not happy

[bongo]

had a tiler in reg as a master craftsman .. told him i wanted show room finish and only the best work or dont take the job on 22 sq polished porcelain tiles.
floor was the best new floor i ever seen even he said so but the job still did not turn out good.
he chipped about 15 tiles removing spacers / he ended up taking out a number of tiles still lots chipped.
Left lots of spacers in the grout that i can see .. no way to get them out now everthing is sethard
has said he will fix the rest ... starting to run out of spare tiles now and that may mean a new batch number if i need to get more.
i feel i should not pay him and let him go as i can't spend anymore of my time checking his work ... was looking forward so much for this job to be well done ... was sure i was getting the best ... good tilers are rare.
How do you guys feel .. should i just dump him ... need to call an end to this.

 

[jay]

might help if you register its free and you will get more lookers its hard to judge this one best if you can post some pics then we know what we are dealing with doesnt sound the best

 

[mikethetile]

go easy mate, dont jump from the pan into the fire

the defination of a master craftsman is someone who has taught the trade to others, so I can describe myself as a master decorator but not a master tiler untill I train someone up

being a master tradesman doesnt mean that your at the top of your game

the mistakes he has made are very basic and not what you would expect from an experianced tiler

if the floor has come out well I would get him to rectify the faults at his expense, so pay him on completion the amount agreed less the extra tiles and adhesive you will have to buy

 

[kilty55]

hmm,i dont think you should not pay him ,yes he has made asome basic errors but you say the floor is laid well apart from that and that he is fixing his mistakes

as long as he remedies his mistakes at no extra cost to yourself then all should be fine?

 

[kilty55]

maybe i read this wrong when you say the best new floor do you mean the sub floor

 

[bongo]

Sorry should have said the floor was great he was going to lay the tiles on .. better reg so i can explain more later.
I think his work standard is lacking ... lets put it this way i feel i could have done it better but then i would not be a hurry and time is not money to me with respect to this project.

 

[Billy Hunt]

How do you chip tiles removing spacers?
Whats he using to remove them with.?

 

[mikethetile]

How do you chip tiles removing spacers?
Whats he using to remove them with.?

a pick axe

 

[hillhead]

Sounds ridiculous chipping tiles on spacer removal,could he not have sunk them easier i wonder!

 

[Andy Allen]

thats why i never use spacers on floors

 

[Fred]

Pay the man, learn and move on, life is too short.

 

[david campbell]

need pics to give a proper opinion

 

[Pebbs]

Bongo, you really need to post some photographs, because as its reading at the moment, its giving me the impression its the worst floor tiling job in the world, and I am imagining you were hanging over the tilers back whilst he was doing the work. That in itself is giving me the raving hump, so prove me wrong show us the photographs, and lets have a look, before commenting. I dont know how much if any you have paid to your tiler, already, and Im hoping your not going to tell me you havent given him a penny so far, as it sounds like he is trying to rectify your concerns.

Pebbs

 

[The D]

you have to give the man the opportunity to rectify the problems before you start saying you are not going to pay for the work he has carried out.

 

[bongo]

As a customer when you hire a professional you expect to get a professional finish first time.
I was looking for a top class job not a cheap job not a quick job the price was never going to be an issue but the quality of the finish was important to me and i made that very clear.
I have done tiling myself floor and walls and while i am far from an expert the jobs i did turned out pretty good ... in other words they were to a standard that i would accept in my home.

The fact the guy was willing to fix the problems does not make him a better tiler just a willing one.
They guy as person was ok but the guy as professional did not fit the standard required as stated.
Before anybody starts to think i am some kind of nit picking crank let me reasure you i am far from it.
Its my home and i wanted a quality finish that i was willing to pay for is that so wrong?
By the way i never stood over anybody and i don't feel a need to do that - thats why i was willing to pay a professional.
As a professional why would somebody watching you cause concern? would you change your work standard if somebody was looking at you?

Anyway getting back to the problems .. lippage, chipped tiles, hollow tiles, sinking tiles, the need to replace lots of them.

On the plus side he made an effort to fix the problems his standards are not the same as mine and i don't doubt he did his best.
I am not knocking the person just the workmanship .. he was paid .. would i use him again No!
Did he learn from this .. i think so.. what did he learn? think long and hard before you take on a job that demands a quality finish to a standard that you as a tiler would only accept in your own home.
Did i learn from this ? you bet ... what did i learn? . don't doubt my own work standard and that a professional might not be as professional as i am.

Tiles were 600 x 600 polished porcelain tiles.
Spacers were Raimondi type Tile Spacers (see youtube)

Sorry no pics unless you would like to see a pile of broken tiles or hear what a hollow tile sounds like or feel the pain of lippage from porcelain tile on your tender feet ... sorry just a bit of drama to end my post.
Its just a nightmare ending and most likely one i will end up paying for and fixing in the end myself.. the joys of the experience of life.