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bohochic17

Contractor did grout lines uneven. Help!!

Kat H
vor 7 Jahren
zuletzt bearbeitet:vor 7 Jahren


We hired a contractor who was recommended by a ton of people in our area. We interviewed him and he provided photos of his work which we were pleased with. Well we are so unhappy with his tile grout work in our bathroom. We have asked him multiple times to fix the grout and every time I come home it still looks the same. The grout job is absolutely terrible and I don't know what else to do. The lines are thick and uneven. It looks splotchy and not clean lines. Some lines are thick and sloppy like as if he didn't wipe it clean while some lines are skinny. Can he fix the grout lines or is this something we have to live with? I feel it will be too costly to rip out and do all over again. He claims he "isn't done yet" but it's been several weeks since the tile and grout has been done and this is what it looks like. I'm so upset. I don't want to pay the final payment of the bathroom til my tile is fixed. See pictures.

Hervorgehobene Antwort
  • PRO
    GoodHouse Flooring LLC
    vor 7 Jahren
    Because there seems to be a combination problem here. Mostly stemming from the fact that your white gloss tiles are not gauged They vary in size. Couple that with dark grout and contrasting tiles, it highlights waviness

    Kommentare (78)

    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 7 Jahren

      There is a contract but he hasn't even finished putting together the rest of the bathroom and other projects in the house which he is already in breach of contract is he chooses not to come back and finish. We haven't fired him but basically I get the feeling he isn't going to come back and finish the job. my friend who is an attorney drafted up an email for us documenting every date we have asked him to fix this (since January) and that he needs to fix the problem and absorb the cost to fix it. He hasn't responded to that email either.

    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 7 Jahren

      We have also documented every correspondence we have had with him including all the times we have asked him to fix the tile which was back in January - it is now March.

    • saywhatyousay
      vor 7 Jahren

      Glad to hear you have legal advise. You must be anxious to move on and get these jobs finished and your life back to normal. If your lawyer says it's ok I would do that. Start moving forward if you can afford to do so before this issue is resolved with this ass clown. Maybe down the road you can try to recoup some of the money you paid him.

    • Kivi
      vor 7 Jahren
      There is no "fixing" of your shower. Since there was no waterproofing done on the walls ( from your posting on JB forums), I would hazard a pretty safe guess that he also didn't install the pvc liner properly onto a preslope base. Am I incorrect in guessing that he put down the pvc liner onto the flat wood floor and then installed the concrete base for tile over it? Even If i am guessing wrong about the floor construction, your walls are not waterproof, the tilework is poorly done, and so is the grout. If you want any real certainty about the lifespan of your shower, your only option is going to be ripping it out and starting over with someone who knows what they are doing.

      You may get away with using the shower for a while but for how long is an unknown. The trouble is that you may not see damage being done until it becomes a bigger issue.
      Kat H hat Kivi gedankt
    • Bruce Crawford
      vor 7 Jahren
      I'm late to this thread & haven't read every post, but this is a mess. If post immediately above is right, problems are deep-seated. In pics I saw, problem wasn't grout, but tile setting. On niche, some tiles are almost touching, others almost 1/4" apart. But you've got to verify proper waterproofing first. It all may have to come off -- at his expense, labor & mat'l. Withhold final payment or you'll lose all leverage.
      Kat H hat Bruce Crawford gedankt
    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 7 Jahren

      We have withheld final payment and confronted the contractor telling him the work is unacceptable and he needs to have it all redone at his own expense. He agreed and said he would be back tomorrow to rip it out. We contacted him and he now is saying he can't come and we asked if he was coming this week and he said no. I have had a lawyer help us draft up an email in which we went over the discussion on Monday to have The work redone and he has to absorb all costs and no payments will be made until the work is redone. I have a feeling he will not come back.

    • T. J.
      vor 7 Jahren
      BEH you don't want him to finish the work, because it will most likely be horrible work. I don't like to think poorly of people, but what if he purposely does things wrong to spite your family. At this point, he has had his chances to remedy things and he hasn't. Talk to your lawyer regarding getting money back and find someone else to finish. Did you have payments associated with milestones?
      Kat H hat T. J. gedankt
    • Bruce Crawford
      vor 7 Jahren

      Since he initially agreed, you've got him over a barrel.

    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 7 Jahren

      TJ - yes we had payments for each milestone, 1/3 down, 1/3 when drywall went up and we paid him for other work that was done other than the bathroom. We haven't paid him any other amount. All of it has been documented.

    • Kivi
      vor 7 Jahren
      Unless your overall job is much bigger than just this bathroom I would say the odds of your contractor coming back to rip everything out and getting it rebuilt properly, are very very slim. It would not be consistent behaviour with his approach to this point. Personally, I wouldn't even want him to try and rebuild it given the quality of the current work. I would opt to try and negotiate a parting of ways. Perhaps ask that he comes back and rips out the whole shower back to studs, removes the debris, a his expense. Try to also get him to give you 'X' amount of money back to cover some portion of rebuilding costs.
      If you can agree on something I would think it's better to put this mess behind you, and move forward with someone more professional.
      Ask on the JB forums...perhaps one of those pros are in your area.
    • cineus
      vor 7 Jahren
      Telling you from experience, don't let tile guy try to fix or redo. He won't do any better next time. You did your homework in choosing him so don't know how to pick someone to do correctly.
    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 7 Jahren

      Hi Everyone,

      Good news and bad news. Bad news is that not only did the contractor do a bad tile job, we had second opinions come in and he didn't level the shower pan correctly, the bathroom vent fan was not vented properly (venting into attic) and he wasn't licensed to do the electrical work!

      Good news is he is refunding us all the money we have paid him.

      One question I have is, he wants to drop off the refund check and he states that he needs us to sign a release/receipt.... is that normal?

    • Bruce Crawford
      vor 7 Jahren

      I've never been in that situation, so I don't know if it's normal. What I do know, is if you choose to sign a release, tell him you'll do it after his check has cleared the bank, or to bring a cashier's check.

    • saywhatyousay
      vor 7 Jahren

      hhmmmmm. I don't know about that. Sounds right as long as you know he hasn't cost you money. I.E. it is going to cost you more to have what he has done, redone than it should have cost to do the work had he NOT been involved at all. Glad you posted the outcome I was wondering how that all shook out.

    • saywhatyousay
      vor 7 Jahren

      and 2nd bruce Crawford. AFTER the check clears.

    • Maxwell VII
      vor 7 Jahren

      "One question I have is, he wants to drop off the refund check and he
      states that he needs us to sign a release/receipt.... is that normal?"

      You could be asking your "friend who is an attorney" this question. I advise you to do this.

      I agree with everyone about the check. He's lied before. I wouldn't sign anything until I had the money back in my hands.

      And this thread is exactly the reason why I would never leave my house while someone is doing work in it. The way most people are now, you've got to keep a watchful eye on the process to make sure they don't cut corners to save themselves money or time. At the very least, set up a camera.

    • Kivi
      vor 7 Jahren

      If he is going to give you back your money take it happily and be done with it. Of course it will cost money to rectify the problems, but to expect a "bad" contractor to give you back all the money plus something more to undo or fix things is pretty much dreaming. I would count yourself very fortunate to get your $ back. I guarantee that not many folks will have an outcome like that. Obviously, unless he is giving you a certified check, waiting for the check to clear would be a good idea before absolving him of any further responsibility. Personally I would be running to the bank where the check was issued to get it certified (if it isn't already), or cashed if the bank is willing.

    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 7 Jahren

      yes, wait for check to clear. even a cashiers check can be bad. tell him when the cash hits your account, you will sign the refund papers. or have him bring it to you in all cash and you'll sign immediately. Do not sign anything without completely reading AND making sure the money/check is good.

    • demolition
      vor 7 Jahren
      Zuletzt geändert: vor 7 Jahren

      Have your contractor email you the release he wants you to sign, so you have ample time to review its contents. If he's going to refund you the money you paid him by check for his shoddy workmanship, meet him at his bank, have the checked cashed with him being present to be assured his checks good. I can't imagine what this release would state??

    • saywhatyousay
      vor 7 Jahren

      great idea. meet him at the bank. preferably his bank so you can get the cash or bank check. and yes you are probably lucky only to be out the extra money that you are going to have to pay to have this jokers work redone.

    • leelee
      vor 7 Jahren

      Looks like there's fault all around. Why would you ever switch grout colors from the niche to the wall?

    • km kane
      vor 7 Jahren
      I see nothing wrong with changing grout colors from the wall to the niche. the niche stands out really well.
    • PRO
      Tile Supply Solutions
      vor 7 Jahren

      Sadly it is very poor work. In regards to spacing this has caused the grout joints to vary , grout colour should also be closer to the colour of the tile , so when you look at it you see the tiles not a grid of grout. I am afraid you need to start again with someone else doing the installation as the layout is wrong changing the grout will improve but not solve the issues here. Sorry it is not better news. Hope it works out for you.

    • Alex511
      vor 7 Jahren

      BEH, I hope this issue has been settled. I'm sorry you had to go through this. You mentioned that this person came recommended by multiple people. Be sure to provide a review on your own experience with him. If I were looking for someone to tile my bathroom, I would want to know about the experience you had with this contractor so that I could make an informed decision. What a disappointing experience for you.

    • Jose Galvan
      vor 6 Jahren
      It really doesn't look like something that cant be fixed! It looks as if his cuts were off and he maybe covering it up with the grout. what size grout line were you hoping to get? And was he the cheapest or the most expensive?✌
    • Jose Galvan
      vor 6 Jahren
      If you want your money do it, but the release absolve him of any wrong doing, and may not allow you the right to slam him later, pick your battles.✌peace!
    • laurelcollins
      vor 6 Jahren
      I hate I say this, but it looks like your tiles were installed unevenly, which accounts for the grout looking uneven. If they are truly all the same straight and uniform size, the bigger issue is how they were installed.
    • laurelcollins
      vor 6 Jahren
      Chimes in before I read all the replies! Glad he will give your money back- yep, no signing until the check clears!
    • Dee Sanchez
      vor 6 Jahren

      If you have it redone, I would recommend not choosing mildew colored grout.

    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 6 Jahren

      Kat H,,,,,any update or finished pics? Wondering what the final outcome was. thx.

    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 6 Jahren

      Hi Beth - we went with a different contractor and it came out a million times better! See picture.

      We got our money back from last contractor.

    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 6 Jahren
      Zuletzt geändert: vor 6 Jahren

      wow Kat! so much better. very happy things worked well in your favor! beautiful shower. Now you can understand why we were so horrified by the other tile work!

      Is that a Brizo shower head? I have the square one.

      Kat H hat Beth H. : gedankt
    • Bruce Crawford
      vor 6 Jahren

      S-o-o-o much better! Years from now you'll be so happy you didn't let this slide and went through the emotional discomfort and financial expense of having this made right. Enjoy!

    • kmkane123
      vor 6 Jahren
      Nice. Like the floor tiles. Looks like you used a lighter colored grout?
    • Carrie Kennedy
      vor 6 Jahren
      That looks really cool.
    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 6 Jahren

      Thank you! We are so happy we didn't settle. It turned out so much better and how it should have been in the first place.


      @beth yes brizio!

    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 6 Jahren

      Kat,,,you have great taste in shower hardware ! lol Love my Brizo!

    • Bruce Crawford
      vor 6 Jahren
      Beth H., where did you get those attractive dispensers in your shower niche?
    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 6 Jahren
      Zuletzt geändert: vor 6 Jahren

      Hi Bruce. Would you believe Target? They look like lucite. So much nicer to put the shampoo and conditioner in nice dispensers!

    • kmkane123
      vor 6 Jahren
      So did you use lighter grout this time?
    • PRO
      Kluk Construction Ltd
      vor 6 Jahren
      I'm afraid that re-grouting won't help. Tiles are laid badly and grout won't change anything. If you use white grout than you will hide lots of imperfections.

      However removing grout from such a small spacing is almost not possible without damaging tiles.

      If you want to have this done proper only option is to rip it off and start again.

      Sorry to sound harsh but in building stuff all is very related and is not possible to do something bad and then hide everything with final finish (grout)
    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 6 Jahren

      Yes we went with lighter grout this time -

    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 6 Jahren

      KlukConstruction,,,did you not read the comments? OP did have everything redone. She posted new pics a few spots up from the comment you made.

    • gusandmolly
      vor 6 Jahren

      So I am so confused about caulk vs grout. I have read that grout should be done where the planes change, ie corners. Now I am reading only caulk where the plans change? Our shower just complete was done well except the corners and niche. He used dark grout, then matching gloss caulk over that. Line is very thick. Trying to firgure out how to fix that.


    • Kivi
      vor 6 Jahren
      @gusandmolly. It sounds like yours was done correctly. Grout is what fills all of the spaces between tiles. Caulk is placed on inside corners where planes change. Unfortunately, there is going to be a mismatch in sheen between caulk and grout, so trying to keep the caulking width not overly wide is certainly the goal.
      It needs to be wide enough to do its job, but not so wide that it looks lousy.
    • Char Elmore
      vor 5 Jahren

      @Kat H,

      Hi, we’re going through the very same situation right now and I’d love to be able to talk to you about your experience! It seems that you currently have the messaging feature blocked. Would you mind contacting me directly, pls.

    • wendypoet1
      vor 5 Jahren

      Hi Kat, it's about a year later but I just saw your thread. We just had our bathroom done and the results are just as bad -- maybe worse! I saw that you said you got your money back from the last contractor and I'm wondering how? We already paid our contractor. He agreed to reduce his fee by a mere $500. to redo the floor but that's no enough. We've had two other contractors look at it for repairs and both said they'd have to redo the bathroom. We paid this guy 6K for his work, which all has to be ripped out, and also lost our materials. Did you have to bring him to court? If you're still reading this post, I'd appreciate your help. Thanks.

    • cropitsk
      vor 4 Jahren

      Hi Kat and Char and Wendy, I am reading your posts and getting sick as we are in middle of a bathroom remodel and are having similar horrors. Our contractor started our bathroom with very make sift plumbing that was actually dangerous to our health. We had to have it ripped out and redone. he also vented the fan wrong which still have correct. Becuase we have already paid him close to half down we let him come back to do the tiling which he is about to do. The shower is pan complete, but we have no idea if its correct. I live in the Chicago suburbs, if any of you also live in the area, and your contractor has the first name of Peter, please let me know. If he is the same person will stop the work and just cut our losses, before we lose even more with terrible tile job.

    • Kat H
      Ursprünglicher Verfasser
      vor 4 Jahren

      Hi - I live in the DC Metro area in Virginia. I will share that we ended up hiring an attorney to draft a contract and letter that demanded our money back or else... i also had enough evidence against our contractor that showed he was not properly licensed and using his license to perform work outside of what he was licensed to do. We ended up getting all our money back and hiring another contractor who was exceptional but a bit pricier.


      I also documented everything including pictures of the shoddy work and shared it on our list serve to warn other people in our area of him.



    • PRO
      Beth H. :
      vor 4 Jahren

      cropitsk,,,,start your own thread w/pictures and we can advise you. take pictures every chance you get as it progresses.

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