This is the same idiot that didn't put the flange on the shower head. IMO stop right now and find out how the waterproofing was done in that shower or tile job will be the least of your worries . The tiles are not the same dye lot so that is on you if you bought the tile. BTW IMO it should all shiny and perfect that is what you pay for.

Standard allowance for lippage (the differences in elevation for tiles) is 1/32". Do you have progress photos?

Here are a couple of progress photos. All I have of shower and floor.

Just trying to find out if this is a good enough job for us to have them do two other bathrooms

No way. No how.

With tile skills like this, no way they should have been trusted with a curbless shower job. I would not trust the water to stay in the shower and run down the drain and not out into the rest of the room.

I do know that liquid travels down to the drain because they spilled a cup of coffee on the floor one day. It’s definitely sloped. He lowered the floor where the shower is. I can’t remember how/if the shower is waterproofed, but the rest of the bathroom floor is.

I’ll add I’m assuming and hoping the shower floor is waterproofed!

I should also add these guys were a third of the price we were quoted by the box remodeling companies (meaning the ones just trying to sell Onyx and Jacuzzi products). I wanted to pick out stuff from Lowes or wherever I felt and have someone put it in.

I’d fire them now and get someone else to redo it. That’s painful, but I’d want to be certain that what I can’t see is done right and that what I can see looks perfect and beautiful. Just bite the bullet and vet some new professional tile setters/bathroom renovation contractors. Stay away from the lowest bidders. This installer is a hack. You want to go with someone who will give you a list of previous clients that are okay being contacted about their work.

rachel, take the level and put it on the floor like i said.

Proper slope is 1/4" per foot. With a curbless shower, You could actually go just a tad more, maybe 5/8"

pouring a cup of water around the drain does not simulate a rain head shower fixture that's going to be spraying water over the entire shower area.

enlarge this. You see where it says 'flush transition' ? this is the border between the shower floor tile and the reg floor tile. you see the pronounced slope? This is what I wanted you to measure w/the level.

This keeps the shower water from transitioning onto your regular floor (there is waterproofing there, yes?)

I can't really tell if there is any pre-slope on this floor.

the slope should be more pronounced on the outer edge of the drain. (why wasn't the drain centered?)

Notice w/these following pictures how the surrounding floor around the curbless shower is all waterproofed:

here's another side view of what the shower floor should look like w/proper sloping and building

Do you see how this shower floor has an obvious slant towards the drain? I don't see that on yours.

(this is Kerdi waterproofing system, but see how they extended it onto the regular floor?)

also notice how the drain is centered

Cement board like yours. Also notice how the cement board was taken outward.

do you know if they did cement board outside your shower floor?

I see a waterproofing membrane on the floor. did that meet the curbless shower area? hard to tell from your pictures.

I'm also going to comment on the cement board on the walls. All of the joints and screw holes should have been taped and mudded. Maybe it was done after these pics ?

Did that red membrane go up on the walls too?

If they did not, What about a vapor barrier behind this cement board? Was that done? any tar paper or Or the proper mil sized plastic between the studs and the cement board?

Hmmm, usually a contractor does tile OR cabinets, not both. It does look sloppy, but as you said, they aren't done. Do point out the screws sticking out, the scratches and the grout on the cabinet. Ask questions! But in progress projects aren't pretty. You might be surprised when they're finished.

It does look sloppy, but as you said, they aren't done.

msjoan,

there is no way to fix the tile in the shower. that's done.

Ditto the caulking. the time to smooth it out would have been when it's wet. (it's also too thick)

The cleanup of the grout in the corners and off the tile? Done. She said it was completed. you don't wait until mortar and grout has completely dried and then come back days later to clean it! It is supposed be done all at once, on the day they grout.

But in progress projects aren't pretty. You might be surprised when they're finished.

yes, i'm surprised. I'm surprised they actually earn a living doing this type of work.

The workmanship does not appear to meet industry standards and that begs the questions being asked about the prep work which can't be determined based on the information provided. Would need to see the process in motion. There are certainly questions as others mentioned. That being said, I would seriously be suspect of the qualifications based on the finish work we can see in the photos. BTW, for all HOUZZERS, it would be helpful if photos were taken that included a straight edge (level, or anything you have at your disposal) placed vertically, horizontally on wall, floor, as photos, especially close up, can be deceiving without the appropriate context. And photos from 3' are also helpful. Most important is understanding how to hire qualified tile contractors. And this: "I should also add these guys were a third of the price we were quoted by the box remodeling companies", is your first mistake. The big box stores are well known for contracting the cheap labor. If the contractor you hired was even less? Well, you get the picture. Suggest you review the attached resources from the professional tile industry paying particular attention to the "13 Questions...". https://www.tile-assn.com/page/trade-professionals-consumers

I'm not professional but seasoned dyi 30 yrs. I can do a subway tile shower and it looks professional. I also know my skill level I would not attempt a large format or curbless shower. Sorry but this looks really sloppy DYI job IMO.

Thank you for the input everyone. This has definitely been a good learning experience for us. I’ve had a lot of stress around this and all of you helped me with affirming my concerns were legitimate. We won’t be using them again. I brought all this to our contractor’s son who has also been working on this project (contractor didn’t come yesterday). He stated they were aware of some of the issues and plan to correct them. I will let them try to redeem themselves on the shower but we’re going to finish up elsewhere. We still have toilet install, fixed shower wall install, trim, floor transitions, cabinet pulls install left. Unfortunately, a lot of this could have been avoided had they done it right the first time, had more attention to detail, and kept me updated on the issues they were aware of. They have been sealing the grout which led me to believe they thought they were done. I still think they didn’t plan to fix the issues, but were probably hoping I wouldn’t notice. Fortunately, the drywall guy has been fantastic and has a lot of recommendations.

I’m posting a couple of other pictures for your entertainment.

Masking tape grouted to our new vanity and scratches all over it, entire tile missing from shower shelf, grout disaster in shelf, sideways flange, caulk mess on another flange.

More…

Oh my goodness. Shameful!

rachel, just curious. when you show these pics (especially that last one w/the glob of grout that has hardened) what does the GC say? does he plan on taking a chisel to that?

(and the fact that none of these tiles are flush and level, i mean, I could go on and on)

The mess around your metal fixture, is that getting cleaned? is it scratched? if it is, he owes you a new one. That shouldn't even be attached until all grouting is done and cleaned.

What's going on here w/this ungrouted joint below the niche?? is that going to stay like that so water can flow behind it? what's the deal?

Ditto the ungrouted joint on the underside of the niche. And can we talk about this lack of clean up? all that grout has now dried on the tile. it's not going to wipe off. so how is that going to be removed w/o scratching your tile?

The toe kick? they owe you a new one if that can't be fixed. And the tape? could they be any more lazy? seriously. Are they doing this between the hits on their meth pipes?

these gaps? it should be a caulk that matches your grout color. wood can expand. grout will crack.

These are the sloppiest, bull-in-a-china-shop workers that I've seen. Absolutely no regard for their work or the clients property. These guys have no pride in their work (and obviously have very little skill). As long as people keep hiring them and accepting this quality, they'll keep doing it.

I wouldn't pay a dime for any of this work until it's all fixed. And you really need to have a stern talk w/the GC about the carelessness of this workers.

I am almost hoping they don’t even show back up. I haven’t paid them in full. I didn’t hear from them today. I luckily at least didn’t get any tweakers on this job. It’s a 65 year old man and his 21 year old son. I think the man must not see well and the son always does everything in a hurry because he just doesn’t want to work. They’re super nice but nice doesn’t equal good work. I thought about calling them today to tell them this isn’t working out but wanted to enjoy my Friday. I’m going to sit on it until Monday and see if I hear from them.

Thanks for all your input, Beth! I’m definitely going to vet my next people better or just learn how to do most of it myself. Our other bathrooms won’t be as complicated.

“These guys were one-third the price . …” Well, you know what that means, don’t you?