Hi,
I've posted her before and everyone was very friendly and helpful.
I am fighting a case with a tiler who did poor works for me. I am now at the final stage where the a final question is being asked.

I had a calcium sulphate Gyvlon screed laid on underfloor heating. It was left to dry for the specified time.

The tiler wiped over PVA and then laid tiles with no other preparation and now all tiles are hollow.

The tiler says it's my fault as I should of told him which screed was used and how it should have been prepped. My arguement is that I am not a specialist in tiling and the responsibility lies with him to know what products he was working with and prepare the floors correctly ie; sanding of the laitence etc.

TTA states floors should be laid with British Standards. Does anybody have a document form TTA or British Standards that states the tiler is responsible for knowing these fact and/or preparing properly and not myself? It's a minefield when you're not sure what you're looking for.
The tiler says it's not his fault as I didn't inform it was a specialist screed. I say I had no idea that different screeds require different preparation as I am not from the industry and he should have advised me on this.

If I can quote from either of these documents I think I can finally win this after spending £8k and 6 months of tiresome upset.

Thank you in advance
Lisa

Hi yes do remember http://www.tilersforums.co.uk/new-me...ht=#post496254 not sure were you stand but someone should have a copy of the standards.just one question was the floor heating commissioned before tiles were laid
thanks

Originally Posted by lisamahey

The tiler wiped over PVA and then laid tiles with no other preparation and now all tiles are hollow.


Lisa

that doesn't sound good

At present there are no BS standards for calcium substrates but BS 8204 screed installations and BS 8203 for moisture levels to receive floor coverings do cover these screeds.

The tiling side is BS 5385 but again i don't think tiling to calcium substrates has been added yet but there is info on the drying times and commissioning of heated screeds and the RH readings that should be achieved before tiling can commence etc.

Either way PVA is not a suitable primer....

hi lisa at the end of the day its the tilers responsibilty to check the substrate id adequate for tiling onto and how to deal with it accordingly

not the customers.

good luck i hope it gets sorted

british standards do not usually dictate who is responsible for different parts of a contract and they certainly don't dictate that a particular tradesman e.g. in ths case the tiler, must have the necessary knowledge to do their job.

This particular aspect is dealt with in contract law and I beleive specifically under the provision of goods and services legislation which says that a contractor must have the necessary expertise and skill to carry out a contract correctly otherwise he will be deemed to have been negligent in accepting the contract in the first place.

You are presumably a private householder and as such cannot demonstrate expertise in tiling a floor. Whilst it is reasonable to expect that you would have said to the tiler that you wanted him to tile your floor. You would nbot be expected to know that there are different types of floor necessarily and that each has its own requirements in terms of preparation.

It is making my blood boil somewhat today because this is one of numerous occasions in the recent few weeks that I have come across tiles delaminating from a screed due to the tiler "not knowing what sort of screed it was". Sorry but this is fundamental to operating a skilled trade. All tilers these days ought to know that there are many types of screed around and each needs to be treated in its own way. Calcium sulphate screeds have been around for a long long time and the information about them is easily available.

I have run numerous training sessions in the last few years, one even for members of this forum, for tilers and I always say that, when a client asks you to tile a screed, the first question you should ask is not how much are you going to pay me and when can I start but "what type of screed is it"...... It is not a reasonable excuse and would certainly not form a defence in law for a tiler to say "I did not know what sort of screed it was" ..he should know!!! Likewise it would not be a suitable defence for a client to say "I don't know what sort of screed it is either" - if the tiler has asked and you have mis informed him then it is in my opinion your fault, if however he has not asked the question then he should foot the bill.......either way PVA is not a suitable primer for a floor screed to be tiled.

You could get an independent assesment to help you but this would cost more money still but my advice would be to write to your tiler and say that you hold him responsible and that he should come and fix the problem. put some timescales on it and then see what happens. If nothing happens seek legal advice about running it through the small claims court.

The tiling association have a document available called tiling to calcium sulphate screeds which they can no doubt send to you. It is in the process of re writing at the moment and the old document is a little out of date but it still covers the essentials.

end of rant by the way.....