bathroom floor retiling poor job

[masamune]

After some 4 years the floor tiles at the 1st flr bathroom became detached from the dittra mat below and had to be redone. Constant rocking, cracked grout lines, pretty annoying.
But what is more annoying is the poor job that follows, I decided to have some views on this.

The cause: detachment of dittra mat from the ply beneath (suspended timber floor) which gradually propagated to the rest of the tiles. Apart from that work from the previous people remains intact and of high standard across the bathroom. Moving forward...

I called in a tiler recommended by a friend but made the no.1 mistake to not check his bathroom work in person. I thought it was a small scale job, should have known better after 2 bathrooms and a kitchen

The floor is 3 sqrm area and the job was to

• carefully remove and clean the existing 30x60 tiles ( had kept 5 new as well)
• check floor and prepare dittra mat again
  
• retile, regrout, reseal

I am very disappointed by the quality of the end work. First day they removed the tiles and glued back the dittra. After returning from work last night the tiles were down but something was not right. I noticed lippage everywhere, evident by losing grout lines viewed at angles, sliding my toes over the they were caught on edges and corners. Far more than usual.

pics link
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/oel5ruhpn5zqz88/AACsmbT3uwnqRG-vnCfZaBcha?dl=0

Single point lighting can pretty much tell the story. Never seen work like this in my life.

A tiles in front of the door has a chip the size of my little fingernail. How can you miss or put this down when provided with perfect tiles. Two wall tiles were chipped, possibly from pulling the floor tile upwards on removal. Door was taken out and put back in with chips from pry bar at the base.

I wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, so brought all this to his attention the morning after. He said it was his fault for not explaining in advance that tiles are now a bit warped over time and from removal. It was not possible to achieve perfect edges!

I placed a spirit level on top of a tile and also placed the facing side of a new tile on fitted tiles. There is minimal rocking, almost non-existent, any visible gaps are in the tenth of the millimetre. How exactly can tiles warp from the original perfect fit and now have lippage of over 1mm? Please tell me there is a possibility and I will put it at rest..........

He offered a discount but the entire point of having a pro (doubt) was to achieve a good quality finish. Having now seen the finished sealant I have no doubt his quality standard is poor and lacks attention. He hasn't cleaned/removed the old seals properly, there is bleeding into grout lines, smudges all over and tear.

Don't know what to say, is this unprofessional work? I could have done better...

 

[KenGMac]

masamune, good evening.

Have you paid the "Tiler" yet? if not I suggest you refrain from doing so.

The results as in your posted images are in my opinion totally Un-Acceptable given you have engaged a [supposedly] experienced professional to undertake the work.

The "tiler" should have realised that a remove and re-install is a very risky strategy and very rarely is an effective repair.

As to how to proceed from here? generally the tiler should be given the opportunity to make good, but given the plethora of disasters I for one see no option other than to remove and replace.

Ken.

 

[masamune]

The "tiler" should have realised that a remove and re-install is a very risky strategy and very rarely is an effective repair.

Thank you for your input. I have unfortunately paid 30% for some work and materials.

Can you elaborate on removal and re-install process? I appreciate it is a nightmare job to remove and reuse tiles, on this occasion they were completely detached from the floor which is why this course was considered.

Is there any merit to the warping argument, which from simple checks does not appear as evident. Not least to the extend suggested.
In fact looking closer it is obvious the placement is poor and a levelling system could have been used instead of just spacers.

 

[KenGMac]

elaborate on removal and re-install process?

OK there are various shall I call it pitfalls here.

If the old adhesive is not totally and completely removed the tile can? not sit flush because of the small thickness of Un-Removed adhesive.

Likewise if there is any adhesive left on the floor substrate the same think will occur.

As for damaged surfaces on the tiles, this is a direct result of over exuberant attempts at clearing the adhesive from the underside of the tile.

Any remaining adhering material to the tile or floor will occasion a visual defect and that will cause lipping and unevenness on the surface of the tiles.

Bottom line is that tilers generally shy away from lift and relay because of the above.

Ken.

 

[lancenotalot]

It does look an awful job. I wouldn't have fitted back over the used matting. Should have pulled it up and started again.
Have never used the dittra.
Over the last few years I've always used 6mm hardie backers on wooden floors.
Also looks like the toilet was left in situ, should have been removed too for a decent job.
It's not an acceptable standard in my view.

 

[masamune]

OK there are various shall I call it pitfalls here.

If the old adhesive is not totally and completely removed the tile can? not sit flush because of the small thickness of Un-Removed adhesive.

Likewise if there is any adhesive left on the floor substrate the same think will occur.

As for damaged surfaces on the tiles, this is a direct result of over exuberant attempts at clearing the adhesive from the underside of the tile.

Any remaining adhering material to the tile or floor will occasion a visual defect and that will cause lipping and unevenness on the surface of the tiles.

Bottom line is that tilers generally shy away from lift and relay because of the above.

Ken.

Thanks for your input, should have researched more before allowing Mr. cowboy pick up the job.

The tiles were cleaned up pretty well because old adhesive was poor like breadcrumbs. On the other hand there were scraps on the reused dittra and that was a no-no which has definitely attributed.
When I looked at the progress of the job in the evenings, I made the mistake to assume "work-in-progress". I think overall it's down to poor workmanship, they could have used a self-levelling system at the end of day.

Unfortunately they got a bit of money but accepted it's a poor job and discounted down to the deposit only. They wanted to redo with new tiles in the future which I did not accept. At the end of the day if you don't have the skill and sense to get it right from the start, it should be done by someone competent.