Yet another post about bad work...

[Rich]

My girl friends mother asked me if I can recommend a painter to repaint her hall was as the wall paper was peeling off the wall, I had a look at the wall and realised that the shower was on the other side of the wall. I looked closely and shock horror!!!! No silicone in the internal joints and the grout has cracked all the way down the walls letting water behind the tiles and ruining the stud wall. She asked me for a quote to sort it (she wouldnt let me do it for a favour because "thats what she pays insurance for"), she gave the quote to the insurance company who obviously said that "they have their own experts to do the work". So I stood well back but just said to her to make sure that the "tiler" uses silicone in the internal joints not grout.

They turn up and rip the tiles off, of course the plasterboard is ruined but he tells her that its ok because he is going to PVA it before the tiler tiles it. I go round that evening and tell her what I think. Next day he has taken the old board off and replaced with standard plasterboard (of course no tanking here), I tell her what I think but try to stay out of it. This is where they realise that they cant get the same tiles . She picks some new 1s. The tiler comes in and tiles the shower area and grouts the internal joints like a brain damaged chimp so i cut the grout out and siliconed. Neadless to say the work was terrible!

After this she decides that she isnt happy as there is a bow in the tiles so they come back and take 1 of the walls down and replace the plasterboard with MDF. I almost wet myself laughing! She phones them back and tells them that its not good enough. The next day the builder is not a happy bunny as he has to change the board (again). He then tells her that I dont know what Im talking about because Im only a tiler and he is a builder so he has to know loads more

I have missed out a hell of a lot of this story to keep it short (). He also asked for a bacon butty every morning, turned upo at 7.30am on a sat without telling them and left before 9am, charged her an extra £600 to do a few odd jobs, these took him less than an hour.

But the most stupid thing out of the lot? She has asked him to fit a new kitchen for her... I dont get it.

P.S Sorry for the essay, needed to vent!

[Bri]

It's such a shame there are so many stories of cack work on the forum, there seems to be one every day! Some people are just so ignorant (the builder not your GF's mum!). On the plus side, when this recession finally disappears there is going to be loads of work for all us professional, conscientious tilers to re-do

[andy allen]

why she asking him to fit a new kitchen for her............has he got the gift of the gab

[Rich]

Well she is a bloody idiot as well. One of those people that will have some1 back without thinking about it just he has worked for her before. When she wants a trade she just sticks a pin in the yellow pages. You just cant help people without a brain

[Rich]

why she asking him to fit a new kitchen for her............has he got the gift of the gab

Because she is that stupid mate.

[Bri]

By the way, 'brain damaged chimp' has to be my favourite put-down ever! I'm still giggling about it now! Quality! Describes many people I know. I'm going to see if I can get it into a conversation tomorrow!

[whitebeam]

quote]She has asked him to fit a new kitchen for her

Beggers belief.

I'm on job at the moment where new kitchen is being fitted, the women had the floor tiles taken up because they were so hollow and found a tile corner that she could move/flex with no addy under it..the guy said it's because it's got flexible adhesive under it that why it flexes..she was'nt having none of it.

[Rich]

quote]She has asked him to fit a new kitchen for her

Beggers belief.

I'm on job at the moment where new kitchen is being fitted, the women had the floor tiles taken up because they were so hollow and found a tile corner that she could move/flex with no addy under it..the guy said it's because it's got flexible adhesive under it that why it flexes..she was'nt having none of it.

Oh that is good! Im going to use that one.

At least she has the brains to not put up with it I suppose.

[Dave]

Women are a strange breed..

[user123]

Women are a strange breed..

OY!! I don't get how your girl friend's mum could possible let this plonker anywhere near her house again, but that builder and his actions are even harder to understand... I mean... why????

[Scott]

If it was my MIL id struggle to even worry

[advancetiling]

unfortunately its mis informed builders who are the scourge of tilers."im a builder so i know more than a tiler" thats their mentality. brain damaged chimps lol

[Derry]

very true but there should never be any excuse for ignorance!
If someone tells you that the job is being done wrong then why carry on?!
Boils my blood..

[Derry]

Women are a strange breed..

that's putting it mildly!!!

[stevee]

I qouted for a retile after blown tiles let water downstairs

and he wouldnt pay the extra for WPM..............DERRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rich]

Iv given up looking in that room now but Il try to get some pics over the weekend so all you dumb tilers can see how a really pro works.

[Bathfix Bob]

I like the way he 'asked' for a bacon butty every morning....

"I'll have my bacon butty in a minute, after I've nailed up this 9mm MDF"

What a joker!!

[Rich]

I thought that you might like to see some pics of the shower room.
Draycottsand maries 015.jpg Draycottsand maries 016.jpg Draycottsand maries 017.jpg Draycottsand maries 018.jpg Draycottsand maries 019.jpg Draycottsand maries 020.jpgDraycottsand maries 022.jpg Draycottsand maries 023.jpg Draycottsand maries 025.jpg Draycottsand maries 027.jpg Draycottsand maries 028.jpg Draycottsand maries 029.jpg Draycottsand maries 030.jpg
This room has been finished for a couple of months now and the wall on the other side is already starting to crack, the plastic trim thing that they have put along the bottom of the tiles is not water tight (my girlfriends mum had to silicone her self). This wall is made of plywood anrottenon. The tiler ran out of the mosaics so himproviseded (I must remember that one next time I run out of tiles). Also note the hole where they drilled thwrongng place for the shower (she had to fill this with silicone). The step out side the shower is chipboard and as you can see cracked and hollow. In the last pic you can see what the tiles and border that she asked for looked like!

Well there you have it, this is the kind of work that we are up against from other pros. Im not to worried.

[user123]

Be afraid, Rich, be very afraid... I've seen this kind of work a lot, in hotels and pubs especially, since becoming with obsessed with looking at tiling and it makes me respect you good guys all the more.

[peteablard]

Great pics Rich, love the 'Stepped Effect' of the joints in pic 8. Very annoying that these muppets keep getting work

[impish]

Kill him.

(seriously)

[user123]

Kill him.

(seriously)

[jay]

just goes to show anyone can tile

[gshtiling]

That is bad and what makes me really mad is that I would consider myself to be a good tiler and I'm really quite at the moment but morons like that always seem to be busy? Makes me proper mad

[user123]

That is bad and what makes me really mad is that I would consider myself to be a good tiler and I'm really quite at the moment but morons like that always seem to be busy? Makes me proper mad

Just wondering, as I don't know you - how can people find you? How do you market yourself?

[gshtiling]

Don't really do any advertising apart from cards in local tile shop,builders merchants etc. Most of my work is word of mouth or other contacts but they all seem to be really quite at the moment,example: the kitchen fitter I normally do alot of work does some of his own tiling just to keep him self busy. I'm not moaning at not been busy,its more how do this people keep on getting jobs when there work is so bad if you get what I mean?

[craigdon]

Sounds like another self called 'builder' who dabbles in everything, masters none, and has never built anything other than asmall boundary wall. To my mind a builder is someone who could build a house from footings, but builder to some takes on a whole different meaning these days.

[Brian the Tile]

yes have to agree i have been very quiet lately but we have a few of them jack of all trades master of none round here and they always seem to be quite busy,never see there vans parked up in the drive like mine has been a lot lately makes the blood boil muppets

[Bathfix Bob]

Showers take no prisoners, especially the ones that get used four or five time a day, one tiny gap is all thats needed to start rotting the wall.

Its very rare I ever see a quality install.

[Rich]

Just to clear up guys, this wasnt done by the builder, he ruined the entire house but he called in a super pro tiler (just happens to be a relative) to tile the room.