Your contractor did the right thing by installing the tile from your countertop sense you eye goes to the bottom of the tiles & that is what needs to be straight. If your countertop is not level or your cabinets are not hung straight then this causes an issue. As for the top, he did the right thing again by installing from the ceiling sense that is where your eye goes. He could have played with the grout lines a bit to compensate for the difference, but there is only so much you can do there.

Why are you still working with this contractor? Is he even licensed?

I have paid the contractor around 60% of the estimate already for work performed. What are my rights here? Can I withhold the remaining 40% and hire someone else to finish the work?

This is a licensed contractor. He is a friend of my boyfriend's family. I am trying to get this contractor to remediate his work rather than bringing in yet another person to fix everything that is wrong.

Has he remedied the shower issues?

Oh my goodness, this same contractor installed cabinets, and tiled the backsplash etc. I wouldnt have let him touch anything else ever. That said, your kitchen looks nice. Some of your handles look to be over further from the edge??? Does he not own a tool, to use to get them all in the same place, or is that an illusion from the pictures. Please get a level, and hold it under all the cabinets, and on top of all the lowers, to see if they are level. If they all are, then go along the ceiling, and see if it is reasonably level. A long level (at least 4 ft), would probably work the best.

Remodeling involves dealing with out-of-level and out-of-plumb conditions. In the case of the base cabinets, they would be shimmed to achieve level. Ditto for the countertops. The wall cabinets should be installed level as well.

I recommend dealing with an out-of-level ceiling at the ceiling level, for example by not having the cabinets or crown touch the ceiling. If the ceiling is grossly out of level, the preferred approach might be to take down the drywall and shim as needed to achieve a reasonably level condition.

"Can I withhold the remaining 40% and hire someone else to finish the work?"

No technically in most areas you have to give him the chnace to make the fixes. If you withold payment he can lien your home. If he performed the work and was not given the opportunity to fix it (if it can truly be proven defective workmanship, which can be tough) you will end paying him whether he finihses it or someone else does.

I am trying to work with this contractor to remedy all of the issues that are going on here. My problem is that he is telling me no matter who does this job, or how many times they do, the backsplash will not be level because the ceiling is not level.

What are my options at that point?

Same thing with the shower, I have told him that the shower is not waterproof based on numerous sources and research, including contacting the manufacturer of the cement board behind the tile. He told me to run the water in the shower and see if it leaks - because he doesn't think it will. I am just a single person taking this all on myself while working full time. I also have no experience in construction or know the proper way things are supposed to be installed. This is why I turn to this community (and I am extremely thankful for each and every one of your comments) to help me build a case for myself when I demand things to be redone.

I, however, do not need to be patronized with questions like "Do you even know how to use a level?" I am just asking if the installation of the cabinets had been done properly, would there be any reason that the backsplash would be crooked? From these comments, the answer is no, so again, I thank you all for your input, and I will be speaking with the contractor in the morning.

Don’t let him do ANY MORE projects until he has fixed what was wrong on the prior. He didn’t waterproof the walls in your shower, at all. He took down a wall in your home that supports a second level without putting in support. You KNOW based on the responses here that his work is incorrect, yet you continue to let him do projects in your home. At a certain point you need to take responsibility.

"He is a friend of my boyfriend's family."

Ouch. There's the problem. That limits what you can do about the quality of his work without creating domestic stress.

Only you know what the dynamics are in the relationship, but keeping the boyfriend might mean that you have to let the current contractor finish, and then quietly hire someone else to fix everything right.

That's going to be expensive, I fear. I hope the boyfriend is worth it!

I, however, do not need to be patronized with questions like "Do you even know how to use a level?"

That was not meant to be patronizing at all—not even a little bit. Most people do not know how to correctly check for level and/or plumb. I was 100% advocating for you; I’m not sure how much clearer I could’ve possibly made that.

Excerpt from my original comment:

“Bottom line: your contractor screwed up somewhere along the way and he needs to fix it. Period. Why should you have to go get a level to check up on his work? Do you even know how to use a level correctly? I am just getting so sick of seeing the same old story on here, which is that somehow you as the homeowner/boss should be expected to do any portion of the job that you hired someone to do.”

She shouldnt be expected to do any portion of the job she hired someone else to do, but, in this case, using the level to see what is level and what is not, may give her more leverage to get it corrected. This contractor has already proved, he isnt very good at what he does, and needs someone to follow right along behind him and point out all this errors. Hopefully, all this is a learning experience for him, so he will learn from it, and do better next time.

I zoomed in on your backsplash and unless I am just not seeing it, I think it is not noticeable to most people. Overall it looks well done to me. If you mean the part up against the bottom of the upper cabinets, who will ever look at that?

"the backsplash will not be level because the ceiling is not level."

Unless the backsplash is installed parallel to the horizon (ie, "level") rather than parallel to the ceiling.

In that case you will have an uneven course of tile at some point, because it will have to be tapered to remain level.

If this is still an issue, I think your best option is to forego the tile above the window. That is what is causing the out-of-level to be more obvious.

The counter, upper cabs, and window should all be level (ie parallel to the horizon) and plumb (ie perpendicular to the horizon) and therefore they can be used as the guides for a level backsplash. The ceiling (or floor, if that comes up) is irrelevant because the cabs, counters, uppers, and window should be level, *not parallel to the ceiling*.

What a terrible situation, hope you can get your BF on this guy's a**.

The three top cabinets in the first picture were removed and a new cabinet (3" smaller) was ordered because not only were the not hung level, the kitchen was not measuring properly to begin with. You'll see in this picture a piece of sheet rock is missing because the subcontractor cut it out so he could fit in the cabinet above the fridge (wild!). The contractor is remedying the issue (As soon as he agrees to continue working - another long story). The backsplash will be cut to be level with the cabinets and the counter top.

BF's stepdad is a GC, although for high rises in NYC, so he has been helping me in dealing with this contractor.

Well I /liked/ your last post even though I actually like very little about it except the part about the cabs being corrected and the stepdad stepping in.

Again what a stupid situation to be in, my heart goes out to you.

Your uppers should have had a crown of some sort. If the lowers are level then you can measure to the bottom of your uppers. I am guessing he pushed the uppers tight to an out of level ceiling.You can cheat an out of level ceiling with a 2 piece crown.

Please do not pay him another cent until he fixes all the errors he has already made to your satisfaction. Once all that is done, pay him what you owe him, and get him out of there. If you need more remodeling done, hire someone else for anything else.