Bathroom floor - Wrong material

powerful_Rogue

To cut a long story short, were having huge problems with our bathroom fitter. Since looking into these matters we have established that he has made an error when laying the bathroom floor.

When he came round to do the quote, we advised him that we wanted to have granite tiles laid.

On the quote, he has quoted the following:

To make good the holes in the floor with new floorboards and overboard the floor with 9mm plywood.
To tile the floor

On the breakdown he quoted the following:

Overboard floor with plywood - £110
Tile floor - £200

Now we dont know anything about laying floors, so was relying on his judegement. However since all the issues have come to light, it appears he has used the wrong depth plywood.

Many online guides recommend a minimum of 12mm plywood and we contacted the tile manufacturer and they also confirmed a minimum of 12mm plywood. Apparently using thinner plywood creates a risk of cracking and crazing.

Asking him to change this isnt an option as it would invole stripping out the bathroom, lifting all the granite tiles and would be a huge job.

Were creating a LBA along with other complaints and wondered what would be a reasonable solution to this issue. Obviously our concern at the moment is that 6 months down the line the tiles could start to crack and craze because of the thinner plywood, and the tiles were not cheap.

Any help appreciated.

Hintza

So what thickness has he used? I am assuming he quoted for 9mm and laid 9mm if that is the case you got what you paid for.

It would appear many suggest 9mm is plenty.

unholyangel

So wait, nothing is wrong with the installation (plywood aside)? Tiles havent cracked yet etc?

You cant sue for something that may happen, you can only sue for something that has happened. So if (theoretically) in the future the tiles crack and it turns out that he didnt use reasonable care and skill, you would have a claim against him.

powerful_Rogue

Hintza wrote: »

So what thickness has he used? I am assuming he quoted for 9mm and laid 9mm if that is the case you got what you paid for.

It would appear many suggest 9mm is plenty.

Could you point out to me where it says 9mm is ok, all the articles I have read have said a minimum of 12mm should be used for granite tiles.

Yup, he quoted for 9mm and thats what we paid for - however its only now come to light that apparently 9mm is not thick enough. I would have expected a competent builder to have known this.

powerful_Rogue

unholyangel wrote: »

So wait, nothing is wrong with the installation (plywood aside)? Tiles havent cracked yet etc?

You cant sue for something that may happen, you can only sue for something that has happened. So if (theoretically) in the future the tiles crack and it turns out that he didnt use reasonable care and skill, you would have a claim against him.

Thank you.

neilmcl

9mm plywood is perfectly fine if he used a flexible timber tile adhesive. The adhesive is the key, not the thickness of the ply.

vuvuzela

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Could you point out to me where it says 9mm is ok, all the articles I have read have said a minimum of 12mm should be used for granite tiles.

Yup, he quoted for 9mm and thats what we paid for - however its only now come to light that apparently 9mm is not thick enough. I would have expected a competent builder to have known this.

Couple of links:
http://www.fitcreative.co.uk/hints
http://www.mybuilder.com/questions/v/1530/do-i-need-to-have-plywood-on-the-floor-before-i-do-tiling
Also, could well depend on the firmness of the floor the plywood is fixed to. There's not much you can do now, personally I would try and stop worrying about it unless something happens.

neilmcl

I agree, concentrate on getting the issues you do actually have remedied and not ones that don't or may not exist - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5011758

phill99

The guy has done exactly what he said he would do. There are no hard and fast. Rules on thickness of plywood. It is a suggestion to use 12mm. You also need to undertake due diligence yourself.

I don't think you can take any action against him.

powerful_Rogue

phill99 wrote: »

The guy has done exactly what he said he would do. There are no hard and fast. Rules on thickness of plywood. It is a suggestion to use 12mm. You also need to undertake due diligence yourself.

I don't think you can take any action against him.

I dont completely agree with the statement in bold. This is why we have professionals.

Anyway, thanks everyone, received the advice I needed. Much appreciated.