Tile – ask the contractor to redo a tile job I’m not happy with

bathroomtile

floor tile - notice broken hex pattern

Click on photo for full size

I had my bathroom renovated while I was away last week. I'm not happy with how the floor tile came out. I assumed the contractor would lay the tile out in a uniform way (yes I know– ass-u-me).

The bathroom is pretty small- about 4 1/2 feet by 5 feet of total floor space (plus bathtub). I thought I could live with this– but it is kind of driving me nuts.

Two questions–

  • is it fair to have him redo it?And how tough would it be to redo it.
    I have a bunch of left over tile so I wouldn't need to buy much more.

  • How tough is it to rip the tile out and redo it. There are no
    moldings or anything. The only thing which would need to be removed
    aside from the tile is the toilet.

  • Ok three questions– what do you think the cost of this should be (I
    live in Manhattan).

photo with toilet in place

just to be clear– here is an updated photo when the job was completed. I wanted to make clear that the issue was not the white spots or grout– the issue was how the pattern was not continuous and how the seams are shown between the sheets of tile.

Best Answer

We can't really answer the cost or any legal questions (OT per our FAQ), but it's unanimous that this job was done poorly. Repairing it right will likely involve removing everything and starting over from scratch. There's not enough benefit in saving a few rows of tile and it would make the thin set and grout work more difficult. Ripping up the floor in the bathroom is more difficult the better your contractor did their job. A power chisel will make the job go faster, but no matter how you do it, it will be a mess.

I'd point out the mistakes, ask him to correct it, and if he refuses, never work with that contractor again. A good contractor is willing to fix their mistakes and make the customer happy, since a good reference is usually worth more than the materials and labor.