Bad tiling job - or am I too picky?

sully2010

The previous poster is correct, they used the window as a centre point instead of using the actual centre point of the wall. Golden rule of tiling is you never leave small strips along edges and it never happens with a bit of basic planning.

They saved themselves a fair bit of of cutting by doing this as if it was centered correctly they would have had to cut around the windows, but its the proper thing to do. I would not be happy either seeing that. They will get away with in 9 out of 10 houses as many would think that is the way it should be done but its not.

Up to you if you want to bring it up but every time you go into that bathroom your eyes will be drawn straight to it. One thing to mention is if the grout is also grey it will help hide it a lot and after a while you should get used to it.

Not getting a lot of posters issue with tile size, most modern bathrooms have larger tiles and they make it feel more spacious especially once the grout is in and polished, idea being it will visually look like one sheet of stone rather than individual tiles.

WildCardDoW

James 007 wrote: »

I dont believe you are picky, if the width of the feature tile is the same as the width of a non cut floor tile I too would of expected them to line up the floor & wall tile. Also on the non feature wall if they lined up the centre tile to centre on the wall first & then cut the other two tiles on either side then it too would look better.

Sometimes I think you need to state the obvious to them that you wanted all the floor & wall tiles to line up, but then you may be left with smaller width tiles are the floor edges. It seems to me that they just went with the one instruction & that was to centre the feature tile on the feature wall & it was free reign thereafter, in other words get the job done with less cutting etc. Thats how I see it.

If you do this do you run the risk of having small cuts either side on the floor at the wider end?

OP talk to them, see what they can do or at least understand their reasoning.

An annoying lesson for the future, don't assume everyone will think as you think. Especially since they're potentially paid per job rather than on time spent so they want it done quickly but well.

antix80

Hey op. Looks fine. And ignore ppl saying the tiles are too big. It's a matter of taste but i like them

cruizer101

I'm with you OP the floor tiles not lining up with the feature tiles looks bad.
I would have thought by you specifying where you want the feature tile it would be obvious enough the grout lines should run down and line up with floor tiles.
I'd say it to them and see what they say, clarify why they didn't do it.

Deeec

I agree with you op that the tiles not joining up looks bad. Also are you sure that the floor tile and the wall tile are the same tile. From the photos they look to be 2 different tiles - maybe it's just me. I do like your choice of tile.

kaymin

How can the floor tiles line up with the wall tiles when they're different sizes? You might line up one tile but none of the rest will line up so you will have the same problem everywhere else.

Alun

antix80 wrote: »

Hey op. Looks fine. And ignore ppl saying the tiles are too big. It's a matter of taste but i like them

We have exactly the same tiles, including the feature ones, in a much smaller en suite and it looks fine. Same tiles on the floor too.

pawdee

I think that when everything is grouted and cleaned up it's going to look fantastic. I'd love a bathroom like that. That's just me though. You, on the other hand, are going to be tortured by those off centre cuts and lack of alignment for as long as you live in that house. Is there another bathroom you could use?

Doop

I have to agree with the OP grout lines not lining up when the tiles are originally the same size is poor. I have in my proff job told guys to take down and re-do freshly tiled walls to line up the grout lines with the floor. That being said I had the fall back position of having issued tiling layout drawings.

My parents got a bathroom done and I told them to specify the grout lines line up (which they didnt bother saying to the tiler) and the 600x600 tiles are offset on the floor by about 50mm... baffles the mind. Parents didn't notice and I didn't say it to them. But I was furious! however you do get over these things!

OP if was me I would bring it up with the plumber /tiler, just say you are not happy and have a discussion it doesn't mean they will rip it out and redo it but it is always worth having the discussion and you will (hopefully) feel better for it.

Juwwi

I mentioned before but it got lost in thread ,I don't see a Classi Seal on the shower tray , am l somehow missing it ?

Are they not a given these days on the new shower trays ?

Don't mean to open a new can of worms for the OP either .

mick121

Here is my 2cents worth.Big tiles = less options on starting points.Showrooms don't take into account plumbed wear and windows etc.i would set out cuts to suit the window not center the wall as cuts can be bad.i would where possible take the sink waste as my center line and work left/right as when your mirror goes up it's centered with sink and tiles.on the floor joints may only line up on one wall as room won't be square.Its important to set out floor to suit the cuts at the shower tray and toilet waste pipe if it's set in the floor.
Last thing it will look so much better when grouted .

Rows Grower

You should really have spoken to the tiler and told him exactly what you expected before they started the job. Even if you didn’t the the tiler should have spoken to you when he finished marking out the job and before he stuck the first tile to show you where the tiles were going to be situated and why he chose that starting point.
The size of the tiles has nothing to do with the issue.
The lads took the easiest option for them to get in and get out quickly but in fairness they can’t have been expected to read your mind either. It’s your own fault really.

awec

Of course the size of the tiles is relevant. If they start with a full tile on the left of that window wall then you have a tiny bit of tile running down along the window.

The bigger the tile the more obvious small cuts will be on the wall.

screamer

Did you specifically agreed with the tiler exactly how you wanted it done? Was this guy the cheapest quote by any chance? Time is money and usually the cheaper prices will cut corners to shorten time. I also agree with other posters those tiles are way too big for the room but when grouted and fitted you won’t notice.

Rows Grower

awec wrote: »

Of course the size of the tiles is relevant. If they start with a full tile on the left of that window wall then you have a tiny bit of tile running down along the window.

The bigger the tile the more obvious small cuts will be on the wall.

I beg to differ, rule number one when doing a tiling job is never plan to start or finish on a full tile.

Sharpyshoot

Rows Grower wrote: »

I beg to differ, rule number one when doing a tiling job is never plan to start or finish on a full tile.

+1, too many YouTube qualified lads out there now clueless.

mr_cochise

Hi OP, I can see where you are coming from, but after having a good look at the pictures, I think that the best option was taken. Otherwise; there would have have been lots of small cuts that would have looked more botched and higgidly piggidly. I think the size of the tiles does matter and it has made it more complicated.
All in, they are nice looking tiles and its gonna be a really nice looking bathroom.

Fiery mutant

Ok, just my 2 cents here. I think the job looks good, they went with the options they felt best, as they clearly hadn’t been given any other instructions. With regards to the joints lining up, with that shape tile, it’s only gonna work on 2 walls, the other 2 walls will be off. And if your looking to line up joints everywhere, you’re limiting your ability to avoid awkward or ugly looking cuts in areas.

Also, when dealing with a client who feels it would be suitable to cut a full line of tiles in the middle of the wall to avoid having a slim cut along a corner, I think no matter what these guys had done, it wouldn’t have been acceptable.

As some posters here have said, better to spend the time before the job starts to lay out exactly what you want, so there is no ambiguity. This will give the workers time discuss the implications, also give them the chance to walk away.

the_pen_turner

sully2010 wrote: »

The previous poster is correct, they used the window as a centre point instead of using the actual centre point of the wall. Golden rule of tiling is you never leave small strips along edges and it never happens with a bit of basic planning.

They saved themselves a fair bit of of cutting by doing this as if it was centered correctly they would have had to cut around the windows, but its the proper thing to do. I would not be happy either seeing that. They will get away with in 9 out of 10 houses as many would think that is the way it should be done but its not.

Up to you if you want to bring it up but every time you go into that bathroom your eyes will be drawn straight to it. One thing to mention is if the grout is also grey it will help hide it a lot and after a while you should get used to it.

Not getting a lot of posters issue with tile size, most modern bathrooms have larger tiles and they make it feel more spacious especially once the grout is in and polished, idea being it will visually look like one sheet of stone rather than individual tiles.

have you ever tiled. no amount of planning can can guarantee no small cuts. sometimes its unavoidable.
in an ideal world you would have no small pieces but that only happens in training centers or in books

awec

Rows Grower wrote: »

I beg to differ, rule number one when doing a tiling job is never plan to start or finish on a full tile.

yes but you have to work within the realities of the size of the wall and the size of the tile.

On that wall you can shift tiles left or right to avoid a full tile at either end, but you're going to always end up with a spot that looks wrong because of the window.

eddie

Deleted User wrote: »

Righty oh, so this is probably a more useful, wider photo, taken on an actual camera (rather than a phone).

On the left of the room, there's a shower tray, and what will be a sink/vanity unit, so the wall and floor meeting won't really be seen at all. Which further irriitates me, that the feature tile doesn't line up with the floor tile. Surely this is just laziness?


Big pic:


https://i.postimg.cc/LRvtGv7G/IMG-2522.jpg

Not a tiler but recenly had 2 bathrooms and toilet completed ( still punch drunk about the cost ;( _ BUT had extensive chats with the guys,,,,

I would guess,.

Window on the wall - had to go full tile and cut to corner to hand basin side

Toilet side no probes cuts so floor does not really have match up ..

Shower is going to be a MAIN FOCAL POINT after the window / enterence >> so that is made look right with full tiles which means that floor to the wall along by the wash hand basin will be " off " BUT the basin unit will "hide a lot of that..

I think in these situations there is always going to have be some compromise..

dont let nitpicking spoil it for you........... It will look different when finished and it is not as if you are in there for an entire eveneing looking at it ( I hope )

looks like nice work though ..

BUT hey that is just my opinion..

WildCardDoW

https://i.postimg.cc/LRvtGv7G/IMG-2522.jpg

If you take the right row and move it down you have to do it the whole way across. You can see under the window those are full length.

Really there were two choices here:
1. line up floor with feature wall and have small tiles at window wall
2. don't line up floor to feature wall and have full tiles at window.

They went for option 2.

Juwwi

WildCardDoW wrote: »

https://i.postimg.cc/LRvtGv7G/IMG-2522.jpg

If you take the right row and move it down you have to do it the whole way across. You can see under the window those are full length.

Really there were two choices here:
1. line up floor with feature wall and have small tiles at window wall
2. don't line up floor to feature wall and have full tiles at window.

They went for option 2.

Yes also there would of been a very small tile beside the shower tray , a row of 2 or 3 inch tiles under the window wall would of looking worse than the floor and feature wall not aligning imo

fryup

looks fine to me, and once its grouted it'll look much neater

jeepers! we've become very fussy as a nation haven't we...what ever happened to the "ah sure it's grand" attitude??

Rows Grower

awec wrote: »

yes but you have to work within the realities of the size of the wall and the size of the tile.

On that wall you can shift tiles left or right to avoid a full tile at either end, but you're going to always end up with a spot that looks wrong because of the window.

You're wrong and it looks wrong because they chose to start with a full tile from the window to save on time.

If they started in the center of the wall there would be two options for the size of the cuts at either end of the wall which would also give two options for the size of the cuts on either side of the window.

By starting in the dead centre of the wall and working out to the edges you will have a symmetrical, easy on the eye finish.

The most important part of any tiling job is marking it out beforehand.

Curious_Case

I always thought you achieved symmetry by placing X number of whole tiles centrally and then cutting to complete left & right gaps.

If left & right gaps will be too narrow, then use ( X - 1 ) tiles.

Rows Grower

Curious_Case wrote: »

I always thought you achieved symmetry by placing X number of whole tiles centrally and then cutting to complete left & right gaps.

If left & right gaps will be too narrow then use ( X - 1 ) tiles.

You thought right.

awec

Rows Grower wrote: »

You're wrong and it looks wrong because they chose to start with a full tile from the window to save on time.

If they started in the center of the wall there would be two options for the size of the cuts at either end of the wall which would also give two options for the size of the cuts on either side of the window.

By starting in the dead centre of the wall and working out to the edges you will have a symmetrical, easy on the eye finish.

The most important part of any tiling job is marking it out beforehand.

If they started in the centre of the wall then you would have small cuts of tiles the whole way down the left hand side of the window, as the window is a bit right-of-centre on the wall.

You would also potentially have tiny cuts on the right hand side where the boxing starts for the toilet.

As I said, you can move left and right, but you're just moving a problem about. Instead of small tiles on the left there'd be small tiles somewhere else. Somewhere on the wall there is going to be an odd looking bit because the tiles are too big for the space.

Yes, mark it out, yes don't expect full tiles at the end. Whatever. Not every tile can be made to look right on every wall.

Rows Grower

awec wrote: »

If they started in the centre of the wall then you would have small cuts of tiles the whole way down the left hand side of the window, as the window is a bit right-of-centre on the wall.

You would also potentially have tiny cuts on the right hand side where the boxing starts for the toilet.

There would be nothing symmetrical about it.

You're pretty determined to not understand so I'm quite happy to leave you in your ignorance.

sully2010

the_pen_turner wrote: »

have you ever tiled. no amount of planning can can guarantee no small cuts. sometimes its unavoidable.
in an ideal world you would have no small pieces but that only happens in training centers or in books

I have renovated well over 100 bathrooms and never finished with a small strip of tile. As I said, some basic planning. There's extra work cutting around windows but it looks a lot better, especially with larger tile. It's not a bad tiling job and I've often seen it but it could be better and the op has a point. They chose the easier route