I am so sorry, I say withhold the payment until the grout is taken out and the epoxy you wanted put in. I don't know if one can follow torn out cementous grout with epoxy as I am a novice. If he can't do what you want, would it be within reason to withhold what it would cost for someone else to do it from his pay? I say get info from the industry standards and be sure that the tile is installed to those specs, including the grout and caulk. You may have to get someone else to do it.

I hope someone else post like Mongo or BillV. They are experts.

Wow, excellent detailed post. I hope OP sees this and can benefit.

Thank you mongoct and enduring for your help! Will do a follow up on this forum. Great advice.

You're welcome and I am looking forward to your report.

Follow up on bathroom issue... We did not even get to the addressing issues that mongoct suggested. Handyman/contractor called my husband wanting the payment and my husband explained to him we were not happy with the results. Handyman/contractor told my husband he would be placing a lien on our house if payment is not made. This has become such a ridiculous ordeal. Our last payment is not a huge amount , but it is the fact it was not done right. The amount we owe this guy is $938.00. He seriously thinks what he did looks fine. I will be posting several pictures later from my phone.

Oh dear! So sorry it escalated to this! I just had a good piece of advice from a tile guy this weekend. He said he always makes up a sample board with tile and grout for EVERY customer and insists on approval before he begins tiling. He said most clients dissatisfied with their tile job are because of grout issues. I will definitely be doing this myself before I start tiling...will see if I like my planned spacing of grout, etc.

This doesn't help you though. My Mom had an issue with a 'handyman/carpenter' she hired to build some shelves for her in her laundry and wine cellar areas. He quoted a price based on five days of labour. It took him 2 1/2 days (even 2.5 is generous). My Mom thought he should reduce his price as it took him way less time than he anticipated. He wasn't happy, and said do what you want...she took off $200 (which she felt was more than fair). Anyhow, he said he was going to put a Lien on her +600K house! She was furious, but since she figures she'll die there, guess it'll be an issue for us sometime in the future...

I am just about to pop a cheque in the mail for a deposit for a custom made vanity...this is a reminder that bad things happen...and I've never actually had a contract that stated what would happen if unsatisfied...guess the only weapon you have is to withhold payment. I certainly hope he doesn't bully you into paying him until this is resolved...

HI there, I just wanted to share my experience with you. We tiled our living room (20'x16') with Serso Brand 6" x 24" Walnut Porcelain Tiles (from Lowes) and used Mapei Chocolate Grout. To our dismay, the grout color dried really light, almost like a wheat color. How disappointing, because we wanted the grout lines to blend in with the dark tiles. Here is a list of several things we did to do to resolve it:

1. Use Dupont grout sealer hoping it would darken the grout, but had zero effect. FAIL
2. Bought Polyblend dye from home depot and the darkest color was Charcoal which did not match well because it was more of a grey tone; no other color really works. FAIL
3. Used Minwax Polyurethane clear which had better effect than the grout sealer but still didn't darken much. FAIL
4. Bought a quart of Valspar paint but again, it's so hard to match the right color. FAIL
5. Tried Minwax wood stain -> Ebony shade. The color matched the tiles perfectly and was easy to apply. The grout soaks it in fast, and just had to wipe off excess from the tile surface. It doesn't really soak into the Porcelain tile surface which made it really easy to wipe off. SUCCESS!
   The only thing was that the stain smell takes a few days to dry out. You can go over it later with grout sealer which takes care of any remaining stain odor.
   It worked for us, and I just want to say that based on my experience, wood stain is perfectly fine to use on grout lines.

You can email me if you want to see before & after photos e13453@yahoo.com

Can you match his threat with a complaint made with the contractor licensing board in your state? Worth a try. They really helped us resolve an issue regarding a large family room laminate floor that was improperly installed.

Grout is porous. I have used with success wood stain on grout, when it wasn't dark enough. After thoroughtly drying, and being happy with the result... I sealed it with a couple coats of waterproof sealer. All this was handpainting with a little brush, but my entry and hallway have remained in perfect shape since 1976. Back then the stain was oil based, and the sealer was lacquer based. Smiley Spencer above has had good results more recently than I. Tell the contractor about your concerns and ask him to make a sample of whatever he wants to do.... before you tell him to jump off a cliff. Rub it, scrub it, make sure it will be permanent.

Unless you sell your house (or re-finance) the lien means nothing, and he needs to renew it periodically.

It can be fixed. Chin up.

-Babka

Hi. My husband and I are building. We also went with the Serso Black Walnut tile and I'm having trouble finding a grout that matches. We also want it to blend with the tiles and look as much like a real wood floor as possible. Can either of you advise me on a grout that works the first time. Our flooring guy is ready to grout but I haven't liked any that I've looked at and I fear having the same problems that you all did.

You need to do a sample board. I would pick a few colors, one that matches the background color of the tile, and one or 2 that are like the darker streaks in the tile.