Bathroom tiling - bad job or am I being overly critical?

[daisychain237]

Hi,

First time home owner here so looking for some perspective. I'm currently undergoing a bathroom refurb - found a guy from checkatrade, 30+ good reviews, and quote was reasonable so went with him.

He started on the tiling about two days ago, I noticed some of the tiles were poorly cut, and the tiles in the corner weren't aligned.

See pics: imgur.com/gallery/8H0ha8N

I then made a post on reddit and people seemed to agree the tiling was poorly done, and they've also pointed out that tiling against a dry wall without a backboard, and not waterproofing could potentially lead to mould/rot/damp if there is a leak.

Now these are things I never thought of as a first time home owner, and admittedly it's probably half my fault, though I had assumed any competent and experienced bathroom fitter would have done this without me asking or at least mentioned it to me.

The fitter came this morning and I pointed out these concerns, but he suggested that after sealant/grout it would look fine, and that this will make it water resistant. I told him to stop works immediately whilst I get a second opinion, before it's too late to rectify. He looked quite offended and took all his tools and proceeded to invoice me half the bill.

Thankfully I have not paid any costs upfront. So my questions are:

1. Will the tiles actually look okay after sealant/grouting, and I'm just being overly anxious/critical at this point in time?
2. Is the waterproofing mandatory or will the sealant/grout suffice? I am very worried about any mold/damp/rot issues.
3. What grounds do I have for not paying him, if I need to get another fitter out to complete the job?

TIA.

It's not that bad, some gaps are big, is he using a tile trim edge strip for where they meet door frame etc...i have seen a lot worse and he is using the correct spacers etc so seems to care about the job....do remember that check a trade does have a lot of false reviews !

I can’t see any chips on the runs that will be visible, and the spacing looks good.

corners are corners and he will have used what he can there to reduce waste and off cuts.

I can’t see any chips apart from along the edges, (just one tiny corner perhaps in the last pic towards the edge), the corners will likely be siliconed and not grouted as it allows for slight movement/expansion/contraction- those chips will be hidden. I’ve seen many tilers do this in bathroom corners as any grout cracking along the edges can cause big problems.

Spacing looks ok. Can’t see it being massively out considering the right spacers are being used.

The large gap at the top of 3rd photo will be hidden once the left hand surface is tiled, presumably it’s not being left as plasterboard.

This is a zombie thread. The OP posted in December 2022, so hopefully the tiles are long since sorted!

That's really bad. I've done better tiling jobs myself.

The Reddit people are right too - you need what is called in the US 'cement board' fixed to the wall or the studs, and a waterproofing membrane laid over that before you lay a single tile.

Sack the cowboys you hired, and find a reputable tiler.

My DH is a bathroom fitter and also does the tiling. His reaction to that was "holy shit" that's bad.

Wow, my tiling is far better than that. There are chipped tiles. He should have not used those and done more. I think it looks hideous tbh. Did he tank the walls first because if not you'll get mould and possibly leeks too.