# RE: Nightmare bathroom



## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Nightmare bathroom tile
I have to say that was one of the ugliest tiling jobs I’ve seen in a while, floor tiles on the wall wall tiles on the floor, it’s sad they are out there,.

since we didn’t let it play out a little bit, we will never know was it the cheapest contractor customer looking to shave a few corners, or did the guy screw the homeowner for a lot of money with that shotty work?

I do my absolute level best at doing the proper prep work and if it’s not in the budget I won’t take the job, but even then I have been challenged by tricky projects and ended up putting in way more time than my budget allowed...... but I will never walk away from a job until it’s done, sometimes you need to take a little loss just to know what it really takes to do a quality job!

your thoughts?


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## nickko (Nov 11, 2012)

I totally agree with the last paragraph

Nicko


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## ScipioAfricanus (Sep 13, 2008)

This thread would be a lot more interesting if you included pictures of the nightmare bathroom.

Andy.


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## nickko (Nov 11, 2012)

it was shut down by the mods

nicko


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## rjconstructs (Apr 26, 2009)

Are you fixing the mess? Pics, before and after!


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## rjconstructs (Apr 26, 2009)

Oh this was from the homeowner that got a bad tile job and didn't like what he heard here and started name calling.


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## SuncoastHS (Dec 20, 2020)

I saw the photos this morning. I was cracking up at how shoddy that job was and also felt bad for the guy. He used pennies for the walls and had about 3x too much grout on the walls. It was one of the worst I've seen.


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## pinwheel (Dec 7, 2009)

From time to time, we don't make a profit on a job because of unknowns or Just lack of seeing something on my part during the bid process. Sometimes I still think I'm 20 years younger & still have a superman complex. For whatever reason, it happens now & then. A long time ago, I quit paying attention to where I was at budget wise on bid work until the job was finished. I separate the money portion from the project in my mind, so I don't get resentful in the middle & start shaving corners to stay in budget. I can't afford to bring that attitude to the client or job. 

There's a reason people are willing to wait on us & enthusiastically refer us to their family & friends. 

Then there's the jobs where I actually am still superman & complete the project under time & make up for the losses on the few.


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## Mr_Stop (Aug 15, 2016)

I saw that one too. What a train wreck! Clearly the "contractor" had no business doing that type of work and was way above his head. Unfortunate for the homeowner as it looks like a total loss. It would have be interesting hearing the backstory on that one. 

Probably one of the posts I see on Next door all the time: "Looking for a reasonable (read cheap) *__* contractor. All the ones I spoke to want too much money and are booked out 6-12 months."


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

I always do tile T&M. Bathrooms are a *****, and it's very hard to accurately estimate them, even new construction ones, and I don't do it often enough to get a real accurate idea.

Last one I did had tons of mosiac and small tile. Took me a couple weeks by myself.

I just tell them my hourly rate and about how long I think it's going to take me, plus or minus a few days.


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## wallmaxx (Jun 18, 2007)

nightmare bathroom renovation


Hi, I got a shady contractor to "renovate" my bathroom, and he had assured me the job would take 5 days. It's been 15 days, in the middle of a pandemic, and I had to spend an additional 1000$ on accommodation because we only have 1 bathroom. He also promised to finish everything by Christmas...




www.contractortalk.com


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## wallmaxx (Jun 18, 2007)

I've seen some really bad work up in Vancouver (Canada). The one project in Surrey, most of the guys doing the work were born in another country other than Canada and I think they just have a different standard for how things are to be....and what "looks good."


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## StabMasterArs0n (Nov 17, 2020)

I wish the Mods would leave these up longer. I wanted to tell the HO that he could take the waves out of the wall with a Stone Stretcher.


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## wallmaxx (Jun 18, 2007)

StabMasterArs0n said:


> I wish the Mods would leave these up longer. I wanted to tell the HO that he could take the waves out of the wall with a Stone Stretcher.


You just did. Lurkers lurk.


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## StabMasterArs0n (Nov 17, 2020)

Oh good wallmax just trying to be helpful here. In that case the grout can probably be fixed with a 7 inch grinder and a diamond cup wheel as long as they are careful not to scratch the tile. Covering the tile face with blue masking tape will help.


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## Half-fast Eddie (Aug 21, 2020)

rjconstructs said:


> Oh this was from the homeowner that got a bad tile job and didn't like what he heard here and started name calling.


Actually he only called one person a prick, and it was a valid response to an inappropriate post. Was the OP wrong for posting on a contractor only forum? Yes. But all he needed was one response saying “you been had, only solution is to rip it out and start again”.


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## SuncoastHS (Dec 20, 2020)

Half-fast Eddie said:


> Actually he only called one person a prick, and it was a valid response to an inappropriate post. Was the OP wrong for posting on a contractor only forum? Yes. But all he needed was one response saying “you been had, only solution is to rip it out and start again”.


I agree. Anyone who's ever seen what a proper tile job SHOULD look like, would have known it was some hack that did the wok. It was horrible. I just hope he hasn't paid the guy anything substantial yet becuase I wouldn't pay for that type of job.


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## JFM constr (Jul 26, 2014)

Through the years I have come to realize -so often crap work involves both the owner also . So often i find the customer was nuts or such .I heard growing up about bad contractors etc .Though once in the trades I found many customers to be bad . We all have been ripped off ,conned ,screamed at and taken the blame for something -who knows what .
i say if i am not there or know more i would be best not pointing fingers . The memory of that lady screaming at me that her dishwasher leaked ,her house was full of mold now ,I misrepresented myself etc -It is not far away .The day before I slid the dishwasher in place in the new cabinet i built . Seems she must not of closed the door properly or ? who knows . but her behavior was weird .we all have those stories .fun to explore sometimes .the homeowner who posted ,he hired him ,he is involved .he might of said he did not care what it looked like just get it done fast .
but i love reading those threds of projects gone bad .i learn alot from them


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## Half-fast Eddie (Aug 21, 2020)

JFM constr said:


> Through the years I have come to realize -so often crap work involves both the owner also .


Very true. But the quality of that grout job? No excuse and thats all on the contractor. Now ... the walls might not be flat, and maybe the customer didn’t want to pay to make them right. There are likely hidden issues we cant see.


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## JFM constr (Jul 26, 2014)

agree ,no excuss . when i was young an aunt got some crap work done on her house that she bitched on for years .later in life i figured it out - most people would not of hired the guy she used .also ,the house was a mess . i would suspect generally guys who do good work avoid jobs like hers and people like her .not a statement on the bathroom so much on all that banter you i hear people say about "contractors" . We get a bad rap to often .


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

JFM constr said:


> agree ,no excuss . when i was young an aunt got some crap work done on her house that she bitched on for years .later in life i figured it out - most people would not of hired the guy she used .also ,the house was a mess . i would suspect generally guys who do good work avoid jobs like hers and people like her .not a statement on the bathroom so much on all that banter you i hear people say about "contractors" . We get a bad rap to often .


My first year or two I did the CL thing and took pretty much every small stupid job people called with.

I learned though, that most of those customers shouldn't have been worth the effort (I did get a few long term customers from that period of time though, which was great)

Now I do my best to qualify people over the phone, and that works well, but sometimes you end up looking at a job and you just know you aren't going to be taking it. I rarely flat out say no, but I will price a job so ridiculously high that I won't be getting it, at the very least I hope it makes whoever they do use seem like a smoking deal.


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## Half-fast Eddie (Aug 21, 2020)

NYCB said:


> , but I will price a job so ridiculously high that I won't be getting it,


Sometimes the best jobs are the ones you don’t get.


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## FloorsByAlex (Jun 21, 2017)

Half-fast Eddie said:


> Actually he only called one person a prick, and it was a valid response to an inappropriate post. Was the OP wrong for posting on a contractor only forum? Yes. But all he needed was one response saying “you been had, only solution is to rip it out and start again”.


I was the guy he called a prick. I said the work was commendable and he should keep that guy biz card. Lol. But I quickly followed up with a legit response. Tear that shxt out and take the L. Penny tile on that large of substrate isn't usually ideal for a run of the mill "tile guy". You need to be a professional with on point prep work to get that right. I would have loved to see the prep work there. I wouldn't be surprised if that was all thinset squeeze out instead of grout 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## FloorsByAlex (Jun 21, 2017)

wallmaxx said:


> nightmare bathroom renovation
> 
> 
> Hi, I got a shady contractor to "renovate" my bathroom, and he had assured me the job would take 5 days. It's been 15 days, in the middle of a pandemic, and I had to spend an additional 1000$ on accommodation because we only have 1 bathroom. He also promised to finish everything by Christmas...
> ...


Looking at the photo...I'm curious where the shower handle is installed. Maybe it was an after thought. 

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## Half-fast Eddie (Aug 21, 2020)

FloorsByAlex said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if that was all thinset squeeze out instead of grout


Now thats an interesting scenario. Entirely possible.


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## robert c1 (Mar 11, 2007)

Half-fast Eddie said:


> Now thats an interesting scenario. Entirely possible.


I did that exact mistake on some custom colored octagon/dot tile. It was years ago and I figured i could clean it up and make it right.... well I did, it seemed like I spent a week with various tools picking away thinset. 

I suppose it was better than waiting the six weeks to get new tile, but not by much.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

robert c1 said:


> I did that exact mistake on some custom colored octagon/dot tile. It was years ago and I figured i could clean it up and make it right.... well I did, it seemed like I spent a week with various tools picking away thinset.
> 
> I suppose it was better than waiting the six weeks to get new tile, but not by much.


I've done the same too on those sheet mosiac things. They can be a pain if you over mud.


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## Half-fast Eddie (Aug 21, 2020)

NYCB said:


> I've done the same too on those sheet mosiac things. They can be a pain if you over mud.


And glass tiles with the paper facing so you can’t see what you’re doing until its too late.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Half-fast Eddie said:


> And glass tiles with the paper facing so you can’t see what you’re doing until its too late.


These tiles were paper faced. Set sheet, let set, water release paper, dential picks to clean the joints. Many man days in thiis one. 

Tom


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