Bad tiling job?

zig

Hi all, looking for advice before I go back to the tiler. Sorry I don’t have pics but I will later when I go back there.

I know this is DIY but I can’t find anywhere else on boards to ask.

We got a bathroom tile job done. Part of the wall has this type of tile https://www.tilelook.com/system/tile_picture/resource/4666635/d3d_default_65__.png (not sure if relevant but was thinking maybe he was trying to line it up)

Anyway we were gutted when we saw the job. One tile is slightly protruding from the wall and not flush on a side of it and more importantly there is an inch (Or maybe more) long strip of tiles at the main corner that every one can see. Even that strip isn’t even in width as you look up and down the corner. It gets skinnier towards the ground.

Is there any reason this can be justified ? Just wanna know before we ask him to do the wall again?

Also how big a job is it out of curiosity? Let’s say a bathroom wall about 2.5m/3m in length and normal height.

Thanks

mickuhaha

If the room is not square you would try to leave half tiles for both corners on the same wall as it looks better than using part tiles to fill the difference. Pop up a picture when you can.

zig

Cheers, attached is the tile sticking out (cant really see it well there to be honest).

And here is a video of the strip at the corner. We got a second opinion and they agreed it needs to be done again.

https://streamable.com/gc49i

GolfNut33

That's a shockingly bad job and even a DIY'er would be embarrassed by that.

zig

Thanks, as its been a few people now that said that it makes it much easier to get him to do it again!

GolfNut33

zig wrote: »

Thanks, as its been a few people now that said that it makes it much easier to get him to do it again!

I wouldn't let him do it again. I'd have serious issues with a tradesman who thought that was acceptable.

awec

That corner is a joke. Tiles aren't even on straight.

As someone above said, the other end of that same wall should have had cut tiles, so instead of having one tiny little strip on one end, you have two decent sized cuts on both ends.

Looks like the tiler got his new apprentice to have a go at it.

Sleeper12

Absolutely terrible job. Any tiler should know never ever use small tiles close to an uneven wall. You can see the reason for this rule in your video.

sligojoek

Did he start with a full tile at the other side?

grounderfill

Had a similar chance few years ago. Exact same. Paid him 50 quid and got rid. Got in a recommended tile who stripped it and laughed.
New tiler marked center point of top of first wall and drew vertical line down.
Placed center of tile along the vertical line and tiled left and right of the line.
This gave equal tile cuts to left hand side and right hand side. This way it looked correct

the_pen_turner

everyone is too quick to judge here. we dont have enough info to say if it was set out wrong.
in most cases this is wrong but a few cases there is nothing you can do, sometimes you have to center on an of center window to make that part look better. sometimes putting the edge of the tile to the center line is good sometimes the benter of the tile to centerline is better but sometimes it can create small bad looking cuts in a very obvious place that look worse.

zig

Thanks all, they asked to send them the vid and they'll address it. Yer comments made it much easier to ask because I wasnt sure if its just part of how tiling pans out or not.

@the_pen_turner I should have taken a vid of the whole wall but there is no window on this wall. For some reason the other side doesnt start with a full slate either which surprised me because that implies that the tiler did have a think about planning it.

My theory is that on the other corner (not in the vid) he wanted the design to line up so he cut the tile accordingly, thought it would finish correctly length wise with the corner in the video but came up short an inch or less.

Another guy looked at it in real life and told me it was terrible and they absolutely had to do it again.

zig

grounderfill wrote: »

Had a similar chance few years ago. Exact same. Paid him 50 quid and got rid. Got in a recommended tile who stripped it and laughed.
New tiler marked center point of top of first wall and drew vertical line down.
Placed center of tile along the vertical line and tiled left and right of the line.
This gave equal tile cuts to left hand side and right hand side. This way it looked correct

Just curious what he would do here if in his planning if there was gonna be the length of a small cut left over from the centre? He'd move the centre position of the middle I suppose?

Up Donegal

the_pen_turner wrote: »

everyone is too quick to judge here. we dont have enough info to say if it was set out wrong.
in most cases this is wrong but a few cases there is nothing you can do, sometimes you have to center on an of center window to make that part look better. sometimes putting the edge of the tile to the center line is good sometimes the benter of the tile to centerline is better but sometimes it can create small bad looking cuts in a very obvious place that look worse.

I agree that when a narrow strip of tile (< 50mm IMO) has to be used, it should be in a corner and not in the centre of the wall. I have seen situations where a narrow strip for use in a corner was cut from a full tile and the rest of the tile was laid at the start of the same row on the adjacent wall and I have to say it didn't look too bad at all.

Up Donegal

zig wrote: »

Cheers, attached is the tile sticking out (cant really see it well there to be honest).

And here is a video of the strip at the corner. We got a second opinion and they agreed it needs to be done again.

https://streamable.com/gc49i

I’ll play devil’s advocate here.

Looking at the video, was the wall on the right, where the pipes are, plumb to the bottom beforehand? If not (in an older house, maybe), perhaps the tiler had no option but to have the corner tile narrower at the bottom.

awec

Up Donegal wrote: »

I’ll play devil’s advocate here.

Looking at the video, was the wall on the right, where the pipes are, plumb to the bottom beforehand? If not (in an older house, maybe), perhaps the tiler had no option but to have the corner tile narrower at the bottom.

Yes but this is why you avoid such narrow strips. It would not be so obvious if the cuts were larger.

Because the two lines of grout end up so close together it is plainly obvious that one of them is not straight.

LenWoods

Check this job out lol
Where I work it's the showers in the male locker room
The tiler didn't even bother to remove the old tiles just put the new larger pattern tiles on top of the old ones lol

sligojoek

LenWoods wrote: »

Check this job out lol
Where I work it's the showers in the male locker room
The tiler didn't even bother to remove the old tiles just put the new larger pattern tiles on top of the old ones lol

Normal enough practice.

dok_golf

LenWoods wrote: »

Check this job out lol
Where I work it's the showers in the male locker room
The tiler didn't even bother to remove the old tiles just put the new larger pattern tiles on top of the old ones lol

you don't need to always remove old tiles

grounderfill

zig wrote: »

Just curious what he would do here if in his planning if there was gonna be the length of a small cut left over from the centre? He'd move the centre position of the middle I suppose?

If you have time, draw the room out on a page (looking from above) showing wall meausurents, location of the door and the dimensions of the tiles...I'll come back to you with a suggested correct version of how it should be or should have been done...

GreeBo

the_pen_turner wrote: »

everyone is too quick to judge here. we dont have enough info to say if it was set out wrong.
in most cases this is wrong but a few cases there is nothing you can do, sometimes you have to center on an of center window to make that part look better. sometimes putting the edge of the tile to the center line is good sometimes the benter of the tile to centerline is better but sometimes it can create small bad looking cuts in a very obvious place that look worse.

But you either start with a full tile in the middle of the wall OR you start with a joint in the middle of the wall?

You never start with a full tile on one side and see what happens at the other end.

As long as you do one or other of the above you shouldnt ever end up with tiny cuts anywhere...unless the tiles themselves are tiny in which case small cuts dont look as bad.

the_pen_turner

GreeBo wrote: »

But you either start with a full tile in the middle of the wall OR you start with a joint in the middle of the wall?

You never start with a full tile on one side and see what happens at the other end.

As long as you do one or other of the above you shouldnt ever end up with tiny cuts anywhere...unless the tiles themselves are tiny in which case small cuts dont look as bad.

thats not true. around windows and corners etc can still have small tiles no matter what wy you set it out sometimes.


i agree that you cant just start on one side and worry (or dont care) about the other side until you get to it.
one of the first things i was taught about tiling (not in that trade) was to know where you last tile will end up before you set your first one.

GreeBo

the_pen_turner wrote: »

thats not true. around windows and corners etc can still have small tiles no matter what wy you set it out sometimes.

That's not the same thing as having filler tiles in the corners (or beside the floor/ceiling for that matter) though.
You can't do anything about cuts around windows of they don't fit the two layout options I gave originally.
Other than not have each side of your tiles mirror each other, which would look worse.