Am I being to fussy?

[SammyInnit]

Have you sacked the tiler yet?

 

[bettz1]

Lol he's gone now doing a 5 bedroom house now in the village. I'm tempted to knock on and let them know how bad he was.

We've found damaged kickboard's & damage to two of the doors he took off!! plus we've got to sort out the grout mess in the bathroom now.

 

[TicTac]

MDF panels will swell if the get wet, so aren't great for a bathroom. The acrylic panels need a few bits of wood glued on behind them to provide stability.; whoever designed them, had a great idea, but never road tested them. Tiling under them is a good idea, but you also need to add a bit of sealant so that water doesn't get underneath the panel. I tend to superglue a piece of upvc trim to the bottom to provide a bit of rigidity, and if you set it a few mill up from the floor, you can then seal under it.

Far more work than should be neccessary, but I haven't found a better method yet. Alternative ideas appreciated.

 

[bettz1]

MDF panels will swell if the get wet, so aren't great for a bathroom. The acrylic panels need a few bits of wood glued on behind them to provide stability.; whoever designed them, had a great idea, but never road tested them. Tiling under them is a good idea, but you also need to add a bit of sealant so that water doesn't get underneath the panel. I tend to superglue a piece of upvc trim to the bottom to provide a bit of rigidity, and if you set it a few mill up from the floor, you can then seal under it.

Far more work than should be neccessary, but I haven't found a better method yet. Alternative ideas appreciated.

I don't suppose you have any pics?

That's what it looks like inside at the moment

 

[TicTac]

Actually, that's pretty much as it should be, but the board under the leg is a bit minimalist, and needs to come out as far as it can. That' one is a bit small under the leg, and I suspect it could be a bit thicker as well.

 

[bettz1]

So if I added another thin strip of wood Infront of the existing wood it would pack it out more.

Any tips on how to make the middle part more secure? Same thing put a strip of wood in the centre?

 

[TicTac]

Adding another bit of wood wouldn't add any more strength. I use 2x3, and make it as long as possible to spread the load across as many boards as possible. But you could use 1x6" just as easily. It's a bit of a judgement call, but the trick is to change from a point transfer of weight under the feet, to spread the loading across a wider area, and that stops the bath sinking as you fill it.

 

[bettz1]

Trouble I've got is, I think the wood is glued down as I couldn't find any screws.

I think the acrylic panel fits underneath the wood and if that's the case it pushes alot further back which will leave me quite a big gap from where he's tiled up to.It will however stop the panel moving back any further

You can see in the pic that's the part that's causing me all the problems.The silicone on the wall isn't doing anything

 

[Keithmac]

I made a frame for side of bath (which also acts as more support).

Made a solid panel out of MDF but painted and sealed it with 3 coats of varnish (especually the cut edges) and it's been fine.

We had acrylic panel and it was bloody useless!.

Was considering board and tile but found MDF tile effect panel so used that instead.

 

[bettz1]

I made a frame for side of bath (which also acts as more support).

Made a solid panel out of MDF but painted and sealed it with 3 coats of varnish (especually the cut edges) and it's been fine.

We had acrylic panel and it was bloody useless!.

Was considering board and tile but found MDF tile effect panel so used that instead.

Don't suppose you have any pics?

 

[Keithmac]

It's nothing fancy, the right 1/3 is separate so easy access to pipes and stop taps.

Screwed frame to floor and theres 6 uprights where the panel is attached via velcro so it can be easily removed.

 

[bettz1]

I'll have a play with the bath tomorrow going to get some wood and see what I can do

 

[bettz1]

Right bought some more wood to make a sturdier frame only prob I have is once I've made the frame I've no way to access behind the panel once I've regrouted.

Any ideas?

I can't move the panel further forward to sit on top of the tiles as it'll be at an angle and look odd.

Other option I can think of but don't really want to do is cutting the panel from the bottom,but it'll look messy .

 

[SproutsDad]

Have you sacked the tiler yet?

As stated above .... have you sacked him???? Your thread started out "Am I being too fussy?" ... Definitely NOT!

I have read this complete trail here with great interest, and I can't help identify a lot with your dilemma.

Yours is too similar to my own situation unfortunately, of paying someone (supposedly tradesmen) to do a worse job than I could have done, as it turns out. And don't they get touchy if you dare comment or suggest that a poor "well you can't see it from my house" job isn't acceptable.

I have always been polite and tried not to argue, and often written it in text or email so there is a record, but some can't conduct a sensible discussion and just get personal- as well as never answering calls or texts. But that is a good indicator at the start to not get involved at all, it will just get worse.

£ Payment? - Did you pay him?
In all this I might have overlooked you saying if you paid this tiler or not? And how much and when? I note that you have done a lot of fixing it yourself, not wanting the confrontation that we all hate. But the more things you sort out that were part of the (his) job, the more that type will let you do it, and then if there's a problem afterwards it's your fault.

Once they have all the money there is little incentive to come back and fix anything. I used to be a soft touch, too ready to pay even when there were things to fix, but now I keep a %age back and a snagging list, only paying the rest when it's all done.

But there are very good people out there. However, it's difficult finding them and Trust a Trader etc and word of mouth aren't always the answer. I have used people that others recommended only to find that the work was poor and/or unreliable.

Good luck from here on, hopefully this has been a learning exercise?!
And the lesson is, to do it yourself, if at all possible. Nobody else cares about your job as much as you.