any advice re bad tiling job would be appreciated

[sparkle333]

thx johnpaul thats very kind of u

 

[sparkle333]

thx johnpaul thats very kind of u

just to add trading standards are busy and not covered by house ins grr

 

[cam_low]

Long shot and a small one but try sending dom a message on Twitter or facebook

 

[sparkle333]

lol, im not that sort of person that would like to go on tv etc. i need a nick knowles type lol

 

[charlie1]

shes only 27 so i think shes just started out doing this and forgot to mention to me she wasnt experienced in tiling , i just decided to give her a go liked idea of a woman working in my house for a change thought she would be neater and cleaner etc lol, back fired big time

can you be more specific. Did she forget to tell you she was not experienced or are you now just telling us this information that she told you before the job started that she was not experienced?

 

[sparkle333]

she never mentioned to me she wasnt experienced in tiling, im just realising this from the response ive had here, if she had told me no way would i have let her do my bathroom.

ive just had a reply from her, basically saying shes injured her neck plastering and wont be available for work for a while, i can either wait and she will sort out what she has accepted as her fault, which is 1 tile on the side of my window lol not ones out above bath, the 1 sunken border and the couple of areas where the adhesive is showing above grout. no mention of floor broken tiles, the 2 chipped tiles etc. she did say if i couldnt wait to get someone else out to sort this couple of things out and she wont charge me for work shes done so far. that appears fair enough unless having to have all the work re done and all the costs for tiles, adhesive, grout, costs more than what i owe her and thats without the fact my heating mat could be ruined too. i need to decide what to do and i guess i need a tiler here to give me an honest opinion and quote

 

[Mr Tiler]

I don't think a tiler could make it look any better unless it all comes down sorry. cant ur ex help out with taking the tiles off and try to salvage what is there?

 

[AETilingFloorin]

The question you need to ask yourself is if the bits she has accepted fault for get repaired/replaced will you be happy having to look at the other faults everyday now you know they are there? If not then dont accept what she has said.

The heating mat will need to be checked first if its working, it will only get ruined if you decide you want the tiles up taking up.

Ring another tiler close to you to come round and give you a quote for the repairs and another quote for a complete rip out and restart then go to her with the quotes and see what she says then.

 

[sparkle333]

i dont think he would to be honest hes not very helpful really the jobs hes done ive paid him as it is, hes busy also so would be wks if he agreed , i dont like asking him cos he moans about it, not nice when his daughter is living in this mess, but hey ho thats another story lol

what is the going rate for tiling a bathroom with ceramic tiles as a rough guide

 

[sparkle333]

2 of the floor tiles do need replacing cos they have chipped at the edges due to her not putting any adhesive under them,so that worries me , i dont think many tilers would want to take on this with all the probs unless its restarted i bet

 

[Rossymcg]

Hello sparkle,
this is one long thread, I've read some of it but not all,
why did you let her continue tiling after day 1? The job can only be described as a mess,
did you not ask to look at some of her work prior to her starting? Not wanting to come across as harsh but that's the 1st thing I be asking before I let someone loose on something that mattered to me,
what ever excuses she's using its pony, rule number 1 for me when pricing a job is check walls for plumb and straightness and floors for level so I can quote for the right amount of materials and the right amount of prep work,
good luck

 

[Gazzer]

As said before I would come out but its too far really. Someone still has to pay for my time and costs.
Best way find a local tiler but then I guess thats what you thought last time !

 

[charlie1]

Going by the pics, I'd say the whole job is a wright off! You can change a tile that looks off.but all you do is move the problem (lippage) to another part of the tile. A lot of novice "tilers" can be caught out when doing a brick bond installation because they don't understand how if differs from a straight bond installation. 2 factors need to be considered when doing a brick bond installation, 1, setting out but the second factor to be considered (and the most important one) is the "plane" of the tiles must be true! , this is why you are seeing what appears to be bowed tiles!!! My guess is, when she started tiling she did not set the plane of the tiles by using a large level across the face of the tiles, you can get away with it on a normal installation but not brick bond

 

[sparkle333]

im not a tiler and to me it didnt look too bad, its like anything if you dont know about any job you wouldnt know whats right or not,i did think the thin cuts looked odd but thought that was how it was supposed to be cos she said walls were out, it was only when i was sitting in the bath day 3 of her tiling that i noticed a few mistakes, then took a closer look, then ex came next day and said it wasnt great, the floor tiles didnt break til after day 3 anyway, she did this mon to weds last wk and was coming back sat to finish but has an injury and never got back. so im left with it about 3/4 done an wondering where to go from here really

 

[sparkle333]

my step dad has tiled my kitchen with metro tiles in brick style and hes just a diy chap and hes done better job than her which is really quite shocking, unfortunately he lives in turkey so wasnt around to do this for me

 

[afright]

I,d love to see her plastering
she,s just a cowboy

No shes a cowgirl.

 

[sparkle333]

shes getting extremely nasty now and calling me a liar etc, its upsetting me and stressing me out now , how people can turn to defend their shoddy work amazes me lol

 

[Gazzer]

No point getting upset over it. You have proof of shoddy workmanship.

I will say though that we are taking your word for all this. After all we dont know if "she" mentioned the dodgy walls etc before commencing the tiling and you may have said no to a re plaster etc and instructed her to "just tile ".
Please do not read that as I am saying you havent told the truth but only that we have only heard one side of the story.

 

[afright]

I think you will need legal advice on this,the pictures are just shocking I can not see how she can justify herself and as for calling you a lair,she know's that she's messed up and will blame everything on the walls,tiles and even you but not herself.

 

[AETilingFloorin]

Ring your local citizens advice and speak to them, its free and under the advice section on their website it says 'The Citizens Advice consumer service provides free, confidential and impartial advice on issues around buying goods or services. This includes being treated unfairly by a trader, receiving a poor service'.

Take all your evidence with you and see what they say.

 

[sparkle333]

i know there are 2 sides to every story, she didnt say walls needed skimming til half way through job although now due to my complaint saying she did from the beginning which isnt true and if they did need skimming why did she take the job on and start it , that doesnt make sense . there are lots of other issues that have been done by carelessness even if walls were slightly out, one wall was newly boarded and even the tiles on that are not completely flat ive got some pics if you want to see these .

shes trying everything she can to get out of this and now saying dr has said shes not fit to work in this type of work again , very strange all of a sudden

im not in the habit of lying i am an honest person and tried to be as honest as possible

 

[sparkle333]

ive tried all day to get hold of trading standards but they are busy and put on hold for ages every time , ill have to keep trying over the next few days til i get through

i do appreciate everyones comments and help thx

 

[Gazzer]

Calm down 😉, no one is saying you are lying . I just find it strange that a plasterer would not see the walls were bad from the start. In my mind if I were the plasterer I would spot it straight away and go for prep work before tiling.....madness not to !

 

[sparkle333]

i agree with you, and when i said that to her she said cos the plumber was putting in bathroom at the time and carpenter doing the cupboard they were in the way to have a proper look , shes actually apologised to me at last after i said ive taken legal advice, ive managed to get hold of trading standards and they have told me shes in breach of contract of goods and services act due to the fact she hasnt completed job with care and skill, and i have to put this in writing to her to try and claim for damages, once iv got another quote etc

 

[Gazzer]

Well thats something but still leaves you with the mess !

 

[sparkle333]

indeedy and trying to find someone else and if its needs completely redoing got to find that money til i get if off her which could take ages :-( so im hoping that some of it can be salvaged and worked around even if some bits are not perfect but way better than it is now, i think i can cope with a few of the lipping areas etc, just not the sunk in borders and out of alignment tiles, and the thin edges are a bit annoying too

 

[CJ]

Trouble is, it's finding someone else who is willing to try and make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Not many would even consider accepting a job like it. Sorry!!

If the whole job need scrapping and re-doing, then the only option is to sue her for the total cost, which wouldn't be easy, and could be a lengthy procedure.

 

[sparkle333]

Trouble is, it's finding someone else who is willing to try and make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Not many would even consider accepting a job like it. Sorry!!

If the whole job need scrapping and re-doing, then the only option is to sue her for the total cost, which wouldn't be easy, and could be a lengthy procedure.

yep and this is where I don't have the time or money to do this, I think im going to have to try and find someone that will correct some of the real big mistakes and try and accept the wonky walls, thin cuts etc, or it could be mths fighting this out and leaving with my bathroom not finished, no shower and possible more breakage to floor tiles left ungrouted and vulnerable, its very stressful

 

[Mr Tiler]

yep and this is where I don't have the time or money to do this, I think im going to have to try and find someone that will correct some of the real big mistakes and try and accept the wonky walls, thin cuts etc, or it could be mths fighting this out and leaving with my bathroom not finished, no shower and possible more breakage to floor tiles left ungrouted and vulnerable, its very stressful

the reason setting out the tiles befo4re hand is so important before starting is if you have a small cut you have to take the lot down and start again. the small cuts cant be rectified without the lot or at least a whole wall coming down. scrap and restart get that ex of yours to rip it out for his daughters sake if he is any kind of father.

 

[sparkle333]

the reason setting out the tiles befo4re hand is so important before starting is if you have a small cut you have to take the lot down and start again. the small cuts cant be rectified without the lot or at least a whole wall coming down. scrap and restart get that ex of yours to rip it out for his daughters sake if he is any kind of father.

that's the problem he isn't that great a father, shes getting bullied and hes doing nothing to help so I cant see him doing this for me, but that's another issue, then I will have to order and pay for a whole wall of tiles, Im running out of money as allocated ex amount for each room In the house as whole house needed doing . I think I need someone that is an experienced tiler to come and look and tell me what they think and give me a price , then once I get a price ill know what I can afford.

the latest email from her says you get what you paid for I gave you a cheap price for this job, she really is something else lol

 

[Mr Tiler]

that's your proof of poor care then. print that email and show it too trading standards/citizens advice and see what they have to say.