Advice needed - removing tiles from backer board after bad job - Tile Advice

[gmt1981]

Hi guys,

After spending time carefully prepping a small ensuite with backer board, a local tiler (pro - not just a jack of all trades) has done a good job on the walls but has messed up the floor.

The narrow walls are plumb straight, but the back wall is not. For some reason the tiler has used the back wall as a base so the tiles are crooked, with narrowing and widening cuts on both sides as per the photo.

Without coming round to check, the tiler knew what I was talking about and offered to sort it. It seems he realised it was going off in one direction but just carried on as the adhesive had started to set. I was in at the time and had spare tiles so wish he had just stopped and checked with me to see if I was happy.

Anyway, he's coming round on Monday as this is the only day he's available all month. I suspect he will try to do the job in one day but I'm concerned that the backer board will be destroyed when trying to remove the tiles and adhesive. Does anyone have any experience of doing this and tips.

I used no more ply which was glued and screwed to the floorboards.

Is it reasonable to expect him to cover the cost of the replacement materials (ca. £70), as although I can be a perfectionist, I don't think I'm being fussy here?

Also, if the backer boards have to be replaced, how long after priming can the tiles be laid?

Many thanks
Graham

 

[Ian]

Could have set them out better definitely, are the tiles square in the doorway? I assume the room isn't square?

 

[gmt1981]

The tiles by the doorway are deeper one side than the other. The left and right walls are square, but the back wall is possibly out a bit but that shouldn't have made much of a difference, especially as I made it clear the far end (in the photo) would be covered by boxing

 

[White Room]

On the left hand side is that where hardie was used...

 

[gmt1981]

On the left hand side is that where hardie was used...

The backer board was used over the entire floor

 

[gmt1981]

In his defence he has done a great job on the wall tiles - I just think he had a slight moment on the floor

 

[White Room]

Are you putting anything against the brick wall..units etc.

 

[gmt1981]

Are you putting anything against the brick wall..units etc.

Sink and pedestal, plus a toilet on the back wall

 

[White Room]

My way of thinking is....I like to have a good size tile to doorways if pos, if he had moved over the tile to the doorway to the right in the setting out the cutting of the tile on the left hand side where the pipe comes out the floor would possibly break as he was fixing due to a small cut into the tile.

 

[Andy Allen]

Looking at the photos the room seems well out of square if he squared off the back wall the doorway would look awful.

 

[AliGage]

I personally don't think hes done a bad job at all.
The small cut to the brick wall isnt ideal, but, in a room thats clearly out of square and such a small space too, the slightest deviation will stand out.

However, consider how you're going to use this room. If the cuts in the doorway were straightened to the door wall then you'd be stood in the shower and the grout lines would look peed looking out of the shower. To which I think would be 100 times worse. Youre not going to walk in to a cloakroom staring right down at your feet are you?

Who built the studwork around the shower?

 

[gmt1981]

Perhaps I'm not explaining it clearly enough, or its just something I'm being fussy about. However, if you stand in the shower the grout lines don't point straight ahead but slightly to the left, with cuts getting smaller on the wall to the left, and cuts getting bigger to the wall on the right.
The small cuts by the brick wall don't bother me as they will be covered by boxing anyway.

How can you tell the walls are out? From a layman's point of view, it looks like the whole lot would have looked straight if he had worked off either the door or brick wall.

The timer admitted himself to that it was out, so whilst I do welcome further discussion does anyone also know how easy it is to remove the old tiles without damaging the backer board?
Many thanks

 

[AliGage]

Maybe I need another coffee and then have another look.

 

[widler]

If you straighten off the brick wall it will look massivly out in the doorway. It looks out both ways if you know what i mean
But if you insist on taking them up, hammer , bolster and hit em .
2 ways they will come up
1 in pieces
2 fully
All depends on how well they are stuck

 

[John Benton]

So what you're saying is when stood in the shower the grout line is not running at 90 degrees to the tray. From what you have said it can only run at either 90 degrees to the tray or parallel with either door wall or back wall, the tiler couldn't make all of those 3 things happen.