Discuss Questions about tiling quality in the Tiling Forum at TilersForums; I know almost nothing about tiling so this is the reason I have turned to this site to ask a few questions.
Before I ask anything I will just give ...
I know almost nothing about tiling so this is the reason I have turned to this site to ask a few questions.
Before I ask anything I will just give some information, first of all, the tiling is for a bathroom wall and it is done using two types of tiles, large 60x31.6mm tiles with smaller mosaic type tiles (I think around 2.3mm squares). A mock up of the wall design can be seen in the attachments.
The first thing I would like to know is, what level of placement accuracy should I be expecting? This is the first time I have got a professional tiler to put the tiles in, the last time I had the bathroom tiled it was done by a friend of mine who a surgeon but has an interest in DIY. Anyway, so far around half the tiles have been placed and looking at the gaps between each tile is quite worrying, some tiles are placed perfectly with a 3mm gap to the next tile while others seem at a slight tilt with some tiles getting to within 2mm of each other on some sides and 4mm on others, this however, is not the problem, I can see with the large tiles perfect placement can be difficult. The problem arises with the mosaic, with the gap between the bottom of the mosaic and the top of the large tiles ranging from 4mm to 1mm. My issue is that the old tiles done by my non-professional friend were placed with a much more even gap between each tile than currently and this tiler is taking far longer and much more money do it.
My second issue is that the tiles seem to stick out of the wall itself by different amounts, ie rubbing your hand against the wall you feel some tiles sticking out and others going in with the mosaic being especially bad, with the two tile thick mosaic strip almost appearing to be concave and the gap between the strip reduced from the 3mm set by the mesh to around 1.5mm. I even had the plumber install some "tile backerboard" to the wall which is supposed to even the entire wall (which it did) and ensure the tiles would stick.
Sorry for the longish post, I can try and post some pics if you need them (provided I find my camera), also, sorry if this is the wrong type of post for this forum or wrong section.
- My first questions would be - where did you get your professional Tiler from. Did you see work he has done. What type of adhesive is he using for the tiles.
erm..............SOUNDS SHOCKING! un fortunatly it does not sound like you are using a pro tiler. did he turn up on a horse by any chance?
Some tiles I've used can vary in size considerably and you have to alter the joint size to account for this, before they are grouted it may look 'shocking' to a novice but without more information we don't know if Roy Rodgers has been invoved!
I will try and get some pictures.
I am getting an extension done and following some friends/neighbours who are in the business or have been through the same thing I have been told to try and follow as much as possible. At first it was easy, instead of getting the plumber/builder buying everything on my behalf, I did the work and sourced everything (resulting in higher quality materials and supplies at a cheaper price than the so called "trade prices" which the builders were offering), so I bought the doors, boiler, bricks (took me a while but I managed to find a perfect match unlike the builders efforts) and so on. Unfortunately, it seems that it has actually annoyed them that I am getting everything myself and the builders have started buying things which I "require" without even asking now (towel radiator as the one I already had was apparently too small despite having only 300 BTU less). Asking for receipts for stuff they do buy has also been met with issues such as "we dont get a warranty from our supplier due to cheap trade prices" etc.
The next thing they did was bring this tiler in, I didn't even meet the guy, just came home from work and found him working in the bathroom. I haven't seen any prior work so I just wanted to check whether my standards were too high or maybe I was just judging too early.
I will get some pics uploaded soon.
We will have a look at the pics and take it from there... it is easy to call it ruff or as one member above cow-boyish but we can't see what you can and it is unfair to say anything till we do.
Some tiles I've used can vary in size considerably and you have to alter the joint size to account for this, before they are grouted it may look 'shocking' to a novice but without more information we don't know if Roy Rodgers has been invoved!
i quote
"The problem arises with the mosaic, with the gap between the bottom of the mosaic and the top of the large tiles ranging from 4mm to 1mm."
so you think theres a chance the tiles are out of shape by 3mm. not even b and q tile are that bad.
but i guess your right we dont have all the facts and there is a chance that he didnt turn up on a horse at all and it was actually a stallion and he is the best tiler in england.
"The problem arises with the mosaic, with the gap between the bottom of the mosaic and the top of the large tiles ranging from 4mm to 1mm."
so you think theres a chance the tiles are out of shape by 3mm. not even b and q tile are that bad.
but i guess your right we dont have all the facts and there is a chance that he didnt turn up on a horse at all and it was actually a stallion and he is the best tiler in england.
You are right we do not have any facts.. so hold off on your silly remarks till we see some pics...
It reads to me as though you've got everything sourced and sorted and you want the tradesmen just to work for you without any profit to cover their overheads. If this was agreed at the contract stage then you are acting the role of Project Manager so you tell them who comes in/when/and how you want the work completed!
As for standards - the only height that they can be, is those set by yourself and whether you accept this work or not!
Diplomacy/respect/communication are just 3 issues I would expect from a foreman/manager and if you show some of these then a happy working environment should be achieved.
You are right we do not have any facts.. so hold off on your silly remarks till we see some pics...
ok i agree silly remarks are not helpful, but i find it extremely frustrating when i here stories like this, as there are alot of exelent tilers out there that are finding it hard to get work at the moment yet the cowboys of this trade just seem to keep getting away with doing shoddy work for top money.
ill take back the coments and eat my hat if im wrong about this guy.
"The problem arises with the mosaic, with the gap between the bottom of the mosaic and the top of the large tiles ranging from 4mm to 1mm."
so you think theres a chance the tiles are out of shape by 3mm. not even b and q tile are that bad.
but i guess your right we dont have all the facts and there is a chance that he didnt turn up on a horse at all and it was actually a stallion and he is the best tiler in england.
I did note this point - but having fixed mosaic pieces of chipped porcelain from Fired Earth, it is possible to have an uneven edge by this amount.
As others have requested a few photos will clarify the situation.
Ok here are some pictures, unfortunately it is difficult to take pictures so I have tried to use a ruler but it still doesn't really appear too great also the room is quite dark as the lights have not yet been fitted - only a low power bulb at the corner of the room at the moment, as a result I have been limited to photos of that corner really (with flash on the tiles reflect too much light).
Less of an issue: varying gaps between large tiles, this doesn't bother me too much, but you can see the upper two tiles are around 3mm apart yet the bottom two are around 4mm apart.
Mosaic problem: without ruler and with ruler, this is my main concern, it just seems quite far out.
Finally, not sure if you can see this but in this picture the ruler is pressed straight against the upper tile and a gap between the ruler and the lower tile of around 1.5mm can be seen.
As I have said, these aren't the worst (well the mosaic one is one of the worst things), it's just I am limited to one corner of around 4 large tiles which are pretty decent to be honest. Overall I don't think its a bad job, just want to make sure it is what should be produced by a professional.
EDIT: Also, I just looked at some of the tiles from the boxes (they are supposed to be high grade tiles but don't know how true that is) and using a ruler they almost all seem to be exactly the same size to the exact mm.
The mosaic is not right!
As it is a thick marble mosaic he has a weight issue and the tile has dropped - so you have a right to be concerned. Hopefully there are not too many like that but it can be altered.
The other tiles - I can't comment on from the picture - area is too small to see the rest of the joints for tile size.
Thanks for the update.
The mosaic is not right!
As it is a thick marble mosaic he has a weight issue and the tile has dropped - so you have a right to be concerned. Hopefully there are not too many like that but it can be altered.
The other tiles - I can't comment on from the picture - area is too small to see the rest of the joints for tile size.
Thanks for the update.
As I've said before, the gaps between the tiles isn't really an issue to me, its just after seeing the mosaic I thought I would provide as much information as possible. Since they are large tiles 1-2mm isn't a great deal and I'm sure once it has the filling put will become not noticeable. I have never had a professional tiler, so I thought I would state everything and let you guys (obviously far more educated in this profession than me) have a full view of everything.
As I've said before, the gaps between the tiles isn't really an issue to me, its just after seeing the mosaic I thought I would provide as much information as possible. Since they are large tiles 1-2mm isn't a great deal and I'm sure once it has the filling put will become not noticeable. I have never had a profession tiler, so I thought I would state everything and let you guys (obviously far more educated in this professional than me) have a full view of everything.
Some tiles do vary in size by a mm or so.. and when grouted do look fine.
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