Concerns about patio tile job - opinions Re professional job

[goodgollymissmolly]

We hired someone to do a small outside patio using porcelain tiles. They finished the job whilst we were away since they went way over their original estimated time. Now we’ve returned from our holiday, I’m really disappointed and don’t know if I’m being really picky or being taken for a mug 🤷‍♀️

I had some concerns when they were laying the tiles because it was taking them a long time and they were using an awful lot of adhesive yet it didn’t look like it was going on particularly evenly. We had agreed we would buy materials like adhesive and grout after running it by them. I had initially purchased 40kg of rapid set white flex adhesive upon their advice but when they ran out they went out to purchase a different brand grey adhesive saying it wouldn’t make a difference. They ended up using nearly 140kg of adhesive for a 6.5m2 patio.

The tiles are visibly uneven which is also noticeable underfoot. Some of the cuts look particularly bad especially around the recessed drain cover. Some tiles are obviously chipped despite the fact we had ordered plenty extra and have lots of unused tiles left. I might be being daft but I can’t see a way to lift drain cover as it looks like it’s been grouted in. The grout seems uneven and shallow in some places but then overlapping the edges of tiles which are significantly low/ dipped. The tiles and grout look messy with grey adhesive marks dried onto the tiles and grouting, along with discolouration of the grout with sand and artificial grass blades grouted in.

Just looking for some professional opinions as to whether this is a standard job or if I should be as concerned as I am. Thanks in advance guys 🙏

 

[Bond]

That’s not a good job, I’m afraid.

 

[goodgollymissmolly]

afraid.

That’s what I was afraid of. But I’m also glad to know I’m not completely crazy. Thanks for replying.

 

[goodgollymissmolly]

Has anyone got any advice on the best way to resolve this job? I can’t think of anything other than ripping it up and starting again but I certainly wouldn’t trust the current landscaper to do it again.

He knows I’m not happy with the job but we haven’t gone into specifics yet and I’m just trying to prepare myself so I don’t get rolled over when he comes back. He’d actually asked for more money than originally estimated to cover extra labour hours due to the size of the tile despite me being clear about the type of tile I wanted from the beginning and sending him links to the tile before he started the job.

I naively paid him the outstanding balance we originally agreed whilst I was on holiday after he sent photos 😫 I trusted him but they were taken from a whole garden perspective and I couldn’t see the detail of the patio. I had questioned why the patio hadn’t been cleaned and whether it was dried grout on the tiles but he assured me it was grout dust which would easily wash away (surprise, surprise it didn’t).

How much would I be looking at to get a 5.5m squared area tiled if I was providing adhesive and grout? He’s suggesting that I wouldn’t have got it done cheaper but it’s false economy if all the tiles are now ruined. I wish he’d just held his hands up and said it wasn’t his area of expertise 😩

 

[finlay]

Iam sorry but it’s terrible ,in my opinion would be to take the lot up.Unfortunately that’s what you get having a gardener do a skilled tiling job he won’t be able to rectify this himself .

 

[goodgollymissmolly]

Iam sorry but it’s terrible ,in my opinion would be to take the lot up.Unfortunately that’s what you get having a gardener do a skilled tiling job he won’t be able to rectify this himself .

My thoughts exactly 😳 he’s massaged back to say he could fix it by taking some of the tiles up and re-grouting but I’m not convinced.

I also don’t feel confident I’ll get any money back now he’s got it but at least he’s coming round. Serves me right for paying without inspecting. Just feeling really gutted as it was a lot of money for us and the tiles could’ve been really lush 😭

 

[GAZ5518]

Oh dear...Unfortunately no way to rectify that other than all up and start again ..
The “Manhole” cover looks appalling..
(apart from the fact you’d never get it up)
Be firm and tell him so!

 

[goodgollymissmolly]

Oh dear...Unfortunately no way to rectify that other than all up and start again ..
The “Manhole” cover looks appalling..
(apart from the fact you’d never get it up)
Be firm and tell him so!

Thanks for the advice Gaz. Will definitely be standing firm that I don’t want him doing any more work to rectify it.

I’m going to ask him to refund the price of the tiles so I can get someone else in to do it. He seems like a decent guy but I guess it’s norm in his interests to do it so we’ll see 🤞

Will just take us a while to save up the money again 😩 but I’ll be sure to do my research and get someone in who can actually do it properly next time! I’ve learned my lesson it’s just a shame I had to do it the hard way! I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond 😊

 

[Tile life]

We hired someone to do a small outside patio using porcelain tiles. They finished the job whilst we were away since they went way over their original estimated time. Now we’ve returned from our holiday, I’m really disappointed and don’t know if I’m being really picky or being taken for a mug 🤷‍♀️

I had some concerns when they were laying the tiles because it was taking them a long time and they were using an awful lot of adhesive yet it didn’t look like it was going on particularly evenly. We had agreed we would buy materials like adhesive and grout after running it by them. I had initially purchased 40kg of rapid set white flex adhesive upon their advice but when they ran out they went out to purchase a different brand grey adhesive saying it wouldn’t make a difference. They ended up using nearly 140kg of adhesive for a 6.5m2 patio.

The tiles are visibly uneven which is also noticeable underfoot. Some of the cuts look particularly bad especially around the recessed drain cover. Some tiles are obviously chipped despite the fact we had ordered plenty extra and have lots of unused tiles left. I might be being daft but I can’t see a way to lift drain cover as it looks like it’s been grouted in. The grout seems uneven and shallow in some places but then overlapping the edges of tiles which are significantly low/ dipped. The tiles and grout look messy with grey adhesive marks dried onto the tiles and grouting, along with discolouration of the grout with sand and artificial grass blades grouted in.

Just looking for some professional opinions as to whether this is a standard job or if I should be as concerned as I am. Thanks in advance guys 🙏

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