Bad Tile Job

12 years ago

We just bought our house and all the floors needed to be done. My bf and I took out all the carpet and his friend said that he would be able to do the floors. He did our first floor(1000 sq feet) of tile. I was under the impression that he had done this for a living but was just taking time off. So he got half way through the job(10 days) after taking three days off leaving my house looking like a crap hole, throwing trash on the floor and such. I looked at the tile he put down and some of it was coming up there was thin set EVERYWHERE like 4 feet up on walls all over base boards. It was a total mess. I brought in three other tile guys and they all told me the same thing the thin set wasn't mixed right and all the tile would end up coming up in a year or less. My bf told his friend that I went and hired someone else(which is true) he still insists that we pay him $1500.

We didn't put any kind of down payment down. My bf and I had to tear up the tile that was already laid down, had to buy more tile and supplies.

We hired someone else who put the tile in in 7 days and it looks amazing. They worked totally different than the other guy I swear he had no idea what he was doing. The original guy was cutting tiles inside our house, he poured thin set down our kitchen sink and washed his tools in the kitchen sink!

He is now harassing (via text) my bf for money and threatening to come to my bf's work because he claims to, "know how much money he makes" and thinks we should be able to give him money. I would like to give him NOTHING he ended up costing us a lot of money and stress.

If you are still hanging around after that long story, thanks! What would you give to the guy? What should I say to him?

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Comments (4)

deborah_ps
12 years ago
"What should I say to him?"
How about see you in court?
You didn't mention a contract, so I assume there wasn't one? If not he's out of luck. But in the future make sure you put one together and have both parties sign it.

He might threaten putting a lien on your home, which he could do...but tell him to bring it! No judge will award him a red cent from the description you've given. It would have been better if you'd taken pictures...did you?
Ask the other tilers to write up a description of what they had to fix. Keep a good diary of all communication with this doof in case you need it for documentation.

Tell him to not contact you again, you don't need someone harassing you, especially at your place of work.
aidan_m
12 years ago
Where were you for the first 9 days? Why did you not stop him? Did he buy any materials for your job? Letting the guy work on your house for 10 days was a mistake. Ten days of labor is enough to get a small settlement. He can take you to small claims court, and I'll bet they award him about $500.

You already learned the hard lesson by tearing out the bad work and dishing out money for new materials. The lesson is to hire real contractors, not unemployed acquanitences. Not all people with a license are real contractors, so make sure to check references. Furthermore, when the work begins, BE THERE! Don't hover, but make it known what you expect. Check the progress after every work day. If something is not right, speak up!

If the guy is flipping houses for quick sale, his tile jobs may be just fine. For work on your own home, you expect more. At any rate you'll get what you pay for. And don't write that guy off completely, you say he WAS a friend, right?
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"So in that case, who pays for the new materials?" That is going to depend on how standup up of a contractor you hired. State dependent you may owe him one chance to "fix" the tile work before you can even attempt small claims court. And even going to court and winning if no guarantee that you will get any money. You more than likely will not be made whole at all but hopefully you can limit the blood loss. Do you have a pictures of the the work in progress? When we see topical work that poor it leads us to doubt the substrate work was done properly, not to pile more on you.
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Not a great job here! You need to document with photos and contact contractor/installer. I hate to be negative but keep track in writing of of complaint (follow-up direct conversations with email for record). Hopefully, they will take responsibility and repair or replace what is necessary. God luck,
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Perfection is a difficult master but that disclaimer shoudn't be used as an excuse for atrocious work. There are old houses where the corners aren't square and the walls aren't plumb but if you can't keep rows reasonably level, the surface isn't suitable for tile. My pet peeve is installers who don't raise any concerns with preexisting conditions but then want to use issues with those previously suitable surfaces as an excuse when called out on horrible quality work. Then they make it even worse with contrasting grout. These guys shoudn't be installing any type of material if they don't get the basics of surfaces should be flat, reveals consistent, edges matching, and layout balanced. Not every job calls for top quality craftsmanship but there's no excuse for results like this.
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That looks like it was costly and would be so disappointing. I think he did a poor job of layout on the rest of the tile as well, especially in the niches. You might be able to color the grout you have so you don't risk harming the waterproofing on the floor (and someone is going to come along any minute and ask how he built the guts of the shower and waterproofed it). It that's as bad as the tiling, you may have no choice about a redo. Look for grout colorant for the type of grout you have.
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texasredhead
12 years ago
As is usually the case, the poster signs on for the first time to tell her tale of woe.
sameboat
12 years ago
I'd pay him for the materials because well, you did agree to let him do it and didn't insist on having a contract. And he was a friend, not posing as a contractor.

Now if he was someone I hired to do the job who was advertising that he was a tile guy, then of course I'd take him to court and have photos ready for the judge. I'd also have contract in-hand.

I guess you have to weigh what his friendship is worth to your bf. Will this really matter in 5 years? If not, then let it go.

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Bad Tile Job

Comments (4)

deborah_ps

aidan_m

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texasredhead

sameboat

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