We‘ve remodeled 10 bathrooms in 3 houses, and never had a tile professional tell us that at a broken tile is normal. We have had a hack *try* to tell us that. I’d have them replace the broken ones. I doubt your contract says x-number of broken tiles are to be expected.

"Our contractor said that it's normal to have breaks in tile because tile is an imperfect material and that the grout will cover it."

It's normal when you a) either have a dull blade in your wet saw or b) do not know what you are doing. My guess is it will be a combo bag. And he is not very smart for obviously lying to you.

Broken tiles are not acceptable and not normal in any tile work. All installed broken tiles should be replaced. Show your contractor our responses. Too bad he does not take any pride on n his work. Installing broken tiles is inferior shoddy work.

Grout doesn't "cover", it fills. Gaps caused by broken tile will show, especially if using a contrast grout color. Tell your installer if the "imperfect" tiles are not replaced, the "imperfect" contractor will be.

Absolutely not, get them replaced. He is being lazy and telling you lies.

also, they should NOT grout there! once they replace the tile (because they should) make sure they use caulk. you can get the caulk color matched (if you wanted) to your grout.

If he cheaps out on this, what did he do regarding the waterproofing before the tile went on?

Much appreciated for everyone's comments. The contractor made me feel like I didn't know what I was talking about. It just didn't make sense to me. The contractor admitted that they used up all the extra tile. So now I'll have to buy more tile for them to use to fix the issue.

You should always buy extra tile and keep a few for those surprises that happen long after installation. ( I think 10% is the usual.) That way you can replace a tile if it gets chipped. We broke a lot of tiles doing our first bath renovation. ( and learned wet saws are worth the money.) Even we our mistakes we had enough tile to replace the ones later cracked by a foundation issue.

How are they going to fix it without compromising your waterproofing?

@kathleen MK We bought 20% more than required and they burned through it.

@cpartist This is how it looks like behind one of the other niches he is doing. I assume this is probably how it looks like behind the niche that I posted about.

All concerns confirmed. Absolutely amateur. No waterproofing at all. You might win the June award for worst tile prep.

ohhhhh, wow, wow, wow. no tape, no red guard AND he was going to grout the seams?!?! I think a tea bag would hold more water

I don't know all the terms of materials for the proper procedure. What should I do?

Hopefully a tile professional will pop on to give a suggestion. There are many ways to waterproof a shower- yours appear to have none. Ask your contractor how he waterproofed the walls prior to tiling. More than likely Your contractor will tell you that cement board is waterproof (it isn’t, water doesn’t affect cement board but it passes right through it like a sponge) or that he’s going to seal the grout (also not how it works) or my all time favorite, this is how I’ve always done it. It would be great if you had any photos after the cement board went up but before tile was Installed. Based on the niche everything is a tear out.

@Hallett&Co. Thanks for your input. This is the only pic I have of how it looked like before tiling. They cut the hole for niches after tiling of the walls.

No mesh tape on seams, looks like not enough screws in the cement board, and no waterproofing.

Your shower isn't waterproofed...at all :( How much have you paid the tiler already?

Do you have a signed contract with the tile guy? If you do, what does it say?

At this point everything needs to be torn out and re-done and depending on if there is a contract and what does it say will tell you/us who needs to pay for the mess.

I'm sorry this is happening to you.

Get that mess ripped out and start by getting a new contractor and forget the niche next time get a nice shower caddy that hangs over the shower wall or door .I have never understood the need to have shampoo as a design element and in my experience often niches are where leaks happen.

Unfortunately both baths are a complete tear out because there is NO waterproofing. When you have water and mold behind the cement board, he'll be long gone.

As a non-pro Houzz user, I can't even describe how upsetting these regularly occuring shower posts are to the average home owner like me. I have a primary bathroom that I'd like to update, but it's downright scary and paralyzing to keep seeing these types of tile swindlers who do such shoddy work. Thank you to all the pros who point out the issues and help to educate those of us who have no experience or expertise in renovation/building practices.

Jess what did you end up doing? Please don’t let this work continue and please don’t pay them.

Hi everyone, I'll keep you all posted once I have a solution. Thank you for everyone's care in this matter. Your moral support has really helped - I'm so glad I found this forum. I feel better in knowing that it's not just me who feels that there's something not right. Whenever I brought anything up, they would say it's industry standard and made me feel like I didn't know what I was talking about. I've taken down all your notes and going to visit the house (we are renting an apartment while renos are going on) to see what else has been done so far. Going to write an email to the contractor to see what he says. It's upsetting because I trusted him to do things right. We have invested so much of our savings - it's our first and hopefully forever home. We've been paying him in installments as specific work is completed. Because tiling isn't completed yet, we haven't been charged.

@Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc. Thanks so much for sharing. I certainly have learned my lesson! I went with this contractor because he is my friend's dad's good friend. He also did her renos and even did an extension. I thought I would be safe using him with that connection in mind.

@Melissa R. Our contract says that our contractor is responsible for the work of the subcontractors, so hopefully, he will take responsibility.

I emailed the contractor after everyone's comments here and finally heard back from him tonight. We are going to meet him tomorrow to discuss things.

Just to be clear, there is absolutely no way he can say that what has been so far is justifiable, right? I'm sorry to ask. I'm honestly so used to him and his project manager telling me that I'm wrong and that whatever they are doing is standard. In my email, I mentioned that there was no evidence of waterproofing, eg: seams, nail holes on the walls, corners. And I also noted that the niche was not properly framed or waterproofed. I said that our designer had the niches in the bathrooms in her original design concept so there was no reason for them to cut holes for the niches after the tiling, instead of properly framing and waterproofing before tiling started.

I hope I described everything correctly. Thanks again for everyone's comments and support. So very much appreciated!

yes, there is no way they can say that it's "normal". There is ZERO waterproofing...not just the niche but the whole dang thing!!

It's not just waterproofing at the seams. Even if we take the seams and niche out of the equation, the WHOLE WALL should have been painted with RedGard or Aqua Defense

RedGard, Agua Defense, and other industry approved topical waterproofing are only ONE system for waterproofing, and while an approved option, if done correctly, they are not the preferred method by many qualified installers. I have a draft document in my hands right now from our industry technical committee on the problems that lead to "leaky showers". It's long or I would share it (still being formatted for messaging), but a snippet: "It’s helpful to understand this about showers: A properly constructed shower manages and directs all the water that flows through it to the drain, and nowhere else. The shower “fixture” needs to be water tight, utilizing one of the two basic types of showers: a "Water In, Water Out" shower system, which is constructed with a clamping ring drain and waterproof shower pan liner or a "Sealed System" which employs a bonding flange drain and a waterproofing membrane that extends to the shower head. Both systems require that the walls, seats, ledges, niches, and curbs be treated with the appropriate waterproofing product. If the waterproofing, drain components, or any part of the shower system is not installed properly, is damaged, punctured, or compromised during installation, a leak can and will result in failure."

A little update. When we approached him about it, he refused to rectify the situation and said that he did everything to the Ontario Building Code standards. I forwarded him a letter that I had from the TTMAC (Tile association of Canada) stating that I should insist on a waterproof membrane, and I also included the installation guide for the USG Durlock with Edgeguard to him to say that he should have at least taped and sealed the seams and corners before tiling. He said that the TTMAC and the installation instructions are just "guides" and he doesn't have to follow them. He said that there is nothing in the building code that it has to be waterproof, he just has to use a water resistant backing . He also said there is nothing in the building code that he has to seal and tape the seams of the cement backing board. We are willing to settle this through arbitration but weren't sure if we had enough of a case because he said he met minimum building code standards, but it's quite obvious that he has not followed industry standards. Any thoughts? Anyone's insight would be immensely appreciated. I've attached some more pictures of another bathroom he is doing for your reference. We actually sent him a letter this morning for a settlement with a fair dollar amount because we just don't want him involved in our home or lives anymore - waiting to hear back. We will go to arbitration if we have to but we obviously don't want the headache and time involved.

Call the building department for your local jurisdiction and ask them what the requirements are for waterproofing the tiled walls over a bathtub. Unfortunately, he may be correct. I live in the south and that’s the way they do them here in new construction. Meeting code requirements to me is the equivalent to getting 70 on an exam. But they do it all the time.

I'm in the south as well and inspectors don't even look at waterproofing or even a flood test. They check the trap at rough in then give it a cursory glance at trim out. It is frustrating as the consumer has no protection. Download the instructions for the products he used (densglass and sheetrock? can't tell from photos) as it appears he doesn't even follow those instructions.