Where does responsibility lie?

[Brian the Tile]

ah but who bought the tiles before everybody blames the tiler is he not just there to fix the tiles,and he did stop and phone the customer after all ,if customer bought the tiles surely it must be between them and the store where they came from,i might be missing something here but to me the tiler doesnt seem to have done much wrong

 

[Stewart]

I always check batch, tone numbers and for damaged tiles while fixing, but it's very difficult to spot a shaded tile while fixing IMO. I always stand back and check each wall as I complete it. Then it may be noticeable, but I'm not looking for it if all the boxes match.

Expecting a tiler to lay out all tiles prior to fixing is ridiculous and I would also expect my shop to accept some responsibility for supply me with an imperfect product if all the numbers match. I've had a similar situation, but it wasn't apparent until it was grouted. As all the boxes were checked in store, as I always do while collecting, shop paid to rectify the work and I think rightly so.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Thanks John - looks like everyone agrees that the tiler needs to shoulder some blame and the retailer has no liability. Oh well, hopefully we can get this sorted soon - getting married on 2 July!!!

I don't think that the retailer has no liability!
He has sold materials unfit for purpose - are we sure that he has not put old stock into new boxes to make up the numbers.
The tiler is responsible for fixing the materials and as such is required to ensure that the blend (after mixing from various boxes) is acceptable. So his labour for this mistake is his cost.
The manufacturer will replace all tiles at their cost.
The retailer should replace the ancillary materials used - adhesives etc.
You should not have to pay for anymore than the agreed budget at the outset.
This of course is not an ideal world!
Good luck and have a wonderful day on 2nd July.
TJ.

 

[Pebbs]

I always check batch, tone numbers and for damaged tiles while fixing, but it's very difficult to spot a shaded tile while fixing IMO. I always stand back and check each wall as I complete it. Then it may be noticeable, but I'm not looking for it if all the boxes match.

Expecting a tiler to lay out all tiles prior to fixing is ridiculous and I would also expect my shop to accept some responsibility for supply me with an imperfect product if all the numbers match. I've had a similar situation, but it wasn't apparent until it was grouted. As all the boxes were checked in store, as I always do while collecting, shop paid to rectify the work and I think rightly so.

Stewart has hit the nail on the head, you employed a tiler not a qs to go through and check the tiles prior to them being laid. The responsibility of checking lies with the purchaser, not the person employed to fix them. Tilers are not required to check every batch of tiles a client has purchased, if that was the case then they would be charging you for undertaking this. The retailer ordering the stock should have ensured that the calibration and batch were all matching before you paid the invoice. Tilers do not always notice colour variations straight of the bat, and reading through your comments, in all fairness he did contact you as soon as he noticed the difference.

I would advise you, that in my opinion it would be very unwise to put any of the blame on this man, because there is no comment of any faults in his work. He tiled with the materials supplied to him. Why should he have to hold any responsibility for a chain of events due to no quality checks being in place, for which he had no part in.

Pebbs

 

[bootsmckiber]

The only time I've had to lay out my tile in 27 years is when I use slate and that's just to organize the thickness,That's a run of bad luckhow about your getting the tile replaced,get the tiler to put them up on his time,it's only a bathroom for pete's sake,he probably has enough addy in his pockets to do the job,good luck.

 

[kilty55]

absolutely no way is this the tilers fault,infact it was him who brought this to your attention

if the codes are the same as you say its the suppliers problem,

 

[Stewart]

Just to add.... when I order my tiles, I always order up to the next full box and I never accept a box that's been opened or taped up to avoid this type of problem......

 

[jay]

interesting comments to date
so if im reading this right if the customer supplies the tiles . all the tiler has to do is stick them to the wall job done. any shading issues cracked tiles or chipped ones is the customers fault for not inspecting the goods .
Things have changed since i was taught . check quantity check all codes on boxes check tiles for size and bow mix tiles (shading or blending)from several boxes

the tiler in question has a run of 15 different tiles in one run that indicates to me he was laying strait from the box

times have changed

any updates on this CMC_EK

 

[cyclonebri1]

As an outsider;

A supplier supplies a product.

He insists the user selects the same shade/batch number to avoid tolerance issues in his production process

He does this.

The shade batch turns out not to match.

What more can the tiler/user do???????????????

Simply stating "no responsibility for mismatch can be accepted after fixing" does not absolve the supplier of his responsibilities, and all the end user can be expected to check. It will not stand up if challenged, you buy a red tile, you have a right to get a red tile not pink or claret, the batch/shade No is designed purposely to ensure this.

 

[Sean Kelly]

In my opinion, the finger of blame can not be pointed at one person or persons.

Just think, the situation could have been a lot worse if the bathroom had been grouted.
Yes, it was a mistake that was spotted later rather than sooner. We all know that tiles look different colours depending on how the light hits them.

If I were a Judge, then this is my verdict:


The tile manufacturer has agreed to replace tiles.
The tile retailer should provide free adhesive to complete job.
The customer should pay the tiler half of what it would cost in labour to replace tiles.
The tiler should replace tiles half on pay and half for free.

The resolution to this problem is equally shared.

Cheers
Sean

 

[bootsmckiber]

I agree!!!

 

[Gall.B]

I use C quite a bit and have had issues with shades, they even deliverd the wrong tiles to a bathroom i was doing customer not home had to redo in the end up. Lately the place has gone right down the pan since somebody retired and theres a few folk with rotten attitudes in there.

 

[Gall.B]

They also supplied the porcelain for the exterior of the thistle hotel in Glasgow when I warg an apprentice. Tiles had the same batch numbers but arrived at 2 diffrent times. We where doing the pool inside the day the scaffy came down and had just came out of the bakers accross the road at T time and all stood opened mouthed looking at the building with two diffrent coloured tiles on half & half dont know who coughed up in the end.