Botched remodel — has it happened to anyone else?
So this is probably silly, but I am very upset and looking for support or shared experience. Advice is welcome too. We had our kitchen redone entirely, everything was replaced. The worker we hired did a reasonably good job on cabinets, floors and countertop. However, he completely messed up the backsplash tile — it is crooked uneven and sporting a grout that is too dark. It looks awful. Having the same guy redo it is out of the question for several reasons one of them being we can’t afford to spend any more on this project that already depleted all our savings. We just have to live with it. Has anyone else been in this situation?
Aug 11, 2025
Parent Replies
I mean, if he didn't do a decent job he should re-do it at his own expense. I'm not sure why that's not the path you're pursuing.
But if you are really unhappy, tile is something folks can do on their own - it will just take you a couple of days. Basic tile and grout aren't super expensive (if your tile is expensive even more reason to make him re-do it!) h
Home Depot and Lowe's both offer classes in tile installation, and of course you can just YouTube it - trust me, it's not rocket science. If you're really unhappy and unwilling to hold him accountable then just fix it yourself! You can do it!
ttps://gateway.on24.com/wcc/experience/eliteHomeDepotStoreSupportInc/3092587/4490523/kitchen-projects
We just remodeled our kitchen too. A few days in we realized a few issues and we contacted the contractor who came over and fixed asap.
Have you reached out to the contractor yet? If not, I suggest that is where you start. I understand you don’t want him redoing it if he is incapable but I would see what he says.
If he redoes it and it is still messed up he will have to help you pay for someone more competent.
Good luck!
We remodeled our bathrooms a few years ago and the contractor used white grout between the tiles on the floor. It quickly became very dirty and looked terrible. My husband looked around online and found a “grout specialist” who painted some kind of sealant between the floor tiles in a darker color. It was a very cost-effective solution— it won’t solve your issue re: crooked tiles, but you can definitely cover the grout with another color.
After our home burned, after almost two years fighting-back against the insurance "adjusters" lies, after PG&E's many delays, after TheCity screwed-up just about every kind of paperwor, and delays caused by subcontractor errors, ... , we finally could rebuild from the ground up.
House is beautiful.
Floors began to squeeek-squeeeek-squeeeeek about a year after we could finally move in!
We have done two major projects and both wound up with issues. We chose a different form the second time and thought we could apply the learnings, but I was still unhappy with the quality of the work.. Fundamentally, I feel that we incentives are not aligned. You live in the house, while your contractor is just there to finish a job. It's hard to get that compromise right.
I will say that, while our imperfections bothered me a ton at first, eventually you stop noticing and life moves on. It took me a few months to get out of my remodel brain.
I’ve done several major remodels, including 2 kitchens and 3 bathrooms and loads of tile work. If you’re not happy, you should be able to have the guy redo it at no charge. Tiling is complicated and they do make a lot of aesthetic decisions - it’s good to be super involved at every step. I’ve learned the hard way to walk around and check all remodeling work every day or two. One guy laid out an entire bathroom floor incorrectly and had affixed everything but the grout - I ended up having to buy new tiles, but he ripped out the old ones and relaid it at no charge. I’ve used the same contractors for loads of work for 20+ years partly because they really stand by their work and are willing to fix problems without charging extra.