Hollow sounding floor tiles.

[Unregistered]

I have recently had a conservatory built on to my house. The project included finishing the floor with porcelain tiles. The concrete base was laid very unevenly. In places it was 30 to 35 mm out of level with the centre of the construction.
I raised concerns with the conservatory company but they kept on telling me that their tiler would sort it out. After much protest from me they reluctantly made a number of unsuccessful attempts at levelling the floor with self-levelling compound.
When their tiler arrived he chose to dot-and-dab the tiles because of the uneven concrete base. In some areas the undulations were so deep that two layers of tiles were required.
When the floor is walked upon it emits a hollow sound. I am concerned about the long term durability of the floor but the conservatory company involved say it is fine. They say that because no tiles have yet broken or become unstuck the job is fit for purpose.
Could anyone tell me if this is industry standard and whether I am correct to be concerned?

 

[DHTiling]

Hello.....Sorry but that installation is not to BS standards....

 

[DHTiling]

Also ..please join up to the forum then we can advise you better and you can reply quicker without your reply having to be approved first....( it is free to join)...:smilewinkgrin:

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

sadly i would not have fitted the tiles until they had succesfully leveled the floor
the hollow sounds are voids which create weak areas in the tile.
im assuming that the tiler was employed by the company?
if this was the case he probably had 2 choices not lay the tiles and face the consequences or lay the tiles and keep fingers crossed.
personally i would have them back and have it redone. you would be best to lay a substrate on top of floor poss ditra matting once levelled.

 

[mikethetile]

:yikes:

as dave has said the installation doesnt meet bs and is most certainly not fit for its purpose

if the floor was that far out i dont understand why they didnt screed it or why they couldnt rectify with leveling compound

if the tiles dont have a continous bed under them they will break

 

[RockCeramics]

"In places it was 30 to 35 mm out of level with the centre of the construction.":yikes:
you can contact the tile association directly
speak to them and say what you have told us.
Forum Court, 83 Copers Cope Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 1NR, UK
Phone 020 8663 0946
Fax 020 8663 0949
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.tiles.org.uk

or / and get in contact with the conservatory association
The Conservatory Association
44-48 Borough High Street, London. SE1 1XB
Tel: 0870 042 4255 Fax: 0870 042 4266
www.ggf.org.uk

Very bad management procedures there!
OH AND NAME AND SHAME THEM!

 

[faithhealer]

I'd be tempted to stomp on them until they break! then go back and say, told you so. My old man is getting a conservatory built with the tiling included. With him living a distance away, I'm writing a list of 'things', to watch for!

 

[CJ]

Was this a national firm :yikes::yikes:

 

[LM Ceramics]

the usuall rubbish "the tiler will sort it" personally i wouldnt have tiled it till the floor was made right and dot and dabbing im getting sick of hearing it:mad2::mad2::mad2:

 

[david campbell]

if your tiles are dot and dabbed there is a chance they will break or pierce through! i found this out when we moved into my house,loved the kitchen with the slate effect tiles,moving in day and we managed to break 2 tiles with the washing machine and fridge freezer and that was us being careful,lucky there was a few spare in the cupboard! it doesn't take much to braek them and it is dangerous!

 

[toffo]

as the guys have said not fit for the purpose,chances are u will get problems

 

[RockCeramics]

This post might not be an use to you now ,but for future reference you might want to take this on board for any other builds.
There are a few published standard forms of building contracts. The most common is JCT building contract for homeowners and occupiers.This form should cover you from any minor to major **** ups by the contractor.This form allows you to with hold 5 percent of the aggreed contract price for up to 3 months ( this is to ensure the contractor is motivated to return + remedy any defects in there works.0 you can also aggree on paying the contractor a % of cost to the % of works done. You can get these forms from any building book shop or building organisations.
For a more insight to what i have posted you can purchase or hire this book from any libary.
"LAW FOR HOME IMPROVERS AND SELF BUILDERS" by Guy Elyahou.
hope this helps you or any one else here.

 

[Unregistered]

I would like to thank everyone that has read my post and taken the time to reply. You have strengthened my resolve to battle on.
The conservatory company involved are quite big but I don't want to name & shame at this time. Keep watching this space!
P.S. Does anyone know the relevant British Standard to chuck at them?

 

[DHTiling]

You need bs 5385 section 4 and 5 these are the latest editions that replace sections 3 and below..

 

[Jimmy]

HI, I have just stumbled across this post and would like to ask a question of some reason. I was always led to believe that a British Standard was guide line (good working practice) and not rule . I.E not a ACT or REGULATION, thus not having any substance . I have read a few posts mentioning them and wondered if I had got it wrong?

 

[grumpygrouter]

I think you are right Jimmy, but we all try to go with the guidlines as far as possible don't we?

 

[RockCeramics]

The standards produced are titled British Standard XXXX[-P]:YYYY where XXXX is the number of the standard, P is the number of the part of the standard (where the standard is split into multiple parts) and YYYY is the year in which the standard came into effect. British Standards currently has over 27,000 active standards. Products are commonly specified as meeting a particular British Standard, and in general this can be done without any certification or independent testing. The standard simply provides a shorthand way of claiming that certain specifications are met, while encouraging manufacturers to adhere to a common method for such a specification.
The Kitemark can be used to indicate certification by BSI, but only where a Kitemark scheme has been set up around a particular standard. It is mainly applicable to safety and quality management standards. There is a common misunderstanding that Kitemarks are necessary to prove compliance with any BS standard, but in general it is neither desirable nor possible that every standard be 'policed' in this way.

 

[RockCeramics]

Found and browsed the site federation of master builders on here you can find and search there base to see wich builders are a member (as you stated you dont really want to name and shame but you might want to check if they are a member here .)
Also a link for any help and advice , theres also a page where you can download free contracts for / domestic contracts upto 50k and so on.
FMB Online - Federation of Master Builders
just use the links on the right.