good or bad

[charlie1]

Hi pros,

How do you know how good a tiler you are?

90% of the jobs i have done , the customer has been happy with my work, the other 10% I have went back and fixed and ensured customer is happy but how do you know how good a tiler you are.

This question probablly make no sense to you but i find it hard not knowing what the standard of excellent tiling is, How can you guage your work if you never see anyone elses work, every bathroom or kitchen i go in to is bare.

It seems quite unusuall but i really have a problem with this, its not that i'm a bragger or anything like that who wants to say "i'm the best", I just want to see exsamples of really good tiling so i have a standard to aim for and also (and this may seem quite bad) i would like to see examples of not so good tiling.

I've only been tiling for 8 months (part time) and i pride myself on my level of work. I feel you more experienced guys have overcome this but how long does it take before you can truly belive that your standard is really good.


does anyone else feel like this?

 

[grumpygrouter]

Every job I do I come away thinking I could have done better. Doesn't mean to say the job was bad, just that if I did it again I would probably have done something differently or that I have learned something that would allow me to do it better next time.

Nobody stops learning. If you are a bad tiler work will stop coming through. Bad press spreads much, much quicker than good press! The best guage to have is how many referrals/repeat custom you get and how often. You won't be referred if you do poor work.

Grumpy

 

[versatilene]

Most customers are not knowledgable about tiling practice so may only judge by how it looks, not whether its fixed properly or will stand the test of time without failing by cracking up or falling off or thowing the grout out etc. In a lonely trade you can only be careful, concientious, give attention to detail, please your customers and if your not sure about something don't guess and don't bodge, find out. You and your concience are youre own quality control. In the end you have to go away from the job being satisfied that you have done the job right by todays standards and specs and given value for money. We may become regulated and inspected but it hasn't happened yet so as long as your never complacent and satisfied and always strive to be even better that's all you can be.

 

[Fekin]

When looking at a tiled job the only things you can look for is is it nice and flat\smooth tiling or has it a lot of lipping, straight or wonky grout lines, Silicon, nice and level or not, layout, ie tiny cuts here n there, that sort of thing really.

It's only when you come to take off old tiles and you'll then see if they had good coverage, or have they been dot n dabbed etc.

I find myself looking at all kinds of tiling jobs, like In the local takeaways, pub toilets, general shops etc, and mostly I come away thinking I must be doing something right, lol

 

[IvegotsTILE]

Same as Fekin,I've become a bloody tiling trainspoter.I can't take a **** in the pub toilets or just wait in the chippy for my tea without starring at the tiling and thinking what an awful job,thats when I know I'm truly great cause I would never ask for payment if I did a job as rough as that bloke

 

[charlie1]

I do the same, anytime i'm in the pub or a restraunt i check out the tiling but generally pub toilets are not really anything to go by, usually the work is pretty rough would you not agree.

 

[MTiler]

Im the same, it does my head in, I cant stop looking at tiling! Pub loos are usually dreadful.

 

[Fekin]

lol, yeah, pubbys are quite bad, but it is funny how we all have a good look at other work, atleast im not alone, lol

 

[faithhealer]

You know you've got it bad when you look at the tiling in a **** film! Miss t excluded of course!

 

[ryanbrown]

If you want to see good tiling - I have a list of bed and breakfasts longer than my intestinal tract I can't recommend lol

Literally tiles dropping off left right and off centre, and Silicon that looks like it was catapulted onto the wall and smeared with a hedgehog.

 

[Varley]

Yes we are a sad breed we tilers

I'm exactly the same.

 

[charlie1]

I would only ever admit this to you guys on here

 

[devonmark]

well chappies...it could be worse when you go the toilet...you could be taking a peek to the left and right looking down...so i guess eyeing up the tiling is not so bad..

 

[Fekin]

lol, damn right

 

[charlie1]

Woulnt it be good though if you could some how get in to joe publics bathroom to see what the quaity and the benchmark is (thats probably a bit weird) what would you say, em hi "mr can i see your bathroom to see how good the tiling is" , "aye right son i'm phoning the cops". No seriously if you goto bathroom and kitchen shops these are usually tiled pretty good but they are in a faulse enviroment, I guess this is the standard i should be aiming for. Iv'e seen some really sh*t tiling but i'm sure there are some really good tiling aswell. Looking at some of the pics on this site i must say the standard is pretty high, one that sticks out was the granite dining room floor, i must say that was really high quallity tiling.