Help!: Tiles look awful - what next?

[BikerJet]

Hiya all, hope someone can give me some advice.
Had 2 boxes of 300x600 floor tiles laid in my bathroom yesterday while I was out and when I got back they just look awful. Even though the 2 boxes had the same batch and serial numbers they were obviously different shades. 1 1/2 of the floor is cream the other brown.
While I can't understand for the life of me why the plumber didn't notice there was something odd about them and stop work my problem now is what to do next.

Is there any way I can get them up without damaging the underfloor heating below? By the time I got home the cement or whatever the adhesive is had set and I couldn't lift them.

Has anyone been known to get a tiling company to replace tiles that have already been laid??

I am so upset and don't know where to go from here. Obviously I can't afford to trash the whole floor and the underfloor heating and replace the lot but I don't want to live with a floor that looks awful.
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks,
Janet.

[faithhealer]

Hi Janet , sorry about your situation. Was your ufh covered in a self levelling compound or not? It it was there might be an outside chance of breaking up the wrong shade tiles but certainly not a job that somebody could undertake and guarantee that the ufh would be ok
Where are you based, where did you buy the tiles and I take it the plumber doesn't want to know!

[Oli]

Who bought the tiles and where from?

[burncross]

i bet the tiles were from B&Q or homebase or the likes?

[jay]

you need to lift tiles as soon as posible and carfully so as not to damage floor heating cant understand the diff if batch and serial match check date of run (match all numbers on boxes) unless shop repacked a box with old display stock does happen a lot be interested if plumber uas insurance for tiling let us know how it goes

[lawrenso]

At the very worst, keep the boxes and go back to shop and ask for an inspection and explain the situation. You have a risk of having a large consequential loss on this. Obviously though I would of thought whoever tiled the floor should of stopped after spotting the differences in the shades - especially if they are as different as you say. You might be able to get them to share the costs of rectification. Others on here will be able to advise you on the shops attitude if you post it up.....

Also, might be helpful for you claim if you take photo's of the display and check there is no disclaimers about color variations on the packageing/display

Good luck with it

Steve

[enduro]

At the very worst, keep the boxes and go back to shop and ask for an inspection and explain the situation. You have a risk of having a large consequential loss on this. Obviously though I would of thought whoever tiled the floor should of stopped after spotting the differences in the shades - especially if they are as different as you say. You might be able to get them to share the costs of rectification. Others on here will be able to advise you on the shops attitude if you post it up.....

Also, might be helpful for you claim if you take photo's of the display and check there is no disclaimers about color variations on the packageing/display

Good luck with it

Steve

You wont stand a chance of getting money back from tile retailers, as it is the customers responsibility to check tiles before fixing. I did a cream coloured floor tile last year, checked boxes and they where two different shade even though the boxes where the same batch, colour etc on box. Apparently they had a problem factory and shades got mixed up in packaging, so its down to the plumber on this one im sorry to say.

[Dave]

Hello Janet and welcome , sorry to hear abour your dilemma.

One of the first rules before fixing is to check the shades match on the cartons...

Once a tile is fixed by a tiler then the responsability for different shades with the retailer expires ...some times shading in the same batch can happen and you mix tiles from different cartons to achieve a suitable blend.

You need to contact him straight away and state your worries with the tiling and the issue about the difference in colours...

You did not tile the floor so you should not have to bare the burdon of cost here...IMO.

I can't see you getting the tiles up without some sort of damage..

Let us know what happens..

[mikethetile]

hi janet

down to tiler im afraid

good luck

mike

[BikerJet]

Thankyou so much for all your replies. I've taken some pics and am going to go to the tile shop tomorrow which incidentally is Tile Trend and see what they say. I rang the plumber in charge of the job as soon as I got home yesterday but other than advising me to try and lift the tiles with a kitchen spatula he was no help and couldn't believe there was a problem as he spoke to the tiler who said it was fine - argh! I just can't believe whats happened - having saved up for ages to do this job and the bathroom now looks worse than before. Feel like crying but drinking lots of wine instead.

I'm nervous about trying to smash some of the worst tiles in case the heating is damaged but there is no way I could get any of the tiles up just using a spatula.

Will let you know how I get on at the tile shop. :-(

Thanks again for the replies.

[Dave]

Janet...where are you....maybe one of our members might pop round and have a look to see if the ufh can be saved at least..?

[jay]

dont pull any up yet until you know which batch your supplier has to replace with leave it to your plumber

[timeless john]

Janet - it is not your responsibility to take up any of the tiles!
In fact it may harm any claim you have against the plumber if you do as he may say that you didn't allow him tme to put the job right at his own expense.
He has accepted the contract and subbed the work out to a 'tiler' and is ultimately accountable for the completed work. Keep the packaging, take the photos and and make sure you have all the receipts as this will udoutably go further. Any reputable firm would accept that there is a problem and act accordingly.
I would agree with Dave and see if you can get an independent opinion to strengthen your case.
John

[oldgit]

now im not 100% certain of this but im fairly certain and have had this happen with topps many many yrs ago.
the boxes may state that the responsibility of the makers ends if the tiles have been used,but many things that seem to cover the maker or retailer may seem legal but are infact total crap.
if the tiles are from the same batch and code then in your case the duty lies with the shop you got them from he is selling a product not fit for purpose.
although the tiler is at fault for using them legally he has no obligation at all unless he supplied them it would then be for him to go back to the shop and it would still be the shops responsibility in turn they go to the manufacturer.
i once did a job over the course of 3 weekends with tiles from topps,same batch same code,you could not see a difference in them, but once they were grouted there were 3 different colours this was at that time because each batch came off 3 conveyers and were glazed of fired a different times.
topps paid for everything replaster retile and tiles.
this was about 15 yr back.
the law has changed much since then and the said tiles are without any doubt unfit for purpose,lets just say the tiler/or yourself is colour blind is it his/your duty to make sure there the same,morally yes legally no.
you may however not be able to claim damages ie:the labour and adhesive but i would play up something rotten.
this used to happen with wallpaper all the time,same batch and code but on the wall different shade you wouldnt know it was wrong untill it was on the wall or in your case the floor.
id push for the total refund from the store but dont bother getting on the tilers case as he has no responsibility whatsoever LEGALLY you gave him tiles he put them down,morally he is in the wrong and could have prevented the whole situation but in law it aint his problem.

[kngjason]

unfortantly your be hard pressed to get anyone to except blame for this one. shop blames tiler for not stopping when he realised, tiler blames shop.saying he checked boxes, shades can be difficult to spot when tiles are wet. it's the plumbers 'job' he should carry the can overall he is the project manger. Chances are thou if all the above have been paid you wont see any off them again. Sorry dont shoot the messenger!!!. you could pull the tiles up easier if the heating has been latexed first, if not you really risk damaging heating. any of these options are goner cost you more money,more then likely the cost for all again! Do you have it in budget? i know its not want you want to hear could you put it down to experience and i feel awful saying it could you live with it maybe get a small rug. omg hate this sort of thing.

[albertjames]

a degree of shade variation is inherent in all ceramic tiles

you'll usually see this on the box somewhere

[SOTON STEVE]

I know a little about the retail side of things being an ex topps man. Allways make sure you take any packaging back to shop with photo's of your tiles. Allways speak to the store manager. He will then speak to his/her area manager, who should arrange a site visit. The responsibility does lay with the retailer as they supplied you with poor goods. From experiance, all retail outlets are scared of complaints and should (if they value customers) sort it all out for you.

[kilty55]

iv come across this a number of times even though the box says same batch etc etc,,i find mixing and shufling the tiles gives a good final finish on certain situations especially stone and lighter porcelain tiles which have varied colour finishes

[kngjason]

going with kilty 55 on this one. Rule of thumb always check batch numbers etc. Tip is to not take all from one box open several and take from each before laying

[BikerJet]

I agree totally - had the tiler mixed the light and dark tiles up it perhaps wouldn't have been quite so bad - it maybe would have looked like it was supposed to have 2 diff coloured tiles however he obviously hasn't which means 1/2 the bathroom is cream and 1/2 brown! I accept there are degrees of shade variation in tiles but these are so different one batch is almost white and the other is an oak brown. I've taken photos and am going to go to the shop this morning with the empty boxes.

Thanks for the advice - its much appreciated as I've never been in this situation before and its difficult to know what to do next.
Janet.

[faithhealer]

I agree totally - had the tiler mixed the light and dark tiles up it perhaps wouldn't have been quite so bad - it maybe would have looked like it was supposed to have 2 diff coloured tiles however he obviously hasn't which means 1/2 the bathroom is cream and 1/2 brown! I accept there are degrees of shade variation in tiles but these are so different one batch is almost white and the other is an oak brown. I've taken photos and am going to go to the shop this morning with the empty boxes.

Thanks for the advice - its much appreciated as I've never been in this situation before and its difficult to know what to do next.
Janet.

good luck today, let us know how you get on

[nellyb]

I would have thought that even though the tiles have been put down, the shop are still liable if they are in fact faulty. I would think that their liability would only extend to the cost of replacing the tiles though and not any other costs such as fitting/underfloor heating, etc. I would have thought that some of the responsibility has to lie not only with the retailer but also with you the customer and whoever did the fitting. The tile shop will argue, quite rightly to a certain extent that if you/your fitter had checked the tiles were acceptable before fitting the situation could have been resolved much more easily.

I know you have said the batch numbers on the boxes are the same. Are you sure you;re looking at the right numbers. The bits u should be looking at are the "tono" which is the shade and "calibre" which refers to the size calibration.

I had a discussion with trading standards a couple of years ago about a similar situation and their advice was that the tiles were faulty before they were put down and are still faulty even though they have been put down.

I've often noticed that retailers stipulate in their terms and conditions that any damages must be reported within say 3 days of purchase. According to trading standards, this stipulation is totally unenforacble and unreasonable.

[jay]

any chance of posting the pics so we can see what we are trying to help with als an old saying with tilers . if the glue grout or silicone cant be used outside dont use it in your bathroom

[chrisroe]

tilers fault no other blame if hes not sure dont tile it

[chrisroe]

tile trend are a very good and honest company and i would be very suprised if the fault wwould of been causded by them i deal with the head office branch in stoubridge so if you need a hand let me know

[BikerJet]

Pic of difference in tile colours. Am I over-reacting?

[chrisroe]

what is the name is it heartstone

[jay]

houston you have a problem and they use spacers why

[jay]

ps thanks for pics

[chrisroe]

heartstone beige if it is then i have got the same but in the black version and ithey do vary a lot so mixed up properly would have looked good was the shop the shrewsbury one by any chance