C
CMC_EK
Hi guys
New to this so bear with me...
I have a major problem. My tiler has put tiles on my bathroom wall:
FIRST SESSION: 2 walls around bath
SECOND SESSION: rest of the room
Towards the end of the second session the tiles put above my window are substancially different in colour (pictures don't show it as obviously as real life)
The tiler has said he only noticed this once they were up and he stopped straight away and phoned me at work to come home. On viewing, I agreed that we had a problem. We then both started picking out more subtle but still quite different tiles on the walls that had been tiled during the first session (2 days earlier). This had not been apparent previously. I estimate that around 4-6 tiles on each wall are noticeably different.
We left the tiles up and tiler took an off cut of the different tiles to the retailer. Their desk immediately acknowledged the problem and agreed to look into it. The manufacturers rep was also in the shop and acknowledged the fault. On close inspection the offending tiles look like the inverse of the correct tiles. The correct tiles have raised very small white dimples with what looks like a more peachy coloured groove running between them. The faulty ones have a peachy dimple with white grooves.
Anyway, a week down the line and manufacturer has agreed with retailer to provide a colour matched run of tiles based on a sample we sent to them. I’m happy with this.
However the retailer is claiming no responsibility as they say the tiler should have checked every tile for shading before fixing to wall. They even said he should have laid out all 20m of tiles on floor prior to fixing. I have stated that both myself and tiler carried out reasonable checks – all batch numbers were identical, a broad check of a sample of the tiles appeared the same colour. I know the tiler would check this where possible – he recently tiled our kitchen and laid out all tiles before cutting and fixing and asked us if we were happy with them. Also, many of tiles look fine on initial check – it’s only when you step back and see them all together that you start to pick out the problem tiles.
I believe the tiler carried out reasonable checks (1 or 2 tiles per box of 10, which is certainly more rigorous than retailers QA process) and stopped fixing as soon as fault became apparent. As a result I believe responsibility lies with the retailer for providing the faulty tile and are therefore also liable for “consequential losses” i.e. cost of removal, making walls good and re-tiling.
I have written to retailer asking for them to cover the consequential losses but they have phoned blaming the tiler and citing a lot of clauses on the back of their invoice saying they are not responsible. :mad2:
So it boils down to a couple of questions that I am seeking advice and opinions on:
1. Is it reasonable to expect a tiler to check every single tile before a job? Especially when space is constrained (i.e. around 3m of floor space)
2. Where do you feel responsibility lies - retailer or tiler?
Sorry for this rather rambling post and thanks in advance for you help!!!
New to this so bear with me...
I have a major problem. My tiler has put tiles on my bathroom wall:
FIRST SESSION: 2 walls around bath
SECOND SESSION: rest of the room
Towards the end of the second session the tiles put above my window are substancially different in colour (pictures don't show it as obviously as real life)
The tiler has said he only noticed this once they were up and he stopped straight away and phoned me at work to come home. On viewing, I agreed that we had a problem. We then both started picking out more subtle but still quite different tiles on the walls that had been tiled during the first session (2 days earlier). This had not been apparent previously. I estimate that around 4-6 tiles on each wall are noticeably different.
We left the tiles up and tiler took an off cut of the different tiles to the retailer. Their desk immediately acknowledged the problem and agreed to look into it. The manufacturers rep was also in the shop and acknowledged the fault. On close inspection the offending tiles look like the inverse of the correct tiles. The correct tiles have raised very small white dimples with what looks like a more peachy coloured groove running between them. The faulty ones have a peachy dimple with white grooves.
Anyway, a week down the line and manufacturer has agreed with retailer to provide a colour matched run of tiles based on a sample we sent to them. I’m happy with this.
However the retailer is claiming no responsibility as they say the tiler should have checked every tile for shading before fixing to wall. They even said he should have laid out all 20m of tiles on floor prior to fixing. I have stated that both myself and tiler carried out reasonable checks – all batch numbers were identical, a broad check of a sample of the tiles appeared the same colour. I know the tiler would check this where possible – he recently tiled our kitchen and laid out all tiles before cutting and fixing and asked us if we were happy with them. Also, many of tiles look fine on initial check – it’s only when you step back and see them all together that you start to pick out the problem tiles.
I believe the tiler carried out reasonable checks (1 or 2 tiles per box of 10, which is certainly more rigorous than retailers QA process) and stopped fixing as soon as fault became apparent. As a result I believe responsibility lies with the retailer for providing the faulty tile and are therefore also liable for “consequential losses” i.e. cost of removal, making walls good and re-tiling.
I have written to retailer asking for them to cover the consequential losses but they have phoned blaming the tiler and citing a lot of clauses on the back of their invoice saying they are not responsible. :mad2:
So it boils down to a couple of questions that I am seeking advice and opinions on:
1. Is it reasonable to expect a tiler to check every single tile before a job? Especially when space is constrained (i.e. around 3m of floor space)
2. Where do you feel responsibility lies - retailer or tiler?
Sorry for this rather rambling post and thanks in advance for you help!!!