I don't think it looks bad. It would look better if they ran the tile out another 1/2" though, so the covers would not be right at the edge like that. Honestly....you are probably the only one who will ever notice it.

I'd think I'd get it fixed if it were my backsplash.
Every time you look at it, it will bother you. You paid to have it installed so that it looked pretty to YOU, not the installer or anyone else.

Personally, if I were tiling this, I would have just moved the outlets down and to the left so that they are framed by the trim pieces. Or if they're on a stud and can't be moved for some reason, I'd have run the trim further out to avoid them.

And the Real tile folks like Bill can comment better on this, but to my novice tile-setting eyes the courses of subways appear to have more lippage and sagging than I'd prefer. Not to make you even more paranoid! :) But I want to reach out and pull up those bottom three rows like a plumber pulling up his pants.

All that said, I think it's not exactly hideously deformed! Electrical outlets often have to land in aesthetically awkward spaces, so I think if it can't be changed, you could easily live with it and be the only one that notices.

What a gorgeous color! What brand are the tiles?

I have to say it doesn't look appealing to my eye. Not sure why any contractor wouldn't take the granite to the counter's edge. Hummm....could he have mismeasured??? Had it met the edge, your outlet situation won't be an issue.

We had a similar situation with our outlets being at the edge like that. I had my DH move them over slightly so there is some tile on that side. This is next to a patio door curtain so it's not seen anyway unless the curtain is moved.

I'd look into how it could be fixed if at all. If not, I suppose you'll get used to it over time.

I think the installer ended the tile where he did because he started at the corner (I assume with a full tile) and ended the course (i.e. met the trim piece) with a full tile on the bottom row. If you want the tile to extend another half inch, the installer will have to remove the whole wall of backsplash tile from the corner out and modify the layout to again end the run with another full tile (and half-tile above). Otherwise, if you just have him pick off the trim pieces and extend each course of horizontal subways, the bottom row of your tile is going to end with a tiny 1/2 inch sliver of tile meeting the trim piece, as will every alternate row above. I don't think you want that. Unless you think you have enough leverage with the tile guy to get him to rip off the whole wall from the corner to the light switch, I'd accept the tile as is, as the tiny slice of tile will look like a mistake.

I'd get it fixed. When I did my first big renovation, there was a problem with some tile, and it seemed like a lot of work to me to fix it, so I left it. For 10 years, it bugged me.

This time, when they finished my backsplash, the outlets overlapped with our insert tiles. The insert tiles are fairly sparsely placed, and they were expensive, and I thought it was stupid to have them cut in half to for an outlet. It happened in two places. This time, I said I am not going to have something that will bug me for years, and it is maybe a few hours work to fix it, so I made them fix it.

I am so happy I did.

I agree with Circuspeanut - The only thing that bothers me (only a little bit and since you pointed it out!) is that the covers are not framed by the trim pieces. Good luck in getting this resolved or resolving yourself to ignore it.

From my perspective I think it looks fine. I think the tile guy was ending the bottom row with a full piece so it would look right. If you really wanted to change it maybe you could just pop of the last vertical row and run a slightly thicker grout line just enough to get the light switch edge on the last tile. It might be worth asking about if it really bugs you. The tile by the way is very good looking!

I would tell the tile guy that he should've checked with you before he made the decision to start with a full tile. I was too "nice" to argue about things that were done improperly on my first renovation, twelve years ago, and they bugged me until I sold the house two years ago. This time, I decided to insist on things being done properly.

If you have enough tile left, I would have the tiler remove all the tile, recut the pieces in the corner, and end the tile at the edge of the counter, as it is customarily done. Your situation would look okay without the outlets, but the outlets look wrong to me. Do you have a corresponding wall on the other end of your countertop? If you do, they should fix that as well. You bought gorgeous tile and fancy switchplate covers, of COURSE you should fix it! At least, take off the stainless covers and paint the covers to blend with the tile.

I am comming at this strickly in the legal sence
it is not the tile mans problem. he did his job
if you want the receptical's moved you should go after the general contractor or the electrican
it is the general contractors JOB to check behind the subs on the job,and make sure that there is no conflicts between the subs work. he is also, supposed to be on site and
looking at the tile with a tape measure in hand so that these conflicts do not happen.
if he was doing his job, he could of had the electrican
move that box over 1 1/2 " just slip a short peice of 2x4 inbetween the box and the stud. would have been a 5 minute fix
but...sence he didnot do his job. what you have now is called in the construction trade a [ring of fingers]
each one standing there saying its his fault,and pointing..
the cover is on the tile, you have no leg to stand on.
is it correctly done ? NO

Personally, I don't think that switch plates in a finished backsplash ever look "good" per se. It is a prime motivation to go with plug mold. On one side of my galley kitchen where there are virtually no uppers I put in wall plug-points and I think they stand out most unfortunately.
You could have him do things over but I think you've reached the point of diminishing returns - nothing with a switch plate on the tile is going to look good - full stop. The bigger improvement (I think) would come from making that switch plate as unobstrusive as possible - a levitron, flat front plate in a similar color to the tile, for instance.

That said, I don't like the backsplash ending shy of the counter top but I agree with evilbunnie and astridh that fixing it will involve removing and redoing the entire wall - no idea how big a job that is. Is it a practical option?

Personally, it would drive me nuts. And I don't think it was done correctly.

I would have the necessary tiles removed and re-tile to the edge of the counter. Why wouldn't they tile to the edge of the counter - does not seem to make sense to me. It looks very unfinished.

Also, I think the outlet and switch would look better if they were not at the edge of the tile - does not look very professional to me. At the very least they should end before the rectangular trim.

Did he provide you with a sketch of what it was going to look like when they were done? At the very least they should have asked you about the placement of the electrical outlet and the light switch.

Here are some photos of what others have done: http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68821&highlight=tile+backsplash

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68134&highlight=tile+backsplash

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=57731

I personally think this is one of the things while you scrutinize every detail while it happening it isn't perfect and you get upset. Eventually you will not notice it after you are actually in a finished kit and no longer scrutinizing. Thus I would give it a few more days before I'd let anyone start tearing things apart to fix.

Thank you, everyone, for your perspectives. You helped me make the decision. After reading everyone's responses, I think I'm leaning toward living with it. I'll see what he has to say when he calls. I am not happy with it and thought that since he's the professional, that he might have addressed this very specific issue before he got started.

As some background, I did talk to the tile man before he did the job and asked him what he would do about the outlets' funny position on that small wall. At that time I was thinking more about how high the tile would go. He said he'd bring the tile up high enough to tile around them. That took care of the area above them, but not the area to the right of them. We never discussed the tile to the right of the outlets...I assumed they would be tiled in a way that there's be a border to the right of the switch plates but never asked that particular question. My fault, I guess.

circuspeanut - I can't find the box right now. I *think* it's American Olean 3 X 6 and the color is "Green". Not a very fancy name, is it? :) Yes, the outlets are on a stud. I do love the tile and smiled at your analogy of pulling up its pants.

frodo, this is not a new build so there is no general contractor to go to. The house is 23 years old and this was a facelift for my old kitchen. I suppose I can blame myself since I didn't know what to watch for.

mindstorm, the wall is only about 2 square feet, but I do recall the tile man saying that once the tile goes up, it's difficult to remove without taking plasterboard with it. Thanks for your ideas on different switches.

kitchenredo2, no there was no sketch. We did talk about the switches as I mentioned in the above paragraph but only to that extent. I voiced my concern about the placement of the switchplates and *assumed* I had a complete answer, but I suppose I wasn't specific enough.

Again, thank you everyone. I'll let you know how it it goes.

If you decide to leave the tile as is , it might be possible to move the switches and plates to the left enough to get them even with or inside the tile. There is usually some leeway in their mounting for leveling purposes. Perhaps they can loosen the mounting screws and slide everything over. (If the boxes are plastic, I might even be tempted to open up the holes on the switches for more movement - but that could easily be a code violation)

Also, depending on your cover plates, it might be possible to take a little off the right side for the same effect. Not likely something your contractor would do - more a job for a bored person handy with tools and a pile of cover plates to experiment on.

Jim

It's NOT awful, but I think it would bother me.
Just a thought....You could get some paint color matched to match the tiles and then get paintable switch plates, they may not stand out so much.

i think this is unacceptable. it looks like there was no planning involved, and they just "stuck" the outlets in wherever they'd fit. with all the consideration that goes into a kitchen, the finish work needs to be spot on. good luck and i hope all is resolved quickly!

No, it isn't horrible. But I would have him fix it. Taking out the "whole wall" isn't such a daunting task. It's just a teeny portion of wall and shouldn't be that difficult. While he is at it, he should level those tiles a little better.

It really falls into the category of ne of those things that you probably didn't think about and isn't what you would have chosen (which happens to everybody). I don't think there is anything necessarily wrong, the quality of the tile job looks good and the outside dimensions of decorative switch plates are not all the same. If it really bothers you I am sure it can be fixed but on your dime, which in my opinion is fair. If amidst a whole new kitchen that really is going to haunt you long term in my opinion you have some issues that changing just this isn't going to fix. Good luck with it.

That I should emerge as well balanced is definitely not an accurate portrait - I would defintely measure the face plates and be looking for something a smidge smaller however by the time I found something and figured out the cost benefit ratio I think I would probably be over it (happens all the time but I can't skip right to the end without the looking for a solution first).

An idea I had is that you could take the vertical and mitered trim pieces off and just have the running bond pattern extend to the corner. It doesn't seem like it would look too bad (to me). However, I just see it as a "quirk" that comes w/remodeling where you can't anticipate everything (and professionals aren't always perfectionists). I think painting the covers is your easiest fix--it will help them disappear rather than attract attention. They are pretty, as is, but the somewhat awkward placement also draws notice.

My response is not going to be a popular one, but I tend to say it like I see it, so here goes. Even though I understand having regrets, and so on, I think that sometimes we are unreasonable with our expectations, and get way too nitpicky about how we want things done. You hired a professional that I believe did what he thought was correct and would have the best out come using the tiles you chose and most importantly, it looks beautiful. I like the way he was able to cleanly work the switchplates into the backsplash. If you could see my delima you'd understand this, believe me, it could be a LOT worse. In the end, people are going to look at your kitchen as a whole and no one will even notice the difference. I'd be curious to hear what Bill or Mongo has to offer on this one.

In an ideal world perhaps they would have a margin of tile to the right. However. The tile job looks really nice and I would not change it.

This problem started way back with the placment of the boxes for the switches. The switches themselves should have been in further. This is very hard to determine way back in the framing stage. I sometimes make the electricians leave long tails of wire and a nailer along which the boxes can be adjusted to compensate for their position.

The electrician, the drywaller and the tile setter think I am a PITA for this, but it is the only way to get the receptacles to line up with tile.

Perhaps a smaller switchplate, or one that could be painted the tile color would be an option. However, I think it is a clean job the way it is, just not "perfect world".

Perhaps those switches could be moved off the tile completely and onto the drywall. It depends on your framing. Then the tile could uninterruped. It would be a matter of 5 or six tiles replaced then.

However, if you did that All of the contractors deserve to get paid for it since none of them did anything particularly "wrong"

Other than that I would leave it be.

I would have brought it all the way to the edge, but as someone said he probably started with a full tile so even if he ripped out this (app.) 4 sf of tile and did it over, you'd have a sliver every other row either in the corner or at the end. I'm more concerned with the "sag" in the 2nd and 3rd rows, and (maybe it's the light) it looks like the top dips at the end too. If it's just the last foot or so, I'd have him redo that end to get rid of the saggy look, but you're probably not going to go all the way to the edge in any case. I'd try taking the cover plates off and shifting the switches/receptacles over to the left of the boxes (should be room). If these covers still hang off the tile, then look for smaller covers.

I'm sorry, I not only think it looks terrible (and would be worse in person because you'd see that lip) but it's also a bad tile job. Why is the tile sagging? And there do appear to be significant lippages...Call me crazy, but my tile guy asked about that kind of stuff prior to install and we ended up moving boxes before he went to work.

You think now it will be a hassle to remove during your remodel...just think how a buyer would see that, given the unlikely chance they'll match the pretty tile? That's an expensive mess and it should be fixed.

pfmastin,
I was wondering if you could please give more information about your tile. I looked at the American Olean website and can't find this tile. What is the name of the collection it is from? It's very pretty and just the shade I've been looking for. Thanks!

Ok...I'm not trying to hijack or anything but want to understand...I really don't see anything wrong with this tile job, what am I missing? It seems that the tile sizes are to small to cover the length of the counter completely, and isn't it better than having little slivers to make up the difference of that half inch? The only other thing I can think of that he could have done differently was to use thicker grout lines to help make up the difference, but I think that would be the worse of two evils.

I agree with Palimpsest, I would move it to the drywall on the right. Why break up a nice tile backsplash with outlets if you don't have to. It would only be a few inches difference and be a much cleaner look.

Jodi-

I dont think the tile is sagging, Igloo, the camera is causing some distortion.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate your input. I'll start off by saying that the tile man *never returned my three calls*. How's that for responsiveness? I'm not happy with it and dissatisfaction comes to mind whenever I look at it. However, I'm still deciding if it's enough to warrant waging war. Probably not. He's due to get a phone call from me next month to redo the bottom line of grout next to the countertop. He said from the get go that it's going to crack and he'll redo that when it happens. Something about the cabinet settling or wall settling. I'll broach the subject again when I contact the tile store about that.

In response.......
actually, I don't have a problem with the switchplates on the tile. Switchplates instead of plugmold is a matter of taste and that part doesn't bother me.

Tile Guy made the comment about the mastic when he was putting on the tile....that if he removes the tile after it sets that the drywall will come with it. Does that sound right?

I agree that he did do a good job on the tiling itself and I'm more than happy with that. Yes, palimpsest, any sagging or displacement must be photography/lighting related because it really does look great. And no, it won't haunt me in the long term when I consider that this was a kitchen facelift on a 23 year old house. I agree that it would be best to move the outlets, but for domestic harmony's sake, those electrical boxes aren't going anywhere. :) I confess that I am as responsible as he for not thinking it through and agree that financial responsibility should probably lie with me for any redo.

I'm not concerned about future buyers. If this keeps them from buying the house, then so be it.

Again, thanks everyone!

mybrowneyedgirls, Yes, I'd be happy to call the tile store tomorrow and get the tile info for you. :) I really do love it, too.

Pam

Tile Guy made the comment about the mastic when he was putting on the tile....that if he removes the tile after it sets that the drywall will come with it. Does that sound right?

Yes, it does. However, that's not your problem. If he was going to come out that far, he should've brought it out to the edge of the countertop, ESPECIALLY seeing as how the switches would lay out in relation to the tile. That was negligence on the part of the tile guy, and it's incumbent upon him to fix it, no matter WHAT it takes.

Why I didn't see this thread until now, I have NO idea!

Pam,

I sympathize. I hope he can come out and fix the problem. But he shouldn't be grouting the gap between the counter and the tile bs. That should be sanded caulk, which has a bit of flex. If it's grout, it'll keep cracking over and over.

I don't think you have any responsibility, some things you just don't foresee. I'm not a tiler but having "caught" a mistake and had it fixed only to create a problem that is even more conspicuous I would make sure you know exactly what the solution is going to look like before going ahead (some things are better left alone but this may not be one of them).

The guy claims to be a pro...you really have no responsability here, and take it from Bill cuz he's definately a top level guy in tileland (a lovely place with caulk, not grout at all changes of planes). A good tile guy wouldn't put grout on the counter...ever. It's bad work.

How would it be done appropriately. He'd have to do some math. First, yes he needs a full tile on the leading (or outside edge) so he has to take that into account, taking it to the counter edge due to the switches (normally done anyhoo). He'd then take the blank space left and calculate his tile cuts appropriately, also calculating in the grout spaces, and then letting the final cuts die into the corner where they aren't seen. You don't leave "little slivers" on the outside edge ever.

It's not tough math...even Bill can do it :oP

Duhhhh, yup!

:-)

mybrowneyedgirls,
I checked and the tile is from Florida Tile...I'm sorry, I could have sworn the box said American Olean and my husband has cleaned up the garage so I can't find it. Anyway, the name of it is Retro Classic Flair and the color is "Green". It's 3 X 6.

Everyone,
I called the tile store this morning and it *ain't* over yet. My salesperson ordered the colored (flexible)caulk for the lowest grout line replacement and was surprised to hear that the tile man had never returned my call. She understood that he had. Hmmm. She said his normal practice is to run the tile out to the countertop edge...and I said he didn't do that this time. She says he can certainly redo it, but when I asked about financial obligation, she said she'd need to speak with her boss get back to me.

Story continues....I'll get back to you if/when there's a resolution. Again, thank you everyone.

Thank you for the info on the tile. Could it be, my tile search coming to an end? I do really love this tile. I've had a honed marble in mind, but this may be even better with my verde butterfly counters. Well, I hope your situation gets resolved soon. Good luck and please keep us posted.

He screwed up by not measuring carefully to see where the pattern would end.

The problem is that to strip the tile will require the drywall be replaced. And then repaired.
Skimming it back to a decent surface is NOT a good option, even with setting compound.
That meas he has to hire a drywall guy, then do the entire job over with new materials.

Expect a lot of push back.

I posted a thread in Bathrooms about (almost) never seeing a good tile job in my area...not like the good work I see in pictures here.

I have gotta say, that in my area, you would have to sue the tile setter to get them to redo a job that looked like yours. And if it went to some kind of arbitration, you would probably lose. Although I see what you are talking about, a lot of people wouldn't see anything wrong there whatsoever. People have become so desensitized to seeing what is real quality and what is not, because it has disappeared in so many ways.

I'm getting back to you with the resolution for my kitchen tile "after". He was here yesterday and I'm happy with the result. There is still a small piece at the bottom, but I can certainly live with it. I think it looks much better and I won't frown every time I look at it. No grinching, no charge.
Pam

{{gwi:1590617}}

Good deal. That looks 100% better.

That looks better, I am glad it worked out.