I do not think they sold you the incorrect product at all. In my opinion that product would look awful even if installed perfectly. Communication is the key. The installer and you needed to be on the same page from jump street. You should have told him/showed him how you wanted it to look, not just handed him boxes of tile and said install these. The installer should have started laying it out and gotten your approval before finishing the floor. I think you are getting lucky the tile shop will replace the material and realistically that is all you can ask as the product is not defective it is just not proper expectations set all the way around. Work out an arrangement with the installer to maybe split the labor.

I think you should get different stone flooring. This would bug me too. I think you’re actually lucky the tile store will replace it for you. I would jump on that before they change their minds, then just deal with covering the labor. Sorry this happened to you! Ugh must be very frustrating.

One thing installers can do with this sort of tile is to lay them at an offset, which can often help avoid the outline of the original squares.

That said, looking closer at the pattern of each tile, it seems your tiler actually DID at least lay them differently, as in each tile looks to be rotated so its pattern varies from the next -- I think it's the tile itself, it doesn't look very well-designed in terms of how its borders are laid out. Alas. You may be better off with a different brand?

I’m not a pro, but I agree that you should be sure your shower was waterproofed correctly. Sorry, but I don’t care for the appearance of that tile (however it is installed) and wonder if it would be comfortable underfoot. I would prefer a smooth, not slippery, surface.

Fasteners in cement board penetrating the liner on curb answers the question about proper waterproofing.

Yeah, our hack tiler put screws through the liner on the top and sides of the curb. That was just one visible thing. The whole shower was built wrong. As a customer who had a hack job/non-waterproofed shower half built before contractor quit, your shower looks familiar.

Ask them how/if it is waterproof. They'll say it is, but ask them to tell you every step and show you packaging, pictures or at least tell you the brand names of all the stuff they used (boards, buckets/mesh tape, etc.

Agreed about the waterproofing. Assuming it’s Schluter, it looks like they may have missed the Kerdi Band taping between the wall and pan.

You're making yourself sick over a mis-communication and/or mistake. BOTH things happen all the time. You're going to see this every day you get into that shower so, get it fixed to your satisfaction. Is is going to cost you more money? Yes absolutely. There's an OLD saying in construction...."Doing it RIGHT cost less than doing it OVER". Heed that advice and consult a bathroom professional.

One question..........Why did he lay the floor tile first???? We've had 4 tile showers installed over the past 10 or so years, by 3 different installers. All 3 installers placed the wall tiles first. I know this doesn't help with your current problem, but at least it may save you from continuing with this installer.

This is why I do it myself.

If it’s waterproof, I could learn to love this if the walls are done right. I’d know that my floor is unique, and who else cares about a shower anyway? There are better things in life to be proud about. A shower stall is a shower stall. You go there to stand in it, enjoy the water and get clean.

@cda1028 When you spend upwards of $7,000 to $15,000 , you want it to be right !!!

Yes, and it’s not right. But it might not be worth spending more money on either. You can’t go back in time and often function is enough. If the job can be done over at no extra cost in terms of financial outlay and mental stress, that’s one thing. But the other reality is that this makes a pretty good story as in “the installer did a bad job, but I ended up getting it free because he took the cost of the floor off the price of the job. Every time I clean it, I’m glad to be working on a free floor.”

The first thing that struck me was what looked like gaps in the water proofing. I’d make sure that’s right before all else. I have a pebble tile shower floor and it is completely random set and I’m not thrilled with the maintenance. If this floor will bother you everyday, change it while you can and take advantage of the tile store’s offer to replace the tile.

The installer should have cut two sides of a tile on a wet saw to start a tile dead square in a corner. Then, he should have ‘dry set’ the tiles in the space so that the seams could be worked out. Despite it looking ‘random’, the sheet-mounted tiles actually have a pattern that minimizes the grout lines. That tile is tough to work with by it’s doable. The ‘straight cuts’ are always around the perimeter. Is the perimeter of the floor (against the walls) perfectly level? Does the floor have a slight downward pitch towards the drain? If you answered, “no” to either of these questions, remove the floor tiles now. FYI, if your installer didn’t know how to do it right the first time, he’s not going to get it right the second time either. Shower floors are the most difficult part of a bathroom makeover. Good luck.