Help!: Tiler makes poor job of splashback, ruined sockets, bad grout, uneven tiling

[snadge]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum.

We recently hired a Tiler who I got in touch with through another forum and he has done a poor job.

What happened was we were quoted £*** by one company to do the splash-back in our newly fitted kitchen, I asked on this other forum in tiling section how much it should cost, I was told the quote was on the high side for what it was, the guy offered to come and quote us which he did at £*** (he buys the adhesive+grout) , so he came around few days later and started the job - at first all seemed well, the tiles were flying up and looked OK, I had to tell him watch the oak worktop as he kept getting adhesive on it, he wanted to leave it soaked?!?!? i said NO, it shouldnt be wet or have any compound on it, he said "well i see it as a worktop, there too get used"..!!! - anyway, i heard him wimper in the kitchen so I went in (by this time he finished tiling and was starting grouting) he said that he fell over while outside and hurt his hand? I never heard nothing and nor is there anything outside for him to trip on?, he was just at back door cutting tiles with angle grinder, occasionally going for odd smoke, so im unsure how or where he fell over, i was sitting in silence on laptop so would have probably heard him if he did...anyway he continues and takes ages and by 7pm he says he finished but rushed out of the house before we could investigate , anyway we checked it over and we were sick to our stomachs...

The first thing i noticed was the silicone seal along worktop was messy, un-even on some parts thick and some parts thin or none existent or curled up - really quite bad... then i noticed a tile kicking out at bottom casting a shadow from the light - then i noticed some tiles werent straight, I noticed that it seemed the tiling went up in middle ever so slightly, the grouting was thick in places and thin in others and had lines and troughs in it, looked a right mess - he's also scratched all 3 of our stainless steel double sockets when grouting STRAIGHT OVER THEM!!! - so we rang him up to tell him we werent happy - he said he come back in few days and sort it all - he came back with his hand bandaged up, i told him to go home until it gets better but he refused and stayed for 3.5 hours and what he done was remove the silicone and fixed the tile that kicked out at corner, he also re-grouted some but it were no better - he doesn't use any tools too smooth the grout and make it all equal, he just brushes over with a rough pad leaving it un-even and messy looking - another annoying thing was he didnt cover the oak worktop or the new hob and just got grout all over them, he got grout under the hob and in between the switches on the sockets, i was having to gouge it all out with tool and blades, i had to sand and oil the worktop as it was ruined - after me expressing my concern a few days earlier about the worktop he done that? - so he said he couldnt do anymore and had to go home because of his hand, fair enough - he shouldnt of started the repairs with hand in that state and should have gone home at my request, anyway he says he has been to the hospital and has a broken wrist, this means he will be out of action for weeks if not a good month and were left in limbo with a poorly tiled kitchen splashback - im not confident that he can (or will) fix the problems left over, his finish is poor and i think he has problems with his eye sight as he worried about how bright my lights were in kitchen during afternoon cos it was gunna get dark, we had tons of lights under cupboards where tiling is - when he left he said to us "just give it a wipe with dry cloth in morning cos that was the best I could do in that light...without me glasses"!!! then I put two and two together and I think he cant see very well and this (if im right) is affecting his work.

I have some pictures of the silicone, un-level tiliing and scratched sockets - the grout is hard to get a good picture of close up but you may be able to see it. - if you look at the tiling from left - to - right it looks like it rises in middle and you can see that it does as there is gap between cooker and tiles getting bigger as goes in middle.

We have decided to get trim instead of using silicone and we would like some advice on remove and replacing tiles and grout - I tiled our bathroom in old house but not done it before then, Iam thinking of cutting my losses now and just replacing a few tiles myself - and also getting a 'proper' tiler in to price up a repair , too make things worse we spent £60 on a blind for the kitchen and just as I put it up I cut my finger and got blood on it - ruined, another £60 wasted...

pictures

[Sir Ramic]

Its not good at all. What meterage was it ?
Was the adhesive ready mixed ?

[Del W]

Hello, how many tiles were put up in total? and how many need changing.

[snadge]

thanks for your quick reply,

I dont know what he used, although I think theyre may be some empty tubs in big bin oustide

meterage, do you mean how many square meters? - i think it was something like 4sqm - we bought 4 boxes of 50 x (200x100) tiles and he used 3 of em just opening the fourth

I know he hurt his hand but the tiling itself was done before that and he should have left the rest until he got hand sorted, although I cant see using left hand to grout causing problems...not to mention everything else - the guy says he is 30 years served tiler??? im thinking must be industrial with huge tiles where finish is easier

[Sir Ramic]

If you bought 200 tiles of that size it would be 4m2 , so if he had used a few out of the 4th box it would be about 3m2 just slightly over.
If he was there until 7pm for 3m2 then I would say he was no tiler.
There isnt much positive I can say about the job. there is adhesive showing through the joints and he should have covered the units to save messing them up.

[snadge]

just a few tiles to replace, he chipped corner of one too, preferably I would have it ripped off right back to corners and re-tiled but I just dont think we can afford to pay for that

[GirlRacerRed]

have you paid the tiler for the work he has done?

[Sir Ramic]

Although I have removed the prices you stated I will say that the 1st quote was more like it if including adhesive and grout.

[snadge]

If you bought 200 tiles of that size it would be 4m2 , so if he had used a few out of the 4th box it would be about 3m2 just slightly over.
If he was there until 7pm for 3m2 then I would say he was no tiler.
There isnt much positive I can say about the job. there is adhesive showing through the joints and he should have covered the units to save messing them up.

he started at mid-day and finished at 7.40pm - along that back wall but also there was sink and smaller bit opposite... like you say 3m2 just over - my girlfriend even said "seems a lot of work for what it is" and obviously SHE not a tiler and noticed that - he even said himself it wasnt a full days works before he started

when i pulled him about one tile not sitting level he said the tile mustnt be cut right because he had his level on it!!! - i said i dunno about that, theyre machine cut?" he had no reply...

he says he is 30 years served, worked for himself for 7 years and is booked up for months, his phone never stopped when he was here, he been doing nights on a terazo floor or summit, seems to know his stuff but his work is poor...

gutted

so just wanting advice on removing and replacing tiles

i will take some photos of the grouting aswell for you to inspect

thanks

edit: yeah price - wished we had now...

[Del W]

If its only a few tiles,would you be happy to do it yourself ? Looking at the silicone,a novice could do better
Or it would only take a real tiler a couple of hours to repair/replace the problem areas.

[snadge]

have you paid the tiler for the work he has done?

unfortunately yes, when he finished he was walking out of the kitchen with last of his stuff where i gave him his money before inspecting it and he done off very quickly - cos he said he had other quotes to do... now i think he knew he done a botch job and wanted to scarper hoping we wouldnt complain

[snadge]

If its only a few tiles,would you be happy to do it yourself ? Looking at the silicone,a novice could do better
Or it would only take a real tiler a couple of hours to repair/replace the problem areas.

exactly, even my girlfriend (who's house and kitchen it is and she paid for it and i recommended him from the forum - great eh?) said we could have done better and have, we tiled our bathroom in old house and done much better than that - at least it was level and even grout and tiles - you need a good eye for this sort of work and i dont think he has - we built that kitchen ourselves from scratch including new ceiling, floor, plumbing, doorway, wall mounted towel rail - all before we even started the kitchen install - now it looks 2nd rate cos of the poor tiling

[Sir Ramic]

Right lets take it step at a time.
1st the offending tiles will need to be removed. You will find though that you may have to remove a few tiles from around those areas to get the tiles to sit right.

2nd, regrouting, this will be the hard part to avoid damaging the surrounding tiles. Also it would be best to get the same grout that was used originally so it will match.

3rd, remove all silicone, use a silicone eater product. Clean the joint and then either re apply or use a trim. Silicone will look better IMO if done correct.

[snadge]

thanks Sir Ramic (cool name hehe)

yeah I thought of all 3 of those already - silicone has been removed from the worktop, we are just going to go with an oak trim as its easier and tidier,

I will see if he left tubs of grout in bin to get the make etc

my brother in law has done a bit of tiling with his dad in past and when talking to him he seemed to know a bit, im handy myself aswell, common sense , prep, patience and correct guidance and you can do anything really... ive worked in building trade for years, a while ago now...

[Sir Ramic]

I dont think that it would take too long to sort out , You will then be happy with the tiling and let the experience read so..."pay cheap, pay twice"

If you need any further help you know where we are. We dont like seeing this type of work as much as you do.

[snadge]

I dont think that it would take too long to sort out , You will then be happy with the tiling and let the experience read so..."pay cheap, pay twice"

If you need any further help you know where we are. We dont like seeing this type of work as much as you do.

yeah thanks, i will be back on if i go ahead with it myself for guidance, i know - i tried to save my gf money, instead ive cost her money...feel really bad about it, im out of work too so cant pay for it or i would

thanks again, speak soon

[Mike]

that's a terrible job, tiles lipping badly and uneven. needs a total re- do if you want it looking proper i.m.o. it also looks like you have a gap between the worktop and back wall? if so i would skim the wall to fill the gap prior to re-tiling. good luck with it but i wouldn't let the original 'tiler' touch it again. you've given him a chance to rectify it with no success

[nybor62]

poor tiling poor grouting ,and the silicone well what can i say , shocking,

[Scott]

Silicone is awful i can get a better result using my elbow! The grout hasnt been sponged off properly and the setting out in the hob isnt great. I dont think it needs a full redo though it hink you you just pop out the few offending ones then you can get it to look reasonable. The 2 behind the hob defo need to get levelled out!

[Dave]

Hello and welcome..

Looking at those pics, then that is 30 years of tiling nightmares.. he has done for others.

The grouting is abysmal and the setting out not good either, notice the different sized cuts in the hob area, if it was centred it would have looked better on the eye as this is a focal point.

We here so so often now as cheap prices tend to attract customers to use this type of worker.

It could be made to look better as mentioned above but also as mike say's a rip out and a good tiler will make it 100%..

Where abouts are you..?

[nybor62]

thers are good tilers out there who are finding it hard , then muppets come along and turn our work like this , and he is probs busy as well ,
doing cheap quotes and sub- standard work,

[Stewart]

Another fine Example of cheap labour at it's finest. I would suggest a total redo........

[widler]

not a good job at all.
should of re plastered at least where the hob is (before kitchen went in),they are running up but also running with the curve of the wall,so makes it look twice as bad.and the silicone,well,my dog could do better with his tongue
cheaper is not always the best policy

unless its beer,carlsburg export is cheaper at our local spar than it is at asda,now thats good

i remember priceing a job up where someone else had done downstairs(plastering),the chap said " the other chap was half your price" this is while there is a bloke downstairs with a electric sander,sanding down the other blokes plastering,needless to say i did thisthen this and walked out

[Sean fsy]

looks like hes tried to apply the silicon while the tiles and wortop was still wet from cleaning off, as we know silicon wont stick or even look at anything that is slightly damp. one good thing if there is any is that if he did used tubbed addy they will pop off easy enough.

[marbleman]

where did you find this guy from

[Dave]

where did you find this guy from

Apparently another forum..

[Phil Hobson]

There is another tilers forum? I don't think so

[Dave]

There is another tilers forum? I don't think so

I just said another forum.. could be one of a few that has trades on it..

[Bathfix Bob]

I wouldn't have started that job at dinnertime and expect to do a decent finished job by teatime, why didn't he just chill out, worked till say 5:30pm and then come back at his first available time and finish off? He must have known you'd ring him after you'd seen it.

You said his phone was ringing all day? I can guarantee you some of those would have been call backs to other jobs.

[hillhead]

So bad !
This standard of work would make a poor tiler look good unfortunately.
Name and shame i say.