R
Rob Z
After being in business for 20+ years, I continue to be amazed at the answers and comments I get from customers and potential customers.
A week or so ago, I got a call from a lady who had gotten my name from a former customer. This caller started out by asking me if I could work with large tiles. I said of course, and why are you asking? She said some contractors she had spoken with told her they didn't have saws and couldn't cut her tiles.
I said no problem, we have large capacity saws and how large are the tiles?
She said they are 12" X 36". I went into my standard discussion about ensuring that the walls and floors are flat and plumb/level-either by framing them or by doing mudwork. Either one we can do, so we can work this out once we've done the demo. and assess the existing conditions of the floors and walls.
She interupted me, insisting that these tiles are "perfectly flat, and there won't be any problems".
I said "are you sure, have you checked the tiles (of course she hasn't, but I'll humor her)"
"Yes, they are PERFECT". (this will be a first, won't it?)
So I concluded by saying I would look at them when I came to measure the job. She said she had the tiles in the garage.
When I got to her house, she showed me the other two bathrooms that had been done by another contractor. There were some real problems, including the floors had been torn out once already because the first guy 5-spotted the large format tile on the floor and (SURPRISE) a bunch of them cracked.
Then, she showed me the tiles on the walls that had chips on the edges. This is because these muppets taped the cement board with paper drywall tape and joint compound. :mad2: They only took out the tiles along the seams of the backer board, and in doing so they chipped the other tiles and left them in place. She paid them to do this re-work.:mad2:
They butchered some other items, but none that are too noteworthy.
Then I asked her to show me the tiles in the garage (the new ones, so I can show her that these 3' long times are warped to some degree and so we can plan the installation accordingly). I usually put two tiles face-to-face to look at the corners and, once this is done the customer then sees that the tiles that the salesman told them were "perfectly flat" ARE NOT.
"Oh, I don't have them yet...these are the broken ones that were torn out when they redid the floors. But you can see they are perfectly flat" :mad2:
Well, you can't see anything on these things because they are broken and covered with mortar. And they are the tiles that she has selected for the new bathroom, so it did no good anyway.
I said "Ma'am, the concern I have is that these tiles will have some degree of warp along the three foot dimension....."
She interrupted before I could get to the part about allowing for this by planning the lighting, joint size, layout and substrate prep...and she said "You can see these tiles haven't bent at all---once they were installed they didn't bend at all" :mad2::mad2:
Ah-ha! I felt like I knew where she was coming from...she thinks I am saying there are flexible tiles on the market.
I said "No Ma'am, what I'm referring to is not tiles that bend once they are installed smilewinkgrin but instead tiles that are warped as they come out of the kilns during the manufacturing process. All tiles are warped to some degree, and the really large tiles can have a decent cup or warp on the face and .....(interrupted again)..."
She said "Oh no, not these tiles...they are very solid and won't bend at all...they are Porcelenosa...they're made in Spain"
So, I did what I had to do and went by because of the referral from the former customer. But I think I'll be too busy to do this lady's work.:lol:
A week or so ago, I got a call from a lady who had gotten my name from a former customer. This caller started out by asking me if I could work with large tiles. I said of course, and why are you asking? She said some contractors she had spoken with told her they didn't have saws and couldn't cut her tiles.
I said no problem, we have large capacity saws and how large are the tiles?
She said they are 12" X 36". I went into my standard discussion about ensuring that the walls and floors are flat and plumb/level-either by framing them or by doing mudwork. Either one we can do, so we can work this out once we've done the demo. and assess the existing conditions of the floors and walls.
She interupted me, insisting that these tiles are "perfectly flat, and there won't be any problems".
I said "are you sure, have you checked the tiles (of course she hasn't, but I'll humor her)"
"Yes, they are PERFECT". (this will be a first, won't it?)
So I concluded by saying I would look at them when I came to measure the job. She said she had the tiles in the garage.
When I got to her house, she showed me the other two bathrooms that had been done by another contractor. There were some real problems, including the floors had been torn out once already because the first guy 5-spotted the large format tile on the floor and (SURPRISE) a bunch of them cracked.
Then, she showed me the tiles on the walls that had chips on the edges. This is because these muppets taped the cement board with paper drywall tape and joint compound. :mad2: They only took out the tiles along the seams of the backer board, and in doing so they chipped the other tiles and left them in place. She paid them to do this re-work.:mad2:
They butchered some other items, but none that are too noteworthy.
Then I asked her to show me the tiles in the garage (the new ones, so I can show her that these 3' long times are warped to some degree and so we can plan the installation accordingly). I usually put two tiles face-to-face to look at the corners and, once this is done the customer then sees that the tiles that the salesman told them were "perfectly flat" ARE NOT.
"Oh, I don't have them yet...these are the broken ones that were torn out when they redid the floors. But you can see they are perfectly flat" :mad2:
Well, you can't see anything on these things because they are broken and covered with mortar. And they are the tiles that she has selected for the new bathroom, so it did no good anyway.
I said "Ma'am, the concern I have is that these tiles will have some degree of warp along the three foot dimension....."
She interrupted before I could get to the part about allowing for this by planning the lighting, joint size, layout and substrate prep...and she said "You can see these tiles haven't bent at all---once they were installed they didn't bend at all" :mad2::mad2:
Ah-ha! I felt like I knew where she was coming from...she thinks I am saying there are flexible tiles on the market.
I said "No Ma'am, what I'm referring to is not tiles that bend once they are installed smilewinkgrin but instead tiles that are warped as they come out of the kilns during the manufacturing process. All tiles are warped to some degree, and the really large tiles can have a decent cup or warp on the face and .....(interrupted again)..."She said "Oh no, not these tiles...they are very solid and won't bend at all...they are Porcelenosa...they're made in Spain"
So, I did what I had to do and went by because of the referral from the former customer. But I think I'll be too busy to do this lady's work.:lol:
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