team called me in to show me the grouted backsplash and it looked very nice, however it was darker than I had imagined and looking towards the ungrouted shower I knew I didnt want it to look dark. I was able to reach her and when I asked if the shower could have lighter grout she said ok. I advised her I would go to the store to get a lighter grout and while I was there was able to reach her and she told me not white and picked a lighter color. I returned home and gave it to the tilers who proceeded to grout the tub area.
When the designer came that night she was upset with her crew and me. She lectured me that they should have waited on her to grout the tub area and now the backsplash would have to be acid etched and grout lightened and it would take time and a cost of $600.
I asked if we could leave the 2 sections with different grout as the area us slightly broken up but she said no it would have to be done this way.
The vanity backsplash was redone and now the grout is rough, uneven, the tile outline looks muddled and not crisp. On top of that they also didnt protect the counter from the acid and now it has rough spots.
Her crew, as well as her assistant and I, have used sandpaper which helped in some areas, but other areas remain looking very unprofessional and I'm disappointed with how it looks now.
She wants to wrap up the job by tomorrow or Friday but I want her to resolve the issue since her "fix" really made it look worse. I've asked her for other suggestions but nothing.
What options are there for fixing it?
TIA for suggestions.

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Comments (3)

cyc2001
5 years ago
It sounds like everyone, including YOU, is working for this designer. Shouldn’t she be working for you? And on site making important design decisions instead of at a course? And apologizing to you for not being there and causing this issue...instead of being upset with you? The dynamics of that whole relationship sound way, way off. You should not have to pay for her crew’s mistakes in implementing HER ‘fix’ to an issue that happened largely because she was absent from your job site to go to a course. I’m sorry this is happening and hope you can reset the boundaries and roles in this relationship to get an appropriate resolution.
gypsyardie
Original Author
5 years ago
I appreciate your opinion. I just want it resolved but from what others are saying it is no longer a relatively easy fix, and she is not coming with any other solutions, probably because she knows she is ultimately the reason the tile is now in the state it is in.
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Beth H. :
5 years ago
She lectured me that they should have waited on her to grout the tub area and now the backsplash would have to be acid etched and grout lightened and it would take time and a cost of $600.
I asked if we could leave the 2 sections with different grout as the area us slightly broken up but she said no it would have to be done this way.

acid etch? glass tiles? (or is that marble?) either way, bad idea. Didn't her crew realize what would happen?

let me just say this about the tiling job,,,last pic, right corner. a good tiler will line up the design so that there is no break. A good tiler knows there is no way you're going to 'etch' the grout out of this mosaic. the only way to remove grout is with a hand tool or dremel and grind it out.

what did it look like before this debacle? why wasn't a sample tile grouted to see if you liked it? why wasn't the designer there on site and why did you have to go to the store to get new grout? where is project manager or GC on this job?

I just redid my neighbors bathroom. I was designer, project manager and GC along w/my tile guy, who is also a GC. we both collaborated before starting any task. tile layout, design, grout, color, etc. then we went to the customer and showed them exactly what it was going to look like. if they approved it, we did it. So I really don't get where your designer is coming off lecturing you.

Do not pay. If you material is damaged, then she and her crew are responsible for fixing it or replacing it. Period. I would not accept, nor pay for, any damaged, etched, scratched or otherwise blemished material that was caused by their doing.

you do not 'etch' grout to lighten it. never heard of such a thing. the damage was caused by her telling her crew to do that. I can't believe they did it. your tile guys are bozos.

She owes you new tile and a new install. (I'd hire someone else that knows how to install a difficult water jet mosaic. cuz the guys that did yours do not)