Confidence

[MSB Tiling]

Just wondering if youve ever lost confidence in your ability to tile?

Ive been tiling 5 years now, not in a big headed way but im a good tiler.

Made two mistakes on a job 3 weeks ago, it cost me £200.

This is the first time this has happened to me whilst ive been self employed.

But all of a sudden I cant seem to get simple things right, my confidence has completly gone.

Please tell me if gets better.

[Sir Ramic]

Mistakes happen, learn from your mistakes.

It will get better !

[Bri]

I find when I have a little run of bad luck the best thing to do is take a step back and if possible, have a couple of days off then go back to the problem. I've had a couple of issues recently and started to question my ability, but it's all being sorted now and I'll hopefully come out the other side!

[andy allen]

what were the 2 mistakes you made..

[timeless john]

You don't say how long you have been Self Employed and as the 'mistakes' only cost you £200-00 it's not the end of the world.
But if you show a lack of confidence in estimating - you wont get any work, and if you show a lack of confidence in undertaking the work - that customer can seize on this to apply pressure to your business.
You must show that you are enjoying this trade and with enthusiasm that in itself will give you and your customer confidence.
If your not - then how will it get better.

So enjoy!

[jay]

--it happens move on

[MSB Tiling]

Thanks for your replies, ive been self employed for 10 months now.

The mistake I made was a kitchen wall, the plaster was all over and i made it look as good as i could, they wernt happy so i did it again and they still wernt happy.

They loved all the rest of the walls and the floor I did.

I cant understand why its affected me so bad lol. Time to man up lol.

[Bri]

You'll learn loads of lessons on the way, I've been self employed for 5 years now and still make the odd mistake, but like has already been said, just learn from them.​I would imagine even some of the folk on here that have been tiling 20 years and more will tell you that they still get caught out by the odd thing and make the odd silly mistake. Just don't make the same mistake twice!!!!

[hillhead]

Take it on the chin and move on.
Take plenty of pics of your work so you can look at the quality you really can do.

[whitebeam]

Just read my signature, we've all been there..

[kilty55]

hi msb,if the wallas were that bad you should maybe advise in your estimate that they must be made good before you tile

doesnt cost much for that little extra prep,hope you get your confidence back

[mattle40]

iv had this exact thing on a job iv just finished...
60x30 rectified bright white ceramics, slightly bowed tiles, very bowed walls, 1.5mm spacers! to be fair i thought id done a pretty good job considering. but as soon as i grouted up there were a few shadows (downlighters about 6 inch in from the walls made this inevitable!) plus the way they had decided they wanted the tiled in bath setting out left stupid cuts on the ends, i did explain this but they were adamant they wanted it this way, then the floor tiles were 310mmx310 ceramics but must have hands down been the worst calibrated tiles iv had to use before and they wanted then as tight as poss so i did them by eye, so by the end just about everything was just that bit below MY USUALLY VERY HIGH standard, customer was happy but i was so dissapointed in my work... oh and i ran 2 days over!!!

so confidence is a bit low to say the least....

[Phil Hobson]

The man who never made a mistake, never made anything, very true. But as above prep can save a lot of grief.

[impish]

I still get "Norman Wisdom" days!

Normally I pack up early and go home.....

[MSB Tiling]

Dont mean this in a bad way, but its made me feel better knowing that other people have been in a similar situation. Now I no its not just me lol.

Thankyou for all your advice its a big help!

Back to work tomorrow to finish a floor I started yesterday (bloody gas men digging my patio up today )

[les_yorks]

I just think everthing is a learning curve, we all make mistakes its a human thing. The main thing is being able to realise that you have made that mistake and that you learn from it. Someone said in a previous post if you are not happy with the walls, tell the customer that it needs putting right. Personally if i dont feel that its going to look good and the customer just wants it doing anyway, then i say iam unable to do it. I know i lose money but i would rather that happen, than risk my reputation.

[user123]

Somebody said to me not long ago "People make mistakes, that's why pencils have rubbers." Rescued my nervous state no end.

[doug boardley]

Somebody said to me not long ago "People make mistakes, that's why pencils have rubbers." Rescued my nervous state no end.

...and cars have bumpers.
take it on the chin and move on mate, as has already been said, we all make mistakes from time to time, it's how you handle them that counts.

[deanotile]

we all make mistakes and hit problems but it is how we deal with them that matters. i hope it all turns around for you m8.*

[enduro]

Another thing to learn is how to walk away from a job...Had a floor to do yesterday 6sqm, turned up to start yesterday chip board floor running into ply. Ply 4mm lower than the chipboard, lots of flex and he said just pack the tiles out it will be fine. I lost a days money..he was annoyed i would not do it. But it was all wrong so i walked.

[Ceramico tiling]

I have made a mistake or two.I find it happens when I rush to get my meterage etc.But now I have a cuppa before I start and make sure I am looking at the untiled area,and slowly look over all the details.Washing my work religiously also lets me catch anything i missed.(wonky groutlines etc)