Tiling advice please

JayneGresford

Hi.... I have recently had my bathroom refitted and tiled floor to ceiling. The company tell me the tile does not cut cleanly and they have now covered the chips around the window with a stick on trim which does cover the mess, but should I accept this? The tiles used are Nest white glazed ceramic by Love, we have not been able to take a tile to someone else to see how they cut as the tiler took all our spare tiles with him! Also we have a small gap around the door frame that they said was too narrow to tile so nailed a piece of wood in the gap and said when painted the same colour as the door frame it will look fine, is this acceptable or should they have removed the door architrave? Also the boxing in of the pipes is rough and one of the pipes is not covered. See pictures. Many thanks for advice regarding these issues. Jayne

Doozergirl

I can't fathom why they haven't boxed the pipe in.  It's bizarre, considering that boxing is used precisely for the reason of hiding pipework. 

I would not be happy with that. 

There's also no reason why the beading doesn't sit level with the tile - like it does at the window.  It does look tatty.  

It's clear that the cuts aren't very neat.  It could be the tile, I guess.  You do sometimes have visible cuts up to beading, so that isn't particularly unusual but your choice of grout exacerbates how visible it is.  A paler grout would have helped. 

Melanie1972

That's shoddy work around the mirror and window.  Did you pay for the tiles and the plumber just fitted or did he supply and fit?  Either way you might have a case for theft as he's taken something you paid for!

cattie

My, that is so shoddy & I'd not be happy at all with the finished product. Why on earth don't the floor tiles match up to the wall tiles as close as possible to give a much more cohesive look? That sort of thing would really drive me crazy. If they were experienced tilers then they ought to be totally ashamed of themselves. I'd be cross too about no spare tiles being left for me. What if an accident happens & a tile gets cracked or damaged? Even if you'd paid them for the whole job as one package, including buying the tiles then they could at least have left you 2 or 3 to keep as spares.
I can only guess that the pipe hasn't been completely boxed in just in case you need access to it? If that is the reason then surely a lift off panel could have been done just in case access was ever needed.

FreeBear

cattie said: Why on earth don't the floor tiles match up to the wall tiles as close as possible to give a much more cohesive look? That sort of thing would really drive me crazy.

I'd have given the tiler a darned good kick up the .... as soon as he put the first tile down. Shows a complete lack of planning. As for the tiles chipping. Yes, if you use an angle grinder or a manual tile cutter, glazed tiles will chip & splinter. That is why professionals use a wet diamond wheel - You still get some chips, but no where near as bad as this.

At the junction between uPVC window frame and tiles - Have they put grout in there, or has it been sealed properly with silicone sealant ?

The gap between the door frame and wall is always going to be tricky, but if the tilers had a tile saw, then cutting thin slivers wouldn't be a problem. However, due to movement in the door frame each time you open/close it, there is a small chance that the tiles would come unstuck.

Combined with the plumbing (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6102593/advice-from-a-plumber-please), it is a shoddy job over all.

-taff

I would not be happy with that job at all. However, i probably would have noticed that before they'd finished it and complained before the grout went on. The boxing in job is phenomenally stupid [ don't say that very often].

JayneGresford

I would like to thank you all very much for your advice, hopefully it will give me more evidence to support my complaint to the company. I have been to citizen advice and they say I have to give them the opportunity to put it right

JayneGresford

At the junction between uPVC window frame and tiles - Have they put grout in there, or has it been sealed properly with silicone sealant ?

Hi yes it is silicone around upvc window to tile 

JayneGresford

Hi...this is the response I have received from the company....”The issue regarding the tiles being chipped has been gone over numerous times and as we stated before, it was unavoidable. The chosen grout colour unfortunately highlighted the issue and I agreed whilst it’s not an error in regard to skillsmanship, the nature of the ceramic glaze meant it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. We have fitted  L-Shape trims over the tile as is often common practice. I’m very happy with the finish. 

Which do you think the tile should be centrally placed over, the window or the vanity unit? Also why must either a grout line be placed centrally above the window or vanity unit?

If the tile was to be centrally placed over the window it would leave a small cut down the right hand side of the wall which would be worst practice as it could be avoided.
 The gap is excessively narrow and it would be extremely hard to install a tile slither in that area. This was explained at the time that a piece of wood would be the best option as it could be recessed in and painted the same colour as the wood work”
Comments/advice welcome on how I respond to this. Thank you 
jayne

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

JayneGresford said:

 The tiles used are Nest white glazed ceramic by Love, we have not been able to take a tile to someone else to see how they cut as the tiler took all our spare tiles with him! 

Can you buy another pack and see if FreeBear's advice regarding a wet diamond wheel gives a neater cut? 

The bit of wood is probably the best answer by the door (given their other cuts you'd be left with a load of overly chipped titles) but they haven't left a tidy finish for you paint over. 

The way the tiles line up in the first photo would bug me the most, did the same company tile the floor as well? 

Norman_Castle

The trim corners should be mitred, not butted or overlapped in this strange way.

Using trim to hide a rough edge only works if the trim is fitted over the tile, not alongside the rough edge.

https://lovetiles.com/en/faqs

Is "skillsmanship" a real word?