I think part of the problem is that your tiles have a rounded outer edge and anytime it gets cut, and you butt a rounded edge to a flat edge ... it just looks off.

Spacing between tiles doesn't seem to be consistent.

His cuts are a bit chippy, which could be a dull blade, lack of skill and/or poor quality tiles.

Where are the tiles from?

I would have used a grout color that matched the tile, which would have hidden some of the issues.

This is why I like to find tile lines that have matching pencil liners and quarter round. For me, that always looks better than Schluter.

I hear you regarding the technical difficulties HOUZZ seems to have. Someday, maybe in 30 years, the Schluter edge is going to date so many bathrooms and kitchens. @Chispa makes a good point about the tile's rounded edges being part of the issue with awkwardness. I sometimes wonder if I should have talked with they guy who installed my tile BEFORE choosing the tile, maybe taking HIM shopping with me. I would like to hear from another tile-setter what they think about the job. And it would be nice to hear from a tile-setter what kinds of tiles are easiest to make look great on floors as well as walls.

thank you both! My answers/responses:

The tiles are the Daltile ones they have at Lowes.

I asked the contractor about tile quality beforehand, and he said it didn't matter. Sigh. I did skip the Floor & Decor tiles b/c they were noticeably thinner than the Daltile from the Daltile store and the Daltile from Lowe's & Home Depot. Honestly, those three looked and felt the same, aside from a slight difference in the shade of white.

I understand about the grout color but I actually wanted the grout lines. I like the look of the brick pattern. But yeah, I know what you mean about if the grout was also white.

I didn't really want pencil tiles but now I wonder if that was a mistake. My contractor was 100% for Schluter.

I think what you are saying about the rounded edges of the tile makes sense, but here's the thing. There were 2 tile-setters, and 1 did a better job than the other. One guy did the backsplash but then had to take off the top 2 rows of tile because the medicine cabinet had to be moved up (my spacing mistake, I completely owned that). The other guy redid the top of the backsplash, and his cuts look better. His grouting is also better. And guess who did almost all of the work in the shower? The not-as-good guy.

Here's one more question. I am OK with the top row looking like this, even though it's cut tiles instead of whole tiles. I guess the spacing didn't work out for that, and I understand that the space is finite. However, the far right tile looks more like a sliver than the rest, and the contractor promised me I wouldn't have any slivers. I think it's more the caulk though, than the size of the tile. Can that just be scraped off a little, to reveal more tile? I really think that's all it is, not that the tile was cut smaller than the rest. I hope so b/c that's an easy fix (I think).

*******

What are my options here? Or, if this was your job or your bathroom, what would you do? It's been 9 and a half weeks for a very small bathroom, without moving plumbing, messing with the tub, or much electrical work, and it's still not done. And there have been several errors. They got fixed but they shook my confidence in the job.

No one else is going to notice that the ceiling is not level. Did you notice it before? I understand being picky with a project that has gone on what seems like forever but that is not an issue in the grand scheme of things.

It is annoying when one tile setter did better work than the other. Standing back and looking at the bathroom, do you see these issues or would someone walking in see them? I think that answers your question. I have cut those tiles before and there did seem to be a trick to getting them to cut cleanly.

The slivers next to the niche are bad. It should just have been one piece.

I used a similar tile when I remodeled my kid's bathroom in my previous house in CA. I used a tile with matching quarter round and other trim pieces. Photo of it during installation and one after grouting with same color grout. My tile guy was great. Very detail oriented and had pride in doing tile jobs that looked as close to perfect as possible. He measured everything twice, dry fitted every cut and used laser levels, both horizontal & vertical. He was one in a million!

The tile guy my builder used in FL was good, but not great. I mostly used large sized tiles to make it easier for him and for my sanity!

@chispa What color of grout did you use in the bath? Debating about using white subway in a kids/guest bath. Thanks!

@RNmomof2 zone 5, this was back in 2017 and we sold in 2020 ... I believe I used the same grout they had on the large grouted sample board, which is usually a very safe choice.

Photo of tile board and photo of label on back of grouted sample board.

@stillpitpat I wouldn't notice that top row if I were visiting. And if it were my bathroom, I would move in and move on. The tile is doing its job, which is to keep the walls dry. I'm not dismissing your concerns, just directly answering your last two questions.

I recently had some bathroom work done. The floors were finished beautifully. Then the sight manager said the water was not draining fast enough from the floor during a shower test. They wanted to install a threshold after I had asked for no threshold. They ripped up the flooring, built the floor higher and created a berm instead. In other words, my floors aren't flat! I had some neighbors in because they put up with a dumpster in the street for six months. I asked them afterwards what they thought of the uneven floor, and nobody had even noticed. I moved in and am moving on. It doesn't bother me anymore.

I see grout in the corner, that is 100% wrong. All changes in plain and between different materials are required to be 100% silicone not grout. Not if the grout will crack but when. What concerns me more is the fact that if the surface looks that bad what does the substrate and waterproofing system look like.

They said they used color-matched caulk at all changes in plane. Is there a way I can tell if it's grout and not caulk?

Regarding the ceiling, we actually replaced it b/c the old ceiling was damaged. I would hope it is level but Idk. It looks to me like there is just too much caulk on that one last tile. Could it be scraped a little? I don't mind the look of the cut tiles along the top- they almost look like an intentional border - it's just that one at the end that bugs me.

Standing back and looking at the bathroom, do you see these issues? I didn't see them until I started using the shower, and it's hard to not notice them now. Mainly the niche wonkiness b/c I am usually facing the niches. would someone walking in see them? probably not.

This definitely bothers me. Can it be sanded and repainted or something? It's gloppy in places all the way up the wall and is right next to you when you're at the sink.

Thanks everyone for helping me think through all this. I think I expected everything to be neater b/c subway tile is ubiquitous and I guess I assumed it was easy to install. And Schluter was supposed to make the niche borders "clean."

I would think they could remove some of the caulk from the ceiling to make the end look better. I would also think that something could be done to smooth out the wall at the corner you show. I would also think that those were things they should address without much fight, but who knows?

I think the contractor will be receptive, given his response to some of the other issues we've had (breaking the mirrors, making no attempt to contain durock dust, doing the durock for the niches the wrong size, dripping wood stain on the new floor tiles, there is also wood stain on the tub which hasn't been addressed yet). He promised me no tile slivers so I think he'll understand my concern about that one tile. The rest are fine.

Stick a pin or a knife blade into it gently, the caulk will be softer than grout. However the trim around the niche and elsewhere is clear grout that should not be and the corner certainly looks like grout as as well, you can see the sand particles which you would not see with silicone caulk. What did he use for waterproofing again, that is more important than the tile and when the finished product looks like it definitely raises my spidey senses.