There is a fiberglass pan, and thin set on top of it, and there was waterproofing stuff under it. They’re adding thin set on top of the waterproofed stuff. Does thin set need waterproofing?

There was bright red waterproofing stuff put behind all of the blue tile, except maybe the top foot

Here is how they did the drain

And yes, the sealing was a good idea. As to why the floor isn’t done when the walls are- the plumber discovered there was more plumbing work needed for adding a second drain hole than he originally planned for. When he pointed this out to the main guy, he suggested just doing one drain. I didn’t realize that meant no linear drain the length I wanted. I was trying to avoid a slant towards a center drain. So I had the sheetmetal guy weld the pieces of the drain together to make one long drain, then the powder coater painted the drain pan black. Now, finally, they can tile the floor. Except when they came to tile the floor, it had been so long they forgot about how they were supposed to tile it, so had to do another layer of thin set today. Tomorrow, tiles!

Hi @Beth H 

Yes, they were sealed before the grout was applied. In a previous do-it-yourself bathroom, the doer (not me) applied grout before sealer and ruined the look of the tile I selected, so I was painfully aware of that mistake. This time a pro did the job. I chose a sealer that doesn't give the wet look. I have never liked the wet  look you get from an enhanced sealer. I also do not use a wet look sealer on my driveway or patios. You say you see where the grout found it's way into the fissures of my stone, but I think you may just be seeing how well the grout color chosen blends in.

What I was trying to show @TB is the way the edging of the opening and cover for the drain were "finished" either with grout as in my case, or with a Schluter metal edge to give a very straight edge but a bit more visible and a little less natural. I didn't get consulted on the choice, because I assumed the tile setter would do what I had seen in pictures. As it turns out, I prefer the less visible look afforded by the use of grout to smoothe the edges in THIS bathroom. In my other bathrooms, I may choose something different, maybe not even a linear drain. Of course, a third way is not to put pebbles on the drain cover, but that would really have made the drain show up, and I wanted an unbroken- line look.

Oh, I didn’t even realize schluter was an option with pebble tile!

Yeah, I think that's what was used in the one photo I posted saying that's what I expected. Could be wrong, but show it to your tile person.

KL, ok, thanks. Now that I enlarged this I can see where the grout actually does match your stone.

however, I like the way this one is finished around the actual drain

Yarmouth Master Bath · More Info

I don't like the glossy, wet look either. (I think the one above looks fine, except I wouldn't have used that super light grout color)

I like a matte look w/a sealer that just enhances the deeper tones of the rock, not make it look 'fake' glossy. if that makes sense.

On yours, I would have liked the darker tones to appear 'richer' looking, somewhat like these:

kind of like shown in this pic. it's not glossy or 'wet' looking, the colors are just 'enhanced'.

same w/this one

Or this one. It's still matte, but the colors aren't muted.

There is nothing wrong w/how yours looks either.

It's a personal choice.

That's why I advised her about both options and to test it on some spare pebbles.

pebbles w/Schluter edging

TB, here are a bunch of photos w/pebble tile applications

https://www.houzz.com/photos/pebble-tile-floor-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~a_47-544?pg=3

This is what I meant about avoiding the 'Grid layout". make sure you don't get this look

Curbless Shower Remodel · More Info

this is why you stagger the sheets unless you have the interlocking sheets

@Beth H thanks. I caught a lot of flack for my floor being too much with my wall tile. @TB did too. But I like mine and I like @TB' maybe more!

Upstairs renovation · More Info

Today’s progress

@TB that is beautiful! I love the way the floor color augments the gold in the walls. You must be delighted!

Sooo.. it’s not sloped right. I’m going to have them not grout it and have someone else fix it so it will drain right.

Yesterday the guys came to install the shower tile. I’m not happy with it. I spent some time adjusting the tiles in certain spots, but this morning the other contractor pointed out the drainage wasn’t right, and I completely saw it. When I pointed this out to the current tile guy, he disagreed. So I told them to consider the shower floor complete, that I would have someone else finish it. Dean said they could do it. I think it’s worth the extra money to have it done right.

The new guys have said the tiles were placed too far apart, so the grout lines would be too tick. Looking at it now, I see the zig zags between the tiles.

Thick :)

I agree with you that it's better to have it done right. Sympathies for having to deal with a poor job.

The guy who would do it right would have to remove it and start over, so I’ve opted to let them fill in the holes with mosaic- made small pieces- and grout it, since that won’t cost me extra, and anticipate having it redone in the not too distant future. I just looked and it is looking like it will need far less grout than before it would have.

Glad to hear it, @TB fingers crossed!

I have a very similar tile and I used a very pale grey grout , the grout lines show but it does not detract from the tile.

I’m sorry to hear the first guy didn’t get it right. However, it’s a blessing that it was caught and you will redo it so it drains correctly. That’s a disaster averted. It going to be gorgeous AND functional.

You need to take a step back and get over yourself terrib962. You must be a very lonely person with such and ugly attitude.

I don’t have any black walls? My bathroom walls had two colors- a cream in the main room, and light blue in the toilet room. And paint is easy to change, homeowners can do that themselves if they get tired of paint. You might be referring to a picture of someone else’s bathroom- but those walls are navy, not black. I really don’t understand why people come here to speak negatively about other people’s color choices, especially when it’s not even following the thread to see whose photo belongs to the op or if they’re asking for feedback about wall color.

I’m extremely grateful to all of the people who shared pics of the linear drains. I THOUGHT that is what I wanted in my future bath remodels, but it appears to me that if you are not doing a linear type floor tile, those drums stand out far too much and ruin the aesthetic of pebbles or irregular/ curved tiles. So, we will definitely have to determine what our finished look is going to be before any pan or drain is installed. This really helped us not waste money!

I chose a linear drain because I disliked the curved in all directions floor that a round drain requires. Linear is only one direction.

We have a master shower very similar to this with the minimal grout lines. We used a dark gray grout that really disappears into the tile. Hope this helps

Here are some close ups of the shower floor

@Blue Wren - I am all for color, but not ugly combinations, or grey.

I’m trying to get the house I moved out of remodeled to rent and later sell, and every remodeler is convinced white everything is the way to go. A blank slate.

I’m looking, but I don’t see a way to make unkind comments disappear. That would be a nice feature.

@TB you can flag them as abusive and inappropriate. Try to remember that anonymity covers a lot of bad behavior. Insecurity is the root of almost all bad behavior. And sometimes mouthy teenagers get on this forum! You remember how opinionated we all were as teenagers? I just hope this isn't a person who is still mouthy and insecure in old age. Can you imagine what a tragedy that would be? You can only feel sorry for such a person.

I LOVE your wall and floor tile. So maybe it balances? I am not happy with your tile installer though. I'm sure you would never recommend them to a friend.

@ terrib962 .. as you will not be living with it ,it doesn't matter if you like the colour or not !

I’m starting to get more the outer parts of the plumbing fixtures installed! Very exciting!

@KL I agree that the tile installer wasn’t good for the pebble floor. I am very happy with the wall tile installation though. I assume the floor won’t last more than a year before tile pieces start coming out, at which point I’ll have someone remove and replace the shower floor. I will say that it is growing on my though.

I’m considering adding a layer of grout to build up the areas between the tiles next to the drain that are missing anything.

The pebble tiles were themselves not cut level, so there is some height difference. After living with it for awhile, I might decide to go with a more uniform height tile. Or I might love it and want to redo it with a higher quality install when it starts to come loose. TBD!

For others who are considering pebble floors- I highly recommend finding someone who tells you they’re not going to cut the pebbles, but instead fit them by hand.

The fixtures look beautiful against the wall tile!!!

I would do a very pale Gray grout I have blue grout with my blue tile that's kind of like marble design cuz it's blue and tan or a light tan beige I don't know something like that and it looks good but mine don't have no Glitter I don't think I'd want glitter tile in the bathroom unless the tile itself is sparkly

The fixtures are a perfect finish!

You have to just go past dumb comments. You did a great job with a difficult situation. I am hoping you love the uneven-ness of the tiles so you don’t have to redo it. I always thought that reduced slippery-ness…

Enjoy it - and remember the Houzzers who helped and cheered you on.

Mid grey grout would be good as it will blend in. PLEASE NO GLITTER GROUT!

Grey

So the glass company didn’t drill a hole where it was supposed to go, and put another hole in the wrong place, so the glass is being reordered. But you can see here what one piece of glass will look like, and the grab bar and shower bar are installed as well.

Wow! The glass makes it look like it's all coming together! You must be excited!

I used blue glitter on my shower floor. It's very subtle and looks grayish. Mapei morning dew

It’s starting to come together like a real shower! How exciting.
It looks great with the brass fixtures.

The contractor finally gave me his final bill for the work, after I had been asking for it for weeks. And it has a bunch of extra charges on it that don’t have any explanation. I feel like he wants to charge me extra for the guys having to come back multiple times because of issues that resulted from them deciding not to make two drain holes when my drain pan that the plumber saw before he bid had two holes. I already paid $500 extra to have my drain pan soldered and powder coated. And I am going to need to pay to have the shower floor redone as well, which was quoted as $650 plus tile. Do people typically just pay the extra fees to keep from having a sour taste on the work in their house?

Tell them you want the extra fees itemized, and if acceptable advise you will deduct from those fees the extra amount you are paying to correct the issues they caused

@TB I prefer to have a detailed written contract before work begins. The contract details the plan, materials, and a payment schedule, plus who is responsible if something goes wrong. They are responsible for planning failures and damages done during the work process. I am responsible for weird stuff the previous owners did or for adding on to the plan. Any add-ons, I expect to pay for and the price agreed on before they do the work. Did you have a contract like that? The picture you showed makes me think not.

At this point, it's fair to ask for details about the extra charges. You may find that you agree that some of them are justified. Then you have to decide which is worse: paying, or going to attorneys. Attorneys are much more expensive than the sum of the extra work you show. My bathroom redo was on the expensive side (for good reason) but cost around $70K. Those amounts listed on your bill are lower than I would worry about. You can always decide you don't want to hire them again. I wouldn't, given the history of problems you listed in this thread.

I do have a detailed list of tasks including that there were four niches and that he would pay for the shower floor tile, which he is charging extra for. The other extra charges aren’t specified, just extra.

That is a typical “contractor bill”, unfortunately. You need to ask him for more details so you can appropriately agree on things that did cost him more time. But it’s so unclear what’s what…

Final shower

@TB I'm so sorry about the contractor, but your shower is awesome!!!! So beautiful!!!

Beautiful!

Lovely!