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We had a contractor come in and tile our fireplace. The front (where the eye goes immediately) is not flush with the rest and creates a visible line that is driving us crazy. Is there anything we can do ourselves such as sanding or re-grouting that can fix this problem?

We have already paid a lot for the entire job as they also did the cement boards underneath. They are blaming the different thicknesses of the tiles for this look. Is this bad enough for them to come in and redo it from the ground up free of charge? enter image description here enter image description here Thanks!

annsimd
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There's nothing you can do to fix it short of tearing it out and starting over. Any sanding or grinding you might try will be even more evident in the difference in finish and texture.

I doubt there is a significant difference in the thickness of the ledger panels. But even if their is, that's part of the job of a tile setter - compensating for materials and substrate to get an even, clean, finished look.

I wouldn't be happy with it either. But it will mean tearing out much of the job to fix it. Good luck.

CoAstroGeek
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it is definitely not a tile thickness issue. I have never seen mosaic being off that much. If this is not a natural stone, the tiles would be super uniform. Even natural stones are cut precisely and we cannot pickup imperfections with the naked eye like this.

it is happening on a straight line, thus most likely the cement boards are not being leveled. It is also possible they used different trowel sizes on each side resulting into thicker thinset on the right.

You can take off just the tiles, grind down the thinset and reinstall. I know mosaic are expensive but no easier way

Quoc Vu
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Other than being wrong, it really shows atm because it still has grout haze on it. Worse, it's more than haze where it bumps out because when they wiped it with a sponge it stayed in the depression behind it.

White abrasive scrub pad and vinegar. If you use green scrubbies your grout will turn green. Do the whole thing, and if I'm right, you'll see the 'more than haze' still there... Scrub it. (hashtag: unsanded grout sucks ;)

Mazura
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