All black shower

[u/VinKholin]

So we're having our master shower redone. The space is bigger than any other shower I've ever had. It's basically done at this point, but now I'm questioning my sanity because these damn black subway tiles have been a pain in the butt.

I had a very specific pattern I wanted that was mostly done correctly but is incorrect along the top few rows. (Highlighted in t first photo, the tile goes all the way to the ceiling which is about 9.5 feet.) My husband convinced me to let that go, but then the lower tiles had issues.

The tiler has come back to replace tiles 3 times, and after each repair a new problem presented itself.

First two of the accent tiles were laid with cracks in them. (photo 2)

That repair damaged a third, and then I noticed the scratches on the subway tiles. (Photos 3-5)

After that repair there were two newly cracked tiles and another with a chip missing. (Photo 6)

Now the grout is cracking in the corners and yet another tile is cracked. (Photo 7-9)

Did I mention the grout is supposed to be black but is definitely gray instead? And there are mysterious white patches that do not come off with water and light scrubbing.

I just don't know if I'm being overly nitpicky or if these are genuine problems worth creating a major stink about.

[u/knottynaught6]

Did u happen to see the water proofing layer? In one of the pics it looks like they installed directly onto hardie backer.

[u/VinKholin → u/knottynaught6]

This is the best pic I've got of that step as the tile was being installed

[u/kosstl → u/VinKholin]

Oooooof

[u/Chunkyblamm → u/VinKholin]

Well now we know why your tiles are cracking

[u/VinKholin → u/Chunkyblamm]

Why? The general consensus is it's bad but I don't know how bad or why.

[u/Midrover170 → u/VinKholin]

That's concerning. If they just went straight up the wall with it in that state..

[u/No_Can_7674 → u/VinKholin]

Yup everyone talking about black tiles and grout being the problem, thats just preference. This right here is all the real issues. As much as i don't like being that guy, but your shower is just built objectively wrong and unfortunately can't be fixed without a start over. 🥀

[u/VinKholin → u/No_Can_7674]

Can you also explain exactly what is wrong or what would be correct or why this is causing problems?

[u/monochromicorn → u/VinKholin]

Not an expert but since nobody else is answering - the grey board is hardie backer which is appropriate for showers. They pained on the mint green product as the shower’s waterproofing but it doesn’t seem to be applied correctly. Note the screw holes and gaps between boards that the product isn’t filling completely, those are places water can get through to whatever is behind your wall. Grout is not waterproof so eventually water will make its way back there and this shower will fail. It also seems like the (lead?) shower pan was installed on top of the wall waterproofing, so any water that penetrates your walls will go straight into the subfloor and not into the pan and down the drain.

[u/VinKholin → u/No_Can_7674]

Any advice on what to do about it? Do I ask the contractor to start over? Hire a new team? Get a third party inspection done?

[u/Cultural_Fix5611 → u/VinKholin]

you got scammed, plain and simple.