Tile lippage - is this acceptable?

[Justin Passing]

+1. Not good enough. I wouldn't settle for it even if I'd done it myself.
Tile spacers are cheap.
Poor, or even merely good tilers, need spacers.
Brilliant tilers don't need spacers.
But not using spacers when you need them, doesn't turn you into a brillliant tiler. It just means you're incompetent.

 

[opps]

How long have the tiles been down? If a week or so, you might not be able to lift the tiles without breaking them.

 

[mwarren19]

+1. Not good enough. I wouldn't settle for it even if I'd done it myself.
Tile spacers are cheap.
Poor, or even merely good tilers, need spacers.
Brilliant tilers don't need spacers.
But not using spacers when you need them, doesn't turn you into a brillliant tiler. It just means you're incompetent.

They actually did use spacers. Just very badly, it seems.

How long have the tiles been down? If a week or so, you might not be able to lift the tiles without breaking them.

Sadly, they've been down for about 3 weeks now, so I reckon they're going to have to order replacement tiles.

 

[mwarren19]

A demoralising update:

We put a load of post-its down to illustrate areas of lipping, inconsistent spacing, non-straight laying and poorly aligned corners (where 4 tiles meet, it's not aligned). We also took advice from 2 tilers, both of whom agreed it's a poor quality job. Our fitter originally agreed to sort it out, but has since decided all the issues are acceptable.

Now, the problem we have is how to get credible evidence that it's a bad quality job, without spanking over a grand on an inspection. The fitter mentioned that 1mm of lipage is acceptable, but surely if that's occurring all over the floor, it's a sign of poor workmanship?

Anyone got any great ideas on what we can do next?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

9.1.7 Ceramic, concrete, terrazzo and similar tile finishes - NHBC Standards 2024

nhbc-standards.co.uk

 

[mrrusty]

If you have paid, I think suck it up and move on. Leave bad reviews. If you haven't paid, then don't. You are entitled to a job done with skill and care. Your photos show this isn't the case. There is no excuse for lippage all over the place

 

[blup]

A demoralising update:

We put a load of post-its down to illustrate areas of lipping, inconsistent spacing, non-straight laying and poorly aligned corners (where 4 tiles meet, it's not aligned). We also took advice from 2 tilers, both of whom agreed it's a poor quality job. Our fitter originally agreed to sort it out, but has since decided all the issues are acceptable.

Now, the problem we have is how to get credible evidence that it's a bad quality job, without spanking over a grand on an inspection. The fitter mentioned that 1mm of lipage is acceptable, but surely if that's occurring all over the floor, it's a sign of poor workmanship?

Anyone got any great ideas on what we can do next?

Take him to court if you have paid, and he has the assets to meet any judgement awarded to you. Do you need an “expert” inspection report? A letter from another tiller referencing the poor standard of workmanship as against the nhbc standard quoted may be enough. You can issue proceedings yourself intne county court. If youve not paid, probably sensible to cut your losses.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Does the OP's tiling not meet the NHBC guidance above? I've not checked ....

 

[mwarren19]

Take him to court if you have paid, and he has the assets to meet any judgement awarded to you. Do you need an “expert” inspection report? A letter from another tiller referencing the poor standard of workmanship as against the nhbc standard quoted may be enough. You can issue proceedings yourself intne county court. If youve not paid, probably sensible to cut your losses.

Sadly, the 2 other tilers we spoke to agreed that the work is poor quality but weren't prepared to put it in writing. One said he didn't want to criticise a fellow professional, the other didn't want to get involved in such a messy situation.

 

[mrrusty]

Have you paid him? It's the fundamental question! I presume you hired him direct and he's not a sub-contractor to your kitchen fitter..... If he is a subcontractor you have even more leverage.

 

[Mottie]

Check that the tiles are all exactly the same size and it's definitely the alignment rather than size

Years ago we got a tiler in to tile our bathroom floor. We supplied the tiles. He hadn’t been there 5 minutes when he told (and showed) us that the tiles were all slightly different sizes. He said we could either take them back and get a different tile or he could lose it in the gaps by varying them. We just let him get on with it and it came out alright in the end. If they are going to blame the tiles, they could have at least told you first.

 

[blup]

Does the OP's tiling not meet the NHBC guidance above? I've not checked ....

Apparently a credit card is 0.76mm thick, so the gap,looks to be around 1.5mm

 

[blup]

Sadly, the 2 other tilers we spoke to agreed that the work is poor quality but weren't prepared to put it in writing. One said he didn't want to criticise a fellow professional, the other didn't want to get involved in such a messy situation.

You would have to pay an expert then. If successful you should get your costs back, but check if he trades through a ltd company, its relatively easy to avoid debts through insolvency of a £1 company with no assets.