Tile setters? I paid someone to tile my bathroom floor using the 1 in hex tiles meshed together in 12 x 12 in pieces. Ive seen that type of tile done before and it each tile looks evenly spaced. The tiles he installed for me look like they were installed in 12 x 12 pieces as the perimeter of the meshed tiles has much wider grout lines than the interior. He says its normal and it happened because the floor is uneven but he installed the hardybacker himself so he should have leveled it.
I can t believe these builders and tile setters didn t pick up on what you said..You said he installed the backer board and should ve leveled the floor. Un even grout will occur if the floor isn t flat so the installer is right about that. But he was wrong in doing a job that had a floor that wasn t flat. Part of his duty when bidding or time of installing is a floor inspection. And he should ve brought it to your attention and tell you that it ll be a bit extra to fix it or tell you that you have a dip or hump. It may have been a simple fix or something costing some money, I can t see it from here. Give him a chance to fix it. Then work w/ him to see if it can be worked out..Any questions you can e mail me thru my avatar and check my qualifications there GL
Has he grouted already? Sometimes even when they are evenly spaced they don't look right BEFORE the grout, but will look OK when the grout is installed. This is a bit of an optical illusion because there is no backer in the spaces between the sheets. If he has already grouted and they still look uneven then you have a problem. You can try to have them taken out and reinstalled, but then he is going to say why didn't you say something before I grouted. Now if he has not grouted and you want to check the spaces, get a solid object that is the exact width of the spaces of the meshed tiles and place it between the others. If it is too wide in more than one or 2 spots make him fix it now.
I just read your link, the Home depot ad says, Merola Tile 12 In. x 12 In. Old World Hex BLACK WHITE Flower Porcelain Mosaic Floor So these tiles should all fit together like the ad says and look like a mosaic on your floor, what a shame for you to see wider tile gaps around the edges of each tile because they are very nice tiles. I guess you need to get a third opinion from another professional tiler in your area and then haveit out with the guy who did you a bad job.
You are not being unreasonable. The 12 by 12 mesh backed 1 inch tile should not show a larger grout line at the edges than they do in the center. All grout lines should be equal. Your tile guy is not being honest with you. I'd try everything, including Judge Judy, to get him to tear it out and do it again. Good luck!
Plain and simple, the guy did not do a good job. It's rare for anyone to install tiles perfect, if you look at any tile job, and I don't care who did it, you are going to find imperfections, but thats just it, you have to look for them. To just casually look, you should see no problems at all. If you can live with it, get discount on the job your happy with if you hate it, have him rip them up and replace them at his expense If you can afford it and hate them. hire someone else to redo the floor and take the first guy to court in an attempt to recoup your money..if he couldn't do right the first time , I doubt he'll be able to do right if given a second chance.
