10 Costly Mistakes

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WARNING SIGNS OF BAD TILE INSTALLERS

Tile installers who are looking to make a fast dollar and rush to finish a job don’t usually concern themselves with the details that professional installers pay attention to.

The following are some warning signs to pay attention to when considering a tile installer.

Damage to your property

Installing tile and marble is an extremely messy process, there’s no way to avoid it. A skilled and thorough tile installer will do their best to keep the mess down to a minimum. Here are several things to expect from a careless installer:  not removing the tile debris from your property once job is done, thin-set splattering left on your grass driveway or garage; dirty water overspray from the wet saw; thin-set or grout footprints on your carpeting; etc.

 

Installing marble or mosaics incorrectly

Installing marble, stone or mosaics perfectly requires a lot of expertise and can be very difficult for the novice or a do-it-yourself person. Marble, stone and mosaics material is more costly and the process of installing it is very different from installing ceramic tile.  Just because a tile installer has experience with laying ceramic tiles, doesn’t mean they naturally have experience with installing marble, stone or mosaics. Don’t make the mistake of investing in beautiful, expensive marble only to have it installed incorrectly and lose its beauty. Make sure your tile installer has the right experience!

Dumping dirty water and grout down your drain

Beware of an installer who, once the grouting is done, dumps the dirty bucket of water and grout down your drain.  This results in the grout settling in your pipes, hardening up and eventually clogging your drains. Then, the only way to fix this is to cut out the clogged pipe and replace it.  Many times the clogged pipes are buried 3ft down or more. A large headache and large cost!  Find out where your tile installer is dumping his dirty water!

Sending inexperienced laborers to the job

Watch out for contractors who impress you with their many years of experience and references, but end up subcontracting the job out to one or two of their tiling “associates”.  More often than not, these “associates” are under-paid, under-qualified installers with very little experience.  Specifically ask the installer WHO will be doing your job!

Bad layout

Layout is not only the most important part of the installation process, but it’s the most time consuming too. A professional installer will make sure that the tile is squared up with the interior walls as best as possible so there aren’t any small one inch tile slivers or tiny little triangles running along the edges of the wall (an easy way to spot an inexperienced installer).  Confirm that your tile installer will take the necessary time to measure the layout correctly!

Collecting multiple down payments

Some tile contractors may get in over their head with too many jobs and not enough qualified installers.  This results in their not being able to start or complete the job on time, or sometimes not at all.  Beware of an installer that asks for multiple down payments and get everything down in writing!

Cutting costs on material

A known tactic is to cut costs on thin-set. There are two types of thin-set mortar;

1.Multipurpose thin-set; Most commonly used, only needs water added.

2.Latex modified thin-set; Must be mixed with a separately purchased latex additive.

Both thin-sets work well, but to cut costs some installers will buy the latex modified thin-set (half the price of multipurpose), without purchasing the latex additive.  It will look and apply similarly to the multipurpose thin-set, but without the strength of the latex added in, the foundation of your tile is guaranteed to crumble and fall apart in less than a year. 

Ask your tile installer about the products they will be using!

Not installing proper underlayment

Underlayment is extremely important and it serves many purposes. It helps prevent tile from cracking, creates a strong bond to the floor in areas where thin-set won’t adhere and helps with noise reduction. Using underlayment costs a little more, but to save money some installers will set tile without using it.  The consequences will be cracked, hollow tiles and uneven flooring.  Make sure your tile has the proper foundation to keep it beautiful and last a lifetime!

Using and applying appropriate sealers

You’ll want to protect the beauty of your tile floor with a sealer. Sealers can be very tricky especially when applying it to marble or stone. There are many different types of sealers and different application methods. If a sealer is applied incorrectly, the damage can be costly to undo. Sealing marble or stone floors is best left to tile specialist. 

Rushing the job

Installing tile or marble correctly takes time, there’s no way around it. An experienced installer will be sure to schedule your project for the time it needs. An unorganized installer may get backed up with other jobs, and sacrifice quality by rushing to finish your project.

Over mark-up on material

When an installer provides the material, a certain degree of mark-up is normal, since is includes their time and labor getting the material to the job site.  However, beware of those installers trying to take advantage of the customer by charging marking up the prices by triple the cost or more.

MONTEFORTE TILE & MARBLE

MONTEFORTE TILE & MARBLE

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