I would clad the bump in another material like a warm wood rather than wrapping the tile awkwardly around the bump. You could use the wood bump as a pegboard.

It should absolutely be the same pattern as the wall tiles. This looks out of place. DMH is completely correct about the face tile running longer to hide the mortar joint. Talk to your installer. Good luck!

Tell your installer to use a level, nobody seems to use that anymore!!!

this kind

Looks like a really poor quality install.

Un Even tile spacing.

No expansion room on the bottom where tile meets the stone.

I would have mitred the edges of that outside corner so the tile looked sharper.

These are mitred corners....

I also so see no finished lighting in place. What will the lip page look like when the under cabinet and hood fan lighting is on!!!

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/3-key-steps-for-grouting-that-looks-its-best-stsetivw-vs~12892001

dont be afraid to question the quality of work....I just built a house and we are having major issues with tile jobs done. from it beig unlevel, cracked, different colored grount and stupid installations.

I know what mitered corners are. Installer says they are too hard? Is it just a terrible excuse? The tile is handmade, so it is very uneven. I choose that look on purpose, so no complaints there. But the choice for the edges seems...unprofessional.

That looks bad, sorry. Make him stop. Get a second opinion.

Well if it's too hard - then you get what you get.....

Are you paying this man by the hour or by the job?

Did you have a tile mock up prepared first?

Did you agree on a tile layout?

These issues should not be surprises and shows a lack of organization on your front or a lack of skill and pride on the installers.

These comments and problems come up daily in America and Canada. Because - people don't specify the job well enough.

That corner could have mitres with ease. By ease I mean a few extra hours work. Would you pay me an extra $150.00 to make it look prettier? I bet the tile man would not think it's hard if he had the right tools and was being paid to do it.
If he quoted $4.00 a square then of course any extra is too hard or not part of the deal....

He is my contractors tile man, not mine. I assumed I am paying professionals to make professional decisions. If I wanted to go through all the time of making doing tile layouts and researching proper install, I would have just done the job myself. The prep is the hard part of a tile install.

I agree with the mitered corners, or there is a second option of using a metal or a plastic finish trim from Schluter. One of these options would be better than what's there. As for the tile on your build out or bump, it should still carry with the pattern. If your installer did a layout before he started he would have figured out how to make this look properly done. As for the hand made tiles, we have worked with handmade tiles before, they are not the easiest to install. If he used a bigger grout joint, he could have hidden the imperfections a bit better but still ended up with the look you were trying to achieve. It could have been installed better than this.

And as mentioned above, the tiles on the face should overlap the side pieces so your grout joint isn't on the front side.

For the side next to the cooktop, I think I'd personally stick with stacked just from a practical point of view - fewer grout lines to clean from splashes from cooking. I hate cleaning grout, though. :) The front face (what you'll likely see the most of when looking at the kitchen, as part of the whole 'run' of backsplash) does look very weird stacked, though. As does the height change from one side to the other - is the height of the tiles on the side with the cooktop a safety/code requirement?

Have you considered using a different tile on the build out? Might be a place for something that would be too busy on a whole backsplash?

Rhiannon I felt the same way - you hire a contractor to build your house because that is what they do - they hire the tile people....the people that have been working on my house couldnt even speak english, making it very difficult to try and communicate. Who is your contractor?

Who made the rule that backsplash tile has to be set horizontally? This is a weird configuration and so some thought might have been given to setting the tile vertically, which would have been a great way to disguise that bump, if that's what you want to do. I don't see a corresponding bump on the other side of the stove top insert---too bad as the area behind the stove could have then become a decorative alcove.

Rhiannon, you wrote: "He is my contractors tile man, not mine. I assumed I am paying professionals to make professional decisions."

You are. Your contractor hired a sub. He decided that the sub charged the price the contractor wanted to pay. His profession is putting money in his pocket.
Demand a new tile guy. If mitering a corner is too hard, his skill level is the same (or worse) as a DIYer.

foreverfarm11-----most contractors do the best they can with the budget they have and if the homeowner isn't knowledgeable about such things as tile setting, they have to take whatever works for that budget. We fired a contractor who just wouldn't bend from what "he had always done", insisting that we have single hung windows rather than those which slide, which was what we wanted, (and there were other problems as well), so the first consideration for any potential remodel or custom build is to pick a contractor who wants to please you. In order to do that you must have a plan that remains the same without costly mid-stream changes. Any tile job will become a focal point, so do your homework so you at least know what you DON'T

@Granmajb, I agree that it could have been set vertically, there is no rule of how tile should be installed visually, especially if it is a custom install. It depends on the look you are trying to achieve estheticly. I also agree that if it had a build out on the other side, it would have opened up more tile choices and layouts. I've attached a pic of a splash we installed with the tile vertically.

like---hit the wrong button, sorry. We hired our own tile person because how it looks is important to us. Rhiannon: It's not too late to make a change but it may cost you more than you feel that it is worth---that's your choice at this point.

Thanks, Stuart Mac

This style of tile is intended to simulate brick. The way the tile is applied to the 'bump' is wrong. Every other course on the face of the column should consist of a tile that's been bisected so there'd be a vertical grout line to simulate the end of a brick. Same with the side of the column.

I absolutely agree with those who said the "studs" should not be tiled. Especially by this man. Actually, I think he should be pulled off of the job. As someone else said, he didn't even leave the required space at the bottom of the wall. He is not working like a professional, though your contractor is charging you as if he was.

granmajb - believe me when I say I hired an award winning reputable company and am paying then alot of money to build my home. I did not change anything once we did our choices. I hired a custome home builder. Firing them would be very difficult with the bank loan etc. I just keep making them have tile people come back and fix what is not done correctly.

forverfarm, have you tried finding your own tile guy and having the builder hire them?

If you are questioning the workmanship and look of this then I would stop the tile work now before it went any farther. I am no professional, but I wouldn't be happy with what I am seeing in this picture I do my own tile work and it looks much better than this guy is doing

Worst tile job I've ever seen. What kind of "tile man" did this? Talk to your contractor and tell him that the tile man is not up to par. If he is at all professional, he won't want his name on this shoddy workmanship. The tiler may be a sub or a sub and the main contractor may not even be aware of his bad quality.

Check-out this link to Hartwood Roses' tutorial re: subway tile backsplash; shown is how the tile should take a corner. http://hartwoodroses.blogspot.com/2011/01/workday-weekend-tutorial-tiling.html

I appreciate the disappointment when the job doesn't meet one's expectations, I'm sure we've all dealt with that at one time or another but you must hold the contractor responsible for his subs. If he fails you, contact the bank who is underwriting this because they are certainly not going to want to be financing a shoddy job. As a matter of fact, they should be checking out each project as it is completed before they issue payment to the contractor---and their payment should be made jointly to both contractor and sub to avoid having the contractor not pay his sub which results in a lien against the property----at least that's the way financial institutions used to work---in today's "me first" society, I'm not so sure if that is still the norm. The bottom line is that you do not have to accept the tile man just because he is the one the contractor hired. Make a very loud noise---more than once if necessary.

Totally unacceptable. Have him stop immediately before he ruins more tile. This is not a close call, hard to believe this guy has even tiled before.

Did you show the GC what this guy is doing?

Wondering how your tile job is coming along

Me too.

Here is where we are at. Tile guy coming back tomorrow to fix things up. Not 100% what I should be asking for at this point.

That tiling job wanders like it's drunk. I hope they're coming back to fix things.

First, decide if you still want the tile to go on the post. If so, corners should be mitered and the tiling should follow the brick pattern on the wall. Have him dry fit the first course so you have an idea of how it will look. He may need to start at the post rather than the end of the wall.
Second, the bottom row of tiles should not be resting on the counter, there needs to be a space there to allow for movement.
Third, make sure he is spacing the tile with tile spacers or they are evenly spaced all around.
You might want to get the lights in to see what the shadows will look like.

Basically, I just rewrote John Whipple's posts, so check those again I guess. In case I missed anything. GL and have your GC change tile guys if this one can't do it the way you want.

Rhiannon .... you should be asking for a correct tile job. See link in post by acroteria for details on how to install subway tile above a counter and around a corner.

Put your foot down and don't let the tile guy do more until it's done right. You can't just stand back and leave it to the GC. Obviously, this is not working. It's your house and your money.

My tile installer, East Coast Tile and Flooring, used the pieces of torn cardboard from the tile wrappers as spacers. I was pretty surprised to see that. Of course when the mortar dried some of the brown paper had to be picked out with tweezers. I am still trying to get them to come back a clean off the grout haze.

Agree with everyone!

WOW, HOPE U GOT A BETTER RESULT AFTER TALKING TO THEM, VERY POOR WORK.

Is your tile work complete yet? Was wondering how it worked out for you.

And 3 tries later.

3? OMG But it looks GOOD!!

Still doesn't look like they used spacers, but may be an illusion. What's with that dark, ragged line at the inside corner (edge of pic)?