Cabinets are gloss...super easy to clean. Tile is glass, easy to clean. Floor is grey. Walls are grey.

 

I feel you, man...
Ex-Wife wanted arabesque tile backsplash...
you already know that's a cut on every edge and then outlets etc...
she picked the glass ones...I made one test cut and told her, naw bro...pick something else.

 

Ikea dressers are cheap everybody knows that but look half way decent at a great price, but still should of been handled better.

My Opinion on the bath tile: It`s not the grouts fault, there aren`t any properties in the grout that would make it expand enough to break. It might be the temperature or even way behind the tile on the concrete wall is till curing. Or the guy doing the grout muscling the grout into the joints.

 

In my research it shows many glass installers put in a "crack suppression membrane" under the tile...or as more research shows Custom Build (makers of poly blend) have a specific glass tile thin set mortar which accommodated for exactly that.

ANNND....further reading...all corners (where wall meets wall) should be left empty and filled with Silicone caulk...Both my corners have grout, and the big tile that I found cracked is right at one of those edges.

I spoke with a Custom Build tech/rep to ask questions to see where my case lies and he says it sounds like it was done incorrectly. So, we'll see what the contractor says.

Either way, Im not trying to blame the grout...Im trying to see if the installer was ill prepped to install a full glass shower, and therefore did so incorrectly.

 

As for dressers, yeah they are cheap. Still $200. And my wife liked it. Whether we get another ikea or not, they should be compensation something for it. Their bull in a China shop painter rushed it out of the bedroom without removing the drawers, and all the weight along with how fast they were trying to hustle cause it to split.

 

F that. I would have done the same thing as you. Square edges are the way to go for anything you need to cut lol.

 

no glass tile, no wife = no problem!

 

Just finished with the supervisor. They will reimburse me for the dresser, and haul the busted one away.

As for the tile, I told him what I'd read about installing, he says they've done it before with no problems and he'd hate to redo it all. We both agreed to use the shower daily for a week and see what happens with it. In the mean time he is going to send some guys to inspect it...and I think I'm going to pay another tile specialist to come assess it myself.

Now, just waiting for the electrical inspector. And I got the TV rehung on the wall with the new media stand under it.

Built our new bed last night, and the couch a couple days ago. Slowly its coming together. I need to get a carpet pad for the new rug, hang the window treatments in the living room, and start putting shit back on walls. Among other things.

 

Looking good. Those floors look amazing.

Hope they don't have to redo the entire glass shower. That would be a disaster. Hopefully it will just end up being a few tiles they can pop cut out and replace.

 

progress looks great... too bad on the slight hiccup but at least they are stepping up...

as i was going thru the pics i was like daymn that's a hell of a rental... i had to go back to the first post and remind myself you were future planning for when/if it became a rental...

 

they must have plenty of padding in their number to keep fixing all this stuff

 

Funny how that works, right?

 

did you feel that needle or did I not stick it in far enough?

 

It's nothing I haven't already thought about.

 

So, there are now currently 19 cracks in the tiles in the shower. 18 of them of wall with the fixutures/door and they keep randomly appearing.

Now...in my research and after speaking with a different tile installer...It could be a couple things...since they floated the wall, did they mix the mud correctly? And their thin set...did they modify it? He says they certainly cheaped out because you never use grey thin set on a glass tile wall unless its dark colors...and of course my tile is white...but now its grey-ish looking. So, even if I made them JUST re-do the one wall properly, it would look totally different in color.

We re-visit this issue when they are here on Wed...It will be interesting to see how they want to handle this. Because I'm guessing all their profit on this job will go out the window with this botch up.

But I feel they need to redo the tile from scratch with the proper thin set, and pay for the tile. The only gotcha is that I dont know what thin set they used...or if they modified it.

It will be interesting for sure. But I've kept pretty calm about it, so lets see what they say they are willing to do right up front, and what has to be pushed through.

 

Well...I was going back through some photos of the construction and it appears the tile guy did in fact use a white colored thin-set. Maybe not bright white, no idea. But thats a good sign from his end. The question becomes did he use a modifier for glass tile. Or is there something else wrong causing the cracking on that one wall...like is the quality of the tile no good?

 

Man this really sucks! Either way it should be on them to make it right even if they are in the hole.

 

Hope this helps: I believe this tile guideline is similar to what you have. See notes.

Installation Guidelines for Opera Glass Field Tile (3x6 and larger):
1. All walls should be plumb, square and free of movement.
2. Open boxes of tiles, check and sort for color variation.
3. Use the flat side of a ¼”x ¼” square notched trowel to embed the thinset into the substrate.
4. Add additional thinset using the notched side of the trowel and comb the thinset in one direction to establish the proper depth.
5. Wipe off the back of the tile with a clean dry cloth. Do not wet the tile prior to setting.
6. Back Butter each tile with additional thinset using the flat side of the trowel, make sure you have 100% coverage on the back of every tile. If full coverage is not achieved, trowel marks and imperfections in the setting bed may be visible through the glass tile in the completed installation. Use care not to scratch the back of the tile.
7. Apply the tile into the setting bed using a slight twisting motion while applying even pressure on the tile. This should ensure full contact and eliminate any voids in the face of the tile. If you see any voids in the face of the tile remove the tile and apply extra thinset accordingly. Do not over apply thin set as it may shrink excessively when curing and lead to installation failure. Consult setting manufacturer’s guidelines regarding setting bed depth. 1 TCNA 2010 Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation, 5 Artistic Tile Opera Glass Installation Guidelines for the Professional Installer Page 2 of 4 Issued May 2010, this document supersedes all previous versions.
8. Grout joints should be a minimum of 1/8” between tiles.
9. Glass tile’s high expansion and contraction requires the installation of movement joints according to TCNA EJ171-052 . Continue with the above procedure for the rest of the tiles. If the setting bed is left too long and skinning occurs (drying of the thinset surface,) remove the old thinset, and reapply with new thinset.

Grouting: We recommend using a sanded grout.

Notes:
1. Glass is subject to high rates of thermal expansion and contraction. Precautions must be taken to allow for situations where variable rates of movement might occur, e.g. a wall where part is located partially in a heated interior and partially in an unheated exterior.
2. The larger the glass tile, the more crucial the proper use of soft joints.
3. When installing shower doors and other hardware ensure that the hole in the glass is larger than the screw being used and do not over-tighten screws.
4. The use of a gasket material around plumbing fixtures may be desirable to insulate glass from movement.

 

Glad things seem to be working out, it's nice they seem to be standing behind the work. It is also amazing that there are so many companies out there, making what appear to be basic mistakes that cost them so much in the end. I get these tiles take a different kind of install but I know if I was installing them, I would have researched them and hopefully figured out the correct way to install them. Could I have messed up, absolutely but I am not a tile installer so I would expect more from guys that are.

Whiskers, for example; you know he has a different lube for every situation he could come across and he knows what works best for the situation at 'hand.' Some situations, like whacking in bed next to the wife require no lube for an easy clean up while others he can make a mess; a real master at his craft like these guys should be.

 

Not much has happened the last two weeks. Finally got all the cabinets/drawers finished minus one door thats needs replacing to open in the correct direction (on backorder)

More tiles in the shower are cracking...After the most current one I found this morning I'm at 25 cracks. My father in law has not been well, so we have been dealing with that, and so I have not been so easy granting the contractor access and they don't seem so urgent in coming. Someone is supposed to come today. I actually told the supervisor last night thatI need definitive times...no more saying they'll be there at 8am and show up at 11am. So, of course when I checked in last night to find out times for today...no reply.

So, fuck em. I'm going to go about my day and if they show up when I'm not there and call, I'll let them know straight up. I'm tired of fucking around with them and they are now on my time. AND I still owe them HALF the money...so, if they ever want to get paid, they'll get shit done.

At least I have a functioning home. I'm just waiting on some furniture pieces to put the kids room back together, and make some more space for us.

 

I'm so glad you haven't finished paying them yet. Fuck those guys.

 

It'll get done. I'm just over them. They don't seem to be hounding me for the money either.

I'm just over how lackadaisical every one is in this industry. Construction boggles my mind. Its like the perfect industry for people with no time management because every one acts like "whatever" about everything.

If anyone one of us performed in this manner in our careers we'd never get hired. Drives me nuts.

 

Okay well, I have your solutions, David.
Small ball peen hammer and make a consistent looking cracked glass tile look throughout and enjoy the savings of half the cost of the job.
Go purchase a fine sixer of your favorite IPA and revel in the win.

 

If I wanted that I could have just bought that style tile!

 

but it would have cost more..


just like distressed/ripped jeans

 

 

Tile guy just left.

He says he did use a glass modifier in the thin set. And I tend to believe him. He knows his shit.

He says he's never seen cracking like this before. Usually the grout will crack and then you'll a continuing crack through all the tiles. With mine, there is no cracking in the grout and the cracks in the tiles are random and randomly appearing.

He thinks the shower door might be part of the problem as the its just floating with no support behind it. But the cracks started before that was even installed, and the main contractor doesn't think thats the case.

Either case they want to fix it. But I said, replacing the tiles is great, but we need to know whats causing the continuing cracking...I finding new ones every 2-3 days. If we replace the busted ones its not going to stop the rest from continuing to crack or re-crack.

So, now I wait. The contractor is going to chat with the main tile guy, not the one who did the work, and see what they think the best course of action will be.

sigh.

 

Hopefully they find the root of the problem.

 

Dave what tub did you use? I thought you had it posted it here somewhere but I couldn't find it.

 

Kohler Archer

 

David, ballpark what does it run to have a glass door and panel installed on the tub? I am trying to figure out if it makes sense in our master. I hate shower curtains and we have one now, but I would love to replace it with glass....

Also, despite the trouble you are having with those tiles, they look awesome!

 

Thanks and I dont know...its all part of the overall cost of the renovation.

 

What are you thoughts on the tub so far? We started looking at tubs to replace ours and the Archer was recommend by a few stores but it being acrylic material kind of scares me (some people say they are know of cracking). Is yours 60"x30" or 60"x32"?

 

David - I am wondering if you are experiencing the tile cracking because of the chicken wire / floating wall? I was talking with a few of my tiling buddies and showed them what they did to your bath and they said they never heard or seem chicken wire / floating wall used for tile and they stronger think that is the issue in your case.

 

IIRC, I had two installed for $1500-$2000 each depending on size.

 

 

Sarlacc - how's your tile in the bath / shower holding up?

 

We finally had them out last week to replace the broken tiles, it was up to 35 cracks. And then had paint patch out on Monday to touch up where retiling affected the areas.

Knock on wood, things have been good so far. But I am withholding final payment for a month to make sure.

And in the end my supervisor made good on all their fuck ups and knocked $2k off the price of their work. Probably didn't hurt that he had already left the company to start his own, and I was one of his last accounts, so he was probably like "fuck it". Whatever, worked in my favor haha.

 

Those price cuts in the end are the best!

 

Yeah, I was afraid they were going to try and find ways to nickel and dime me to try and make up for having to pay out for their fuck ups.