Tiler advice - PLEASE HELP!

leoniedre

Have had a new kitchen floor tiled. Everything seemed to be ok but when the plinths were installed I noticed that the lines are all out. I’ve measured off the island and EVERYTHING is totally out! 

I’ve spoken with the tiler and he blamed the walls, saying they are not level. I know they are not level, but surly you find a straight line from the island or kitchen cupboards.! 

I have been saving for over a year to get this floor done and now I am devastated that it is so out! I don’t see any other option then taking it up and starting again… 
I have measured a straight line and marked it with green tape, then compare the grout line. 
Any advice would be massively appreciated. I am not a tiler, but know this is not correct and not how they should look. 

Thank you so much in advance  

tacpot12

Assuming the kitchen unit were in before the tiles were laid, you would expect that the tiles would follow the units. There is a question as to what tolerances should be allowed in a professional job. 

If you have home insurance, check to see if you have Legal Expenses cover as part of it. If you do, call the Legal Helpline provided by your insurer to find out what tolerance might allow you to dispute paying the tiler. 

You might need to pay them something unless you have a contract that outlines their responsibilities if they make a mistake. They have ruined a set of tiles if they weren't fited well enough. 

ThisIsWeird

Hi Leonie.
How did you realise it was 'out'?
Tbh, the green tape is making it hard to see how visually out the grout line is. 
Is the tape still down? If not, could you take pic 4 again, please, without it? And ideally also including the unit run on the left.
And, is pic 4 the 'entrance' view into the kitchen, from where the kitchen is viewed as a 'whole'?
Do you know how 'out' your actual kitchen room is on each wall, and in what way? Ie, are all 4 walls out? Just one? 

tacpot12

I agree that it is difficult to appreciate the degree to which the misalignment is visible to the naked eye with the green tape down. A photo without the tape would help.

I think the fact that the walls are out is a red herring. You don't lay tiles in line with the walls if the cabinets are already installed, and if the cabinets aren't already installed, you would set out a centre line down the room that minimises the problem for the kitchen fitter. 

leoniedre

Hi, thanks so much for replying. I noticed once the plinths were reinstalled as the grout line is visible at one end and not on the other.. Once I had spotted this I measured the island and was shocked at the difference, now I’ve seen it it’s can’t be unseen and I’m shocked that this was not discussed or addressed beforehand. 

Every line from the back door is wonky!… 
Ive attached some more pics, hope this helps to show it a little clearer.. 

leoniedre

Sorry I don’t think the pics uploaded on my first reply 

leoniedre

Oh and yes the kitchen was already installed, the old tiles were exactly inline with my island and everything was straight 

Section62

leoniedre said:

Have had a new kitchen floor tiled. Everything seemed to be ok but when the plinths were installed I noticed that the lines are all out. I’ve measured off the island and EVERYTHING is totally out! 

I’ve spoken with the tiler and he blamed the walls, saying they are not level. I know they are not level, but surly you find a straight line from the island or kitchen cupboards.! 

I have been saving for over a year to get this floor done and now I am devastated that it is so out! I don’t see any other option then taking it up and starting again… 
I have measured a straight line and marked it with green tape, then compare the grout line. 
Any advice would be massively appreciated. I am not a tiler, but know this is not correct and not how they should look. 

Thank you so much in advance 

OP, there are several threads on the subject of kitchen floor tiles and how straight they should be - they often run to many pages because everyone has an opinion on how things should be done.  Here's an example -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6286017/tiling-job-tiles-not-straight/

On that thread possibly the wisest advice was from Doozergirl, hopefully she won't mind me quoting her here -

Doozergirl said:

Jeepers_Creepers said:

Exactly.  So if your walls aren't square then you might have it straight down the hall to one wall, slightly off the other and then off to the kick plates once it hits the kitchen... 

But the overall impression is correct. 

You cannot have it perfect, so choose a line and then argue that mine is wrong in front of a judge...   

Unless the room is perfect and all the units perfectly aligned with the walls, then there will always be something 'out'. The tiler's job is to work out the best way of dealing with the 'out'ness, subject to any specific instructions from the client.

When you say "...but know this is not correct and not how they should look" I would put that slightly differently - that the tiles are not how you wanted them to be.  I'm not a tiler either, but have signed off work by others.  Looking at your pictures I couldn't say the tiles "are not correct".  The question is whether you communicated to the tiler that you wanted the grout lines to be done in a particular way.  If you didn't then it was down to his professional judgement how to get the best result.

Clearly the result isn't what you'd like, but bear Doozergirl's comment in mind.  If you go into battle with the tiler would you be able to convince a judge that your choice of line is right and the tiler's is wrong.  That is what the whole thing boils down to.

HHarry

Agree with Sec62.  The tiles alongside the outside door look full width, so aligning the tiles with the island, would mean cuts along this edge - which might also look strange.

 Could you shift one end of the island over to even things up?

ThisIsWeird

leoniedre said:

Oh and yes the kitchen was already installed, the old tiles were exactly inline with my island and everything was straight 

Can you work out what has changed, given that the actual tiles themselves - both previous and current - are straight-sided? Ie, was the previous 'out' along a wall instead?

I have to say, I'm struggling to notice where the misalignment is from your pics, and I'm viewing via a 43" screen.

For example, where's the misalignment here^?

And here?:

leoniedre

This is the same section from two different angles, so you now see the mis alignment with the island