I'm too nice, my wife is not

[89th]

This was after the first round, I told them we didn't like the small 1" tiles, and the gaps were not good.

[89th]

This was after yesterday, it is better. No short skinny pieces because they planned it better this time. I'm still not convinced the gaps will look perfect after grout, especially down the left and right "vertical seams", but I could be wrong.

[89th]

For reference, this is what my FIL had done* and is what I am expecting... slightly different tile, but same size tile.

*the guy who did theirs is notoriously slow/OCD, like 3 days staying until 9pm each day, cutting each tile. That's who we requested but he was not available based on scheduling.

[89th]

And a picture of last night's moon while driving yesterday evening, because, why not.

[Mik]

The first guy didn't know what he was doing and was probably trying to save tile by using scraps. Where those 1" pieces were could have been a single piece. Setting tile is all about planning. Start right, end right.

The dings in the counter are unacceptable. It's a brand new counter ferchissakes. It should have been covered by a tarp. Let your wife handle it and do not give them another red cent until it's done. It's not difficult but you have to know how. The counter people should do it and the cost deducted from the tile job payment.

[89th]

Yes they had a tarp but a thin one it seems, and if you dropped the previous 3x3 tiles just right, I can see how the dings happen. They are Cambria countertops so they will fix it (and the cost out of the installation job).

Your tile comments are spot on. It's about planning, and the 2nd time around I talked through the strategy with the guy. I'll be sure to post after pics later today when the grout is done.

[89th]

Job is finished. Grout definitely helped, I don't see any issues. On the very far left the wall looks rough near the tile as the existing backsplash was out too far, so I have to patch/paint that in a few days.

[89th]

This was the "before" btw. We did the rest of the counter (island, sink, two other areas). The sink is probably my favorite part. Went from a split sink to a 30" wide sink, which is something I didn't expect to enjoy so much lol.

vs after.

[Axtremus]

Last time I commissioned a remodeling that involved tiles, I made it a point to choose bigger tiles to minimize grout. Except the ceiling and the bath stall floor. Ceiling because of a tile were to fall I would rather a small piece falls rather than a big piece. Floor because it's supposed to be slightly curved to facilitate water draining, smaller tiles can accommodate curvatures better.

[Mik]

Big format tiles are nice but tricky. You have to get them absolutely flush. I learned this when I did the master suite shower in large format.

[AndyD]

Glad it turned out well in the end. I've replaced a few tiles but never done a wall or floor.

Spacer size is important; over 20 years ago in previous home, we had the whole ground floor done in non slip fake marble, and the cowboys used small spacers. Looked great but who knew a few years later I'd be replacing grout here and there and there and there.

Agree that split sinks aren't as easy to use as a single large. Maybe we don't have the discipline necessary to use it as it ought to be, but the divider gets in the way and I much prefer our singles.
Also I cracked our glass kettle on the divider of our double belfast. Stainless steel kettles rule.