The above tile job was not one of mine, but was one that I noticed at a client's house. One of the major reasons I decided to specialize as a tile installer was because I saw shoddy tile work everywhere. One thing that I have always noticed is how bathroom floors are mainly laid out back-to-front and the cut sides on the wrong walls.
One of the major reasons that installers lay tiles incorrectly is because they want to start at the back wall and work their way to the doorway. They do not want to do half the job one day, and then complete it the next. They want in and out the same day. This may suit them, but it doesn't suit the end look.
If I were to lay the tiles in the bathroom above, the first 3 rows from the doorway going into the room, would be full tiles. The photo below gives you a rough idea:
Then, as I lose space to stand in, I am forced to stop and let the tiles dry until the next day. The next day, I would be able to stand on those tiles laid the day before, and complete laying the rest of the tiles towards the back of the room.
In order to lay the tiles all in the same day, you have to lay them incorrectly. In order to achieve the best layout you have to do it over 2 days. Ask yourself this question: which layout would you want in your bathroom?
I was called to inspect a tile job completed recently, in which the homeowner was trying to recover a refund from the original tiling contractor. I was amazed, but not surprised at what I saw (I took pictures, which are shown above). I came to the conclusion that some so-called contractors have no clue about how to lay tile, or maybe they don't care, thinking that the client won't notice. It's unfortunate, but true. But it goes to show how important it is for any homeowner to ask for testimonials, references and actual pictures of work completed. If the contractor fails to show these, then the red flags should immediately go up. Stay away from such folk and you'll save years of heartache.
I also recently completed a shower stall in which prior to me laying the tiles, the entire job had to be ripped up not once, but twice by the homebuilder. Twice the tile contractor started the same job and botched it up. I take my hat off to the homebuilder for giving this guy a second chance! But, seriously, who can afford to have tile laid and taken up twice? Better to get the job done right the first time.
Beware of shoddy tile installers -- ask for references, pictures...even ask to inspect recently completed jobs. You'll be glad you did!
