Wall and Floor Tiling Advice for Kate the Mate

[Kate the mate]

Please see my earlier thread for background information to this problem.

http://www.tilersforums.com/stone-tiling-forum/40827-travertine-tiles-shower-help-needed.html

The tiler/plumber started on Tuesday this week. He brought with him a younger guy to assist. They took out the bath, washbasin, loo and shower tray and boarded and then tiled the floor. The tiles had all been sealed first. So far, so good I thought.

Yesterday they put the bath back in and then started tiling around the bath. All seemed to be going well as far as I could see. Today, the main man went out 'to get some grout' and was gone for over three hours. During that time his assistant (a carpenter) carried on tiling. I went upstairs to see how he was getting on and was horrified to see that he had started at one corner of the wall and has worked across the wall, but when he gets to the other corner there is a gap which he tells me he will fill with grout. He has used very few spacers, working mainly by eye, so the grouting gaps are not consistent, some are big, some are small. My picture will explain better than me.

When the main man gets back he tells me not to worry, he will cut some slithers of tile to put in the gaps, which he has done, but to me the whole thing has been spoiled. There is a full tile at one end of the wall and a slither of tile at the other, and it's the wall facing you as you come into the bathroom. I could have wept. I really wanted a great job and, to me, it looks amateurish. Picture enclosed.

On another wall the bath is centred and the taps are centred too, but the tiling is not centred on the taps so the tiling looks unbalanced. Please tell me, will it look better when it's grouted, which is what the tiler tells me? Am I being too particular?

I really wanted to feel that this was fabulous, it's costing a fortune, but I feel physically sick about what to do or think.

 

[Perry]

i wouldn't pay him for the materials unless he is going to pay you for your time and worry Kate take one from the other and send him your invoice for the difference ete

 

[tootall66]

Well done Kate for standing your ground :hurray:, i bet you feel a whole lot better now than you did last night.

Don't pay him a penny,

About the small cuts on the floor is most of it hidden by the sink & toilet ?
and what size are the cuts opposite that wall ?

 

[Kate the mate]

Martyn, I know he used 'no more ply' but no idea what he used to stick them down. I only noticed this small strip when I looked at the pictures. The untiled area is where the shower is due to go.

Oh, another thing. He tiled behind the towel rail through the bars!! And the horrible looking things on the tissue on the floor are his used tea bags!

 

[Perry]

why isnt the shower already in ?

 

[Kate the mate]

Shower was going in today. In his defence, it was late arriving from supplier.

 

[Kate the mate]

Tootall66, he started at the other side of the room, under the bath, with a full sized tile. The loo will be positioned over the thin pieces.

 

[Perry]

hope they haven't got to disturb the floor :yikes:

 

[tootall66]

Thanks Kate if you can live with that its not ever so bad as long as the floor has been laid to the correct spec
In his defence the floor don't look too bad in that photo
However to the right of the towel rad there appears to be a bow/camber on the horizontal joints

 

[Stewart]

If the guy was a plumber, why is he tiling round a radiator instead of removing it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.....

 

[Kate the mate]

I agree tootall, I'm just about to take those off!!! I've got as far as under the window.

 

[tootall66]

You work fast girl do you wanna job lol.
Going back to the small cuts the shower tray will be along that wall as well won't it ? so that will less small cuts to see ?
Enjoy stripping sorry could'nt resist

 

[CJ CERAMICS]

this really makes me mad.....:mad2::mad2::mad2:...see how mad i am? i for one at the moment is sitting watching bargain hunt due to lack of work and to see a job that looks like the preperation has had attention to detail spent on it....and some idiot has spoilt it by making basic rudimentary errors......well it just makes my head spin. looking at the pictures you have posted Kate your bathroom will look fantastic once finished correctly.......Oh one more thing i personally would have had the rad pipes extended and chased into the wall, something i would have discussed with you prior to starting would give a much cleaner finish on both the floor and wall.

chris

 

[Alan.P]

i personally would have had the rad pipes extended and chased into the wall, something i would have discussed with you prior to starting would give a much cleaner finish on both the floor and wall.

chris

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Kate the mate]

I was thinking the same thing.

Although you can't really tell from these pics, the radiator pipes are in front of a boxed in water pipe. Two walls finished now, just the wall over the bath and the last wall to do. Can you tell me, how do I clean these tiles once they are all off? Do I wait until they are really dry and sand them off?

CJ, what a shame there are people looking for work and then others can't find tilers to do their jobs.

 

[nybor62]

as all above very poor set out ,get them to re-tile it

 

[Alan.P]

Kate, get the adhesive off now whilst it is still damp / drying. The longer it's left the harder it will be.

 

[Kate the mate]

How do I get the adhesive off, Alan? It's pretty set on the tiles.

 

[Alan.P]

A paint scrapper would do the trick, you could soak the tiles in warm water to soften up the adhesive ( assuming it is tubbed adhesive ) but I wouldn't like to do that with travertine in case you get adhesive into the tile face, then we have another problem. A bit of elbow grease and patience will / should do the trick.

 

[Deleted member 9966]

hi Kate

just been reading your thread. Sorry to hear about your very bad experienced with a so called wetroom and bathroom specialist.

to get the adhesive off the tiles, do you have a spray gun of some description? an old anti bac spray bottle or something similar? something like that with warm water in it will help you to direct the water at the adhesive better, hopefully allowing you to work cleaner at getting the addy off.

i've soaked ceramic tiles in the past and tubbed adhesive just rolls off when you push it with your fingers when it's been soaked.

good luck

 

[Kate the mate]

Just spent an hour or so cleaning off the tiles using a scraper. Thanks for the latest advice, Girlracer, I'll try some warm water in a spray. Some are cleaning of relatively easily, some are stuck like the proverbial. Hopefully when husband comes home he can do the late shift!! I might try soaking one or two to see if it rolls off easily. I have got about 3 or four boxes of unused tiles so I've got spares. Back to it.......

 

[mikethetile]

At least you have saved your tiles Kate

I wouldnt worry anymore about him, just move on with your project

one day he might learn what a client expects from him, well done for standing your ground, its not easy telling a bloke his work is substandard. dont worry about him reading this thread no one has made a personal comment about him just pointed out his work is not up to scratch

if he wishes he can get a masterclass here on setting out, fixing and customer care. all he needs to do is make himself known on this thread and we will help him avoid getting into these difficulties in the future

 

[Bathfix Bob]

I'm sure he will read this thread after googling 'tilers forum'.

You could have made that job look amazing mate, but it seems you carried on with your mates messed up layout.
When you got back from that outing why did you not correct his work?

I'm at the stage myself where I need to take on a lad but its things like this that stop me hiring anyone, I don't want my good name being affected by anothers substandard work.

 

[Scott]

Kate im in bicester on Sunday. Its a lot further than i normally travel as i look after the kid as well. I wasnt going to take on anymore work between now and Xmas but if you want me to come over on Sunday then send me a PM and ill take a look and see if i can help you

 

[Alan.P]

There's a great offer.

 

[user123]

It's a great forum...

 

[DHTiling]

Kate im in bicester on Sunday. Its a lot further than i normally travel as i look after the kid as well. I wasnt going to take on anymore work between now and Xmas but if you want me to come over on Sunday then send me a PM and ill take a look and see if i can help you

A BIG thank you from me..

 

[Kate the mate]

I am really thrilled to hear this, Scottley. Thank you so much. I'll send you a private message.

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Kate, I think you must understand by now, the passion the members of this forum feel about these "so called tilers". Take Scottley up on his offer. Good luck.

 

[Bathfix Bob]

Here is the repair he did to fill the corner,

Shocking!,
You did the right thing by showing this slither king the door.

How many days work did they do before you stopped the job Kate? It will have cost him dearly especialy with an employee in tow.

 

[Sean Kelly]

Kate, I used to watch 'LOST' on the TV. I could not wait till the next episode. Your thread of 9 pages comes very close to 'LOST'. I'm sure you would win 'Thread of the Month' (if there were such a competition!). So many people start a really interesting thread and we never get the follow-ups. Well done for keeping us upto date on proceedings. You are probably enjoying a nice glass of wine now, so I'll leave you to it. Good luck with the rest of the project. Maybe you should keep those slithers of tiles and mount them on some perspex. You could maybe put the perspex over the toilet as a little reminder of what your bathroom could have ended up looking like! Cheers Sean