Talk yourself out of work

[gamma38]

I went to a customers house 2 nights ago to price up a job. Job described to me as a small en-suite, builders done all the prep and the walls have all been skimmed and primed ready for tiles.....

Should have trusted my instincts right there and then, but you have to give them the benefit don't you.

True to his word the walls were skimmed and primed with something. Nice and flat as well....

Then he showed me the tiles. 600 x 300 x 12mm thick Travertine that he sourced from somewhere on the internet, I then started to explain about weight limits on plastered walls to him. He looked at me like like I had just said I would like his wife for the evening. I then went on further to ask about what primer the builder had used. This one as he produced a tub of PVA. I tried to tell him that the worst case scenario could be that a tile or tiles could come crashing down into the bath while his new baby was in the bath which was extreme I know but I was just trying to wake him up to what I was saying.

Anyhow as you might guess I didn't get the job, which in it's current state couldn't have proceeded without extra prep anyway.

Someone will go round there and say oh no problem i'll just stick em up no worries. Give us £100!!!!!!!!

Rant over.

 

[Dougs Third Go]

you did the right thing gamma, and at least you made him aware of the dangers

 

[White Room]

At least you can sleep at night......

 

[gamma38]

you did the right thing gamma, and at least you made him aware of the dangers

I agree. The worst thing is someone will do it

 

[peteablard]

I'd rather talk myself out of one like that than be persuaded to do it (which I couldn't be but you know what I mean.....)

 

[Andy Allen]

lost count of the amount of jobs ive seen with the same problem....

about time weight limits were printed on boxs or customers told about it at the piont of sale...

 

[gamma38]

lost count of the amount of jobs ive seen with the same problem....

about time weight limits were printed on boxs or customers told about it at the piont of sale...

Good point. Why is it so hard for a customer to believe when you tell them though.

 

[Bubblecraft]

Give me his number, I'll stick them up with some Bal green star lol. On a serious note, that does suck cause you are right, there will be someone out there that will do it without knowing. Just hope no one gets hurt in the process of them crashing down

 

[Andy Allen]

Good point. Why is it so hard for a customer to believe when you tell them though.

because they know no different, most tile shops just want a sale and couldnt care less, customers nowadays just seem to grab the first bargin they see without talking to the tiler first and theres allways some cowboy out there that will just do it anyway....

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

Bang on Andy !! this needs to be stoped !! but how ?

 

[Andy Allen]

Bang on Andy !! this needs to be stoped !! but how ?

as i said dave needs to be at the piont of sale.....

the tile shops should have it on there displays...'these tile are not suitable for skimmed walls'
or words to that affect.....or printed on the boxs..

 

[Rookery]

I had the same scenario last Saturday. Bloke wants trav onto freshly plastered bathroom walls in a buy to let. I told him about the BS weight considerations and he said 'oh REMOVED that, what do they know'. I didnt even go to price it up.

 

[kilty55]

the cheap brigade will always be there but atm its the customers that are ramming the prices down thinking at times they are going to be getting a bargain ...the reality is many end up with poor work as the guy doing the job has cut corners everywhere to save money on the stupid price hes put in to get on the job

 

[Turkish tiler]

sick of it to be honest, every tom, dick and harry knows more than us and if you can stick tiles on walls you are a tiler
everyone keep stealing our jobs tomorrow. everybody is tiler
I will give big add on news paper sayin "MAN WHO CAN ...........PLASTERING,KITCHEN FITTNG, JOINERY, PLUMBING, ELECTRICS, EXTENSIONS....VS......VS " :mad2::incazzato:

 

[Aston]

well
the only way forward is to learn a bit of boarding and skimming and take on full bathroom renovations.
just sub the plumbing out and do the tiling & the sub prep.

hit back at the builder and turn the tables on the plumbers..

 

[charlie1]

Only today I was tiling walls (skimmed) with large ceramics, anyway, 1 tile just wasn't right so I had to pull it back off wall to remove some adhesive, when I pulled, it ripped the plaster completely off the bonding coat!

 

[White Room]

Only today I was tiling walls (skimmed) with large ceramics, anyway, 1 tile just wasn't right so I had to pull it back off wall to remove some adhesive, when I pulled, it ripped the plaster completely off the bonding coat!

If the finish is put on a dry gypsum undercoat the moisture gets sucked out and weakens it.....

 

[afright]

It's about time they started to put weight limits on the boxes so the customer can see what you are trying to tell them,after all tiles are getting bigger a heavier.

 

[Andy Allen]

i was going to start a thread on this, as this is my number one bug bare, ive lost count the amount of times ive been to look at jobs and the customer has a big pile of trav or porcelain piled up outside the bathroom, beaming from ear to ear telling me what a fantastic bargin they got on there tiles, then they look at me like im some kind of idiot when i tell them they cant fit them on the walls as they are.

first thing they allways say is 'they never said that in the tile shop', but did they ever ask them? 'can you fit these tiles on to skimmed walls,' how many customers know what a skimmed wall is?

imo this problem needs to be sorted asap, tiles are only getting bigger, and it ain't going away.

tile manfactures could print weight limits on boxs, at least that would cover us when we look at jobs, we can simply piont to what it says on the box, bit like when we see polished porcelain that says it needs wax removing or sealing, its in black and white and stops any cowboy from saying its ok the other tiler dosnt know what hes on about.

but this has to be backed up from the suppliers, most customers see tiles on displays and dont see the boxs till there being delivered or loaded in there car, and what customer reads the boxs anyway, they need to inform the customer about wieght limits, maybe give them a sample and recommend a tiler to talk to first.

would be interested to here from any tile suppliers ,on there take on this...

 

[kilty55]

cant see tile shops doing it andy they will lose sales and they dont want that

you are right though it would help

 

[macten]

Sometimes when I tell the customers all these things I get the job because of it.
Sadly, more often than not, I get the impression they think I'm trying it on to fleece money out of them.
A bit like a mechanic when they look at your engine and do that sharp intake of breath through their teeth!
People are wary and careful with their money - What can you do?

 

[afright]

I remember taking some 6x6 tiles of a wall and the whole lot fell on top of me cutting my head had to have stitches hate to think what porcelain or stone would do it makes you think,its got to be in the makers and retailers interests to point out the weight ratio this is a problem that we are all facing including the customers who are buying these tiles.

 

[Martyn Leeds]

When I'm explaining to customers and they're not quite with me, I give them a box of tiles to hold.
Then i say "heavy aren't they", they always say "yes"..
Then I say "now imagine the weight of 3,4 maybe 5 boxes on that wall.

I think it kinda registers then when I tell them I'll be re-boarding your walls