Tta Review In Tsj

[On one]

Anyone read Gary Walsh's review of the TTA and the TTA's reply in the Tile & Stone Journal?

Nothing of any substance to refute the claim that the TTA does nothing for tile fixers,
.......in essence,a long wordy reply which ignores some of questions Mr Walsh has raised?
me thinks the TTA,just doesn't gelt it.

 

[White Room]

I read it and thought Gary made some good points but the reply didn't fill me with joy to be honest.

 

[Ian]

Is there a link to it at all?

 

[On one]

Hopefully someone will put up a link
I only have the paper copy!

 

[Spud]

The debate was started last month by Mike Mansell who argues the contractors should have their own association which concentrates on the needs and interests of the tile fixers as per the Australians done he suggested that at the moment in its current form the TTA only benefits the big boys who have members on the board
I am not knocking the hard working individuals of the TTA who many give up their own free time I seconded what Mike stated in his arguement , I genuinely feel the TTA could do a whole lot more for tilers and tiling contractors , the reply in the journal stated that one of the TTA key achievements was the fact that 10 lads got through their nvq level 2 wall and floor tiling quail action last year
10 apprentice tilers in a country of 65,000,000 people is not an achievement in my humble opinion
I won't say any more on it as it's not fair if they can't reply here

 

[J Sid]

Surely a place like this is exactly where the tta should be engaging with us tilers !

 

[Spud]

Surely a place like this is exactly where the tta should be engaging with us tilers !

The TTA have been asked many times to represent themselves on the forums but are not interested Julian , I raised it several times at some of the events and every time it was dismissed and the response is there is too much poor advice given on them lol
The main problem is the board , the committees have no power and they are not allowed to talk to each other , the minutes are taken by the secretary and any suggestions are given to to the board who decide on what happens
Social media and the internet is the new tilers/ tiling association
I can discuss tiling specification with tilers in Australia and the USA on tile geeks get product feedback and specification from the best in the world through this forum and Facebook

 

[gamma38]

I think most governing bodies in this country need to wake up and not just take fees but do nothing. I have been a member of a few over the years and they all promise this and that but I haven't yet received one thing from them. I am currently not affiliated to anyone of them, I have been thinking of joining the TTA but i'm not so sure. Can anyone give me a reason to join??

 

[Spud]

You will get the odd job off their website

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

as a member of the gpc for years i can say with out any dout they think all tilers are a waste of time .and have no itrested in you apart from milking you .think you are a bunch of mugs not worth listerning to .never once have they had tilers test new products and give there view .when they did on there own were threatened with being throw out .and as for looking out for tilers when the dural matting went wrong they kept it to them selfs .and fibara glass backed tiles they did the same.members only .how is that looking after tilers or shops if you are looking after the tiling world every one in it should have know. members and none members alike .i joined to make a diffrence i left you can work it out .

 

[thompsonbrown]

Dont mince your words Ray.

 

[One Day]

Anyone here fancy discussing setting up an association? Seriously. Tta isn't going to change to meet the needs of tile fixers. A clear division is needed between industry and individuals. I cancelled my membership last year after explaining concisely and clearly why i was dissatisfied. I received a very poor generic response. I know for certain there are at least half a dozen very experienced guys on here who are at a stage in life where they could take this on...

 

[Italy]

The TTA have been asked many times to represent themselves on the forums but are not interested Julian , I raised it several times at some of the events and every time it was dismissed and the response is there is too much poor advice given on them lol
The main problem is the board , the committees have no power and they are not allowed to talk to each other , the minutes are taken by the secretary and any suggestions are given to to the board who decide on what happens
Social media and the internet is the new tilers/ tiling association
I can discuss tiling specification with tilers in Australia and the USA on tile geeks get product feedback and specification from the best in the world through this forum and Facebook

posso discutere specifiche piastrelle con piastrellisti in Australia e gli Stati Uniti in geek piastrelle ottenere un feedback di prodotto e le specifiche del migliore del mondo attraverso questo forum e Facebook.....
Italian cowboy , forget ???

 

[One Day]

Ok, I just finished reading Gary's letter and the rather poor response from Ian Crowther.
(You certainly didn't hold back there Gary!)
I'm going to start a thread on this subject later this evening because it's started an itch again that I had when I left the TTA. But one thing Ian Crowther replied which shows the validity of Gary's claims:

"There are no manufacturers of thin porcelain in the UK, but the TTA technical committee was certainly consulted and participated in ISO TR17870 Part 2"

- I don't know about anyone else, but I take that to read as follows:

"If there were any UK manufacturers (ideally sitting on our board) then we would have done more than a half-baked, vague and generic job of it. And we certainly didn't consult any experienced fixers of thin porcelain or experienced retailers because, let's face it they have no technical expertise whatsoever - and they're all uneducated plebs aren't they?"

Honestly - the whole response simply illustrates how far out of touch the TTA is and how poorly they listen.
(pro-tip: Hearing and listening are very different skills)

 

[Qwerty]

Here it is for those that don't get TSJ.....

 

[One Day]

Any copyright issues doing that though??

 

[Qwerty]

Any copyright issues doing that though??

What, photographing a publicly distributed magazine?

 

[One Day]

What, photographing a publicly distributed magazine?

I'd hope not but if they get spikey... Just a thought anyway.

 

[Qwerty]

No different to the morning news readers showing pictures of the daily newspapers

 

[One Day]

Ok ok I'm just paranoid!

 

[MTiler]

I wasnt impressed by their response to Garys points. It didnt encourage me to join which Ive been thinking of doing. Wasnt impressed by the fact that all the board members work for manufacturers, where's the tilers and contractors?

 

[On one]

Now I have no axe to grind with Ian Crowther or the TTA,but his reply(and he would have had spent plenty of time and thought in to it prior to going to print) sounds very much like politician speak along the lines of.........
''I don't like the disparaging tone of the question, I will talk long and hard about the points which puts the TTA in a good light whilst totally disregarding the areas which the TTA need to pull their socks up''

I can only see the TTA subscription figures going one way!

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

when i put the question to the tta about one of there members selling water proof grout and adhesive in a bucket
at bq that was a total lie only to fool the the public brushed under the carpet when i said all comitees should have the reports from the other shared so we all know whats going on .total blank .when any one of commitetes put things forward total blank from the board . when i bought forward when i was at voting for awards most were to busy texsting to be bothered and voted on the best pictures i new then that this was a waste of time .and the best have walked away .and they all joined to make a diffrenece but never once did the board listern .there are good companys who have tried and put money and time in free of charge to change things for the better for the tiling world but those on the board total disregarded all of us .fit for purpose not fit to lick our boots .

 

[MTiler]

They come across as a bunch of stuffed suits who dont give a monkeys.

If TTA are going to be at the Tile Show in Harrogate in Sept it might be worth going to question them.

 

[One Day]

You know what guys? We could form our own association. We don't need "industry" to take the lead in it.
The fixers and retailer could do this and if it's done right - industry would want to dance to our tune for a change.
Personally - I'm sick of being looked down on as a tiler.
Why the heck does a manufacturer or lab rat know more about fixing thin porcelain than one of us? They don't!
We deal with life in the real world and need a "real world" association.

 

[White Room]

What's always surprised me is you see technical books on bricklaying, plastering,plumbing etc and only tilers books tend to be for the diy which seems to drop the trade into that category which we all know is ********.

 

[One Day]

What's always surprised me is you see technical books on bricklaying, plastering,plumbing etc and only tilers books tend to be for the diy which seems to drop the trade into that category which we all know is ********.

i have a copy of Caxton's wall and floor tiling from 1919! What we need is another version.

 

[White Room]

i have a copy of Caxton's wall and floor tiling from 1919! What we need is another version.

Might be pushing it...1919

 

[Rizzle from the Portizzle]

ok whats needed to register an association .anybody know i will ask my number cruncher on monday

 

[One Day]

ok whats needed to register an association .anybody know i will ask my number cruncher on monday

much easier than setting up a company. Just a mission statement and a few willing bods. There's loads of info online on how to do it...