Bathroom tiling meets coving ...

Leif

tpt wrote: »

check a trade is a paid for service...if your paying, you can vet reviews.

dont get too caught up on this, the job isnt the worst i've seen by far. Its not the best, but if they are prepared to put it right (have you given them a chance?) you may save a packet.

its very easy to spot one problem and then start looking and picking at every little thing.

I can see a quite a few in the pictures, but none that are irreversible.

The problem is that the issues suggest bodging by have a go types who do not know what they are doing. I cannot believe anyone would have tiles resting on the coving edge, and a 1cm gap between tile and wall. The last thing I want is such people doing electrical and plumbing work in my house.

Incidentally, according to the person who founded CheckATrade, companies cannot vet reviews.

Leif

irnbru wrote: »

Did you post feedback?

I will, once I have had an independent survey done.

Leif

andrew-b wrote: »

Awful way to be made to feel but at the end of the day it's just bricks and mortar and not worth making yourself ill over. There's always someone somewhere worse off than yourself that doesn't actually have 4 walls... wonky tiles/coving or not!

I felt similar when things went wrong with our kitchen refit. I don't mind saying i was reduced to tears a few times and lost alot of sleep over the whole experience. I made a big list of all the issues more for myself than anything to try get my head around of what was critical and what was nitpicking. I handpicked the issues i wanted resolved, some got swept aside as nitpicking off the back of a bad situation and some i ended up sorting myself just because i wanted them out of my house ASAP (such as fixing a leak)! When your so caught up in the situation you don't necessarily think logically and small issues get blown out of proportion! After my kitchen experience, DIY took over in a big way as all trust was blown out the window for quite some time! My whole outlook on employing tradesmen changed drastically after. If it wasn't for the kitchen experience i doubt i would ever had DIYed my bathroom after!

Sorry to hear about your kitchen experience. Your first paragraph is spot on. However, this makes life more difficult for me as regards moving in before the cold weather. Oh well, as you imply, there are some people who might have saved up for ages and paid these chancers to screw up their dreams. I am fortunate that I am not in that situation. But it does make me angry. The only good side is that I can recount my experiences on CheckATrade in the hope that others are saved from similar experiences. I guess these people went out of their comfort zone with this work, and their lack of ability became too obvious.

KateLiana27

Well, you've convinced me never to use CheckATrade. I'm willing to bet those reviews were posted by friends, if not themselves.

While I agree that it isn't the worst job ever, there are fundamental errors that make me think the tradesmen have never actually fitted a bathroom before (or at best, not more than one or two). The shower being at the bath end is the best example of this. This was our original idea (back when we knew nothing) and our bathroom fitter immediately told us it wouldn't work, for exactly the reason you've found out. It's a mistake a fitter wouldn't make twice.

It's horrible but I've learned during the course of our house renovating that a proportion of money WILL be wasted on fixing things gone wrong. I call it my "stupidity tax" (no offence), and like VAT, it adds on a certain percentage to the overall cost. I'll bet that most people who have renovated have the same experience. To find a decent guy to fix the issues, get a personal recommendation. Ask everyone at work, your neighbours, friends and their friends - someone will have had their bathroom done and be happy with the result.

Leif

I would like to say how grateful I am to those who have posted information in this thread. You have given me valuable ammunition with which to fight these people. I spoke with Trading Standards today, and they told me to claim against these people under the Supply of Goods and Service Act 1982, which states that goods and services must be of reasonable quality.

Following suggestions from others, I examined the skip and found two empty packets of tile adhesive. The first is a Topps powder cement. According to the instructions, porous surfaces should be primer before tiling. The second is Bal White Star cement. According to the instructions, smooth and polished plaster should be primed before tiling, and tiling should not be done until plaster is at least 4 weeks old. I've examined the tiling, and I can see no signs of a primer, which I would assume leaves a discolouration, and I can find no empty container or packet of primer in the skip. In other words, the tiling was a complete bodge.

These two people are lazy and incompetent. Quite how they can have 39 glowing references on CheckATrade leaves me speechless.

keystone

Leif wrote: »

Following suggestions from others, I examined the skip and found two empty packets of tile adhesive. The first is a Topps powder cement. According to the instructions, porous surfaces should be primer before tiling. The second is Bal White Star cement. According to the instructions, smooth and polished plaster should be primed before tiling, and tiling should not be done until plaster is at least 4 weeks old. I've examined the tiling, and I can see no signs of a primer, which I would assume leaves a discolouration, and I can find no empty container or packet of primer in the skip. In other words, the tiling was a complete bodge.

Don't forget that MIs always err on the very cautious side on the CYA principle although I would agree that a full plaster should be left for good few weeks before tiling. A skim such as yours is fine in a few days as I stated earlier up the thread.

If they've primed with Primer G or APD then there will be a blue discolouration. But if they've only primed the bit they tiled (which would be a good plan) they will have covered the primer up and you won't see it. Unless its the last job with a 2½ litre container you won't find an empty container in't skip cos they go a long way.

Whitestar is fine for this sort of domestic application although for preference I use bagged adhesives - at least they wern't using sheds own brand tubbed carp!!!

Was the shower area tanked?

BTW be thankful you didn't find an empty PVA container. If they'd primed with that then you should be worried.

Cheers

Leif

I did find a PVA container lying around in the house. This was I assume left by the plasterer, though that is not proven. The tile edges are visible, and there is a lot of empty space beneath the tiles, as the adhesive was laid in stripes. I see no discolouration on the plaster in the clear spaces, or at the edges.

I am not sure what you mean by tanked. Tanking to me is a layer of hard plaster. As far as I know all they did was have the entire room skimmed, leaving coving in place, and then tile. Someone else told me that Gypsum based plaster (I found a bag of Thistle in the hallway) is not suitable for a shower area.

I just remembered one of the references was a nice old lady who had hew shower done by these clowns. :mad: I hope she does not have problems at a future date due to incompetent work.

keystone

Plasterer could well have used PVA - its fine for what he does.

Tanked? WP1 (paint on) or Homelux (membrane) or similar should be used for a wet area IMHO. Plaster is fine as a substrate if you tank it.

Cheers

Leif

I heard from these people that Bal Primer was applied to the walls. Would it be obvious from inspection?

I can see no evidence of tanking or a waterproof coating/membrane. Is it required or optional? If the latter, would reputable professionals go with bare plaster followed by tiles? It looks like WP1 is applied BEFORE tiling, not after. They could always argue that sealing was to be done after tiling.

aliasojo

It's optional but advised.

I tanked mine before tiling. It was like a thick grey paint that dried to make a waterproof coating on the wall.

The only thing that can be sealed after tiling are certain types of tiles.