Mr Tiler broke all the tiles - help?

[Blondie]

Hi You Guys,

Well here goes then.

I am just frustrated and upset so please excuse the mini-rant.

I had a 'tiler' (very loose interpretation of the word) come into my home before Christmas to tile my hallway and kitchen.

Well, he cut most of the tiles on the first day then came back to 'fit' them. Now, I'm not an overly fussy person, but he made such a botch of laying them (uneven levels all over the place, no gaps - centimeter gaps between tiles - that kinda thing), that I had to ask him to take up the worst ones - he damaged everyone he lifted, so I asked him to stop and have since taken up all the tiles he laid. And he has now gone away.

Here's the problem. We have since relaid - painstakingly - over the past 3 months nearly all the tiles. But due to the amount the 'tiler' miscut originally and then damaged when taking them up we no longer have enough. So I have a patch of cement floor near my back door - approx 6-7 tiles short.

The tiles we used were the B & Q slate effect charcoal 600x300. I have phoned nearly every B & Q in the country and apparently they are now discontinued, so even though we bought plenty originally, we are now boogered!

Do any of you guys know of anyone who may have a couple of these tiles spare...? I would be willing to pay for them obviously - someone may have bought a box too many...???

Oh..the EAN number is 5010953027547.

I am desperate for help...could anyone help me?

Or does anyone know how to make tiles out of cement and paint them to look like proper tiles - yup I know this suggestion is stupid - but thats just how desperate I am...lol.

Blondie x

[doug boardley]

what a nightmare, where abouts are you located Blondie? maybe one of our members could pay a visit and advise further.
ps I've moved your thread to tilers forum, more chance of reply posts here

[Blondie]

Cheers Doug,

Am always doing things in the wrong places! LOL

I live in Doncaster, South Yorks. Not sure if any of you guys on here are from that region...but honestly, any help at all would be SO welcome..!

[Blondie]

Ooh...also.

The tiles were imported by Pilkington tiles in Manchester (did my homework on this one! lol). I have phoned them and they say that the tiles are indeed no longer available via retail outlets or themselves.

Neither B & Q or Pilks were particularly helpful..gotta be honest.

B & Q did give me a list of phone numbers to call round other stores, as when they checked on their 'stock availability' system it did suggest that other stores still held a few boxes. But then the chap told me that the system often says there are things in stock - when they know darned well there are zero of said items in stock. Apparently it's all down to making the company look like they have more material assets than they actually have. Looks good on paper apparently. It doesn't look good to me when I'm phoning dozens of stores begging for their tiles though.

Oops thats another rant. Ya gonna think I'm a right mardy article..! lol

[andy allen]

hi blondi, sorry to here about your tileing nightmare makes my blood boil when there are many good tilers out there short of work, getting hold of disscontinued tiles is all ways very difficult, if b and q have checked all ther stores with no luck then the only hope is finding someone with a spare box or two, the only other suggestion i could make would be to turn the area in to some kind of matwell as you say its by the back door, hard to say if this is possible without seeing the job.

[hillhead]

You poor woman! Thats typical of the clowns going around thinking they are tilers! They give good tilers nothing but bother because we usually have to sort the mess.i have none of your tiles but if i had you'd be getting them free.hopefully someone can help.

[Blondie]

Thankyou Andy and HillHead,

I found the tiler on the My Builder website. He was very plausible and gave ref's, everything seemed very believable. I was really upset at the time, but have calmed down since. Here's the really bizarre thing - when he saw the tiles, he claimed he had some in his shed left over from a previous job. I have contacted him since to see if he would be so kind as to sell some to me and he won't take my calls. Very nice man...not.

Here's hoping someone can help.

Blondie..x

[merlecollins]

I know in the past when I have been short on a job, Pilks have given me a list of folk they have recently sold direct to - be it tiling contractor or shop. If you could go back to Pilks and ask what THEY call the tile (the chances are they'll give it a separate name for B&Q) they may also be able to advise you who has recently bought any decent quantity off them in say the last 6 or 12 months. Hopefully they don't ,make these tiles exclusively for B&Q as they do sometimes.
You do also have the problem of shading as well to consider....
If you can get a hold of a contractor that has over-ordered for a job and has some lying around in their warehouse they'll be over the moon to sell them on to you, especially if they are now discontinued

You've got nowt to lose

[Blondie]

Thankyou Merle. Pilkingtons say it was a tile specifically imported for B&Q - I don't think they even physically made the tile - just imported them. So, I think B&Q were my only hope really. The tile is called exactly what I posted it hasn't got an actual name..ya know..like Jupiter, Beans on Toast or errrr WoodyKnot Alpine...lol (ok I'm being silly now ) , it's just the Slate Effect Floor Tile in Charcoal - they are porcelain though.

All that's left is somebody with some spare hanging about. I've posted on FreeCycle in my local area, but that doesn't go further afield than Doncaster, so is very limiting. It would be great if there was a national FreeCycle - then I could ask nationally for the tiles.

I've even put in ads in all the free mag/sites to see if any are available, but nothing yet. Keep checking eBay - again no happy surprises as of yet.

So looks like you guys are my last hope - I don't even care anymore if the shade is slightly different - it's gotta look better than concrete...? lol

[aqua blue]

If you can't source the tiles. How about having that area as a subtle feature if it's at the foot of the door.
You could use smaller tiles in a similar colour but with a different bonding pattern distinguished with a border perhaps, or go for something a little bolder.

[penno]

I am going in Pilks tomorrow to pick some gear up, will have a chat with one of the lads and see if he can have a really good look around the back for any or if he can help get more if they have none. Let you know soon as i have been.

[aqua blue]

If you decide to go with my suggestion, you will need to snap three lines central with door. Get someone to edge grind existing tiles in order to create this central door space for the accent. It would be easier to work the feature out seperately so you will know the exact measurements.

[mikethetile]

Hi Blondie

welcome to tilers forum

I havent any kicking about ...........sorry

if I had some you could have had them foc

I hope you find some, I will ask about but its only a slim chance that someone has a few spares

mike

ps I hope you gave him a roasting on my builder

[paulyoung666]

will have a look in my local B&Q tomorrow for you , its a long way away from you , but if you are desperate ..................

[Blondie]

Aww guys..am really choked. You've all been really kind - some great suggestions and Penno..that would be incredibly lovely of you to ask for me in Pilks - thankyou.

It's made me think a bit more too - I suppose if I could get a fairly big coir mat I could inset it into the tiles in front of the door - it would be really useful and maybe solve the problem. I'm not sure I've got enough tiles to tile upto the coir mat...lol...but there may be a way using some of the half tiles and broken tiles.

I wish I'd done things differently then I wouldn't be in the mess I'm in.
Unfortunately I didn't slate him on My Builder - I'm a nice gal...but ya know what...I think I'm gonna do it. I'm not one for having a whine...just end getting more upset and I was upset enough for everybody already...lol. But he shouldn't be doing this to people. My house has been a mess for 3 months - what should have been a straight forward tiling jobs turned into a nightmare !!!! And to be completely honest - I didn't want to slate him if there was a chance he would sell me some of the tiles - I doubt thats gonna be happen any time soon...so roof full of slate here we come...lolol.

OOhh I feel all liberated!!!

[Blondie]

will have a look in my local B&Q tomorrow for you , its a long way away from you , but if you are desperate ..................

Paul...thankyou SO much...again..a really lovely thing to do for someone - thankyou. I'm in awe at you guys...such a great bunch of peeps!!
And no...nowhere is too far to get the tiles - I will get in my papap and drive to where the tiles are...no worries at all!!

[Sean fsy]

maybe get a picture up of the tiles in question, it may help if some one as some kicking about.

[Dave]

I was just going to suggest coconut matting..


You need to leave some feedback on Mybuilder about this guy..he should not be allowed to leave you like this or do a job like that and charge customers for it.

[CJ]

I was going to suggest, wot has been suggested. (The coir matting route) but maybe with a border, made from the off-cuts.

Highlighted door mat..........well, it'll be a talking point

All I can suggest is look up loads of BnQ's and phone as many as you can........one of them could poss have the odd box........and they may get delivered to your local BnPoo.

Ok Mrs D J

[Blondie]

Pic on way

[Blondie]

Hummm? Howd ya know Mrs DJ?? lolol Am I famous now...????

[Blondie]

Apologies for the socks..lol. The tiles are approx 10mm thick.

This is how we tiled it - with matching gaps...lol. It's not perfect but a trillion times better than it was!

[Phil Hobson]

Sorry to hear your sad tale Blondie, I hope you get a good result. As said above it's a shame people like this guy can botch jobs, when master craftsmen are finding times hard.


Can't help you with the tiles, but who knows? the amount of tilers on this forum You might get lucky. I think the response to your dilemma is a credit to the members. We all feel outraged when we hear stories like yoursGood luck

[merlecollins]

Ya socks look OK to me

[mikethetile]

cmon CJ spill the beans

how do you know its mrs DJ

[Sean fsy]

I know b&q have recently redone their tile displays etc so maybe tracing them could be harder than we think.

[mikethetile]

I know b&q have recently redone their tile displays etc so maybe tracing them could be harder than we think.

I wonder what they did with the displays

just a thought

[Blondie]

cmon CJ spill the beans

how do you know its mrs DJ

???? P.R. forum ???? Facebook ????

[paulyoung666]

I know b&q have recently redone their tile displays etc so maybe tracing them could be harder than we think.

got to be worth a looksee tomorrow though , its only down the road from me and i was going to the other 'shed' ( Wickes ) anyway

[tungsten tip]

just done a kitchen and hallway in a 600x300 tile that looks the same as photo tiles were from al muraj think thats how its spelt worth a try good luck blondie .