Are my expectations too high?

[Geronimo]

Hello,

To cut a long story shirt, a while ago I employed a professional tiler to tile a floor and wall. Unfortunately the work was well below satisfactory. I pursued this matter via the legal route and was successfully in obtaining a full refund plus compensation. I had the work completely re-done and this time I chose a registered TTA tiler. The wall work is very good however I have a few issues with the floor and wondered if my expectations are far too high. The concrete floor was primed and levelled prior to fixing the tiles. The the tiles are level however there are some places where I still have tiles lipping. This was a massive problem in the first job something of which the TTA tiler was well aware of when he came to inspect the previous works. On the whole the job looks good from a standing position therefore I dont know whether to contact the tiler or not for his opinion as I do not want to appear disrespectful or critical of his workmanship, however I find it difficult to comprehend as to why I still have tiles lipping in certain areas 1/1.5mm 2mm in 1 area. 20sqm of floor and 5 sqm of wall took around 5 and half days at just under £1100 including material (not tiles). I have inspected a number of tiles myself and I do not see any signs of warping. I would be much obliged if you could advise whether my expectations are too high, or get the tiler back out to rectify, however I do not want to hassle and stress of my previous experience. Is this work industry standard and would be recognised as so by the TTA?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Colour Republic]

The floor certainly isn't terrible but not perfect. The grout looks a little too shallow for a start.

Before judgement could be passed you'd need to ensure the tiles are perfect and not curling in the corners, place a few face to face on each other, then inspect each corner to see if they meet.

If the tiles are slightly warped or cupping then it's almost impossible to get the floor perfectly flat, although large grout joints like that should hide some minor defects

 

[jlktiling]

I agree with above.
Ist not perfect, but acceptable.
But i agree there isnt enough grout in them joints.

 

[Spud]

are the joints over 5mm wide ? it does look like there is a camber on the tile in one picture ,have you called the tiler to explain your concerns and did you pay for the work ?

 

[Ian]

From looking at the pictures it looks like the tiles are bowed, in some of the pictures the lips are only evident in the corners, along the length they look lip free. If you have a couple of spare tiles, put them face to face, are they straight?


Sent via Tapatalk for iPhone 5

 

[Qwerty]

I would say that from the pics the lippage is unacceptable

 

[Tony73]

not perfect job, but not bad either. some times tiles are bad quality. where did you get tiles from?

 

[Peter]

Reasonably standard looking job, but interestingly it shows that just because you're a TTA member you're not necessarily a better tiler than a non member. As said, check the tiles aren't bowed as you can't make a perfect job out of curling tiles. 5.5 days seems excessive, 3 days would have been plenty imo even with levelling the floors first.

 

[AliGage]

If you have a two foot level or straight edge place it corner to corner. Any air under the middle?

 

[area tiling]

The grouting is poor , but it does look like some of the tiles are bowed! Maybe a re grout would fix some of the lippages! Talk to your tiler , no point talking behind his back and him going around thinking he's done another fantastic job!

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Certainly isn't the worst job ever done. It could be better.
But for the £44 a metre you've paid, I think you have every right to at least have a chat with your tiler & see what he thinks.

If the tiles are slightly bowed or something, the tiler should've noticed as soon as he started fixing them

 

[dave l and l]

looks a bit like the tiles curl in, give the tiler a chance to rectify any problem you have with job or at the least explain why and what he has done
it is of no consequence how much he charged or how long it took job to be completed

 

[afright]

Grout a bit shallow and does look like tiles curl up,sometimes its hard to get a flat floor when you have bad tiles,getting him back to regrout might help

 

[Colour Republic]

it is of no consequence how much he charged or how long it took job to be completed

It kind of is though isn't it. £44 a meter for ceramics isn't excessive but it is a rate at which you can expect a little extra care and attention. If the OP had come on here and said 'I paid £100 for the lot we'd all be saying you've got a bargain so stop picking'

If the tiles are bowed then maybe the tiler should have advised the client that the floor will look ok but won't be perfect, if there isn't anything wrong with the tiles then maybe the floor isn't up to scratch... unless it's 1 lipped tile taken from 20 different angles :lol: In which case it should be replaced

 

[Time's Ran Out]

If it's the same quality tile at the 2nd time of asking then perhaps it is an issue with the tiles!
There is only 1 photo from distance and although I wouldn't want to pass comment on the quality of fixing from a few selected close ups, it's a bit like statistics - you can use them to illustrate any point!
In my humble opinion, you are never going to please everyone all the time, so show some metal and raise your concerns with the tiler involved and I'am sure he will be happy to discuss your expectations.

Good thread and thanks for posting.

 

[Geronimo]

Many thanks all for taking the time to read and reply to this thread. The grout joints are 3mm and I have checked some of the tiles I have left over by putting them face to face but I cannot see any evident warpage, however I appreciate that I may not have the trained eye.

If a customer came to any of you with these issues would you be personally offended in anyway or would you show some understanding and try to rectify the problem, even if I decided to contribute towards the your time for doing so?

Thanks again...

 

[Colour Republic]

Many thanks all for taking the time to read and reply to this thread. The grout joints are 3mm and I have checked some of the tiles I have left over by putting them face to face but I cannot see any evident warpage, however I appreciate that I may not have the trained eye.

If a customer came to any of you with these issues would you be personally offended in anyway or would you show some understanding and try to rectify the problem, even if I decided to contribute towards the your time for doing so?

Thanks again...

Wouldn't be offened at all unless the customer was aggressive or I thought they were trying it on. From your posts so far I don't think you would be.

Just raise your concerns and get them to explain why it wasn't possible to get the floor lip free. Personally I would also ask if they could re-grout the floor as some of it is quite low and you may find it hard to clean because of it.

As mentioned the job is 'acceptable' and within tolerance so how much the tiler is willing to do will depend on how good he thinks the floor is, if he knows it could be better then he'll want to keep you happy. Or he could think the floor is spot on and you're being fussy.

Just try him/her

 

[Geronimo]

Its been a while but just so you are all aware having spoken to the TTA it appears that technically a lip on a floor tile can be as thick as a pound coin 3mm.

Flatness and variation from plumb:
± 3mm under a 2m straightedge.

I was told if I used a 2m length of wood with a pound coin under each end, the floor tolerance can technically drop by 3mm or raise by 3mm to touch the straight egde.

Last weekend I have took the bath room tiles up my self and refitted them, I have used a metal rule across each joint to elimainate any height difference/lippage, whilst ensuring each tile sits level. I just find it difficult to comprehend why a tiler registered with the TTA was not able to achieve the same. If you want a job doing and doing well........., now I just need to make the best of a bad situation by replacing individual tiles. Very dissappointed. (

 

[Spud]

sorry to hear about this we are not all like that

 

[kilty55]

interesting end result geronimo thanks for sharing

 

[charlie1]

Its been a while but just so you are all aware having spoken to the TTA it appears that technically a lip on a floor tile can be as thick as a pound coin 3mm.

Flatness and variation from plumb:
± 3mm under a 2m straightedge.

I was told if I used a 2m length of wood with a pound coin under each end, the floor tolerance can technically drop by 3mm or raise by 3mm to touch the straight egde.

Last weekend I have took the bath room tiles up my self and refitted them, I have used a metal rule across each joint to elimainate any height difference/lippage, whilst ensuring each tile sits level. I just find it difficult to comprehend why a tiler registered with the TTA was not able to achieve the same. If you want a job doing and doing well........., now I just need to make the best of a bad situation by replacing individual tiles. Very dissappointed. (

I dont know what you do for a living but you have the makings of a good tiler!

 

[The D]

Its been a while but just so you are all aware having spoken to the TTA it appears that technically a lip on a floor tile can be as thick as a pound coin 3mm.

Flatness and variation from plumb:
± 3mm under a 2m straightedge.

I was told if I used a 2m length of wood with a pound coin under each end, the floor tolerance can technically drop by 3mm or raise by 3mm to touch the straight egde.

Last weekend I have took the bath room tiles up my self and refitted them, I have used a metal rule across each joint to elimainate any height difference/lippage, whilst ensuring each tile sits level. I just find it difficult to comprehend why a tiler registered with the TTA was not able to achieve the same. If you want a job doing and doing well........., now I just need to make the best of a bad situation by replacing individual tiles. Very dissappointed. (

this is incorrect i think as this is BS 5385 7.1.9.2 Across joints
There should be no appreciable difference in level across joints
(commonly called “lipping”) and the maximum deviation between
tile surfaces either side of a joint, including movement joints, should
be as follows.
a) Joints less than 6 mm wide, 1 mm.
b) Joints 6 mm or more wide, 2 mm.

 

[DHTiling]

It is 3mm on 6mm + joints Dean .. well it is in the updated version ..

 

[The D]

ok that is a lot lol

 

[The D]

It is 3mm on 6mm + joints Dean .. well it is in the updated version ..

can you post the update m8