Help I need your opinions please

[Sanke]

Hi all I am not an experienced / pro tiler but I have done a fair bit for customers all of which have been happy in the past. I recently had to do a job for a customer removing tiles & then retiling his downstairs toilet. At initial meeting I told him I was not a pro & offered to organise a pro to do the tiling. The customer decided that I should do the tiling as ot was only a small room & that would be easier. I was due to finish last Monday, however, on the Saturday before he called me & said that the job was below his expectations & that he would only be paying me for two days work excluding materials :yikes:. This was very surprising as every day his wife said she was pleased & even offered on the Thursday to pay half the money. He had also previously stated that all was good. He has since reneged on the offer & withdrawing payment altogether :yikes::yikes:. I have attached a few pics of the work & would be grateful for constructive criticism Also if anyone can help with regard to getting money from the customer / protecting myself from this happening on the future I would be most grateful. I really like tiling & would like to do more but this has made me very wary Thanks Steve

 

[AliGage]

Pictures don't really show much, certainly with the work not finished. What is your customers issue??

 

[Sanke]

He said grout on tile. Box section around waste pipes insecure (wasn't finished) Tile render on wall above tile line wold result in having to have whole walls reskimmed !! I know you cant tell a lot from pics as you cant see a great deal of detail but from what you can see was I doing something majorly wrong ??

 

[AliGage]

Well from your pictures:

I can't see that any grouting has been done.
Boxing, as you say is incomplete.
Adhesive on wall will come off easily.

The wall/plaster in the first picture looks a bit of a state. But can't see if anything has been done to ensure loose plaster etc was delt with.
From your pictures i couldn't "highlight" anything major. What discussions have you had with the customer. Is he/she letting you complete the work?

 

[Sanke]

Grouting was done on last day at job (Thursday) so would still have some residue etc on tiles. The wall/ plaster shows how wall was when I removed the original tiles. All loose plaster was removed, the wall then sbr'd & levelled using tiling render. No real discussions with customer as he is now refusing to speak & wouldn't let me back into house to either rectify problems or finish work

 

[AliGage]

I'd go round and speak to him face to face. Ask for a snag list or what issues/complaints he has and say you'll rectif/complete works. Do you have anything in writing as far as the job goes?

 

[Sanke]

Unfortunately nothing in writing. I was recommended to him by another customer. From our last conversation when he offered me part payment he stated I either accept that or pursue him through the court so don't think he will be of the mind to discuss Also as they have previously both said they were happy then they were "not happy" don't think I would get money at end Your expert opinion on my tiling is more of my peace of mind as I am currently tiling a wholee bathroom for inlaws & have several projects at home to tile

 

[Andy Allen]

biggest problem you made was telling him your not a tiler, you have left yourself open to be shot down, having said that imo you should never have taken the job on unless your fully capable of doing it to a high standered, and looking at the few photos its hard to tell, as none of them are showing finished job, however he can not just ignore you, if theres a problem with your work he has to give you the chance to put it right....

 

[Sanke]

Hi Andy I appreciate your comments on telling him I was not a pro tiler, perhaps a bit naïve but honest & up front However, all previous tiling jobs have concluded satisfactorily & I did feel confident in the job that I was taking on. That said what would you advise ( or did when you started tiling ) that I tell customers in a similar position as I would like to take on more tiling work in the future ?

 

[AliGage]

You told him and he accepted it and employed you. Verbal contract though. It's difficult to give you advice on this really. Are you out of pocket by much?

 

[Sanke]

Materials & then labour Enough so that it hurts. It has dented my enthusiasm as well as my bank balance ! Tiling is a complex job & the more I do the more I enjoy it & want to do more (properly)

 

[AliGage]

Can you blank out the numbers mate. I think it would sort of break forum rules over pricing.

Live and learn though mate. You'll only get stung once and then you'll make sure you get everyone to sign and accept a writen quotation. Even for cash jobs

 

[Sanke]

Hi Allistair I like the website Do you use standard terms & conditions with your quotes etc ?

 

[AliGage]

I try to put as much detail into my quote as possible really. State any agreements on materials, preperation, specification etc. On the bottom i have two lines and a space for a signature. Upon agreeing the quotation and booking them in the diary i get them to sign one copy which i take and leave them a second copy for their records.

The disclaimer basically says in a nutshell, i agree to the above and also agree that any chances to the scope of the above will require a revised quotation.

It's nothing to heavy, works for me and does what it says on the tin. If your customer has signed and agreed and then changes anything in the scope of the work you then provide a revision and go through the same process.

 

[cam_low]

Get him to come in here and post pictures of your finished work. Then let us critique it ????