Contact the store manager immediately. And the Customer Care hotline. That gets their attention.

Now, we have Coordinator and Contractor scheduled for this Thursday.

You want to call them around 4 pm this afternoon to confirm that they'll be there on Thursday. Also, Lowe's store managers get dinged if there are too many calls to corporate from unhappy customers. Put that threat in your collection of strategies to use if you don't see action. I watched a flooring spiral out of control for another associate. Installer didn't do it right, then went back to fix it and made a bigger mess, no returned calls, etc. They eventually they replaced the floor using a different installer and refunded her money totally.

Thank you!

UPDATE NEED ADVISE PLEASE- REGROUTING??!!

We had coordinator come out and take pictures. She agreed there is some issues and is having contractor come and regrout.

REGROUT?? Is this correct?? I thought they would have to take the entire job down and start from scratch.

Will this cause damage to tiles?

How does regrouting tile work?

How long should this take?

I don’t really care how they actually fix the bad tile job and If regrouting will solve the problems then great,but I was under the impression that regrouting wasn’t a realistic option.

Please let me know your thoughts.

They said they will regrout .... is this the correct approach??

they want to resolve this with regrouting...will regrouting work??

How long should regrouting take?

Regrouting your tile is not going to make it flush with the wall. Your're being played. They are basically trying to put lipstick on a pig!

Unfortunately, the contractors will have to rip everything out and start over at the studs in order to fully correct your problem. The expense should be on them since they're the ones that installed and ultimately wasted your materials.

I just had a similar problem. I had to eat what I paid the crappy contractors. I then had to hire a true tile professional redo the whole project. I'm thrilled with the results but it took over 2 months to find someone and have the shower redone. I'm still waiting on a shower fixture and doors to be installed. A little patience waiting on the right people to tile is well worth it.

That’s a big NEGATIVE there Rubber Ducky. The issue ain’t the grout. The issue is the tile WORK, with the too small grout lines, incorrect offset, wonkynwall behind, and potentially incorrect waterproofing.

Buy s TCNA Manual and throw it on their desk with the pertinent passages highlighted if they start to get less than apologetic about ripping that out and redoing it completely. They can argue with you, but they’re are huge fools if they try to argue with the written standards in the industry bible.

https://www.tcnatile.com/products-and-services/publications/218-english-publications/188-handbook/957-2018-tcna-handbook-for-ceramic-glass-and-stone-tile-installation.html

Post this on your social media accounts, tagging Lowes and Marvin Ellison. Marvin will not stand for this BS.

Omg! You poor thing! I am no profession tile setter, but I don’t believe regrouting will solve the lippage. If you are not getting satisfactory results in resolving this. Contact the BBB with your documentation, frustrating I know to make people do the right thing, but you definitely paid enough to have it done properly.

BBB won’t do jack. Customer Care phone calls every day, and a letter to Marvin will put thermite under them to get in a hurry to make it right.

could they use a dremel tool to remove all the old grout and replace it with new?

Good question, how they will go about regrouting ? I would think a dremel will damage the current tiles wall ...

coming tomorrow to regrout ...

The tiles are laid and spaced unevenly. Grout will not correct that. You have an inept contractor.

You can’t solve that lippage with grouting. Rectangular tiles almost always not flat to start with. And when you set on a wall that was not prepped to be flat it only accentuates that lippage more.

I would get a straightedgethat is the width of the surround and you will notice usually that if you place the Straightedge/level against the tile you will see big gaps between the tile and straightedge in the middle.

50% offset is tough sometimes. Most tile manufacturers say no....only go 33.3% offset for larger rectangle tiles. But customers want 50% offset often times With tight grout joints.

When this is the case ....I will usually mock up an example and show them how it will look. Even with the flattest wall....you will have slight lippage with larger rectangles. But there again with 50% offset, the wall prep has to be spot on and flat.

Your picture shows me that the installer didnt care much about the finished product.

We've done tons of tile and remodeling work on our house. This is a very poor installation! I would be hopping mad. I suggest giving Lowe's a call, all the way up to corporate if necessary. In my past experience and with talking to friends...Never, never, never use the chain store construction people for remodeling. They pretty much always mess up the job.Good luck.

Regrouting will not solve a bad tile job. This needs to be removed and done properly by someone who knows what he is doing.

jumping on the 're grouting won't do jack" bandwagon

You may want to make clear that the re-grouting is not what you are looking for ...but you are willing to allow them to try with the caveat that if it is not satisfactory you will expect a re-do...get on record with everyone...call...write...leave messages ...to this effect...It is so true that the squeaky wheel gets the attention...and that the diplomatic approach makes people want to help.....keep up with these two approaches and try to be patient and not being miserable over this...in the long term it is a lesson well learned and remembered ....hoping for the best for you...

If you allow them to absorb the cost of a fix that won't fix it, they may be even more reluctant to do anything more. What you want to hear is that they will attempt the fix and if it's not to your satisfaction, they will redo the shower. That's the guarantee I was given for a quartz countertop that the installers damaged.

I hope you know no one is poo-pooing on you. we all feel so disappointed that this has happened to you and are hoping we can help prevent someone else from falling victim to such poor results.

I cannot stress enough about hiring an experienced interior designer or an architect to help carry out decorating and remodeling plans rather than just going it alone and hiring some contractor. Designers/Architects will NEVER refer a client to a contractor that does this kind of poor workmanship. (My company works closely with 5 contractors, each of which are so top notch I feel blessed every work day.)

NEXT, always contact the local city building codes and permits department for information on whom you may wish to contract to perform the physical work. They are the ones that know directly if there are any complaints on these contractors in your town or nearby towns. Permits do more to protect an investment than anything, plus the city can be on the homeowner's side to recoup lost monies (IF you've permitted your project) and even prevent these guys from working in town on other projects when not registered or licensed with the city. Remember it is the homeowner who is responsible for hiring a contractor. Almost anyone can picking pretty things for a pretty room, but inexperience in hiring a truly professional contractor is another.

And PLEASE do not use the internet to find an installer--use word of mouth from those who have had work done, ask questions. A really great contractor rarely needs to advertise as his referral and networking base is what keeps them in business.

Here's to wishing you get your situation resolved quickly and without additional stress. Keep us all posted.

UPDATE !!!

First, Thank you all for you time and advise. It has been so helpful and I’ve become much more confident when speaking to the contractor n store!!

After a a brief visit with contractor we made the trip down to Lowe’s and almost immediately we were told they would infact redo all the tiles in shower total take down n not just regrouting!! Ahhhhhh finally the words we wanted to hear!!

we don’t have a date yet N won’t be for several weeks, but i can wait. I don’t want to deal with this during the holidays anyway !!

I will keep you all posted on progress and or the lack there of.

Thank you, again for all of your

TIME,ATTENTION. and ADVISE.

It has been very helpful and I truly appreciate it!! THANK YOU!!

YOO HOOOOO!!

15K?? just to do the shower? agree with the rest that the issue was the wall, not the grout. Also, having an overhead light will cast shadows from the tiles that are not completely flush to the wall. During the day w/no light, it's prob not as noticeable.

I want to show you my tile guy who I contracted to do a clients shower. I supplied all of the tile. I am extremely picky about tile work and this was the first time I used this guy (he had done a friends bathroom so I thought I would try him). Turned out I had nothing to worry about. the guy was amazing. All of his cuts were near perfect and he knew how to lay out the tile so that symmetry wouldn't be an issue. If I told you the price he charged, you'd cry. I can't believe how much Lowes over-charges, and you still don't get anything near professional.

This time, take photos of all the work as it's being done. The experts here will want to see the waterproofing system. I'd also take photos of the waterproofing supplies, so you know the brand and type of all the materials. Post them.

@beth, "Also, having an overhead light will cast shadows from the tiles that are not completely flush to the wall "

This is very true. The floor I did is the same. It being the floor, it does exaclty the opposite. When I have the overhead light on it looks perfect. But if I just use the floor lamp in the corner it casts shadows and makes some spots look like there is lippage even though you can't feel anything if you past your hand or feet across it. So a bad install job would just be amplified x10. Light grout also doesn't help. Dark grout hides any shadows.

But it also depends how picky you are also. Even in that picture you posted you can see some minor lippage in the bottom left tile from the faucet. LOL I see that just from a picture lol. Thats the shadows Im talking about with mine. But being that picky is ridiculous.

This is also lighted very well. Im sure you'd see more in slightly less light.

One thing I did notice that I dont like is the bottom tile is like a quarter tile. 90% of the time your looking down so you see that the most, it should be a full tile and cut whatever at the top.

i will most definitely be taking pictures of everything the second go around and keep you all updated. unfortunatley, it Won’t be for several weeks, but make no mistake we will be back and keep you all well informed how it goes.

Stay tuned!!!

tony, yes,,I saw that when I posted the picture. I will say in real life, it does not appear like that. there are no shadows and no obvious tile lippage. I'm sure it's not 100% perfect, because nothing is, but it's pretty darn close.

Unacceptable. Hopefully you took before, during and after photos. What does contract say?

Joined late, my first comment irrelevant at this point....make sure the wall is level/plumb and properly waterproofed. And see if you can get that price reduced, it's a bit much! Good luck.

it has the WOW factor, just the wrong kind......who ever installed that tile DOES NOT know what he/she or they are doing. Regardless of the area prior to installation if you want a perfect tiled wall there are thing needed to be done, if you are not willing to do these things the results will show

I can't believe I forgot about these and no one else brought them up. Bottom line, even if the wall was crooked or the tiles were a little warped. These kinds of big mistakes can be avoided if pros just used a tile leveling system. Any idiot can use these and do a perfect job every time. If the OP paid $15K for this job (lol). That more than covered the cost for these clips.

When they redo this bathroom, tell them to use these and you'll have no worries. They have small ones for smaller tile.

Tony Montana - clips are awesome!

Agree... my guys used the clips too. They worked great. Everything was flush and grout lines were perfect.

Where you going for a basket weave look? That’s what it looks like to me.. the unevenness is not something I’d be happy with either..

Thank you for posting an example of the contract work produced by this big box store. A little stunned at the price...how large is the project? I'm also curious about the "special discounts & deals" used to close the sale by this contractor/big box partnership.

Before I say this, understand I still agree this was unacceptable work, and should be replaced. Now, that said, this situation is being exasperated by the lighting in there. Called washed lighting it will make the most perfectly installed wall look like crap. Not nearly as bad as this, but nontheless.... It's the bain of any tile installer, and it literally cost me a strong 5 figures on one commercial job in particular.

Beth and Bill Vincent, what lighting do you recommend in a bathroom? We are in the beginning stages and I want to make sure that we get it right and may assist OP.

I'll preface this by saying I think the OP's tile is unacceptable, far too much lippage on far too many tiles, but the trend to put lighting inside showers that grazes the walls highlights any imperfections in the tile and makes a tile setters job harder. Even if tiles are flat to within a credit card or better, grazing incidence light can make them look weird. I have a shower with simple white 3x6 subway tiles that have a slight bevel on all sides and the light shining down on the wall casts shadows giving them a wavy appearance when they are really flat; look to the right of the window. So I think it's a bit of a judgement call, when I first saw my wall I was a annoyed, but then I got up close and I couldn't really find much wrong to the touch and when I switched off the light the waves went away. I talked to the setter about it and he said he hates lights in showers.

I think if I'd chosen a darker grout the shadows wouldn't have been as noticeable, I could have got a tile with a sharper edge and also had the light farther than 14" off the wall.

Light in shower on..see the apparent waviness to the right of the window

Shower light off....much better

In answer to the question posed on what kind of light would one recommend--the "type" of light is only one aspect. But it's also very important to consider the placement of any light fixtures as well. In days gone by down lights, canned lights, recessed lights, etc.were sometimes referred to as "wall washers" when they were placed close to the wall area. This was to highlight certain aspects such as the brick of a fireplace, a picture, a textured wallpaper on a wall. But, not however, a poorly installed tile job.

I do have to tell you all about a very recent project my crews completed with this very same situation. BUT! with great results. The homeowner loved the tile, the installers loved the look and how it worked with all the elements in the room. However the tile itself was a living nightmare--different sizing, lipping, etc. I asked the installers if we should just re-select and cut our losses--to my surprise they said absolutely not--they said they wanted to show us just how good of installers they actually were. And they were right! The job is completed and beautiful. They did not charge the labor for the extra two days it took to make things perfect, they just wanted to really show off their great abilities.

Yes, talented installers (that don't give up) do exist. i'm glad these guys are part of my extended team.

My tile setter was pretty damn good, but my choice of materials and light positioning was the issue that made my tiles look a bit wavy. So all aspects of the job need to be considered.

I agree with IDD. placement is more important than type of lighting. The further from the walls, the less the washed effect will be. Bu "washed lighting", I'm talking about lighting that "washes" down the face of the wall, because of the light being so close to the wall-- it tends to throw miniature shadows, and shows every imperfection, no matter how light, and sometimes it's just a matter of the tile being an imperfect material that causes it. Not always installer error. But none the less, shows up just as crappy. That said, again, what I'm seeing at the top of this thread is most certainly installer error.

You can see the effect of wash lighting in the pictures I posted. The tiles on the wall under the window are in the shadow of the window sill and they look pretty good compared to the ones to the right hand side of the window that get full wash lighting from the light in the ceiling inside the bath tub.

My new tile. No lippage. My awesome husband was installer. He used the Spin Doctor leveling system. Bath remodel is almost complete.

I stick with MLT, but my son swears by the spin doctor system. Whatever works to make it flat!!

Exactly! Which one is MLT?

Sorry that this issue has occurred! Not sure where the tile was purchased. However, I personally have never seen this happen with any tile. I would not be okay with the job as well!

Thank you for everyone's comments. I originally wanted a light in the shower but have changed my mind since reading this thread.

Lights in showers can work as long as you use the right materials and design it correctly.

Katy RIchard-- Mechanical Lippage Tuning-- it's the second generation system (after Tuscan Leveling System) from the man who first came up with the concept-- Mick Volponi.

I have a combination recessed light/fan in the shower. When you flip it on, the light is on and it vents to the outside.

the tile job your hubby did looks very good.. nice choices as well.. we are redoing a shower as well. tile and floors going in next week and we have 2 can lights with a virtually silent fan..