Builders who think they know about tiling.

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Builders who think they know about tiling.

Discuss Builders who think they know about tiling. in the UK Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.

C

cornish_crofter

I would be among the first to admit that I have only scratched the surface regards tiling.

Now, I've got a couple of chrome pipes coming out of a bathroom floor to serve a towel rail

But today, on the client's request, I removed the towel rail valves, replaced them with stop ends so that I could use the 365 drill to drill out a hole in a couple of floor tiles to be laid over these pipes. I managed to do this without draining down the system, just by doing a quick changeover.

I was quite pleased with the result, so I showed the builder working on a different part of the house. His words were "If a tiler did that whilst he was working for me I'd kick him off my site, for taking too long over the job".

:huh2: So, he's got a tiler working to a fixed price and he goes the extra mile to avoid a couple of ugly cut outs, the gets kicked off site for his trouble - nice!

What he was actually thinking is that if he's paying him by the hour and the job takes a little longer because he's going the extra mile, the main contractor gets shirty.

At the end of the day, it's what the customer wants and what he is prepared to pay for. It actually took me less time to drill the tiles, remove the valves and lay the tiles as it would have done for me to slot each tile.

I know the customer is pleased with the result and that's what matters.
 
C

cornish_crofter

That's the problem, the builder has done large jobs for domestic clients in the past. One would have thought he would want to do what the customer wanted.

I guess that he's cheap because he's worked to a minimal standard in the past. He's useful to have around, as his experience has helped a couple of times, as mine has helped him choosing a lintel for a wide opening (I suggested he went for an RSJ as he wouldn't use a 100x65 lintel).

To be fair, he knows that the job I'm doing has nothing to do with him. But some of his views are a little extreme. This is the same guy who advised me to use a kango hammer to drill a 50mm hole through a wall below DPC level instead of hiring a core drill for £20. I know which approach needed no work to make good afterwards.:grin:
 
C

cornish_crofter

cornish_crofter said:
This is the same guy who advised me to use a kango hammer to drill a 50mm hole through a wall below DPC level instead of hiring a core drill for £20. I know which approach needed no work to make good afterwards.:grin:
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..and the customer was happy to pay for the hire of said core drill.

Today I've been prepping the walls for tiling and having to chisel out the lumps of one coat that he put in some of the holes in the wall, because they are proud of the rest of the wall.

Apparently he does tiling as well:whatchutalkingabout
 
mz30

mz30

TF
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Daveyboy said:
That's the difference between site and domestic work - site = bash it out at minimal standard, domestic = quality workmanship with a delighted client. I hope I never have to do site work....:thumbsup:
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That's not entirely true,and as you have stated you have never done site work,then you have nothing to back up your comment.

Most of my work is site work,but i do,do domestics also,however if you look at it the right way when doing a domestic job all you have to do is please the client,on site work (especially new houses)you have to please the site agent,q.s and also sales,so the chance of things being pulled on site ar far higher than a domestic scenario.

Also on domestic work (unless you are willing to price higher and prep yourself)you are getting more headaches than what you would with site work.

I would honestly rather do no domestics and just stick to site work,may get less per m2 but over the year you will make far more.:thumbsup:


@ cornish-crofter,i would'nt worry in the least what the builder has to say as you are not working for him,do the job to the best of your ability and don't give him a second thought.:thumbsup:
 
C

cornish_crofter

mz30 said:
cornish-crofter,i would'nt worry in the least what the builder has to say as you are not working for him,do the job to the best of your ability and don't give him a second thought.:thumbsup:
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Thanks, it just annoys me. He's the one IMO who feels he has to prove something. He's been in the trade for about 30 years but I think he's done very little in the way of finishing work, bar decorating. I actually passed the job he's on, onto him as I don't have the resources or experience to take it on. He's relitively knowlegable in other trades, and he's cheap, which is why I recommended him for that job, which is 95% structural. The client found a plasterer himself, who's number I'll be getting hold of because he is very good and very cheap!

Overall he's been great, I was just a bit disappointed in his attitude over this, especially as I had set him up with that job.
 
R

Rob Z

Maybe it has already been mentioned, but how about the builders and general contractors who think the answer to everything is to "use more thinset".:mad2:

Their sorry carpenters can't frame a house or build a wall or a floor that is anywhere close to level, plumb or square, and they think the tileman can just pile up thinset an inch thick to fix the wall or whatever the problem is. :mad5:

I've said to them "There is a reason that it is called THINset....THIN application of mortar that is only to BOND the tile into place. If you want to fix the crap that your carpenters have built then we need to use THICKbed mortar". They can't seem to get the message, or they get it and don't want to hear it. :furious3:
 
L

LM Ceramics

mz30 said:
That's not entirely true,and as you have stated you have never done site work,then you have nothing to back up your comment.

Most of my work is site work,but i do,do domestics also,however if you look at it the right way when doing a domestic job all you have to do is please the client,on site work (especially new houses)you have to please the site agent,q.s and also sales,so the chance of things being pulled on site ar far higher than a domestic scenario.

Also on domestic work (unless you are willing to price higher and prep yourself)you are getting more headaches than what you would with site work.

I would honestly rather do no domestics and just stick to site work,may get less per m2 but over the year you will make far more.:thumbsup:


i agree on certain points but you ll find you ll get pulled on domestics when the customer is paying ive done alot of site work and i have seen crap work given the ok
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C

cornish_crofter

When you're doing domestic work the customer may want to specify exactly how a job is to be done. Personally I'm happy for him to make the decision if he wants to. I see it as the advantage of getting me in as opposed to the next guy.

Usually he hasn't thought about exactly how he wants it done, but at least when we have the discussion we know for sure. Assumptions can be expensive.
 

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