Doesn't look bad to me. You are probably getting good value. Those small tiles in the corner won't be an issue once everything is finished. I would NOT have the job redone.

Your corners are the only place I really see issues that stand out. When we did our subway tile in the shower, we wrapped the tile around the corner, meaning the cut piece continued to the other wall, giving a more continual appearance. To me, it looks like he did each wall as a separate unit and just cut the ends when he got to them. Its not the way we would have done it (fairly experienced DIYers.) Colored grout will show more of the irregularities if the tile is at all wavy or imperfectly straight, or if your tiler didn't evenly space things. We chose white because we wanted the grout to disappear, and went with a tile at Lowes called American Olean that had small spacers built into the tile, so we just bumped each one up to the next and never had to worry about uneven installation. We dry fit our tile on the bottom to see where they would end up so we didn't get a tiny cut piece in the corner to have to deal with.

Hopefully he will agree to fix things. If not, and you are really unhappy with it, can't live with it, and taking it out isn't an option, you can minimize the effect that the colored grout would have on emphasizing the issues by using a white grout. That would help camouflage the things that stand out that you are seeing that bother you.

Heres what we did with our corners.

Best wishes to you....renos aren't always smooth sailing I know :) Hang in there.

Did he charge you $2500 to do the work? To flatten the wall before laying the tile? To buy a new $80 glass blade? To spend a half day doing nothing but trying different layouts with you that wouldn’t result in slivers somewhere? (Because there are going to be cut tiles somewhere.) To tell you to trash that cheap box store seconds tile and buy the better quality from his supplier that was 20x as expensive?

Or did he charge you 1/10 that, and just show up and do an average not horrifyingly bad job?

Considering what we had to work with, he did a great job. I would blame the tile for any uneven grout lines way before the installer.

It's ridiculous for Sophie to say that your tile needs to be 20x as expensive. What planet does she live on? The Onlythewealthylivehere planet? I wish she would self-check a bit on her hyperbole. The tile itself is fine, but I agree that the installation was quite poor. I agree with Cineus' post above, that this person should not re-do it. If you have only paid him partially, then leave it at that.

You will need to find a better tile installer, and yes, a good tiler is expensive because the work needs some expertise. Good that you bought the tile at Menards because it is very likely they will have some more. I would just caution you that if you are buying more tile, be careful that the dye lot might look slightly different. If that is the case, either get full replacement of all the tiles with the same dye lot, or have your new tiler randomly mix the previous tiles with the new tiles so that the coloration differences look natural.

She doesn't need to spend 20X, but Menards tile is junk.

White grout you dont see all the blemishes.

I don't think expensive tile can survive this sort of install. It' obvious no math was done on this space. Just laid to the corner until- OH NO- and then small, unevenly cut ugly pieces. It could just be my computer, but there also appears to be a great deal of either glue or grout overrun, on many of the pieces. A problem with many white tiles. But mostly, this looks like a rote, poorly supervised install.

I wouldn't just go with the corner re-done, but a whole new job. In the end, this is the least expensive thing that can happen. I wouldn't finish paying for it. I'd probably just cut them loose and get an entirely new installer- one who has experience and the TIME to deal with this.

Simple layout and measuring would have prevented this. Unfortunate. You do the layout for your next project. And then no surprises.

I understand how you feel! It’s very frustrating. We flooded during Hurricane Harvey & had to do a full reno. Since I can spot “crooked” as soon as I walk in a room, many days I would stop by to check the progress & leave upset.

Our tiles looked much like your backsplash. We had the installer remove & replace the most crooked/unflush tiles. Even though things still weren’t perfect - I was surprised, after grouting & caulking, that many of the flaws weren’t as visible. Once I decorated, the remaining flaws seemed to disappear.

I would recommend using Mapei grout in the color Avalanche & then caulking the corners & bottom (where it meets the counter top) with Mapei Avalanche as well. That’s exactly what we did.

Both the grout & color matched caulking can be found at Lowe’s or a tile store. I hope this helps!

The slivers in the corner are the result of ending up with 3x3 and 6x3 at the outer edge. Something has to give. The installer chose to bury the slivers in the corner rather than not have full tiles/half tiles at the more visible outer edge.

Since the tiles are a unit size, things like this often cannot be avoided, they can only be mitigated somewhat by obsessing over the layout. The dimensions you have are the dimensions you have and if they are not an exact multiple of three or six you are going to have slivers if the total is slightly over.

I avoided this in my bathrooms, so far, by having the dimensions of everything work out to multiples of the tile sizes. This is extremely hard and outside the scope of what most people will do.

I can't speak to the installation of glass tiles themselves because I avoid using them because they are too difficult for many people to work with.

He did not round the corner properly. Corner tile should be (tile portion on left) + (Tile portion on right) = full tile. It's like he tiled left to right on one wall and right to left on the adjacent wall to meet in the corner.

Nina, I suggest you post your question on the "Tile Forum Advice Board". Tons of professionals there, who will tell you how and what should have been done and how to best proceed from what you have now.

OtherwiseI agree with other commenters above that once grouted, the slivers won't be quite as visible. But still....they would really bother me, as you can't unsee it and it screams unprofessional job.

Best of luck!

I just want to raise the color issue -- your tiler may have saved you, because to me the white glass is turning out a bit on the greenish side, making your counter look very pink. You might want your next batch of tile to be a bit more on the champagne/cream side for a better overall fit.

Agreed with comments above: the corner shows a lack of layout planning. I could not live with that. Having had something similar done in a bathroom, and having it torn out and redone (my fault for not doing due diligence with the installer), I won't hire anyone to tile unless I know how they prepare. Preparation absolutely has to include a dry layout and a discussion about edges and corners.

Very disheartening to be sure. I'm a horrible perfectionist and so hate this kind of thing. But I know I'd end up placing some tall item in the corner, fuming while doing it, and try to move on.

Eventually I do get over these type things, sometimes faster than I would have expected.

I agree that quality tile guys do a LOT of work to prep the surface prior to install. That’s how you get flush tiles, not a problem with the tiling itself. Also, many quality handmade tiles from name brands are $30 sq foot or much more for simple tiles. You get what you pay for.

If he had used spacers, he may have been able to eliminate the tiny pieces. The tiles not sitting flush on the bottom probably has more to do with your counters being wonky than how they were laid. All in all, it doesn't look that bad, and "perfect" would have cost you a lot more. He can put a piece of molding in the corner and on the bottom to hide the tiny tiles and you'll never know the difference.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. It looks a lil better now that the grout has dried -it’s a little lighter from what you see in the pics. I am not satisfied with it but im praying that the final reno will far outweigh my disappointment over this. Again thanks for the responses! I love this site!

Also, you’ll probably have a fruit bowl or something like that in the corner which will obscure the slivers. Other than that it looks totally acceptable to me. Congrats - you must be near the end of you reno

DH said "I could do better than that"!! And he has. This is why these craftsmen get paid so much and why one wants one that is insured and licensed. Plenty of us can slap up tile. Ripping out and starting over would be my expectation before payment.

Rip that out?? Sorry..........that is no horror show. Not one bit. Leave it alone, finish your kitchen and move on.

Frankly, the obsession with tile is nearing insanity. I'm all for perfection. In most everything if possible. It simply depends what you are willing to do, and to pay to get it. Few walls are absolutely perfect, nor are floors. Tile can have a slight warp, so I will ask if anyone went over every tile and tested for that. In all ways you undoubtedly got exactly what you paid for in tile, in labor , and that includes the prep. And it looks perfectly fine on the whole. Put the microscope away.

The Sophie numbers are accurate for a three full day tile job ensuring the look you may have been after. Yup....... 2500.00 , and you buy the tile.

Agree on the pricing. I paid $2,800 for labor only, to prep and tile a small fireplace surround (60" x 68" including hearth) with Pratt & Larson tile. Every piece was laid out on the floor, dry fitted and measured. It took days to install. Even though the tiles are handmade and not square/level, the overall installation is level/square, but it takes skill to do that.

I'm glad there have been some voices of reason on this thread. The folks saying this is an immediate tear out are a bit dramatic. Sometimes things don't turn out perfect. You don't get to demand a tear out for those. This is a totally acceptable job. Honestly, other than the corner, i'm not even sure what the problem is. And the corner isn't a "problem" so much as a non-ideal way of doing something. Sometimes the jump-on-the-bandwagon obsession with perfection on this site can be really unhelpful.

Lay out tiles on the counter below the run of cabinets that ended up with the sliver.

I'll bet there is no way to lay out those tiles without a sliver in one or other of the rows.

I ran across this on the bath alcove wall in my bathroom. There was no way to lay out 4.25" tile without a sliver. I chose a different sized tile for that wall to avoid the slivers in a bathroom that otherwise had no obviously cut tiles.

It looks terrible to me! I too am a perfectionist! From one to another, you won't be happy with that. I would hate for you to have to make another purchase but it's necessary. You'd be better off trying a DIY-er. I actually have white glass 3x6 subway tile as well. I haven't determined if I will attempt to install myself or hire someone although, if you take a look at videos by a TileMasterGA on YouTube and you're truly a perfectionist...I'm sure you can do better than this job. I would guess that your installer did not "map" out where tiles will go in advance so as that all cuts were done prior to beginning the actual installation. I would also bet he did not bother to draw level lines to ensure that tile was nicely aligned. And last, if your corner wasn't/isn't square, he should have re-taped/mudded the corner in advance; it also appears as though he did not apply enough mortar. You should demand a refund if he is either unable to or refuses to fix this. Is he licensed? If so and depending upon what you paid for the tile, I would consider small claims court if he does not agree to compensate you for the total price paid for the tile. Also, if licensed, you could always report him to the state licensure board. I'd ask for his license number; he should certainly be more cooperative or agreeable to make right if he cares about his license.

Yeah, for a $250 job, you’re not getting any of that. This mass hysteria over an average not horrible job would be amusing if it weren’t so ignorant of actual tiling work. And if more people with zero ability to discern cost vs value didn’t swallow the BS whole.

You can be as demanding as you want on a 5K backsplash job. This ain’t that.

oh NoviceDIYer, everything you posted is hilarious.

What really matters is whether or not the poster is happy. It doesn't sound like that's the case. This thread shows that we all clearly have different standards for what is/is not acceptable. At the end of the day, none of our opinions matter given we don't have to live with it. Rely on what you can/cannot live with! Good luck!

Yes of course. And I think the OP is happier now that it's grouted.

My point is that there may be a purely mathematical reason why this layout cannot be done without slivers, so expectations might be unrealistic.

Once years ago, someone posted a picture of a pony wall in a bathroom that was exactly one tile wide. (This is not standard construction, a normal 2x4 wall is thicker than a 4.25" tile and narrower than a 6" tile).

She posted her pony wall then, with a full tile and a sliver and she was furious that it couldn't be tiled like her example of one tile. It couldn't be done because tiles are a standard size and if the wall is too thick for a single tile it's too thick, period. That's something that starts back in the building of the wall. Believe me, I know. We had to take a pony wall down and build it over to get it exactly one tile thick.

If that counter run is just slightly longer than a multiple of six inches or three inches it's possible that there is no way to do a 50% offset brick pattern without a sliver in one of the rows, no matter how you finesse the layout. In that case the expectation would not be realistic

Wow Nina, I am with you all the way. An investment is an investment and you hire tradespeople to do the work to your specifications and under the (vetted) assumption it will be done properly. Hence, the reason you hire out.

I think the tile selection is fine, it's the workmanship issue. (FYI, if you hate the grout color later, despite googling that you can't change it easily, that is incorrect it is a very straightforward novice DIY project).

I am with NoviceDIYer 1000% (yes, that's a lot more than 100 and not mathematically correct but how strongly I would feel if this were my home having hired someone to do it correctly).

I'ts like a drywall-er "accidentally" piercing your in-wall Ethernet cable, or a roofer missing nails to structural studs, or other common 'hurry up and finish' issues in the trade; but this one you will see every single day. And every day after that, and that.

I hope you held some final payment back -- honestly if it were me, I'd take a big issue on it, and if necessary (payment provided), cut your losses and get the right trades person in there, full payment on satisfaction of job completion.

Good luck, how disappointing.

Hopefully most of your friends and neighbors won't stick their faces under your cabinets and peer into the corners of your kitchen as closely as your camera did. If they do, quickly give them a cup of hot cocoa and a croissant--and THAT is what they will remember :)

Well, not horrible but not optimal, either. My DH and I have installed tile multiple times (floor, shower, backslash...let sarcastic comments begin) and know that dry layout is key. Had that been done and communicated, the OP would have had the option to alter plans: different tile size, different off-set, slightly larger grout lines (over a long run, it wouldn't take much). Or perhaps she would have chosen no changes, but at least would have not been surprised at the corner slivers. The OP should have also been advised that contrast-colored grout will emphasize anything less than perfection. And that, unless the corner is made square, the tiles there will look a bit wonky. To me, the apparent lack of communication so the OP could make an informed decision is the problem here. Should the OP have asked about layout? Certainly. However, if this process was new to her, she may not have known to ask.

Nina, thank you for posting this. I know you are disappointed. I can only imagine coming home with expectations of a gorgeous backsplash and seeing your space. Your heart must have broke. I too would have been upset. But the nice thing about tile is that it can be changed. If you live with it for awhile to change it later or rip it out now to change immediately, Tile is not forever. Tile can be changed. And your post is actually helping many, many people thinking about hiring a tiler to do their own backsplash. We learn what we like, what we don't... I did not know until I read this that glass tiles are such a challenge or that buying a new blade to cut the tile is so important. Or even that the quality of tile is so important. I am learning so much. I am sorry you are going through this and I know you will come up with a solution. And once you start living in your kitchen this will be a thing of the past. Wishing you a great space you enjoy cooking in.

I have the same tile , here is my one corner And some backsplash. The symmetry of your corner would bother me as well. The rest I think looks great.

Also, tile should be flush, I cannot see that in your picture. We recently had an entire remodel of a tub surroun ripped out and redone over similar corners and not being flush. When I supervisor came to view our concern, he agreed it was not acceptable and asked “why didn’t we have a tile guy do this?”. I said, seriously, you’re asking me? A tile professional gets tile flush. These are pictures of my unacceptable tile job.

There are so many factors to take in consideration with tile installation. First hire the best installer that you can afford, good installers understand math and geometry and make the tile layout just perfect. Yes the corners here were done wrongly.

Second, take in consideration the age of the house, how straight the walls are, if the walls were not perfect, the tiles will not be either. Lines will not be straight unless the installer refinishes the walls prior to installation. All of this costs extra money, and if he was trying to save you money, the result won't be perfect.

And last but not least, buy your tiles from tile stores, buy the best quality you can afford, and that goes for grouts as well.

the tile job is an eye catcher it has to be perfect. I'm not a pro installer just a DIYer but I know when working with glass tile the best look is put tile on before cabinets for a cleaner look. Here my kitchen what I did was install cabinets and marked them removed cabinets then made sure tiles would all end up behind the cabinets. I then installed cabinets over top tiles. Also in the corners I started from the top out both ways.

We are sorry to hear about your experience. Hope all works out for the best!

I know I am beating a dead horse here, but would someone who thinks the above layout is terrible and unnecessary and they can do this layout without a sliver and a standard 50% overlap running bond, please demonstrate it: This is a not unusual configuration. for a corner.

The 12" is the cabinet box. the 1.5 is a face frame and door.

Over all the tile job is not the best, but overall look is what looks amazing in my point of view,

I hope he did come back to just try his best to fix the errors you have pointed out.

Still great kitchen to be cooking on.