Tiler makes poor job of splashback, ruined sockets, bad grout, uneven tiling

[snadge]

mapei ultra white was the grout he used.. dunno what adhesive

I have had an email from him saying this "Hi Paul,
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this monday coming 14th march i am being admitted into hospital for an operation to remove a chipped piece of bone thats pressing on my thumb nerve and also to have a surgical steel plated fitted to my wrist. Unfortunately this means that i am going to be on the sick for a minimum of 8 weeks.
When the plate is removed in 6 weeks time they say i need at least 2 weeks physio before i can return to work,
Will let you know how i am coming along. Sorry this is by message but i dont seem to be able to find your phone number
once again mate i do sincerely appologise for any inconvenience i have caused"

Since then I sent one back saying we were not happy at all with the work and explained the problems, I asked what grout he used etc so I could attempt to replace it and he never had the decency to say he would get or PAY to get a proper tiler in to repair the job - he just sait it was mapei ultra white and that he was on morphine for the pain!!! - she doesnt want him back here either, iam going to shame him on the forum i got him off which was DIYnot

i want to remove the grout and a couple of tiles, what do I do?

thanks

 

[White Room]

Removing grout is'nt as easy as it sounds, I would'nt be using any of the hand tools, more the powered type..

But you would have to remove any grout any from around the tile you want to remove.

 

[snadge]

so can you give advice for both methods hehe i want to confront the tiler but she wont let me - she doesnt want nowt to do with him

 

[Scott]

If they are not being re used then just hit the hard int eh centre and break them out with a hammer and chisel. Its adviseable to remove the grout though so you dont chip the tiles being left up. If its plasterboard dont go mad with the hammer though!

If its just a couple you can get a hand grout remover

 

[snadge]

thanks, i will look for some grout removal tools - any advice there?

tiles are being replaced with new ones and its dot&dab plasterboard behind

 

[Ceramico tiling]

A multi master for about £80 is the ultimate grout removal tool, and you will find other things for it to do with its wood cutting attatchements,,if your the hands on type.

 

[snadge]

thanks - but if im too pay that much jst too remove some of the grout Iam gunna ask for my money back off the tiler too pay for it

i take it its some sort of dremel tool?

 

[GaryS]

no a multimaster is a osilating tool that comes with a variety of different blade attachments a fein multimaster is around £200 but bosch do a cheaper version that would be a good investment as a tool for anyone who does diy at all it is surprising how many uses it has.

 

[kilty55]

hi snadge,get a baton of wood and put a masonry nail in the end....drag this up the grout to remove

cheap as chips and it works well then smash the tiles out from the centre

if you remove the grout 1st it will stop adjoining tiles cracking

 

[snadge]

thanks too the pair of you i will certainly try that and look into that bosch

cheers

 

[GaryS]

It looks as if some of those tiles are really different in size and this may have caused your tiler a real problem when trying to tile, he is hopeless with the Silicon though that needs to be totally redone

 

[snadge]

i think the tiles are ok looking at them, its more how he has grouted and fitted them that makes it look like some are smaller - thats probs where the grout is thicker lol - i havent included shots of the close grout lines on here

 

[GaryS]

It also looks like your tiler used the worktop to start a whole tile from as a straight edge and if its not straight and they usualy are a mill or so out then this will also cause problems, remember even a mil or so out on a tile will cause a big problem trying to get everything even. A pro tiler should know this and have maybe explained if he came accross diff sized tiles that he could only split the difference and that grout lines would vary in size.

To be honest it looks like a job that has been rushed and not done to a very high standard though that may not be the case and you prob should at least give the tiler a chance to put it right.

 

[snadge]

ive give the tiler a chance... hes been back and its worse... he now cant do anything for 3 months cos of his bad hand and hasnt offered to pay to get a tiler in to sort it... he started in the corner which i have read is incorrect... he should have started in the middle... he didnt say anything was uneven and he said walls were fine as he came too look at them first....even if walls were slightly out a good tiler would just fill with more adhesive to keep it flush - I have more photos of his grouting which combined with some of these photos iam going to put up on the forum i got him from...

 

[kilty55]

snadge i woulfnt name and shame him,do you want to pursue him for costs to have it re done or are you simply going to do iy yourself to try and fix it?

 

[snadge]

he wont pay to get it sorted otherwise he would have done so by now... so im probably gunna have to gouge out the grout myself and regrout it so it looks tidier..

 

[Scott]

He's not going to offer to pay for it, therefore you will have to ask him!

 

[ScottG13]

ive give the tiler a chance... hes been back and its worse... he now cant do anything for 3 months cos of his bad hand and hasnt offered to pay to get a tiler in to sort it... he started in the corner which i have read is incorrect... he should have started in the middle... he didnt say anything was uneven and he said walls were fine as he came too look at them first....even if walls were slightly out a good tiler would just fill with more adhesive to keep it flush - I have more photos of his grouting which combined with some of these photos iam going to put up on the forum i got him from...

I did see on another forum about a post was that was removed, it rang a bell and I thought it was you snadge. Judging by other peoples posts on there they would be shocked at the standard of work especially going by the pics you have shown us. Are you any closer to getting this sorted?

 

[charlie1]

you would need to do more than regrout if you want it done to a proper standard! as Gary said, if the worktop not totaly level between the joins (usually not) then the tiler will urinating against the wind the further up the wall he goes if he has used worktop as baton!

Imo, remove all the tiles (carefully), let them soak in large bucket of water for a few days then get a proper tiler (recomended(and do your homework on him)) to do the job right!



how it should look, i know its not the same colour but you gt the idea

 

[ScottG13]

I like them tiles charlie, are they both black with one gloss and one not?