repair jobs on the increase ?

[sapperdan]

In the last four weeks or so I have seen a big increase in callouts to fix tiled bodge jobs , especially shower rooms. A Marble bathroom disaster - bad cuts , uneven mosiac sheet ing, stained stone , dulled stone , A shower floor disaster .
Just interested in other tilers views on the subject when you come across these jobs what is your response to the customer?

[hillhead]

Im seeing this a lot now myself. I looked at a marble floor last wk.48 m2 with 6mm lips i kid you all not! I have quoted for lifting it all.level whats left and re tile.not a quote for the light hearted.i have fixed a few jobs over the past few months.we have to charge accordingly.

[tubs]

When customers pay peanuts the Monkeys always ( no swearing ) it up, then the customer pays for the repair and cost more than it would with a quality tiler doing the job in the first place !!

[david campbell]

done many of these jobs and they are a total nightmare,sometimes it's hard not to feel for the customer but at the end of the day you have a living to make and have to charge accordingly,once wen't to look at a botched job in travertine and the customer insisted he would be standing over my shoulder watching me the whole time,needless to say i declined to put a price in,even though it's not his fault the trust had gone since some muppet had cost him a pile of cash!

[Dave]

Seems to be a common thing within all trades, they come they go do the horse riders of the night..

[Dave]

done many of these jobs and they are a total nightmare,sometimes it's hard not to feel for the customer but at the end of the day you have a living to make and have to charge accordingly,once wen't to look at a botched job in travertine and the customer insisted he would be standing over my shoulder watching me the whole time,needless to say i declined to put a price in,even though it's not his fault the trust had gone since some muppet had cost him a pile of cash!

Why decline davy..?

[david campbell]

the guy made me feel really uneasy about the way he would be watching over me 24/7(i was in the house half an hour and he mentioned it about 30 times),he also had some ideas about some of the work that was o.k but not in his mind,claiming he wanted large parts of decent stuff stripped,cleaned and re-layed,in general the botched parts where mainly the internal and external corners and cuts to the roof and the odd tile with lippage or bad grout spacing also the shower cubicle didn't tie into the wall area's but he seemed happy with that and wasn't prepared to listen to anything i said but talk over me with his points

[Dave]

You do right then....some peeps just can't or won't be told..

[david campbell]

You do right then....some peeps just can't or won't be told..

the guy had seemed to lost total trust in tilers after the previous guy(can't blame him) and decided he was taking control of the job

somehow don't think he would ever think it was a good job anymore

[sapperdan]

I am fairly new to the trade of tiler and have committed a lot of time and effort into learning how to carry out tiling jobs properly ,ie attending a tiler training school, buying the correct equipment, pricing, etc. I get miffed when some muppet does a crap job ,does a runner with the dough and leaves the customer to lick his/her wallet.
Previously as a welder when I executed the perfect weld or fabricated some sort of machinery, WELL, it gave me an inert sense of satitisfaction .The same thing applys with tiling I enjoy it because I know my conscience ensures I do the job well.(satisfied customer,lots of pats on the back) .lol . At the Edinburgh TTS our Tony and Andy were the perfect act to follow.
I know this has probably been discussed before on forums ,and excuse me if it has, but could the Tilers Forum not drum up support for an official body that governs the world of tiling .I mean along the lines of SNIPEF for plumbers etc. like I say for all I know there probably is one in operation already, if there is I want a card and the badge.
Any thoughts , comments etc.
Member Of The Tilers Organization or MOTTO for short lol

[davy583]

i tile parttime and i now what you guys think of part-timers. but when i get a call and the job is above my capability i decline the job and pass it on to someone else. the reason i do this is becouse i dont want to upset a customer with **** work, if anyone is in the northeast area and i get a job like this give me your number and i will give it to the customer for a small fee lol

happy tiling

[faithhealer]

Been to look at two newly tiled bathrooms this week with cracked grout,(and mouldy in one case) both don't want their tilers back for various reasons! both look like bad prep, ie couldn't be bothered to strenghten a wall that blows in the wind! One job, a multi grand refurb has the tiles sitting on the bath with the silicon just smeared on the surface!

[jay]

seems everyones a tiler til it hits the fan but they still get paid no justice

[jimbob]

I would think a fair portion of it is not dodgy tradesmen but people trying to DIY in these tough economic times. Can't blame them really. They may be too embarrassed to confess that it's their job, so make up an excuse about a cowboy tradesman whose done it.

I am a DIYer myself, so watch this space for a repair job in the Grimsby area over the coming months.......!!