Wall and Floor Tiling Advice for Kate the Mate

[Kate the mate]

Please see my earlier thread for background information to this problem.

http://www.tilersforums.com/stone-tiling-forum/40827-travertine-tiles-shower-help-needed.html

The tiler/plumber started on Tuesday this week. He brought with him a younger guy to assist. They took out the bath, washbasin, loo and shower tray and boarded and then tiled the floor. The tiles had all been sealed first. So far, so good I thought.

Yesterday they put the bath back in and then started tiling around the bath. All seemed to be going well as far as I could see. Today, the main man went out 'to get some grout' and was gone for over three hours. During that time his assistant (a carpenter) carried on tiling. I went upstairs to see how he was getting on and was horrified to see that he had started at one corner of the wall and has worked across the wall, but when he gets to the other corner there is a gap which he tells me he will fill with grout. He has used very few spacers, working mainly by eye, so the grouting gaps are not consistent, some are big, some are small. My picture will explain better than me.

When the main man gets back he tells me not to worry, he will cut some slithers of tile to put in the gaps, which he has done, but to me the whole thing has been spoiled. There is a full tile at one end of the wall and a slither of tile at the other, and it's the wall facing you as you come into the bathroom. I could have wept. I really wanted a great job and, to me, it looks amateurish. Picture enclosed.

On another wall the bath is centred and the taps are centred too, but the tiling is not centred on the taps so the tiling looks unbalanced. Please tell me, will it look better when it's grouted, which is what the tiler tells me? Am I being too particular?

I really wanted to feel that this was fabulous, it's costing a fortune, but I feel physically sick about what to do or think.

 

[Kate the mate]

Kate

just had a thought

depending on how well today goes, can you refer him to this site for membership, its better we re educate him than he runs around oxfordshire lashing up peoples wetrooms

Interestingly I have two friends in the area, both looking for tilers, one for a wetroom, who were waiting on the results of mine before going ahead.

 

[Alan.P]

My mistake, I thought the second picture showed the start of the shower, I'll take a look again, given his performance so far, I wouldn't let him loose to do anything else, Mike or Scotley seem to be in your area ??????

 

[Kate the mate]

I agree, Alan. I have lost all confidence that we can achieve a good result. Better to stop now than carry on and make things worse. Is it easy to get those tiles off without damaging the walls? I'm wondering if I can do it myself. Get the tiles off that is, not tile the walls!!

 

[Bathfix Bob]

Don't forget to update us Kate on what his explanation is for his substandard work, I'll be following this thread with interest on my Blackberry today.

 

[Alan.P]

If you have a flat trowel you can try and get it under the top tile and lever it off the wall, try and get under as far as you can, you might have to twist it side to side to try and dig under, no harm intrying, one or two tile may break though due to the nature of the stone, or maybe a bolster chisel and a hammer, gently though, let us know what goes on.

 

[Kate the mate]

Don't worry, I'll keep you informed. Husband hung around but he has just had to leave for work so I'm doing the deed by myself. I was hoping they would be here early but no such luck.

 

[Kate the mate]

I've just found a big empty tub of Bostic ready made adhesive in the rubbish bin too. Not sure if that's been used on the walls.

 

[Alan.P]

If they have used that your in luck, the tiles should pop off easier, and the adhesive should clean off the tile easier, try it now, the longer you wait the harder it will be, no matter what they have used.

 

[Gazzer]

That tub may have been used to mix adhesive in though. i would guess that if the lid is with the bucket it has been used.

 

[Alan.P]

That tub may have been used to mix adhesive in though. i would guess that if the lid is with the bucket it has been used.

Good point, how many mixing buckets do you throw away though lol, unless it's holed, speculation on all parts, are they there yet Kate / Have you tried removing a tile and asking what was used ?

 

[Gazzer]

Good point, how many mixing buckets do you throw away though lol, unless it's holed, speculation on all parts, are they there yet Kate / Have you tried removing a tile and asking what was used ?

Well I dont throw any buckets away unless holed or broken but these people may be lazy......yes they are lazy.

 

[Gazzer]

looks like he's not trowelled onto the walls either, tut tut! It's a sub standard job Kate, don't pay until it's done right.

Come on Doug put your specs on....clearly troweled ... :lol:

 

[Alan.P]

Well no word but Kate is showing as still viewing this thread, so either she is talking to the 'fixer' or they are reading this, ....................

 

[Gazzer]

Ok if they are reading this then ..........rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:rrr:

 

[Kate the mate]

It's done. Phew. It took quite a long time for him to go. I first of all told him I didn't want him to continue with the job today, that I had a number of issues that I needed to address. I pointed out all the areas that I thought were wrong, he challenged most of it, didn't give a proper explanation as to why the walls hadn't been properly marked out. I said I had been most concerned when he left 'a young carpenter' to do the work when I was expecting a professional tiler.

He agreed and apologised for that. He asked why I hadn't complained yesterday. I said because he wasn't here yesterday. He said he thought I was happy with what they had done. I said it was more worrying that he was happy with what he had done. I pointed out all the uneven grout lines, where some where thick and some were thin and he said it was more to do with the tiles than the tiler. I told him I wasn't stupid and that I can tile a wall, it just so happens that I didn't want to tile this bathroom as I wanted it to look fantastic and what I had got was a worse than DIY job. He disagreed that it was that bad but agreed there was room for improvement.

There were long silences where he just stared at the tiles. Then he asked for an opportunity to put it right. I said no, I had no confidence that he could put it right and I just wanted to get the tiles off the wall and start again. He asked more than once if he could do the job again but I said I no, at the moment I wasn't going to agree to that. I suggested he just took his tools and go but it took ages for him to do that. He just stood his ground.

I said to the young lad, 'do you think this is a bad job?' He said 'I'm not experienced enough to say' to which I replied 'why was he left in charge of the job then?'

He started to get a bit cross towards the end and said I would be bad mouthing him around the effing town, and I said I wouldn't. I just wanted to bring it to a closure. He said he hated to think of leaving a customer dissatisfied and, again, asked if he could put it right, but I said I would need to discuss with husband as at the moment I was in no mood to carry on.

So, at the moment the loo, basin and shower are not installed and the tiling is dodgy. Should I take the tiles off myself now do you think? Without the thought of you backing me I'm sure I wouldn't have managed this, especially on my own, so thanks everyone.

 

[Kate the mate]

Sir Ramic, when he told me he didn't know what I was talking about I said 'maybe not, but the guys on the tiling forum do and I've shown them the pictures and asked for their advice.' He wasn't happy about that. I hope he doesn't read this thread.

 

[Alan.P]

Well done for standing your ground, very good points put to him with no come back of any worth, as for the tiles and getting them off the walls, what tools have you got, a scraper, trowel, bolster, just try and see, let us know what you use and the outcome of trying 1 or 2 tiles, we can advise from there, good luck.

 

[Kate the mate]

Yes, I have all of these tools, I'll go and see what I can do. I'll photograph all of it first so I have a record.

 

[jay]

go and have a coffee or tea first and relax or settle the nerves

 

[Gazzer]

I am not sure how this will all work out ! Having not given him the opportunity to put the work right may not look good in court ( should it proceed that way) Has any money been paid ?
I would think the best way would be to reach an agreement with this guy and yourself before you take the tiles off.

 

[Alan.P]

I am not sure how this will all work out ! Having not given him the opportunity to put the work right may not look good in court ( should it proceed that way) Has any money been paid ?
I would think the best way would be to reach an agreement with this guy and yourself before you take the tiles off.

If it ever were to go to court the simple answer to why he wasn't given a chance to put his work right is it wasn't his work, it was a carpenters work who he left to do the job, I wouldn't pay a penny and would worry less, these types are chancers and the last thing he wants is court, he was worrying about Kate bad mouthing his name as it was, never mind having it dragged in court, and with all the nice pictures as well.

 

[jay]

dosent everyone deserve a second chance Kate just needs time to talk to her other half before proceeding

 

[Kate the mate]

Ooh, er. I've started already taking the tiles off. I did say he could send me an invoice for any materials he has paid for. We supplied all the tiles.

 

[Alan.P]

dosent everyone deserve a second chance Kate just needs time to talk to her other half before proceeding

He had a second chance when Kate questioned the setting out, he said he would put a slither in, that was his chance to say she was right, he was wrong and would re-do it in my humble opinion.

 

[Alan.P]

Ooh, er. I've started already taking the tiles off. I did say he could send me an invoice for any materials he has paid for. We supplied all the tiles.

Take them off, see if he sends you an invoice, pay him if you feel it's not over priced and fair enough to get shot of him.

How are the tiles coming off, easy ? is the adhesive still wet in the centre of the tile ?

 

[Kate the mate]

Yes, fairly easy so far, though I am starting with those that were put on last. Just easing a scraper down the tile and popping them off. A bit of plaster is coming off with some of them but not too bad. I'll take a picture later.

BTW, he did confirm that he had used PVA on the wall first.

 

[Alan.P]

The list of errors is growing, pva is wrong wrong wrong, there is a long thread on the subject, it would seem ( almost definitely ) that tubbed gear was used, wrong for the tiles, get them off the wall and cleaned asap.

 

[Kate the mate]

This is what it looks like now.

 

[Kate the mate]

I've just noticed, see the thin strip of tile on the floor, that doesn't look right to me either. What do you think?

 

[Martyn Leeds]

Kate, I was just thinking the same about the floor, as there's been no mention of it since your post saying it was done on his 1st visit, again, we'd all need to know his process and materials used (& maybe pics) to detrmine if its been done right