Been to do an estimate

[medlar]

got a phone call last night to go and give an estimate.Got there today about 4pm,went into the bathroom to see what the job was,small shower enclosure,2 walls,approx 5.75 m2,to be tiled with 400x200 cheap ceramic tiles,the enclosure has just been built by the brother of the customer out of plaster board,
anyway to cut a long story short i quoted her £200 fully inclusive,the woman just laughed at me and said i was trying to rip her off,and proceded to show me an estimate form another tiler,£100 including addy,grout and spacers.
I asked where in the quotation was the price of the tanking," It dont need tanked the other tiler told me as he was going to PVA (now i started laughing quite loudly) the wall prior to tiling.I explained about PVA,and about tanking,still i was trying to rip her off.
I gave her the web addy for Tilers Forums and asked her to come on and ask questions,i also explained that i do not like being called a rip off merchant and explained also that i NOW had NO wish to take on her job,but would she please come on here and find out about the work this young bloke is going to do

Jimmy

 

[kilty55]

fair enough someone else is doing it cheaper but shes clearly just an ignorant beeatch laughing and accusing you off being a rip of merchant,,,if the other tiler was doingh it for 100 quid shes obviously wanting it done for nothing if shes not happy with a 100 quid quote....now whos the rip of merchant

 

[kilty55]

before i started tiling 6 months ago i honestly never knew these kind of people existed,ive met plenty just the same as yours mate along the way:83: hehe

 

[BDS]

Please lets hope she does then maybe we can all politely enlighten her on doing the job properly by a real tiler and not by a bodge it and scarper wanna be.:rant:

 

[medlar]

there is no way i could do that job for £100 inc addy,grout,tanking system etc.
TBH i dont think anyone could/would,even if they had spare gear lying around

 

[Gazzer]

The customer is only thinking £££s in the short term its a bargain. But does the customer know what adhesive and grout will be used? I doubt it all they hear is £££s
I do have to say though that tanking domestic low use showers is still not very popular. As long as the shower is not over used and has time to dry betweeen uses then all should be fine. Its been that way for 31 of my tiling years. When i give the client the option of tanking and explain why it should be done i get asked " how many of the showers you have tiled have had problems "...I have to answer " None that i know to" .
So i can see their point of view, i generally leave them with " you wont have an accident while driving, but you will still have insurance amd wear your seat belt wont you".
For the cost of tanking its well worth it IMO....educating the customer is hard to do.

 

[BDS]

i for one wouldn`t for defo...£150 plus mats for me end of.

 

[medlar]

Sorry Sir Ramic,i forgot to mention the reason for the shower is that they have 5 kids,3 are boys and always playing football on the field outside their house and she says it costs a fortune to keep running baths,so i assume the shower is going to be in continual use

 

[Gazzer]

In that case then she is asking for problems in the (not too) distant future.
Of course i am sure if she does view this site...or any other form of such info, she will probably say we are all rip off merchants :smash:

 

[doug boardley]

even if the other guy was doing it by the book, she should have said that she would be in touch and then politely declined your services. I absolutely hate bad manners. It costs nothing to be polite.:rant:

 

[medlar]

hey guys 1 point no one seems to have picked up on
" the guy is going to use PVA to waterproof the wall prior to tiling"
Anyone think he is a tiler???????????????????????
Not me ha ha ha

 

[Daz]

I advise customers of tanking and the benefits, but don't insist unless they expect me to tile onto chipboard or MDF.

As per Sir Ramic, I've not ben advised of or come across any failures so it's hard to insist without evidence.

I would, however, emphasise that PVA is a big NO, NO, and only the Lone Ranger would consider using it! As sWe has advised..."it is wood glue".

 

[doug boardley]

I'm sure we all saw it jimmy!

 

[DHTiling]

WELL MEDLAR..... phone the lady back up and tell her you will do it for £80 all in.......book the job in and then don't turn up......:santa_cheesy:.........ooops that was my evil side then...:dizzy2:

 

[medlar]

WELL MEDLAR..... phone the lady back up and tell her you will do it for £80 all in.......book the job in and then don't turn up......:santa_cheesy:.........ooops that was my evil side then...:dizzy2:

Sorry Dave but i am not that nasty,i even appologised for laughing when she mentioned the PVA,but not once did i get shirty with her

 

[DHTiling]

I was joking of course.lol lol..

 

[CJ]

You can't help but HOPE these kind of jobs ends up a total disaster....then serve them right...........

 

[Gazzer]

To be honest i am getting fed up with having to explain the PVA thing to all clients and builders i work for. I always get them telling me that they always use it or the other tiler used it or the shop said to use it.
"It my reputation so humour me and let me use my primer, it will cost no more than any PVA."
i have thought of printing a page off and showing them but i know they wouldnt read it.

 

[david campbell]

:8::83:£100, if she started getting shirty with me i would have walked out with my head held high and my dignity intact! even with trade prices you would be lucky to make £30 from that,no doubt you'll get a call in a few months when the new tiling looks 30 year,then you have the dilemma(spell check),do i go go back or tell her where to stick her job,or fill up a day or 2 in my diary!!!!

 

[graham31]

Sir Ramic i was just thinking the very same thing(printing something off for clients to read)for when they come across these PVA users to set them straight.

Here's a thought obviously the PVA man gave his quote 1st then Medlar got in and gave his quote.I wonder if Medlar got in 1st and told the customer the right materials to use and the cost of the job,if she would have then laughed at PVA man for giving his materials and costs.Or would she have accepted his explanation cause he was cheaper?But not Medlar cause he was dearer

I talk to a plaster who uses PVA and that what he's been told to use.I say it's not right and explain why.but he says it's right,i wonder if it's different in plastering?

 

[Gazzer]

PVA Tiling= WRONG
PVA Plastering= OK ( i think) i am a tiler not plasterer

 

[graham31]

Maybe if there's any plasters that are members they could en lights us.I would have thought your plastering onto the PVA in the same way you would be putting the adhesive onto it

 

[david campbell]

who cares about plasterers?,i'm in the middle of a job where i'm going to make his work seem better than it is!!! because you can't see it! ha ha!:veryangry:

 

[DHTiling]

I don't think plasterers should be using it either......they should be using a bonding agent..something like sbr IMO....

Can't wait for the replies as to WHY they should use it...lol lol

 

[doug boardley]

am keeping quiet on it!! no I'm not. If it's wrong for plasterers to use pva, and we used to give rendered walls a splash not a soaking of it, why have plasterers not been otherwise educated?

 

[DHTiling]

C,mon doug...we know you is a plasterer..lol lol.....WHY!! pva.....

 

[graham31]

yeah come on Doug en lighting us

 

[beanz]

then you have the dilemma(spell check),do i go go back or tell her where to stick her job,or fill up a day or 2 in my diary!!!!

No dilemna (i'm not sure i can spell it either lol!?!) for me.. Take the job, it's just business, not personal... Although getting to see her grovel a little won't hurt. 😀

 

[david campbell]

:dizzy2:your prob right,but when she calls i'd up my price to £250,you know the old saying"buy cheap,buy dear"! ha ha ha ha !(sorry got a bit carried away):dizzy2:

 

[doug boardley]

honestly I have no idea why we used it, we were just told that it was a primer come retardant,when you were young in my day you did as you were told!! ps not done any plastering for over 5 years now, but i believe thistlebond is aqueous rather than acrylic too,(but couldn't swear to it!)

 

[DHTiling]

am keeping quiet on it!! no I'm not. If it's wrong for plasterers to use pva, and we used to give rendered walls a splash not a soaking of it, why have plasterers not been otherwise educated?

Well doug..with Tilers being the elite of the 2 trades we get all the good advise first......🙂

I know a lot of trades that are big believers in PVA....it's not until one is told about the reasons behind it that they change there minds....

This could be the reason why so many jobs i am on the skim has come away from the base coat...or even some re-skims do this....


I do know some plasterers that don't use pva though..they use sbr or similar...