Our tiler has scratched our bathroom suite, but denys he did

[carrie105]

We have employed a tiler to fully tile our bathroom. We had a new suite fitted by his brother who is a plumber the week before.

Going to look at it a few days into the process, our bath, toilet and even sink (he has managed to scratch up porcelain) is now unrecognizable as the beautiful new things we had.

We pointed it out to him, even asked why he couldnt be using the dust sheets (that we provided for him), but he says it wasnt him that scratched them.

We need a whole new suite, but, of course, spent all our current spare cash paying for the suite and the tiles and labour first time round. They really are all ruined, with bits of plaster etc stuck to them. The bottom of the white bath now looks perminently dirty as there are so many scratches. Where it used to be smooth and shiny is now mottled and dull. The same with the sink and toilet. I am at my wits end and absolutely heartbroken, what can I do?

 

[Richard C]

Whilst grout will easily scratch acrylic or resin based sanitary ware, it shouldn’t affect ceramic or porcelain so I’m unsure quiet how he has managed that; are you positive it’s not just dried grout haze which can need a bit of elbow grease to remove. Scratches in acrylic/resin finishes can be polished out if not too deep but I don’t think there is much you can do to remove scratches in ceramic/porc. You mention plaster; has your tiler been plastering? If so why? Did he stick tiles straight over the top of it? Have you paid him any money?

Doesn’t sound good & if he denies all knowledge & won’t do anything, all you can do is to take out a civil action but it’s going to be your word against his unless you can produce evidence that he actually caused the damage & if his brother won’t back you up (most likely) I think you may be on a hiding to nothing. Have you tried contacting his brother?

 

[carrie105]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for getting back. The bath is scratched up pretty bad. The walls were plastered, then tiled, he is now on the grouting.

The scratches on the bath show up worst when they catch the light. They are fine little scratches that make the surface feel dull and mottled when you run your finger over it. This is a brand new bath that was shiny and smooth when we last saw it.

With the sink, the scratches are shorter and there isnt as many of them, but they are deeper and some are little black grooves. It looks like perhaps something metal was washed in it or something like that and it has caused a lot of dings.

We have paid half the money so far, we are due to pay the rest on completion on Wednesday when his brother comes back to install the shower cubicle.

 

[paul78]

how did you hear of these guys, paper, friend, van etc????

When you say going to look at it few days into the process....... im assuming the house is empty, your not living there??? if so how can he say they was already there........... clearly that makes the brother to blame?????

Stand your ground and dont pay the rest until your satisfied. he should be honest and admit it, in the long run its his reputation at stake.

he should of had his own sheets as most tradesmen do, but tiling a bathroom id be using duvet covers and pillows and "sheets"

 

[Richard C]

So it’s probably plaster & tile adhesive that’s caused the problems not grout which makes more sense; do you know what sort of tile adhesive was used, tub mix or powder adhesive? Powder addy is cement based & that will definitely scratch & even etch the surface of acrylic/resin sanitary ware if left. It sounds as if chummy may have been mixing & washing up his trowel & equipment in your bathroom rather than outside. That’s’ bad enough but I sincerely hope he didn’t flush excess plaster/tile adhesive down the loo or sink/bath waste. It would be worth looking in the traps, if you find plaster/adhesive solidified in the bottom, you have him bang to rights

If so the guy is a complete cretin; keep calm & point out why you’re unhappy & say you will not pay the balance until the damage has been rectified.

I am also concerned that he may have plastered & then tiled over it without letting it dry out properly; plaster skim requires around 10 days but a base coat & skim will take up to 4 weeks before you can tile. Finish plaster will also seriously reduce maximum tile weight to around 20kg/sqm including 4 kg/sqm for the adhesive & grout so if you’ve got heavy, large format tiles you could be in trouble with that as well. If he used powder addy the plaster must be acrylic primed to avoid a reaction between the cement in the adhesive & the gypsum in the plaster & if he’s just used a base coat plaster, that’s not a suitable tile base either. For all these reasons, plastering is neither desirable or suitable if you intend tiling over.

Are the walls block or plasterboard? Plasterboard should be tanked if used in wet areas if you want it to last; waterproof tile backer board is the stuff to use there.

 

[carrie105]

Yes, we have moved out the house temporarily, as we are having the kitchen done as well (very luckily by different people).

They were recommended to us as friends of friends.

We are going to take them round the bathroom this afternoon and show them all the damage. Hoping it will get sorted from there (we have found out that they do actually have insurance, but unsure as to whether insurance would pay out as this seems rather more negligence than accident). In the meantime we have gone round the bathroom and covered up our whole suite with old sheets and pillows etc. Kicking ourselves for not just doing that before they started. I guess you live and learn.

 

[paul78]

Yes, we have moved out the house temporarily, as we are having the kitchen done as well (very luckily by different people).

They were recommended to us as friends of friends.

We are going to take them round the bathroom this afternoon and show them all the damage. Hoping it will get sorted from there (we have found out that they do actually have insurance, but unsure as to whether insurance would pay out as this seems rather more negligence than accident). In the meantime we have gone round the bathroom and covered up our whole suite with old sheets and pillows etc. Kicking ourselves for not just doing that before they started. I guess you live and learn.

its good that youve covered things up but to be blunt...... you shouldnt have to!! thats their job.

Its shocking when we hear stories like this but stand your ground on this .

 

[tictic]

sounds like,he may have been washing his tools in the basin/sink...

also when any tile fixer is working around sanitry ware...basin/bath,etc....
worth his salt WONT be wearing rings/watches etc...working around these....