T
tileboy
Hi guys...
I'm hoping someone can shed light on my little screw up. Right so been busy on a job for a whole heap of days...Yeah ok so I'm slow, I must be the slowest tiler on planet earth but I'm bloody neat so it's ok!!! I think it may have something to do with my training because I just don't seem to be able to tile any faster no matter what I do...
The problem slapped me in the face today...Please look at Picture A. This is the door frame around which I have tiled. The tiles are 150mm x 600mm. I tiled from the left side of the room around the top of the door (follow the red arrows) up to the tile with the red "X" on it. Then I carried on from the other side of the room till I met back to that same point. The first three tiles are 300mm x 600mm then a border right around the room then the 150mm x 600mm to the roof. The first three tiles are on the same datum line ALL AROUND THE ROOM, so it makes NO SENSE that what I'm about to explain happened.
The first three tiles from the floor up (as I said) are running the same datum line, they're PERFECTLY level so if I was to switch on my laser light and stream a line (which I did) on the TOP EDGE of the first three tiles across the room then you will see that right around the entire bathroom the line follows perfectly which means that the top edge of the first three are at exactly the same level right around the room.
Spacers are 3mm...
On top of the edge of the first three tiles comes a 3mm spacer, then a border. On top of the border comes another 3mm spacer then the 150mm x 600mm starts. So safe to say I have the same level right across the room.
Now look at picture B. See the red X ? Well, it was there that I tiled up to then stopped. I carried on tiling around the other side of the room till I got back to that point. I tiled from the floor up to where the red X is, because everything is level (I made it so) there's no reason why the tile directly under the red X should not fit. It should fit right? Thats what I though, because all my lines asre straight. Everything is perfectly level, so says my laser and my spirit level. The truth, however, is that when I reached the point of inserting the tile under the red X it didn't fit and by a WHOLE BUNCH. It was out by something like 15mm maybe more. WOW, I have NO IDEA how that happened. Everything else in the room is in proportion and fits...This one tile now suddenly is out and by a bloody long margin too!!! So, obviously I couldn't rearrange the whole room cuz the tiles are fixed now so the only logical answer was to cut the 15mm or what ever it was off of the top of the tile and fix it in there anyway. It's such a little actually off the whole tile that if you stand in front of it you can barely notice that the tile isn't the same size as the others. If you look very close, or if you have a very good eye you will pick it up but I can almost guarentee you the owner won't spot what has happened.
Still with picture B, now that I've fixed that tile in anyway....turns out that to the tope right of the room close to the roof it has somehow thrown my grout lines out by that 15mm. On pic B see the red circles? Notice how they don't align AT ALL!!! In fact, rather look at picture C....It gives a closer view of how the lines are thrown out now in relation to the red X tile. Look at the lines going down the wall and you'll see eventually (after 3 or so tiles) the lines restore themselves and all is as it should be.
I am SO CONFUSED as to how and why this happened. I did everything by the book....Now, you don't notice the cut tile in the middle of the lot but by the roof there's a clear mismatch....I'm hoping to GOD that the owner doesn't notice, there's alot of the same colour in the room and it's very hard to spot mistakes cuz everything sort of swims into each other. Where the roof is, the builder said I should leave a small gap as he is going to install a sizeable cornice there so hence the gap between the last tile and the roof. In pic C, where the mosaic strip is you will notice that there is a clear mismatch between the tile egde and the mosaic strip (this is to be covered by the cornice so that will disappear...
PLEASE can one of you bright lads explain WTF went wrong. I susupect its something I did when I tiled around the door. You know when you tile around a window and the lines don't match up when you get around the window? I think it's maybe that....but I don't know what to call it firstly and I have even less of an idea of how to explain my way out of this. If she doesn't notice then cool but between her, the builder and the architect someone is gonna see it. I have to be able to explain what went wrong and kinda in a way that makes it sound as if it aint really my fault. Ha ha...I'm not a chance taker and I feel worse than bad for it having turned out this way but it's kind of way too late to do anything about it so I had to improvise.
Then, one thing I do feel very happy about is the shower tray which I did using Travertine mosaics. The owner had no idea really what she wanted so I used my initiative and came up with something on my own. Please refer to picture D to see what I ended up doing with the shower floor, I think it looks lovely....Please comment if you can, but be nice please cuz I'm feeling a bit like a tiler's *** today.
In advance lads, thank you VERY MUCH for any help....last thought would be just to ask (again) if anyone can suggest something to help me explain my way out of this one!!!
Many many thanks....
Tileboy
)
I'm hoping someone can shed light on my little screw up. Right so been busy on a job for a whole heap of days...Yeah ok so I'm slow, I must be the slowest tiler on planet earth but I'm bloody neat so it's ok!!! I think it may have something to do with my training because I just don't seem to be able to tile any faster no matter what I do...
The problem slapped me in the face today...Please look at Picture A. This is the door frame around which I have tiled. The tiles are 150mm x 600mm. I tiled from the left side of the room around the top of the door (follow the red arrows) up to the tile with the red "X" on it. Then I carried on from the other side of the room till I met back to that same point. The first three tiles are 300mm x 600mm then a border right around the room then the 150mm x 600mm to the roof. The first three tiles are on the same datum line ALL AROUND THE ROOM, so it makes NO SENSE that what I'm about to explain happened.
The first three tiles from the floor up (as I said) are running the same datum line, they're PERFECTLY level so if I was to switch on my laser light and stream a line (which I did) on the TOP EDGE of the first three tiles across the room then you will see that right around the entire bathroom the line follows perfectly which means that the top edge of the first three are at exactly the same level right around the room.
Spacers are 3mm...
On top of the edge of the first three tiles comes a 3mm spacer, then a border. On top of the border comes another 3mm spacer then the 150mm x 600mm starts. So safe to say I have the same level right across the room.
Now look at picture B. See the red X ? Well, it was there that I tiled up to then stopped. I carried on tiling around the other side of the room till I got back to that point. I tiled from the floor up to where the red X is, because everything is level (I made it so) there's no reason why the tile directly under the red X should not fit. It should fit right? Thats what I though, because all my lines asre straight. Everything is perfectly level, so says my laser and my spirit level. The truth, however, is that when I reached the point of inserting the tile under the red X it didn't fit and by a WHOLE BUNCH. It was out by something like 15mm maybe more. WOW, I have NO IDEA how that happened. Everything else in the room is in proportion and fits...This one tile now suddenly is out and by a bloody long margin too!!! So, obviously I couldn't rearrange the whole room cuz the tiles are fixed now so the only logical answer was to cut the 15mm or what ever it was off of the top of the tile and fix it in there anyway. It's such a little actually off the whole tile that if you stand in front of it you can barely notice that the tile isn't the same size as the others. If you look very close, or if you have a very good eye you will pick it up but I can almost guarentee you the owner won't spot what has happened.
Still with picture B, now that I've fixed that tile in anyway....turns out that to the tope right of the room close to the roof it has somehow thrown my grout lines out by that 15mm. On pic B see the red circles? Notice how they don't align AT ALL!!! In fact, rather look at picture C....It gives a closer view of how the lines are thrown out now in relation to the red X tile. Look at the lines going down the wall and you'll see eventually (after 3 or so tiles) the lines restore themselves and all is as it should be.
I am SO CONFUSED as to how and why this happened. I did everything by the book....Now, you don't notice the cut tile in the middle of the lot but by the roof there's a clear mismatch....I'm hoping to GOD that the owner doesn't notice, there's alot of the same colour in the room and it's very hard to spot mistakes cuz everything sort of swims into each other. Where the roof is, the builder said I should leave a small gap as he is going to install a sizeable cornice there so hence the gap between the last tile and the roof. In pic C, where the mosaic strip is you will notice that there is a clear mismatch between the tile egde and the mosaic strip (this is to be covered by the cornice so that will disappear...
PLEASE can one of you bright lads explain WTF went wrong. I susupect its something I did when I tiled around the door. You know when you tile around a window and the lines don't match up when you get around the window? I think it's maybe that....but I don't know what to call it firstly and I have even less of an idea of how to explain my way out of this. If she doesn't notice then cool but between her, the builder and the architect someone is gonna see it. I have to be able to explain what went wrong and kinda in a way that makes it sound as if it aint really my fault. Ha ha...I'm not a chance taker and I feel worse than bad for it having turned out this way but it's kind of way too late to do anything about it so I had to improvise.
Then, one thing I do feel very happy about is the shower tray which I did using Travertine mosaics. The owner had no idea really what she wanted so I used my initiative and came up with something on my own. Please refer to picture D to see what I ended up doing with the shower floor, I think it looks lovely....Please comment if you can, but be nice please cuz I'm feeling a bit like a tiler's *** today.
In advance lads, thank you VERY MUCH for any help....last thought would be just to ask (again) if anyone can suggest something to help me explain my way out of this one!!!
Many many thanks....
Tileboy
)
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