Botched Tile Job

We came home to our bathroom renovation today and saw that $1400 of glass penny round tile was installed incorrectly – large, visible seams, gaps, and more. The grout has been laid and has been setting for 12 hours. Is there a way to salvage the tile? Any recommendations for tilers who have experience and can provide shots of their work with penny rounds? Any precedents/recommendations for dealing with the contractor tomorrow and reviewing this botched job?

gigi.gaur

in Tile 9 years and 10 months ago

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soundhoner | 9 years and 9 months ago

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Useful information here! So other than looking at pictures, how do you judge a good vs. a bad tiler? Does anyone have some recommendations that are also reasonably-priced?

dorkofwindsor | 9 years and 9 months ago

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As usual Green mountain knows what he speaks. I’m not a tile expert but i have tiled and I feel for you, all that money gone to waste. The substrate must be dead flat for mosaics, and that is why a lot of tilers won’t hesitate to say that all new studs is sometimes the right and only way. My bathroom floors were done by a flipper and the floors were not totally straight and level and there are some differences in height gaps etc. A “real” tiler fixes the substrate because winging mosaic is just a bad idea all around. Of course, your tiler could just suck, but either way i can’t say i would trust him with another $1400 in tile.

greenmountain | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Thanks Eman. Penny tile is really not different from any other mosaic, and not different from larger tile. It just shows the flaws more and the failures sooner. Always, the installation depends on the substrate. If my hunch is correct, the job was botched long before the tile was set. Any size or shape must be secured to an even, consistent and appropriate substrate. Installing new substrate can be more work than setting tile. Some reworking of inadequate, worn out or damaged layers underneath is inevitable. Since many jobs are like this one, tearing out and rebuilding everything under the tile, may be necessary, and may constitute more than 75% of the job. I am saying that planning a successful tile job starts with the framing, locations of fixtures, specification of substrate, any membranes needed, and sometimes critically, the type of mortar to be used. It may help to know, from the very start, what are the properties of the tile to be set at the end. You can’t go back. Wrongly installed, tile is fragile and unforgiving. Each step has to be done right. In order. So what about the tile? In this case it was glass. Glass expands and contracts much more than ceramic. Was that accounted for? But, it was small round, so there was much more grout. Was it Portland cement type or one of the new materials? Grout compresses more than tile, countering the extreme expansion/contraction of glass. But, traditional cement grout doesn’t stick well to glass, so glass tile manufacturers and dealers may recommend something else. Maybe something else for mortar too. What were the properties (and skills needed) for the substitutions? All this means paying more. The cost of repurchasing the tile, may only be a small part of it. Not currently listed in Local Home Pros, but still here… Green Mountain

bklyngirl | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Sadly it has got to go. If your installer is still on the job. Take plenty of photos (before he arrives) and then calmly show him the fail and determine how he plans to redo it and if he can redo it. don’t eat the cost of the poor job. If he won’t then be prepared to send him packing and don’t pay a penny more or the rest of what you owe him. FYI: Not all tile installers can work with all kinds of tiles. So ask before hand and ask to see pictures.

eman134 | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Tear it out and redo it…try Green Mountain..his work is excellent, he posts on the forum and is listed on brownstoner

Rick | 9 years and 10 months ago

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Penny tile should only be installed by the highly experienced. It will have to be done over. Sadly I doubt you can salvage the tile.