Very messed up wall situation

Hi people!

Here's a quick rundown of what is happening.

6x6 porcelain tile with micro bevel. 6x12 porcelain tile with micro bevel. Exact same tile just different widths.

Installed in brick pattern / staggered on walls that are 10 feet high.

At the top of the walls are lights hidden by valances, to give the "classy" look of having the light shine down on the tiles.

Now the fun begins!

These " micro bevels " on the tiles are not equal in size from one tile to the next, nor from one edge of a tile to another edge of an individual tile. Some of the tiles will have a side that barely has any bevel at all, other edges can have a bevel that is 2/3mm in size.

NO MATTER HOW PERFECT, 100% flat these tiles are installed on the walls, You have a serious illusion of BAD LIPPAGE, because these lights shine down on the tiles, and hit the inconsistently beveled edges, creating shadows in some places and not in others!

Architects say " Cant remove the lights, Not gonna happen "

Contractor says " Make it look good "

I say eliminate the lights, accept it as is, or tear all 4000 feet off the walls and choose a new tile!

Ps, I was not original installer, I was brought in to " fix " the other guys " bad work ", well, it was obvious since the start the lights and these unevenly beveled tiles were the issue! So I ripped out 1500 feet as they requested, tiled a portion of it again, to have it look exactly the same as it did originally! What a surprise!

What do you all think?

I remember reading an article on just this kind of problem some tile ago.

In that case the tiles were uniform but it is IMPOSSIBLE to get the job to "look right" when the light are too close to the wall. The solution was to move the lights further from the walls.

Either that, or in your case get an architect that is "real".

Jaz

I also read an artcle in the tile letter magazine with the same problem.

Move the lights.

. And what does the Tile Council (TCNA) say about this?

This issue used to be addressed in their Handbook. Obviously none of the parties involved have any experience with this age-old issue.