In the middle of my sunroom - just checking he is doing it right!

[heatonfan]

As I said in a previous posting, getting my sunroom tiled.

The builder who has been doing some work in the kitchen (which has all been great to date) has subcontracted the tiling, so I have relied upon him for choice of tiler.

Grouting not done yet - it strikes me that the tiles around the edge of the room are not even - some very tight into the wall, but with the ajoining tile leaving a gap. I am sure this is nothing to worry about but I would rather say now rather than when finished! Some pictures attached.

My concern is that this uneveness will show up when grouted. Or is he going to put some sort of strip by the wall which will cover this?

Also, tiling into the arch between sunroom and kitchen doesn't seem straight - the photo with the broom indicates broadly a straight line across. There is supposed to be a strip going down to separate the tiling in the two rooms. Will this be a problem?

Tiling generally seems OK - tiles seem level and all are in straight lines, which is a start.

Many thanks guys.

[doug boardley]

it' s not the best tbh, why wasn't skirting boards taken off prior to tiling? hat way the perimeter expansion joint could have been hidden under the skirting bards

[dagger]

in a word "awful".

[Prem Tiler]

not great no but I would be more worried about the tiles that look like there touching the skirting boards rather than the gaps.

[hillhead]

Here we go again.thats not good all.the cuts seem to be the problem.you could always attach a bead or quadrant around perimeter to hide the bad cuts but why should you? Get the builder/tiler to sort it

[v.s.ceramics]

hope it looks better grouted

[dagger]

when i was taught to tile, my mentor said..

if you cut a tile in a run of tiles a bit short.. make them consistant!
those cuts are all over the shop!

in other words if all cuts were 3/4mm off the skirts all the way round you could hide it, when they are uneven it looks awful!

IMO.

[whitebeam]

3rd picture from the left, that looks horrendous and grout won't make it look any better

[heatonfan]

it' s not the best tbh, why wasn't skirting boards taken off prior to tiling? hat way the perimeter expansion joint could have been hidden under the skirting bards

Nothing was said about taking off the skirting board.

Presumably then we are going to see a perimeter expansion joint put in which will hide the uneveness at the wall?

I just assumed there would be an even line of grout visible along the edge.

[david campbell]

a total mess,whats happening with the threshold strip why is it unevenly cut and too far back,the cuts around the skirting areas are really messy! get him to sort it before he goes any further!

[heatonfan]

a total mess,whats happening with the threshold strip why is it unevenly cut and too far back,the cuts around the skirting areas are really messy! get him to sort it before he goes any further!

That is helpful. I haven't paid a penny yet (save for the tiles) and so am more relaxed than I might otherwise be about these

How does he sort it - just by taking out those pieces of tiles along the skirting boards and making sure that they are all cut evenly? Is it as simple as that?

[Sir Ramic]

I cant see him taking too long to put it right but you need to make sure he does before going any further. Its not really the end of the world but you may want to think about the extra tiles and adhesive that will be needed to put it all right....who will be paying for that ?

[dagger]

whitebeams comment is spot on, what you have there is full tile over a gap, a slither will need to be put in (not good),
but all that aside the only way i see out is thicker skirting boards After your are removed them (yours look thinner than the norm) or remove cuts and cut them again, consistantly! otherwise you are going to get a 10/12mm decorators caulk bead / silicone bead all the way around your floor AT BEST!

and i am not advocating either!!!!!

maybe there is another way i have not thought of? guys?

*upon another look you skirtings are not thinner than the norm at all.

[timeless john]

Whatever colour grout you put in those tiles its going to look bad!
Grouting is meant to finish the job to a high standard not try and redeem what looks like in all 4 photos bad workmanship.
You haven't posted any pictures of the main floor area so its difficult to imagine what you consider to be level and in line - but you obviously have concerns as you wouldn't have posted these excuses for a professional job.
As recommended by others, get it put right now because you'll have to live with it for at least a month before it really grates on your mind and you start ripping them up!

[Sir Ramic]

I notice that some joints are jumping too, how did he manage that seeing as i can see he has used spacers in places. Maybe it is more work than i 1st thought .

[heatonfan]

whitebeams comment is spot on, what you have there is full tile over a gap, a slither will need to be put in (not good),
but all that aside the only way i see out is thicker skirting boards After your are removed them (yours look thinner than the norm) or remove cuts and cut them again, consistantly! otherwise you are going to get a 10/12mm decorators caulk bead / silicone bead all the way around your floor AT BEST!

and i am not advocating either!!!!!

maybe there is another way i have not thought of? guys?

*upon another look you skirtings are not thinner than the norm at all.

Dagger,

1) Not sure what a "slither" is.
2) If skirting board is not removed, what should I expect to see at the join between the tiles and the skirting board? These are £27m2 italian tiles and I consider I am paying towards the top end of the price bracket for the tiling so I expect this to be a quality job.

Thanks, heatonfan

[heatonfan]

I notice that some joints are jumping too, how did he manage that seeing as i can see he has used spacers in places. Maybe it is more work than i 1st thought .

Sir Ramic, what do you mean that "some joints are jumping too"?

Given in light of your comments that I will be having the builder here tomorrow before any more work is done, I want to make sure I can put all relevant points to him.

I will just give a quick inspection to the rest of the floor.

[Matt]

Is it just my eyes or has he spot fixed the tiles? It looks like it from the last pic

[Sir Ramic]

Sir Ramic, what do you mean that "some joints are jumping too"?

Given in light of your comments that I will be having the builder here tomorrow before any more work is done, I want to make sure I can put all relevant points to him.

I will just give a quick inspection to the rest of the floor.

If you look at the pic with your feet . To the right of your right foot where the tiles joints meet you will see one out of line

[david campbell]

That is helpful. I haven't paid a penny yet (save for the tiles) and so am more relaxed than I might otherwise be about these

How does he sort it - just by taking out those pieces of tiles along the skirting boards and making sure that they are all cut evenly? Is it as simple as that?

get him to remove the badly cut tiles and have them replaced properly,this will be at his expense not yours,explain to him your concerns and hopefully he should be happy to leave a good job

[Dave]

Welcome heatonfan..

You need to make a snag list from all the comments put forward and then present this in the morning...and take it from there....bad cuts etc....

good luck.

[hillhead]

3rd pic from the right too looks like it is lipping?????? ie one tile sitting higher than the one next to it. is it??

[heatonfan]

Is it just my eyes or has he spot fixed the tiles? It looks like it from the last pic

Matt257,

Can you tell me how I can tell whether the tiles have been spot fixed?

Even I know that the idea is to lay the adhesive over an area, comb it or whatever then lay them and that dabbing some adhesive over the back is a cheapskate way of saving money on adhesive.

Many thanks.

[dagger]

Dagger,

1) Not sure what a "slither" is.
2) If skirting board is not removed, what should I expect to see at the join between the tiles and the skirting board? These are £27m2 italian tiles and I consider I am paying towards the top end of the price bracket for the tiling so I expect this to be a quality job.

Thanks, heatonfan

1) a slither is a small piece of tile that is required to fill a gap, it is concidered a no no in tiling, in this instance over the whole floor if its the only one it can be forgiven, providing all the other cuts are to standard ie large cuts and cut straight!
2) a large silicone or caulk joint around the perimiter.. or just grout!

or a bead of wood of some sort painted, or another type of bodge!

all on here agreed, this is not to your standards, is it?

[whitebeam]

Have one lifted, all will be revealed

[diamondtiling]

This is not down to the tiler, whoever laid this mess is just a chancer, it is an awful job but the responsibility lies with the builder. You have stated that the builder has subbied the work out to a tiler, well that means that he is the person held responsible. In the morning stop the job, tell the builder to get rid of the "tiler" and then proceed to tell the builder to fix the floor to the right standard. You are paying the bills and you have overall control, its as easy as that, say nothing and you will be posting threads on this site about the crap workmanship for ever, put your foot down and you will be showing pictures of a floor that you are happy with, its as easy as that.



If your builder has an ounce of intelligence then he will agree with you, I would be extremely wary of a builder that had allowed tiling to be carried out to that standard and had not pulled the tiler up beforehand. Is he hoping that you will not see these mistakes or is he thinking you are a soft touch? Get rid!

[Dave]

Can you tell me how I can tell whether the tiles have been spot fixed?

Look within the joints, can you see the substrate below...?..you should really not be able to..

Tap on the tiles and see if you can hear hollow spots...

[dagger]

oh, and under even more inspection, your wonky doorway photo has a blob hanging out! DOH!

and under even more examination, there is no white adhesive between the joints on that photo either!

[heatonfan]

1) a slither is a small piece of tile that is required to fill a gap, it is concidered a no no in tiling, in this instance over the whole floor if its the only one it can be forgiven, providing all the other cuts are to standard ie large cuts and cut straight!
2) a large silicone or caulk joint around the perimiter.. or just grout!

or a bead of wood of some sort painted, or another type of bodge!

all on here agreed, this is not to your standards, is it?

Dagger,

(this will be my last post this evening)

Sorry, not sure if I understand your answer at 2): are you saying there should be a large silicone or caulk joint or grout, or are you saying that is a "bodge"?

For an acceptable job where skirting boards have not been lifted, should I see tiling cut cleanly lying right up to the skirting boards?

Or is it totally unacceptable not to have removed the skirting boards at all?

heatonfan

[dagger]

heatonfan, i have not inspected your site so:

look and see if you can see a constant adhesive spread between all tile joints, all tilers pack up a bit when need be,
but thats not the same as dabbin', no adhesive between joins is a sure sign that it is dot and dabbed! a different thing! and no it does not save on adhesive.. far from it it costs more, what it does save on is proper time consuming preperation.