Help... is this the right way to tile my bathroom?

[bunnycd]

Would really like some advice peeps ***

I had an unfortunate experience with a tiler (I dont think he was one really) I employed this guy to tile my bathroom, he put the tiles on with unibond with 5 dabs and it never bonded after 48 hours the tiles started to fall off from a great height, one even smashed near my babies head so after that I was scared and sacked him and I took the decision to find someone else.

Now, the new guy has said he has 30 years experience and I have followed up his reference but I am a bit worried, he said that my walls are not good enough to tile straight onto and recommended that he puts plasterboard on the walls prior to tiling, is this the right thing to do? I have included photos of my bathroom below but wanted to know what you think? Is there anything I should look out for, is putting plasterboard all over the walls before tiling the right way to go? He also said the wall above bathroom needs plasterboard but this looks ok to me, what do you think?:

 

[bunnycd]

I called him and also left a message on his phone, he said because I emailed him regarding getting it tanked he spent all morning looking into this and just forgot to call me, surely if he was any good he would have known about tanking, as he said he has tiled 100s of bathrooms. His wife called me as I left a message on their home number and he said that he told her he was coming back from Worcester...ummm no as he did not show up so I think he lied to her. Not looking good. I have a receipt for the money I gave him but no home address but his wife sounded decent enough. His reference said he likes to drink, so maybe he had an appointment with the local pub! He said he will come tomorrow at 8am to do it but I am having second thoughts, what do you think?

 

[paul78]

never ever pay a tradesman for materials up front!!!!!

if hes genuine he will pick the correct materials up himself then you pay him on day 1 of the job for materials, doesnt sound promising so far. Especially when he needs to look up tanking .........

REPORT HIM!!!!!!!

 

[kilty55]

never ever pay a tradesman for materials up front!!!!!

if hes genuine he will pick the correct materials up himself then you pay him on day 1 of the job for materials, doesnt sound promising so far. Especially when he needs to look up tanking .........

REPORT HIM!!!!!!!

pardon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! paul that is a bold statement and completely innacurate

if he is to come round tommorow to start then he should have either the money you gave him or the materials you paid him for

my advice if i was in your shoes and having lost faith in him would be let him have the opportunity to hand back the money or the materials for the job.
then tell him you do not want him to proceed with the job

dont call the police at this stage as they will do nothing,

 

[Del W]

As kilty

 

[charlie1]

never ever pay a tradesman for materials up front!!!!!

if hes genuine he will pick the correct materials up himself then you pay him on day 1 of the job for materials, doesnt sound promising so far. Especially when he needs to look up tanking .........

REPORT HIM!!!!!!!

Hi Paul, I always take small payment before I will even agree to put a job in my diary, buying materials for a job then customer calling to say they are no longer having it done at short notice will ever happen to me again!!

 

[TTT]

Did he ever come round? Did he start the job? I must admit that im still amazed by the amount of plumbers builders and tilers that have never heard of tanking!

 

[williamraff]

Did he ever come round? Did he start the job? I must admit that im still amazed by the amount of plumbers builders and tilers that have never heard of tanking!

Don't be - I have worked with newly qualified RICS Surveyors and Builders with 30+ years experience who do not recognise the term or understand the principles of tanking.
I have had to explain the principles and reasoning behind tanking to NHS and Local Authority Estates Managers.

 

[bunnycd]

I think he got drunk on my materials money, not seen the bloke since, no refund given, angry at myself for giving him money upfront, never again! Thinking about it, I think it was a con, saying oh all walls need plasterboarding to get money upfront then without doing the job, bet he does it all the time. I have had quotes and aparently only 2 walls need plasterboarding and the rest will be PVC bonded, so he did not know what he was doing.

 

[bunnycd]

I only have an email address for him and this is my email to him:

Hi Stephen,

We were very disappointed that you did not arrive or let us know you were not going to complete the bathroom job as agreed on Friday 13th of May , therefore, the cost of materials that I gave you in cash needs to be refunded to me, promptly.


Please can you send me a cheque or postal order made payable to E . Mills via recorded delivery within 7 days (by the 21st of May):


Please e-mail me the tracking number once you have posted the cheque.

Please send to <removed address>

Regards,

 

[Mike]

do you have his contact details ? address etc? is he not answering his phone? how did you hear about him and who was the reference off? i wouldn't let it go, i would chase him up and try get it back. how much did you give him btw ?

 

[charlie1]

Thats so bad! Call police! shocking! Tell me, why did you even think about hiring this guy when you heard he liked a drink (i think you said earlier one of his refs said this)??? red flag to me!

 

[paul78]

pardon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! paul that is a bold statement and completely innacurate

if he is to come round tommorow to start then he should have either the money you gave him or the materials you paid him for

my advice if i was in your shoes and having lost faith in him would be let him have the opportunity to hand back the money or the materials for the job.
then tell him you do not want him to proceed with the job

dont call the police at this stage as they will do nothing,

knew it was a con by reading between the lines, seen it time and time again.....REPORT HIM!!!!!!!!!!

 

[paul78]

do you have his contact details ? address etc? is he not answering his phone? how did you hear about him and who was the reference off? i wouldn't let it go, i would chase him up and try get it back. how much did you give him btw ?

exactly. how did you get his number..... of a van, in paper, friend etc. get someone else to ring him at a different address for a quote for a biggish job so he will turn up and when he turns up you got him!

 

[Olz]

I think he got drunk on my materials money, not seen the bloke since, no refund given, angry at myself for giving him money upfront, never again! Thinking about it, I think it was a con, saying oh all walls need plasterboarding to get money upfront then without doing the job, bet he does it all the time. I have had quotes and aparently only 2 walls need plasterboarding and the rest will be PVC bonded, so he did not know what he was doing.

I think you mean PVA in which case I wouldn't use this third tiler either PVA has no place in tiling!


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[paul78]

agree, if any tiler mentions the use of PVA prior to tiling then politely show them the door

 

[TTT]

PVA bonded now thats a term i cringe at especially off a tiler! Also like the one no need to tank i just use waterproof PVA! Seriously Bunny if you want a decent tiler who knows their stuff and their work checked out look on the tile association website you can easily find a tiler from your area and if need be contact the tile association direct. Also dont be afraid to ask the tiler to see their work first hand, ask them to arrange a veiwing at a previous job without the tiler there so you can get an honest opinion of them, have done this in the past to get jobs myself. Hope you dont get bitten a third time.

 

[diamondtiling]

PVA bonded now thats a term i cringe at especially off a tiler! Also like the one no need to tank i just use waterproof PVA! Seriously Bunny if you want a decent tiler who knows their stuff and their work checked out look on the tile association website you can easily find a tiler from your area and if need be contact the tile association direct. Also dont be afraid to ask the tiler to see their work first hand, ask them to arrange a veiwing at a previous job without the tiler there so you can get an honest opinion of them, have done this in the past to get jobs myself. Hope you dont get bitten a third time.

No need to go to the tile association whatsoever, there are plenty of pro tilers on this forum.

 

[TTT]

Yep but by the looks of things diamond no pro tiler on here from bunnys area are really helping that much. Tile Association is a good port of call for a credited tiler for anyone around the country.

 

[diamondtiling]

Yep but by the looks of things diamond no pro tiler on here from bunnys area are really helping that much. Tile Association is a good port of call for a credited tiler for anyone around the country.

We are giving as much help as is asked from us, if the member needs a tiler then one can be arranged through this forum. We have TTA members here as well and we can help without giving the work away to another tiler just because they are a member of a small association.

 

[bunnycd]

Most of the people that responded to my ad for a tiler were out of the area so a long wait and to get a tiler around here is a 4 week wait, I have small baby so cannot go any longer without the bathroom.

This guy has been personally recommended to me by a family member and I have seen photos of his work and he is also a qualified plumber and tiler but now I am worried about the bonding thing, it was the wall above the bath, I think he said he will scrape the paint off and put some bonding or adhesive or something on the wall - what do you think he should do on this wall? You can see where the 1st tiler put 5 dots on the tiles that fell off the wall (LOL) it's bloody comedy show my bathroom, first guy tiles drop off second guy getting plastered with the money to buy the plaster!

If the 3rd guy I have hired puts plasterboard on it then I would loose some edge around the bath. Here is the photo again:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[kilty55]

sorry bunny i am a bit lost,have you resolved themoney thing with the tiler you were talking about using in the 1st instance...has he re appeared?

 

[bunnycd]

sorry for the confusion:

Here is what has happend.

Tiler 1: put on 100 tiles in a day that fell of the walls after 48 hours. Tiles were wonky and looked appalling. Could remove tilers with little finger after 4 days. Not good.
Tiler 2: Guy came to quote and asked for materials money upfront to cover cost of plasterboard and I gave him the cash, never seen him again. Called his reference before giving money but he only got back to me after the guy had gone, and said he liked a drink so the bloke I think had an appointment with the pub. He got plastered on my plasterboard money.
Tiler 3: recommended by a number of people including family, going to start tomorrow, said it will take 5/6 days to complete he is expensive and is stripping down everything and taking off old tiles (as per my photos) but I thought he said he would not put plasterboard above the bath so I just asked for advice on what I can expect him to do. I think he said he will sand it or bond it first. I have viewed his work and looked good - straight tiles!

Need your advice: What would you do regarding the tiles above the bath in photo above?

 

[bunnycd]

sorry bunny i am a bit lost,have you resolved themoney thing with the tiler you were talking about using in the 1st instance...has he re appeared?

No he has vanished into the abis, at least I did not leave him alone in my house, my contents could have been nicked. I just looked at his business card and it has no home address! I will report him if my money does not turn up by the 21st and keep ringing him.

 

[kilty55]

okay thanks bunny,i hope tiler 3 works out well for you
keep us updated if you wish

 

[White Room]

No he has vanished into the abis, at least I did not leave him alone in my house, my contents could have been nicked. I just looked at his business card and it has no home address! I will report him if my money does not turn up by the 21st and keep ringing him.

I don't put my home address on my business cards but on all invoicing it's there.

 

[kilty55]

sorry bunny i cant see any tiles above the bath? its bare walls

 

[Mike]

if you have his mobile number you could get someone else to ring him to price a job at another address, then 'meet' him there. or you could put his mobile number on a few gay websites :lol::lol:

 

[DHTiling]

Bunny, plz do not swear in your posts, post 39 language removed


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[TTT]

Bunny with painted walls the paint really needs to come off as you want tile adhesive to be stuck to the plaster. Once the paint is off then the walls should be primed with a acrylic primer NOT PVA! Hope you get your money back from the 2nd so called tiler! Just out of interest did you give any money to the first so called tiler???

 

[bunnycd]

Bunny with painted walls the paint really needs to come off as you want tile adhesive to be stuck to the plaster. Once the paint is off then the walls should be primed with a acrylic primer NOT PVA! Hope you get your money back from the 2nd so called tiler! Just out of interest did you give any money to the first so called tiler???

No I felt sorry for him because he at least turned up but I think it was more complex for him, so I sacked him without payment.

 

[Paul]

Just a question on this from the experienced tilers if a situation arises like this where walls need reboarding and the shower tray was still in position could you cut out the old plasterboard above the shower and reboarding from that point or take the shower tray out and board from the floor to ceiling ?