[ck361]

We had some work done on our bathroom this week and we're not happy. These are contractors who came and built our deck and overall we were happy with their work. So we had them come over to retile our bathroom and below are the results.

Some of the complaints we have:
1) They didn't clean up after themselves everyday and trucked dust all the way from the upstairs to the kitchen. (We were able to clean it all up).
2) They ruined our carpet because they didn't put any plastic down. (We are having it replaced anyway, but they didn't know that, luckily we hadn't done it yet).
3) They used some of our equipment and didn't return / replace it (towels, buckets, paint rollers, sandpaper, sponge, not sure what else).
4) They left a ½ inch gap between the walls and instead of tiling they filled it with caulk. We specifically ask them about this before they caulked and said they were getting "spacer" tiles to fill in the gap (not sure what that meant since there was plenty of left over tiles), but they ended up caulking anyway! The thick white caulk is distracting, especially between the colored tile. They said the gap was the result of our walls not being straight – but they put all new wallboard in when they tore out the old tile!

We haven't paid yet, just wondering what you would do? They mentioned something about an "up charge" for something, but haven't discussed it with us yet. They do know we're not happy but we haven't had a chance to talk to them since the work was completed yesterday (it took 4 days for this project). We're certainly not paying any more than we agreed.

What are your thoughts?

Here is a link to some pictures showing how they left the room one day (notice the carpet) and the gap between the tiles before and after they caulked:
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/572097972mfggAy?vhost=entertainment

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Sorry, but every time I tried to look at a picture an add kept popping up

 

[Gary in WA]

Unacceptable. The installer didn't do a proper layout to have the cut tiles in the corners. To use a homeowner's bed and unprotected carpet is wrong. Very unprofessional.

What does your Contract say about customer satisfaction before final payment? All joints should be the same width, caulked or grouted.

Make sure you get lien releases from their suppliers, or you may be getting some surprise bills.Up charge should be in your Contract.

Be safe, G

 

[Aggie67]

Dave,

I noticed that kind of ad this week on other sites. It's a PIA, but you click on the little "take me to website", and it will get you to where you wanted to go. Just don't click on "Take Me There" or whatever the ad is pointing you to.

ck361,

Good Lord. That's a horrifying tile job. If that were my bathroom, I would have stopped them before they grouted, or even got too far up the wall. It looks like the wall is out of plumb, but that's no reason to leave it like that. That would be like a pilot stepping out of a wrecked plane saying, well the mountain was in the way, what do you want.

That's bad. Call him back and tell him that's unacceptable. That there is the work of someone who didn't know what they were doing. They could have shimmed the wall board plumb, for crying out loud.

Tell him "I trusted you to do a good job, and you didn't. The wall board should have been checked for plumb and shimmed if needed, and that gap is unacceptable. I need you to come back and redo it. If you won't, I will have to call in someone else to do it, but that will involve a back charge if you refuse to do it correctly."

 

[Jay123]

What made you think he would do a good job on tile work? Just wondering...

J

 

[Willie T]

If I had walked into that bedroom, they would have been fired on the spot. And that sloped wall is nothing but amateurish.

They would be paying ME for that poor a job.

 

[Jay123]

I think you mis-spelled the eighth house...:whistling2:

 

[Gary in WA]

Dave, click on the tiny----Take me to the webshots---- at the top of the picture. Be safe, G

 

[Jay123]

Hey, where'd all the chinese lettering post go...:huh:

 

[jaros bros.]

Completely unacceptable. I would confront them and refuse payment for the shoddy work, not to mention the mess they left and complete disregard for your house.

 

[Ron6519]

These guys had no idea how to layout a tile job. Hopefully the deck came out better
It always amazes me that people think if you have tools you can do any job well.
Ron

 

[ck361]

Thanks for the replies!

Yes, the deck did come out nice and we've had lots of compliments. I forgot to mention that they also put in a new door for the upper deck they built, too, and did a nice job with that. From what they said, it sounded like they could do the tiling too. Honestly, we could have done it ourselves, but we're in a bit of a bind with time and so we thought we'd pay someone.

We're still steaming. The truth is we DON'T want them back. I think the easiest thing to do is to discuss the work that was done and suggest that we compromise on a price and give our reasons why. Court isn't worth it, and asking them to redo it is not acceptable given the work they've already done and the mess they made.

Ugh. This is frustrating.

We haven't talked to them yet, but plan to this weekend. I'm normally not that confrontational, but I feel like I might go off the handle, which is why we haven't called them yet… we’re still waiting to calm down.

 

[johnrem]

I think the up-charge is for the extra caulk.No way they could figure that in!

 

[Scuba_Dave]

Dave, click on the tiny----Take me to the webshots---- at the top of the picture. Be safe, G

I did, but every time I look at a picture, then go to look at another picture, the add pops up again
I won't go to websites that do that

 

[nap]

as the others have said, far from acceptable and the problem is, there is not easy fix. the tile needs to come down and it needs to be laid out properly so the gap is not there.

and the stuff in the bedroom. WOW!!! very poor work habits and manners.

I do have to say the grout lines in the field do look nice and equal and the tiles are set square but that does not excuse the rest of the shoddy work.

and please tell me I am wrong but it looks like they have used plain old sheetrock and plain old joint compound behind the tile. Please tell me it just looks that way in the picture because if I am right, that whole thing does need to come down regardless of the tile situation and built with the proper materials.

 

[jaros bros.]

The above poster is right on. If they screwed up so bad on the tile, what is underneath the tile to protect from water migration to the walls and stud cavities. If there really is nothing, then the whole thing needs to be ripped out and done right.

 

[ck361]

You are correct. It is wallboard.

We talked to the contractor yesterday. I was actually very calm and never raised my voice except to be firm in conveying that it was unprofessional work and we weren't happy about it. In short, he talked a lot trying to make everything “okay,” and said I was being "defensive." He also insisted that the things he used were his (even though there was no doubt they couldn’t have been). But the kicker was when he told us the "spacers" he used, those went BEHIND the caulk.

What. The. Heck.

You can put your finger through that caulk it's so soft, even after two days. We did it to prove there was still nothing behind the caulk and he didn't do anything about the seams between the "wallboards."

Then, my husband got on the phone with him. I don't know how that conversation went because he was really angry and had to go for a drive while he talked to him. I ended up getting an apology phone call, explaining it was his "workers" fault, and he’ll be coming back on Monday to talk to my husband personally and to "re-do" it until we’re happy.

We’ll see…

I really appreciate the help. We needed to know that we were justified in expressing our displeasure with this guys work. It's unfortunate. He said he wants to make us happy and to continue to work for us, but I'm sure you know there is NO CHANCE this company will ever do work for us again.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

 

[nap]

just to be sure;

I am not in the field in general but do know a bit about tile installs although there are others on the forum that are much more informed than I so and hopefully will correct me if I make a mistake, so, with that said;

proper backing for tile would include

greenboard, only if it is covered with a waterproof membrane or waterproofing system.

durock or other cementitious boards but these also require a waterproofing system. They are generally not damaged by moisture but they are not waterproof so any moisture that does get to them can soak through to the studs behind them.

I, personally, still would use something like

densshield. This is designed to be waterproof if installed properly with the proper "mud" although many will still recommend a waterproofing system.


I do not believe there is anything that can make standard sheetrock acceptable as a tile backer or part of a tile backer system.

please hang on for others advice. I'm not totally comfortable with mine but believe it is close.

and what spacers was he speaking of?

 

[ck361]

We relooked at the bathroom. I think what we're going to have him re-do is the corner he caulked (by taking out the tile in the corner and redoing it) and leave it at that. No need to take everything out. The rest of the tile work is actually quite nice.

We used a grout sealer on the floor tile we installed. After everything is done can we use the same thing on the tile in the bathroom for added protection?

"and what spacers was he speaking of?"

Exactly. I have no idea.

Does anyone have any idea?

He told us this happens all the time and you put these spacers behind the caulk. He said he has a receipt from Home Depot showing he purchased them, but he wasn't there to see if his worker used them (which was really him).

I forgot to mention that his explanation for the caulk in the corner was because our walls were not straight. When I told him he should have shimmed the wallboard to make it straight when he put up all new wallboard, he said he wasn't responsible for the structure of our house not lining up and it had nothing to do with him.

Can someone confirm if that's an adequate response? I image most houses have structural issues where walls aren't straight when they should be.

Anyway, we just want him to fix that corner and get out of our house. To have him redo it is too stressfull knowing it will take awhile.

 

[nap]

not if that is just sheetrock, drywall, or any other name used for generic drywall.

that is not to be used behind tile. Mortar is not waterproof and moisture will penetrate. Unless the material behind the tile is able to stop the flow of the moisture that accumulates, you are setting yourself up for a lot of problems and work in the future.

and to spacers; the only spacers I can think of are the little + ( for corner joints) and - (for spacing between two sides of a tile) spacers you can put in between the tiles to maintain a consistent grout line. As far as I know, those are supposed to be removed before grouting.

as to removing the tile at the corner and fixing it without removing the other tiles;

the problem is, that looks like a full tile. He messed up by not splitting the less than a tile distance between the two sides rather than doing what he did and ending up with a large gap. If that is the case, the only way to fix it is to remove all the tile and lay it out properly.

I forgot to mention that his explanation for the caulk in the corner was because our walls were not straight. When I told him he should have shimmed the wallboard to make it straight when he put up all new wallboard, he said he wasn't responsible for the structure of our house not lining up and it had nothing to do with him.

that is true but if he laid out the tile properly, it would not look like this. Rather than starting the other side with a full tile, it should have been a cut piece and this side would end up with a cut piece of the same size when done properly