What a day

**Sir Ramic** · 26-10-2010

Arrived to the job today only to find the tiles for the floor were from a place called " Payless"...well you can guess what they were like....4mm differnce in size. Showed the client, he was upset as he "paid good money for those". I didnt ask how much but if he paid £5 per m2 it still would have been £4.99 too much.
So ok he says he will change them but cant do it for a few hours. At least I have the wall tiles to carry on with. 600 x 300 Ceramic (polished travertine lookalike) ....from China. They looked lovely except for the 3mm bow in every tile. So I called the shop were he got these from as I knew them. I asked if they had had any more complaint about this tile, No they said and they have sold loads. I explained they were useless as the client wanted half bond layout. They didnt offer much help. So i got onto the builder who I was doing the job for. he came and saw the tiles and took them back to the shop. They all agreed in the end that the tiles were useless and have had to send all back to their supplier inc the rest of their stock. It seems that they hadnt sold many anyway so they lied to me.
the builder returns with another tile, also from China. Well these were dead straight but instead of 600 x 300 they were 600 x 330....which meant I had to set out the walls again. As it happens it actually helped by giving a larger cut to the ceiling and also working better around the window.
With the tiles on site and I am able to make a start, adhesive supplied was 3 buckets of ready mixed

....I shoot off home and return with Mapei Keraflex Maxi white. A bit of overkill for these tiles P9 would have sufficed but I had this in the garage at home. by the time i get back to site its 11 am. I set my mind to thinking if I can tile the 2 straight walls in the bathroom then I will have a good start for the morning. In the end I got those wals tiled and another wall plus I prepped the wndow wall which needed a few areas sorting.
So the day wasnt as bad as it started but why do people expect these tiles from those cheap outlets to be any good. As for the tile shop it was good to see that their know it all smiles had been wiped off their faces when I called in tonight on the way home.

**mz30** · 26-10-2010

payless materials come from focus,they have a whole range from toilets,sinks etc ,they all poor quality,hence the payless moniker lol

**Sir Ramic** · 26-10-2010

Originally Posted by mz30

payless materials come from focus,they have a whole range from toilets,sinks etc ,they all poor quality,hence the payless moniker lol

I thought they looked like Focus, didnt realise they were the same.

**mz30** · 26-10-2010

yup one and the same i bought a payless toilet last year and fitted it my self,bad mistake leaked everywhere,mate who is plumber came and fixed but used a ton of plumbers mate etc.

Cheap products,and focus is expensive

**andy allen** · 26-10-2010

when will they learn you get what you pay for.

**Sir Ramic** · 26-10-2010

What I didnt understand was that the wall tiles look great but the floor tiles didnt even match for colour ????

**peckers** · 26-10-2010

wait till you present them with the bill m8 he might want to PAYLESS LOL. cheap materials wroung materials and they still want a perfect job done. at least you got it sorted m8

**whitebeam** · 26-10-2010

Just don't need that aggro first thing

**Perfect Tiling** · 26-10-2010

Yep...know what you mean. Why do customers try to cut corners by buying cheaper tiles???? Started on a job yesterday...laying 16 sq mtrs of ungraded slate. Two sizes supplied...600 x 300 and 300 x 300. I've still to find the tiles that are actually these sizes!!! The thicknesses range from 24mm down to 7mm and as for the colour differentiation......... I wouldn't actually use these in my garden, but the customer wants slate and these were a good deal (FOR THE SELLER!!!) Never mind...makes for an interesting few days.

**timeless john** · 26-10-2010

Hope your getting more than £8/metre for your trouble on this one Neale?

**faithhealer** · 26-10-2010

I'm on my second job in a row where they haven't got ANY tiles! bloody magician me you know

doug boardley · 26-10-2010

yep did a big job last year with the payless stuff, all potware was payless too. The ironic thing is that customer owns the biggest mint cake manufacturer in Kendal and will be one of the richest men in Lake District, but he's a real cheapskate.

**whitebeam** · 26-10-2010

Originally Posted by faithhealer

I'm on my second job in a row where they haven't got ANY tiles! bloody magician me you know

Specialized work that is

**Sir Ramic** · 26-10-2010

Originally Posted by timeless john

Hope your getting more than £8/metre for your trouble on this one Neale?

Hell yeah, Usually the builder is cool but he hasnt had anything to do with the tiles on this job. Client is penny pinching IMO although he is a nice guy. I guess the temptation to save some money is too great and they dont realise the issues that we have when it comes to fixing the tiles.

**timeless john** · 26-10-2010

I think your right - customers don't know what they should be paying for tiles and what quality they should be receiving for their money - until we fix them and then they always find a fault ( usually a pinhole in the glaze on a cut behind the cistern!)