cowboy tilers or not?

[marcopolo]

can anyone give advice,

i had some workmen doing some tiling in my house, they were general builders and not tilers.

The walls in my bathroom were not great, but the builders had seen the job and quoted £100 for a small bathroom to be tiled over the bath area which seemed reasonable. I supplied materials.

when the tiles were fitted they grouted them at the same time as fitting and the next day all the tiles had blobs behind them. I pulled a tile off and noticed that they had just done a few blobs on the back of each tile and not covered all of the tiles at the back.

when i asked them about this they said that this was normal practice on bad walls and that it was a cheap tile and they would eventually dry. the day before i spoke to a tile shop as they were blaming tiles,When i told them i had spoke to a tile shop who had said this was bad practice and not the tiles, they walked off the job taking their tools.

The tiles were fairly cheap bought from b and q.

later that day i got a threatening phone call telling me the job was finished and they wanted paying. Also they had not put the border on the tiles which was a mosaic.

Who is right the builders or the tile shop? should i pay these tilers?

Thanks a worried mark - who wants to do the right thing.

 

[brummie tiler]

well i would say you have a valid point, the adhesive on a tile should be full coverage and not just blobbed on, doesent matter if the tiles are £5 or £55 per m2 the same practice applys. dont pay them until the job is completed and you are satisfied. at the end of the day they are working for you mate

 

[grumpygrouter]

Tile shop is correct, tiles shoild not be dot & dabbed, they should be fixed with combed through adhesive in accordance with British Standards. Before you pay them seek advice form Citizens Advice or Trading Standards. You may also consider ringing BAL who are one of the biggest manufacturers of adhesives and other products for tiling, their technical helpline may be able to give you the summary of the BS for applying wall tiles.
Technical Support BAL - Building Adhesives for the Trade - Technical Support

Good Luck

Grumpyhttp://www.BAL-Adhesives.co.uk

 

[devonmark]

DON'T pay them full stop, get someone else in to do the job properly..Mark.

 

[scrubmuncher]

Dont pay until the job is done correctly, I'm sure once mentioned that you have recieved advice about the matter and go through the appropriate channels to get it done right, they will rectify it or run.

Apart form anything else, any workman who walks off a job without fighting his corner knows he is in the wrong.
Ever seen these programs when they name and shame the builders, they always run off, coz they know they are in ther wrong.
stand your ground mate.

 

[Fekin]

Indeed, do not pay them a penny.
Dot and dabbed tiling is slack to say the least and you should really wait until the next day to grout too.

 

[DHTiling]

Deffo cowboys......demand it is put right or no payment........dave..

 

[CLAYS TILES]

I AGREE 100 % WITH ALL THE OTHER QUALIFIED TILERS ON HERE!
they are definately COWBOYS, u should ALWAYS put 100% coverage on walls or floors, DOT & DAB as we call it is a cheap & quick way to do the job! plus its away for them to get paid AGAIN when in a few months you end up paying out for more tiles to replace the tiles that has fell off!!!!:icon8:
grouting can be done same day only if the adhesive has gone off which usually takes 3-4 hours, but i always leave it till next day to make sure!!!
DONT PAY THE COWBOYS! Tell them to take you to court for the money (which they won't) that'll mean them losing money BIG TIME!!! good luck m8