Uneven walls - uneven tiles

[Alison556]

I've recently had the bathroom refurbished and all in all, I'm not happy with it.

My walls are very uneven - it's an old house and as a result there are tiles that sit slightly higher than others. That in itself doesn't bother me hugely but on quite a few tiles, you can see the unglazed, uncoloured edge, if you know what I mean. Also, there are several areas where the grout appears to have shrunk or cracked and there are gaps.

Would this be classed as reasonable and acceptable? I'm in a huge dispute with the company that did the installation because there are loads of faults and I don't know if I'm being overly picky about the tiling. I just wanted to check with you guys before I complain about that.

After the installation team started work, one of them was moaning at me about how uneven and out of true the walls were (I was aware of this) and said that they should have been boarded out before work started. If someone had said this to me before work started, I'd have happily agreed to that, but by the time it was mentioned, it was too late to do it.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[iwaters]

If they were complaining during doing to work you have to wonder why they continued to tile knowing full well the end result wouldn't look very good. They should have checked the walls before they started and if they weren't happy they should have asked you to get the walls sorted before they tiled. It's not their fault the walls are uneven but it is their fault they didn't check. If you had a car repair you wouldn't expect the sprayer to paint the car without fixing the dents first, this isn't any different?

I think you should not pay them until they have sorted it out.

 

[Alison556]

Thank you. I'm starting to feel like the customer from hell - I keep complaining about everything - the shower enclosure leaks, the washbasin is scratched and even little things like the filler panels on the wall units - the cut edge is to the bottom where it's seen and the smooth edge is on the top where nobody sees!!!

 

[iwaters]

I don't think you are being the customer from hell. You have paid people to do something and are rightly expecting it to be done to a decent standard. A leaking shower, wonky tiles, and scratched basin just sounds like they didn't care and have done a shockingly bad job.

 

[tictic]

hi alison 556
could you post up some pics?

 

[Alison556]

I've put some pictures in my album - they're not very good and looking at them, I don't know if they look as bad as they are in the flesh.

//www.diynot.com/network/Alison556/albums/4231

 

[Chukka63]

bugger,i thought they were pics of you not the bathroom .if youre not happy tell them and dont pay in full until your satisfied

 

[tictic]

hi alison
looked at your pics.
yes you have bad lippage in your tiling.
cuts at your tile trim are very bad to looks like they used a wet saw for the long cuts.
as for the ply floor did they lay it..is it nailed or screwed it will need to come up anyway.
they should have left a gap off about 3mm from bottom tile to floor.
call the company in question to get the leak sorted or tell them you will get a plumber and bill them also get them to come out an explain the tiling??
its not the best...but i have seen alot worse..they are large tiles do you now what sort of adhesive they used was it tubbed or bagged addy.
have you paid in full for the work? if not hold back till you are satisfed.

 

[Alison556]

Thanks for looking. I know it's not as bad as it might have been and with all the bother I'm having regarding the rest of the fit, I'm probably being really picky. Instead of being delighted with my new bathroom, I'm finding new faults every day because I'm having such a bother with them.

The ply floor is nailed down - the nails are all rusty with the leak from the shower. Should it be coming up because of the leaks? I did say to them about the ply being ruined and the answer I got was that it was marine ply so it didn't matter if it got wet cos it would dry out fine - but it's actually starting to split at one section because it's been soaked so many times.

I've got another thread in the general DIY bit about the shower enclosure.

I'm having a heck of a fight with the company - one of the longest established, most reputable companies in town as far as I'm aware. Absolutely everything has leaked and as you can see, still leaks. They won't accept that they've installed the enclosure wrong - even I can see what they've done wrong.

I think it was powder adhesive the tiler used - I seem to remember him mixing it - but I'm not 100% sure.

I've paid 90% of the total price but I'm bracing myself for a big battle with them regarding the shower. Just didn't know whether I should get picky about the tiling as well. It's a tiny bathroom - only 1.5 x 2m and cost me 6 and a half grand to get done and I wanted it to be bang on perfect.

 

[tictic]

hi alison
you say its a national compamany?
check to see if they are a member of the TTA..or any other body?
if so get in contact with them..also
get on the phone ask to speak to the MD..
also get a local tile fixer round to look at the work and give you in writting what needs to be rectifefed.
sorry for any bad spelling....

 

[tictic]

alison i will either fry or boil my underpants if they have "put"down marine ply...i will guess its "wbp" ply.
get better pics and get down to their showroom....!!!!

 

[Alison556]

No, it's not a national company but they've been in Dundee for 35 years - they're well established and reputable and only stock high end stuff. Oh and the dingbat plumber that they subbed the work out to is a Trusted Trader on Trading Standards site!!

I can't see anywhere that they're members of anything other than the Builders Merchants Federation and Cemco (???)

I've nearly moved into the bloomin showroom and I've already spoken to the director and had him and the installation manager up to inspect my imaginary leaks! He was about as much use as a chocolate teapot!

Half the problem is that instead of giving me the chance to go through like a snagging list, they've overtalked me and only got bits of information at a time and I've been a bit of a coward in the respect that every time I try to say anything, I'm getting tutted and huffed at and I've backed down.

The engineer from the shower manufacturer was up the other day to inspect that and even he said that the overall finish of the whole bathroom isn't first class - it's not shoddy, but probably more careless.

I've to wait till Monday to hear what the director has to say about the shower and I was gonna hit them with the tiling as well (well, not literally!!)

BTW - that's not cuts on the long edges of the tiles - that's where the grout is cracking! He used an angle grinder to cut the tiles.

Oh, and I nearly forgot to ask - after it was tiled and the electrician and plumber came to install the extractor and radiator, they got red brick dust on the grout from their drilling - how do I get it off? I tried just giving it a brush but that didn't work and I don't want to go scrubbing at it in case I do damage.

To say I'm fed up is an understatement!

And if you're willing to risk your underpants on my ply.....................
Is there a way of telling the difference between marine and wbp ply?