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J

JJJimmy

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Hi, brilliant forum! Im Jim from Hampshire. Briefly been browsing and some really good info.

I am completely new to tile and i am hoping to learn enough to tile my own bathroom walls and my kitchen splashback.

I am after a bit of advice, hopefully i can add some pics to give you a better idea of what im explaining.

I wanted to get both my bathroom floor and my kitchen floor tiled in my small flat. Both floors were concrete base. For the floors i thought it was best to get a professional to do it. I found a tiler on checkatrade with very good reviews, albeit for a variety of different jobs, plumbing etc too. He came round and quoted me £200 plus materials for both floors. That sounded good so i booked him in. I already had the 60x30 porcelain tiles purchased ready. He said he was a plumber too so would remove the toilet and tile under etc.

The day of the job came and i left him to it. I have attached photos of the bathroom before and after the first day. The dust was ridiculous. He left all his tools, the only cutter i could see was a grinder. Is that normal to use for porcelain tiles?

So the next day he came and finished the job and grouted it all up and put the toilet back on. The toilet was not drilled back onto the tiles, he said just put silicone around the base and itll be fine, is that ok to do? My guess is he didnt want to drill the tiles but not sure the norm?

A few days later i noticed the grout cracking in the kitchen and falling out. When i inspected the tiles more closely, the tiles affected sounded hollow when i tapped them, is that normal? Quite a few are hollow sounding.

By this point he was already paid and gone, messaged me a few times to ask me to leave checkatrade feedback, i haven't yet. To be honest im getting bad vibes about this work and dont really want him back. Whats your thoughts on it? I can take more pics to show you.

The materials charge was £70 also, does that sound about right? For the 'special' https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ for porcelain tiles so he said, and the grout.

Ill see your expert take on it and decide where to go from there, or am i worrying too much? Slightly worried about the plumbing too, he did say he had a bit of a leak with it. Thanks guys

Screenshot_20180502-185353.png DSC_0112.JPG DSC_0100.JPG DSC_0099.JPG
 
OP
Q

Qwerty

The work is all of an exceptionally poor quality. Sounds like he spot fixed the tiles, he has tiled onto chipboard, no attention to detail, uneven levels on the tiles, messy work and untidy plumbing. Using just silicone on the toilet is fine so long as it is done correctly. Take it up with Checkatrade ....... they have a mediation service.
 
OP
J

JJJimmy

Oh dear that bad hey :-( Thankyou for your reply. Not sure chipboard was used though?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
J

JJJimmy

If i contacted the guy who carried oit the work, whats the best i can expect? Not sure i want him back to be honest. To put it right im guessing all the tiles will have to be lifted and re done? These tiles are discontinued so cant just be replaced
 
OP
Q

Qwerty

The chipboard floor I was referring to.

Yes, you should offer him the chance to put it right. My advice would be to do it through Checkatrade.
 
OP
J

JJJimmy

Sorry my mistake, was a concrete floor.

Thankyou for your advice, really appreciate it. Through checkatrade i will go
 
OP
J

JJJimmy

Yes hammer on the edge and toilet directly in bath, luckilly no damage.

More i think about the job, the more annoyed its making me. Hes definitely not stepping foot in my flat again. I cant see how this job can be 'put right' without starting again.

Going to ask for refund, so i can get it sorted. If he refuses then ill be seeking legal and adding damages to the claim. What a headache, cowboy
 

GAZ5518

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1st sign....Price was pretty cheap for 2 floors...
2nd sign....Toilet placed in bath without any protection.. ( with hammer balancing)!
3rd sign... Tap Tap ... Hollow ..Hollow
Checkatrade may help.. failing that .. Legal is the way to go.
 
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Legal is the way to go?
For £270?
For an odd-job man that you employed through a trades website.
For a price even you knew at the beginning that it was cheap, too cheap in fact, usually, when its too good to be true it... yep.

I think perhaps you've been stung by a oddjob chancer and its time to get over it and pay for the job to be done correctly by a TILER.

Lesson learned. Give him bad feedback on the website.
& next time get a quality tradesman.
 

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