Bad tiling job - or am I too picky?

sully2010

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.

Exactly, sometimes you can go off centre to work around a window but goal is always to have a similar size on both ends and not a thin strip. Some delicate cutting involved as the tile will be L shaped around both sides of the window, and can be tricky with porcelain but looks better by far

happyoutscan

I think it's fine considering that the tiles are too big for the room (Nice tiles though!).

sully2010

happyoutscan wrote: »

I think it's fine considering that the tiles are too big for the room (Nice tiles though!).

What makes you think they are too big?

the_pen_turner

sully2010 wrote: »

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

I agree it should be avoided if posible but I dont think it's fair to say that it should never be done. Tiles like metros and patterned ones or those paneled ones cant be cut to suit like a normal tile.

Bass Reeves

sully2010 wrote: »

What makes you think they are too big?

Mainly because on the narrow wall of the room two and a half tiles go the length of the walls. As well they limit you at sides of windows and on the corner piece sticking into the room. Personally I would not have tiled the cistron of the toilet into a box it looks just like a tiled box in a corner of the room. An 18'' (450mm) or 16''(400mm) length tiles would have worked out better IMO.

O think the tilers took the easy option in starting with whole tiles on 2-3 wall and OP has ended up with 2-3 narrow strip's of times and full times coming off these. Then amazingly they did not center the floor tiles off a feature strip as they end up with slips of tiles at the end of the floor.

The tillers have not helped but the tiles are too big unless laid very well. While it will look different grouting for a 7.5k job it dose not look like it.

Rows Grower

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Mainly because on the narrow wall of the room two and a half tiles go the length of the walls. As well they limit you at sides of windows and on the corner piece sticking into the room. Personally I would not have tiled the cistron of the toilet into a box it looks just like a tiled box in a corner of the room. An 18'' (450mm) or 16''(400mm) length tiles would have worked out better IMO.

O think the tilers took the easy option in starting with whole tiles on 2-3 wall and OP has ended up with 2-3 narrow strip's of times and full times coming off these. Then amazingly they did not center the floor tiles off a feature strip as they end up with slips of tiles at the end of the floor.

The tillers have not helped but the tiles are too big unless laid very well. While it will look different grouting for a 7.5k job it dose not look like it.

The tiles aren't too big for the room and big tiles don't make a room look smaller, they make it look bigger.

The tilers took a short cut, they didn't avoid extra work, they didn't do the job properly.

If I was spending big money on a bathroom to be modernised by professionals I would make 100% sure that they know what I want it to look like when they are finished. Before they start.

Sharpyshoot

The boom time cowboys are back.

SineadSpears

Ahh so you are supposed to start from the center of the wall and work your way outwards from there. That makes sense.

My thinking of starting with a full tile from left to right didn't seem like a much better solution, but I couldn't visualize how to get that wall right either.

I could see what was wrong, but wasn't sure how you could get it to look better.


everyday is a learning day

SineadSpears

fryup wrote: »

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

If a mate is doing it for free, then yeah I might suck it up too.

But paying a professional or at least someone you are assuming is a professional, there is absolutely no way you should hand over your money and say ah sure its grand.

The tilers can learn from this experience too.

communication was what was lacking here. and yes on both sides. But the 'professional' should know to bring these issues up before laying any tiles

Ardent

Lack of planning has led to thin cuts at some edges. I wouldn't be happy either.

sully2010

SineadSpears wrote: »

If a mate is doing it for free, then yeah I might suck it up too.

But paying a professional or at least someone you are assuming is a professional, there is absolutely no way you should hand over your money and say ah sure its grand.

The tilers can learn from this experience too.

communication was what was lacking here. and yes on both sides. But the 'professional' should know to bring these issues up before laying any tiles

100% on communication. We always brought the owners to the bathroom and had the centre point and a line of tiles drawn onto the wall in marker and showed them how it would look, including how the top and bottom tile would look and around windows. Although the OP may not have known this was even possible to happen so the onus was on the tiler to show how they'd lay the tiles.

I have no doubt they have never been pulled up on this as they ploughed ahead without consultation. Another thing that caught my eye was they used 5mm spacers? Hard to fully see if this is the case but with large porcelain or stone we'd use 2 or 3mm. With matching grout the grout joints are more hidden giving the illusion of a sheet of stone stuck to the wall. This is a trickier and slower job as you need to be very precise for joints to line up.

OP what grout are they using? I'd make sure they don't dump white in there as it will make the issues more prominent. Its unfortunate because the time to pull them up on it was the same evening when they were easy to pull back down, scrape the adhesive off and re use. Its a much bigger job now but you paid a lot of money so you need to be 100% happy with it. You wouldn't buy a brand new car with a dink on it and just "live with it" Best solution could be to ask for money off

OP here again.

So I read all the replies here and I decided that, seen as I didn't really specify anything to them, and although they did do a 'good job' (in the sense the tiles are on the walls and floor and haven't fallen off), and things do generally look straight and level, etc. that I should probably avoid a potential falling out and leave them to finish up. Figured I was being just a bit OCD about it all.

I was out to work for a good bit today, and when I got home, they'd finished for the day. They commented to my Dad that was in the house at the time, about they'd need to wash the tiles again, but I'm not sure if they meant he should wash them, or they would be back again to do some work or wash them or something. I'm really not sure, but i haven't touched anything, anyway.

There is a "shelf" over the toilet that is beside the windowsill. First thing I noticed is, well two things, the most prominent piece of metal trim in the room runs vertically on the corner of this box/shelf, and that piece of trim is warped. Also, at the corner of the shelf, there are three pieces of metal trim meeting each other. Now I know metal trim is difficult to cut right, especially when trying to get a clean 'join' on a turn, so I can forgive it not looking 100% right (for example, around the window, there's not one 'tight' turn, they all have a small gap, but that's reasonable enough I reckon).

However, the corner of the box, has not only got a warped trim, but also three rough, sharp cuts. If you even gently lean your hand on it, it stabs you. The tilers were gone by the time i seen it, and i don't have their details, so i got in touch with the plumber (whose plan was to finish tomorrow by fitting everything) and told him I want it re-done.

If you slipped coming out of the shower, you'd fall directly towards this corner, and it'd definitely injure you. It's legitimately like a knife edge. How they thought they could leave it like that is beyond me. The plumber has been great. Really enthusiastic and everything he has done has been really good, but the tilers he is working with have really let him down, in my opinion.

Other than that, everything seems alright (or as good as can be expected). I reckon if they put an extra hour of work into it, across the two days, they could have had a much nicer job to look back on, though.


Sully, you're correct about spacers. They seem like 5mm ones were used, and the grout lines are far more prominent in the room as a result of it. To be honest, I'm kind of indifferent to it, but a thinner spacer would probably have looked nicer. I presume a 5mm spacer makes life easier/quicker for the tilers, and that's why they were used?


I'll post actual pictures here instead of links, as i've sized the pics down a tad:



















And a closer shot of the corner of the death box:

sully2010

Another example of shortcuts but not a huge deal is this pic you posted
https://i.postimg.cc/5xB6wR1y/Tiles03.jpg

This is a bare wall with no obstacles, the centre tile should be perfectly centre but from what I can see its not. There is no explanation for this other than its much easier and faster to trim the corner of a tile to accommodate a pipe on a joint junction rather than cut a hole in a tile.

The floor joints should line up with the longer wall but its not clear that they are the same tile as the wall.

Its not a bad job but it could be better for the price paid, they just took some shortcuts that are not obvious to most.

sully2010

Glad they used the grey grout. Its a really nice tile and it will look well when all done especially with some recessed downlighting(really brings out the stone). The thin strip is what would bother me most but it will pass, you'll probably have a vanity there that will hide a chunk of it. 5mm is a quicker job but having a thinner joint would have been that bit nicer with the porcelain.

Definitely untidy at the box corner, that would annoy me, should be similar to this
https://www.google.com/search?q=tile+trim+corners+chrome&rlz=1C1CHBF_enCA909CA909&sxsrf=ALeKk01q6Pc1ks07oo7AG10ZoMubNqZwoA:1618626109939&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFh7qSnITwAhUKna0KHQg7BO0Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=2560&bih=1298#imgrc=G1y4_P6hBdtZ2M

Stihl waters

Overall it's not too bad but the tiler should have centred the tile on flat wall, that would do my head in looking at that,plus the corner is untidy, I'd have him back to redo it

Rows Grower

Deleted User wrote: »

OP here again.

So I read all the replies here and I decided that, seen as I didn't really specify anything to them, and although they did do a 'good job' (in the sense the tiles are on the walls and floor and haven't fallen off), and things do generally look straight and level, etc. that I should probably avoid a potential falling out and leave them to finish up. Figured I was being just a bit OCD about it all.

I was out to work for a good bit today, and when I got home, they'd finished for the day. They commented to my Dad that was in the house at the time, about they'd need to wash the tiles again, but I'm not sure if they meant he should wash them, or they would be back again to do some work or wash them or something. I'm really not sure, but i haven't touched anything, anyway.

There is a "shelf" over the toilet that is beside the windowsill. First thing I noticed is, well two things, the most prominent piece of metal trim in the room runs vertically on the corner of this box/shelf, and that piece of trim is warped. Also, at the corner of the shelf, there are three pieces of metal trim meeting each other. Now I know metal trim is difficult to cut right, especially when trying to get a clean 'join' on a turn, so I can forgive it not looking 100% right (for example, around the window, there's not one 'tight' turn, they all have a small gap, but that's reasonable enough I reckon).

However, the corner of the box, has not only got a warped trim, but also three rough, sharp cuts. If you even gently lean your hand on it, it stabs you. The tilers were gone by the time i seen it, and i don't have their details, so i got in touch with the plumber (whose plan was to finish tomorrow by fitting everything) and told him I want it re-done.

If you slipped coming out of the shower, you'd fall directly towards this corner, and it'd definitely injure you. It's legitimately like a knife edge. How they thought they could leave it like that is beyond me. The plumber has been great. Really enthusiastic and everything he has done has been really good, but the tilers he is working with have really let him down, in my opinion.

Other than that, everything seems alright (or as good as can be expected). I reckon if they put an extra hour of work into it, across the two days, they could have had a much nicer job to look back on, though.


Sully, you're correct about spacers. They seem like 5mm ones were used, and the grout lines are far more prominent in the room as a result of it. To be honest, I'm kind of indifferent to it, but a thinner spacer would probably have looked nicer. I presume a 5mm spacer makes life easier/quicker for the tilers, and that's why they were used?


I'll post actual pictures here instead of links, as i've sized the pics down a tad:



















And a closer shot of the corner of the death box:

When you get them back to fix the trims get them to give the tiles a dry wipe down. Washing them again will only create another dust haze on the surface after a few hours.

Looking at the bigger pictures it looks like they started with a full tile on every wall, did they start with a full as well just inside the door on the wall with the feature tile? If they did that after you specifically told them you wanted that in the middle I'd be having a discussion with either them or the plumber, whoever has their hand out for payment at the end.

They are very capable tilers but that's a quick in and out job and it looks it.

Oranage2

If I paid a premium price I'd be livid, starting at the wall so they'd need to cut less till thus throwing of the flooring and leaving small tiles at the edge. I'd definitely be expecting a few hundred knocked off. I'd expect anyone with no experience tiling to do a similar job

Xander10

OP

How did you choose tilers? Were they recommended to you?

Rows Grower

Xander10 wrote: »

OP

How did you choose tilers? Were they recommended to you?

I'm gonna take a guess here and say the plumber provided the tilers and gave an all in price.

Bass Reeves

Rows Grower wrote: »

I'm gonna take a guess here and say the plumber provided the tilers and gave an all in price.

When do up a bathroom the tiler should be the lead tradesmen not the plumber

JMR

Followed this thread with great interest as we are having our ensuite refurbished soon, just waiting on a definite date for the job to be done.

The tiles we've picked look very similar to the OP's, right down to the feature 'strip'!

Anyway, what requirements should I specify to the tilers before starting the job?

Size of spacer to be used?
Grout lines should line up where possible?
Thin strips in corners should be avoided?

We have already picked a grey grout

Thanks

Calahonda52

Oranage2 wrote: »

If I paid a premium price I'd be livid, starting at the wall so they'd need to cut less till thus throwing of the flooring and leaving small tiles at the edge. I'd definitely be expecting a few hundred knocked off. I'd expect anyone with no experience tiling to do a similar job

On what basis?
The Op did not specify what he wanted so end of.
.
when I do this sort of project, I specify what the tile layout should look like with both client and tiler.
In extreme cases it goes into excel: OTT maybe but there is no room for argument

hognef

Calahonda52 wrote: »

On what basis?
The Op did not specify what he wanted so end of.
.
when I do this sort of project, I specify what the tile layout should look like with both client and tiler.
In extreme cases it goes into excel: OTT maybe but there is no room for argument

Sounds like you're contradicting yourself here.

Why do you bother to specify anything if it's that cut and dry when the client doesn't do it themselves?

Perhaps it's because it's actually not that straightforward and you actually do recognise the responsibility of the professionals in this?

Oranage2

Calahonda52 wrote: »

On what basis?
The Op did not specify what he wanted so end of.
.
when I do this sort of project, I specify what the tile layout should look like with both client and tiler.
In extreme cases it goes into excel: OTT maybe but there is no room for argument

If I ordered a fillet steak and got minced meat I'd be pissed. You don't have to specify, the professional should do a professional job, starting at the side or window is lazy, he didn't want to to cut the tiles and it has thrown off the who symmetry of the place.

Dr_Colossus

Deleted User wrote: »

OP here again.

There is a "shelf" over the toilet that is beside the windowsill. First thing I noticed is, well two things, the most prominent piece of metal trim in the room runs vertically on the corner of this box/shelf, and that piece of trim is warped. Also, at the corner of the shelf, there are three pieces of metal trim meeting each other. Now I know metal trim is difficult to cut right, especially when trying to get a clean 'join' on a turn, so I can forgive it not looking 100% right (for example, around the window, there's not one 'tight' turn, they all have a small gap, but that's reasonable enough I reckon).

However, the corner of the box, has not only got a warped trim, but also three rough, sharp cuts. If you even gently lean your hand on it, it stabs you. The tilers were gone by the time i seen it, and i don't have their details, so i got in touch with the plumber (whose plan was to finish tomorrow by fitting everything) and told him I want it re-done.

If you slipped coming out of the shower, you'd fall directly towards this corner, and it'd definitely injure you. It's legitimately like a knife edge. How they thought they could leave it like that is beyond me. The plumber has been great. Really enthusiastic and everything he has done has been really good, but the tilers he is working with have really let him down, in my opinion.

And a closer shot of the corner of the death box:

That's terrible and as mentioned a bad reflection on any other good/bad work they did. That definitely needs to be re-done but given it's an exposed corner probably needs rounded trim with a specific corner join like in Sully2010's link above as otherwise it will always have a sharp corner.
For reference here's a corner join I did in an ensuite some time back, that's behind the toilet bowl and not seen or any threat to people knocking against it. It was also my first time tiling and working with metal trim so given professional tilers left yours in the state above it's not saying a lot.


Since getting the shelf re-done another option instead of tile and trim would be a 20mm piece of rounded and polished quartz but that would need to be done in conjunction with the window board to have those matching. It would give better access to the cistern and any future siphon issues also if it was removable.

Good luck with trying to rectify the situation.

Rows Grower

Rows Grower wrote: »

I'm gonna take a guess here and say the plumber provided the tilers and gave an all in price.

This is what happened. Searched for a few "bathroom renovations" places and this chap quoted, seemed to know his stuff, was local enough, and although his quote was high-ish, with a bit of haggling he came down a bit and we agreed a start date.

I knew from him referencing "the tiler" that someone else would be doing the tile work, but it's also only fair to keep in mind that most 'customers' will deal with tilers very rarely in their life, so expecting to know that you should need to ask them to line it up in a certain way, or not start on full tiles, etc. is probably a bit idealistic.

The plumber himself has been really good. Anything he has done has been really on the ball, and his work is great. I feel like the tilers have let him down a bit to be honest, as he seems fairly enthusiastic about the job, and seems to take pride in his work, whereas the tilers, whilst competent, are clearly more in the mindset of "get in and out as fast as we can".


I mentioned it to the plumber about the death box corner and he agreed it shouldn't have been left like that, and said he'll get the tilers to sort it out. He's here today fitting the toilet/sink/etc. and finishing up.


As an aside, the tiles are the wrong colour. The colour is grey, which was supposed to go on the floor, and the walls were supposed to be white (exact same tile comes in both colours, and there's a cream one too). But when he showed up all the tiles were grey. It turned out to be a happy accident of sorts, as i think it would have looked worse with white walls and a grey floor, now that I can actually see it as an all-grey room.

However, as a separate job altogether, I needed two wall vents installed elsewhere in the house, and asked him is it something he could do (have to go into block walls, one on an extension on the house, and one on a shed). He quoted me €130 per vent (which seems the going rate from what i can tell). He priced this before the tiles ever arrived, but because of the mix up with the tiles, he said he'd do the vents for free. Which is pretty good of him, in fairness.

markc1184

From just seeing how the trim has been finished, I'm wondering if we have had work done by the same tiler. I wasn't happy with the trim in mine and let the contractor know that and had it sorted.

Juwwi

OP were you there the day the tilers started ?

They should of confirming the 5mm tile spacers , the colour of the grout ect .

ratracer

I don’t want to dis your new bathroom much OP, but that work is shoddy. There is no excuse for floor tile and strip tile not matching up. You shouldn’t have to tell the tiler that, if he’s done a lot of jobs, he should have been pointing out these things to you. I didn’t say anything earlier in the week, but then that pic of the trim around the cistern just really took the biscuit, nobody that has any sense of pride in their work would leave such a terrible looking finish.

I’m not sure how you go about rectifying it, or just put up with it forever if you can, but you have every right to be angry ( it’s not picky!) about it.
The laying of the tiles looks ok at least, but very poor visually IMO.

jimmycrackcorm

mooz wrote:

Looking at the bathroom from the door, the job looks good. Trust me when it's grouted and cleaned up, and fitted out, it will look great

It won't be noticeable once it's finished. No one barely registers the way tiles look after especially to the level of detail.

Looking at the the first photo, it's also difficult to see what way is effective to match such big tiles with the room shape. If the window was more centered, it might have been easier but the tile size isn't suitable.

I think it'll look great when the room is completed so I wouldn't be concerned.