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Original poster

Please help me tell my lovely builder that he has got the tiles wrong.

40 replies

loveka · 23/12/2018 13:38

My builder tiled the floor in my annexe (It will be a holiday let) wrong. When I showed him the tiles initially he said the tiles would be uneven to walk on because they are chipped edge slate.

I said that they shouldn't be, and showed him the picture.

He then said he knew what to do. I went to work and came back 5 days later and they are a mess. He has got them lying evenly, but the grouting is too wide and very bumpy. They look a mess.

The whole project has cost an absolute bomb.

I mentioned it to him on the phone and he said "I did tell you it would be uneven".

I am happy with everything else, and he has done loads of work for us in the past, all great. He is starting on our (dream) kitchen in January.

I just don't know how to approach it. We live in a tiny village. He is a great builder.

But he clearly didn't know how to lay these tiles.

How do I approach it? Any advice welcome. Thanks.

OP posts:
fabulousathome · 23/12/2018 14:37

Find a photo of how they should look?

Bluesheep8 · 23/12/2018 14:45

Yes, show him the pic you showed him before, along with a pic of what he has done, to show the difference?

MaraScottie · 23/12/2018 14:46

Can you upload a photo?

Bluesheep8 · 23/12/2018 14:46

And calmly ask him to explain to you what he will be doing to make yours look like the first pic. Can you post the pics for us to see op?

Original poster
loveka · 23/12/2018 15:20

This is how they look. I will try to do the link to how they should look.

Please help me tell my lovely builder that he has got the tiles wrong.
OP posts:
MaraScottie · 23/12/2018 15:41

Hmm, it looks like the grout got into all the uneven parts of the side of the tile. I'm not sure how he could have prevented this?

RogueV · 23/12/2018 15:43

Oh they do look a mess op. Hope you get it sorted

Original poster
loveka · 23/12/2018 15:57

I just don't know what I can suggest to him to make it look better.

This is what they should look like.

Please help me tell my lovely builder that he has got the tiles wrong.
OP posts:
averylongtimeago · 23/12/2018 15:58

Those a very wide joints, the grout has filled in all the rough edges.

He could scrape out some of the grout and regrout with a darker grey grout which might improve the look. The pale colour isn't that good, a dark grey similar to the tiles would look better.

Otherwise you take them all up very very expensive or live with it.

Sorry!

averylongtimeago · 23/12/2018 15:59

You tiles look a lot paler than the second photo.

It's the width of the joints, yours are much wider.

fabulousathome · 23/12/2018 16:24

But if yours had a wider rough edge then it's not his fault. You can put oil on the grout to darken it. Vegetable oil is fine.

Knittedfairies · 23/12/2018 16:45

Are the tiles he laid exactly the same as the second photo, but just a different colour?

CurlsLDN · 23/12/2018 16:53

Aside from yours having marginally wider grout, they look the same as the picture to me, and presumably do to him as well. Is that the only picture you showed him?
When he told you he couldn't make them smooth, and you gave him instructions on how to do it, has he followed your instructions? If he hasn't done exactly as you said then you have a point to reasonably complain on.
If however he has done as you asked, or you were not explicit in how to do it, then I think you may need to ask to pay to have it redone. I know he's the professional, but if he's told you clearly he doesn't know how to achieve the look you want and you've asked him to go ahead anyway I'm not sure you can blame him

Concernedaboutgran · 23/12/2018 16:55

I can't really see what the problem is.

Ohyesiam · 23/12/2018 16:59

Is it just that he has put the grout further onto the tiles, or are the tiles further apart than the second pic?

TheDowagerCuntess · 23/12/2018 17:08

The tiles seems to be significantly far apart in the first photo, but it's hard to tell what the issue is because it's so very blurry. And there's a random person walking across them (not that they hide them), but it's an odd photo to upload and share, when you're specially looking for advice on them...

fabulousathome · 23/12/2018 17:08

Grout goes in the gap between tiles. Not on top of the tiles. However it might go on top of the rough edges because they are lower than the top of the tiles so either

  1. he laid the tiles with a bigger gap than you'd like between them OR

  2. he left the right amount of gap, (did he use those plastic tile separators?) about the width of a matchstick, and the rough edges are lower than the main face of the tile so two of those, plus a gap, is rather large. Which means it's the tiles that are the problem.

Vitalogy · 23/12/2018 17:10

I wonder if there's some kind of solvent to clean around the edges. I think it would be ok then.

SeaSandLandSky · 23/12/2018 17:11

Speaking as someone who tiles and grouts daily -

Your tiles look to be different ones to those you've shown in the 2nd pic Op.
Are the edges of your tiles at 90 degrees to the top/base, or do the edges slope inwards from base to top?. If so, then that is why you have a what seems to be a wide gap between the tiles.

You say he has got them laying evenly, and are putting the blame on the grouting.
If yours are chipped edge slate, then the grout will just follow the lines and fill in all the spacing. The only thing I can suggest to have improved it, would be to have used darker grout.

It looks to me that it's your choice of tile that's in the wrong, not the way the tiler has grouted.

fabulousathome · 23/12/2018 17:15

That's what I was trying to say! You said it so much better SeaSand.

Original poster
loveka · 23/12/2018 17:19

The grout itself is very lumpy though, with a kind of channel in the middle.

It doesn't look like the picture from the stone shop.

I wanted the same tiles in the kitchen. It is an old house so want the tiles to look like they have been there forever. What can I have instead? They can only be 2cm deep due to the position of a water main under the floor.

OP posts:
averylongtimeago · 23/12/2018 17:27

So are your tiles the same as the tiles on the second picture? Or is ghat just to show the effect you wanted?

SeaSandLandSky · 23/12/2018 18:01

Can I ask how long it is since he laid the floor op? As fresh grout can lay on the surface of tiles for quite a while and will need several washes to clear it all off.
That should help to 'push back' the grout so that you see more tile than grout, if that makes sense.

Also a few questions to ask him-

What type of grout has he used - ask to look at the bag it came from?

How did he mix it - ie follow instructions on the bag?

Re the channel you mention - did he create this deliberately using either a tool or his finger? If so why? I wouldn't be happy with that as dirt and detritus will collect in that.

If you are not happy with the finish, tell him, sooner rather than later, as even id the tiles are uneven the grout should not be lumpy or channelled.

Original poster
loveka · 23/12/2018 20:21

It was 2 weeks ago now that he did it. I work abroad so couldn't see it. He is now on holiday.

Yes, my tiles are the one in the second picture.

Could I maybe get him to fill in the channel?

I bought the grout with the tiles, it was what the shop recommended. I should have worried when he asked for 3 more bags of grout.

It has cost 2.5 k and I am devestated about it!

How can I discuss it with him? He got really defensive in the phone and he's starting my kitchen on 3rd January.

OP posts:
delilahbucket · 23/12/2018 20:27

Your tiles are cometely different to the "how they should look" photo and that finish would have been impossible to create with yours as they are natural and not a regular factory production. Your kind do usually come with a 10mm gap in between as standard. Before having a go at your builder, I would consult with another tiler to get a second opinion.

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