bowed tiles

[Jimmycc33]

My tiler put up some white tiles and only after grouting noticed that some were bowed. He says it is the shops responsibility, they say he should have checked them. Any ideas where to go from here? The store has offered as a goodwill gesture to supply tiles to replace and materials. But the fitter wants paying to do it.

 

[DHTiling]

If it isn't store fault then why offer replacements , but it is deffo the tilers mistake for not checking for bowing and then pointing this out to you.

 

[Spud]

pictures would help

 

[Bubblecraft]

As above. Tiler should always check the tiles before applying. This includes warped, chipped, wrongly sized, poor glazing & batch numbers. It was good of the tile shop to offer replacement tiles & adhesives etc. Even if the supplier issued you with wrong batches, it would still be the tilers responsibility to check this

 

[craigregan]

Its true, the tiler should have made you aware of the situation at the start of the job. Unfortunately its something i find cropping up more and more due to tiles being produced in such mass quantity and not really having the care taken over them. You could find that another batch gets ordered and you have the same problem. Discreetly laying these tiles behind towel rails or window reveals etc. is an option but finding out all of this after the tiler finishes is a bit naughty

 

[Brian the Tile]

you dont say where the tiles came from,there is a lot of bad tiles about lately and its all to easy to blame the tiler,i think the store is to blame here for selling them in the first place but also believe the tiler should have stopped if he noticed

 

[Bubblecraft]

Very true Brian but in this case the supplier has offered replacement tiles & adhesive as I'm sure they know they are in the wrong selling warped tiles. They didn't need to offer anything as they have been stuck already

 

[charlie1]

IMO a good tiler will recognise bowed tiles on his second course during installation if doing brickbond. But what if the tilers chosen fixing method is to tile a datum line around the whole room then work up (like the way i do sometimes). Yes the tiler should notice all these things but so should the shop. Then what if punters are getting tiles from diy shops... we can see the obvious issues that can arise. I must admit, when starting a new job the main thing on my mind as a tiler is how to set out walls, rectify bent walls and negotiate the other problems that can happen during a normal installation. I remember when i first started tiling 5 year ago i used to empty all boxed and line tiles up to make sure they where all the same size. I sometimes think the finger can get pointed at the tiler too often but in your case, yes, he should have noticed a bit sooner. Im guessing he has used 3+mm grout joints?... pics would be good.

 

[Andy Allen]

wonder if the tile shop would of reinbursed him for his loss of a days pay till there crap tiles were sorted ,had he have noticed the problem..

as a fixer were employed to fix the tiles, if i supply and fix., then the problem is on my door step, which is why i charge a handling fee..

its a bit of a double edge sword,.....the problem should have been noticed and passed on to the customer, but like i said who pays for the tilers wasted time? the customer...tile shop? or dose the fixer loose out again...

 

[danmasey]

How many tiles are actually bowed? If its only 1 or 2 then I'd offer to re-do these few free of charge to keep the customer happy. Are the tiles 600mm long as well? If its a lot of tiles + lots of bows then I'd blame the tiler for not pointing it out to the customer after 4/5 rows.

 

[Ajax123]

Who supplied the tiles?

 

[Andy Allen]

Who supplied the tiles?

good point...lol, i assumed the customer got them, but if the tiler supplied them hes not got a leg to stand, and he should be sorting the issue out while you relax with a nice cup of tea...

 

[Time's Ran Out]

It's the tilers responsibility to fix tiles to a professional standard, so to blame the quality of the material is not an option - IMHO.
If he or the tiles were not up to providing the required finish then the job should not have been started.
We are all aware of the poor quality tiles that are available and even though the market is flooded with poor workmanship, a professional tiler should either be able to make an outstanding job or be of a strong enough character to walk away.

 

[charlie1]

You can only REMOVED with the REMOVED you've got!!

 

[dave l and l]

yeah we have all had this problem before. before fixing i have explained to customer that they are bowed and will show shadows on the grout line, on most occasions the customer has agreed to change the method of fixing, however on a couple of occasions the customer has not adhered to the advice given and then been slightly surprised with the end product. nowadays my first instinct is to give the customer other options rather than brick style
i do believe the tiler should have pointed this out to customer prior to starting or when he first noticed, but remember we only get oneside of the story on here
some pics would be handy in order to see the quality of work,

 

[afright]

I always inform the customer as soon as I start fixing them if they are bowed and ask them if they want me to carry on,that way you cover your back,if the tiles are fixed the buck stops with you.

 

[stevenflynn]

In my opinion, the tiler must always inform of the situation. Even if he purchases the tiles or the client does it. It is typical that the larger the format the more inconveniences like this present themselves. I would recommend the tiler to figure it out for his client and to keep track of that material. These are situations that will continue to arise if not dealt with in a professional manner before placing the first tile. Would try and understand the client do ( all he has done is pay ). Maybe re-negotiate the job and check the next pieces before proceeding. Best of luck

 

[AMtek]

I never quote without the tiles being there or going to the supplier for a look before quoting, I normally just place two tiles face to face and if you can see daylight between the tiles on the edges or down the middle the customer is informed and they are either stacked or new tiles are chosen.

 

[d noulton]

cant remember the name or make of tile clearly stated on the box do not lay these tiles as a brick bond