so my pool reno guy started putting in the tile today. i immediately noticed that the gap is getting bigger as they go on the top edge. the pool guy blames it on the deck saying it is crooked. after he left for the night i put a level all around the top of the pool and found it level, even a laser level (i might be off a hair though). I also checked the level of his support line he installed and it comes out level for the most part. However when i measure the gap from the top edge of his guide to the bottom of the coping i get a wide range of space. we plan on having him remove most of it and making sure it is about flush with the bottom edge of the coping even though he says his tile is level. not sure if I am missing something somewhere? it just seems that it is best to have that top line look straight even if off a bit than having a changing grout line at the top. any help would be greatly appreciated, It could be i am missing something but not sure.
pool tile install - crooked tile
- Thread starter rltullis
- Start date
- Jul 21, 2013
- 65,473
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
The water level will tell the truth about what is level. A spinning laser level should be able to shoot a line and show what is going on.
Is this a pool renovation, not new construction?
@Rich D @jimmythegreek what do you think about the workmanship?
Is this a pool renovation, not new construction?
@Rich D @jimmythegreek what do you think about the workmanship?
renovation its probably a 20 year old pool. i just have a simple laser level but it shows the deck and his line as level so not really sure, it could be that the tiles themselves are just not straight and that has thrown it off. i am planning to tell him to just put them close to the under side of the coping and hope that the water level if off will not be as noticeable as the grout line seems to be so far.
- Nov 30, 2019
- 884
- Pool Size
- 8500
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Six of one, half a dozen of another........Do you have a pic of the old tile?
I don't know the answer of what will look best in the end...
-tucked right under the coping=no gap in some areas......will the water shine help hide the fact it is uneven under the water?
-like he has it now and fill in the gap with something. This will harder to hide.
Me? I would get my hands on a "professional" way to check the level of the coping/decking AND the level of his board.
How did the installer determine where to put his board?
I don't know the answer of what will look best in the end...
-tucked right under the coping=no gap in some areas......will the water shine help hide the fact it is uneven under the water?
-like he has it now and fill in the gap with something. This will harder to hide.
Me? I would get my hands on a "professional" way to check the level of the coping/decking AND the level of his board.
How did the installer determine where to put his board?
A little hard to tell from your pics but the deck looks uneven. Making the new tiles unlevel to match an unlevel deck is not good practice.
If his tiles are put down level and in a straight line (and they appear to be), that's about all you should expect from the installer.
If he followed the decking line, wouldn't the bottom of your blue tiles then be uneven and unlevel?
Asking him to do crooked work to match crooked decking doesn't seem right. Two wrongs don't make a right.
If his tiles are put down level and in a straight line (and they appear to be), that's about all you should expect from the installer.
If he followed the decking line, wouldn't the bottom of your blue tiles then be uneven and unlevel?
Asking him to do crooked work to match crooked decking doesn't seem right. Two wrongs don't make a right.
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The old tile was level with underside of coping for most part. The deck is level on top side and under side although i know it has some slope away from the pool. the thing i cant figure is top of deck shows level and his tile line shows level but gap on top of tile changes. something is not adding up. i think im going to go rent a rotary level this am and see what it shows. i can see the chalk line he did on his board but the other strange thing is on one side of the pool he will have to trim a bit off the top edge of the tile and on the other he will have a 1/2 inch gap so something does not jive in all this.
went and rented a rotary level at home depot (cool thing only $45 to rent for a few hours) here are some pics i took. so he is wrong the coping is level or withing an 1/8th of an inch all the way around. his tile moves though. i am having him remove it and level with the coping. here are some pics not sure you can see but the red dot is level and you can see it hits all over the place on the tiles.
Attachments
Out of curiosity - is the bottom of the tile lined up and level? It almost seems like the bottom of the coping is the culprit, but hard to see via pictures versus in person.
You are there and can see better than I can but you decking appears unlevel. I can see in the corner pic where part of you decking is turned up and cracked.
i am sure you know better than I , I have laid alot of tile in houses. there is more art than science to this. the decking is a bit unlevel in a few spots but not a 3/4 inch difference, and there are many issues on the underside as they cut out the white plastic guide on the bottom as it was cracked and dinged up. even with all that the line they are following on the top edge of the tile is off by around 3/4 to 1/2 inch from where they started. i think if they just follow the line on the underside of the coping we will be much better off sticking to around 1/4 under the coping. as you can see in my pics there is maybe a 1/4 inch diff in a few areas under the edge of the coping but nowhere near what they are putting. I did not check the bottom of the tile with the laser but based on the top of the tile there is a steady slope down as you go around the pool on the tile. also the fact that the gap for the tile is 5 and 3/4 on one end starting at the steps and when it ends on the other side of the pool it is 6 and 1/4 so we have a 1/2 inch drop from one side to the other but the laser level shows it is pretty close to level all the way around or at least within that 1/4 inch
Will be interesting to see how he reacts to this new with photo evidence to back it up. Hoping he does not rabbit on you.....be ready just in case he does.
If it's an accurate self leveling laser it's his ledger board. Bad thing is those tiles are probably not gonna be reusable if he used good thinset. A laser should be used to set pool tile you will never get perfectly level with even a 10ft level.
not sure how accurate but more so than what i had and what he used. it was a dewalt from home depot tool rental. it self adjusted, online they go for around $800 so i would think it is half way decent. i dont think he will bolt, he already knows what i want and is meeting me tomorrow morning to address it. he was a referral by a friend so i have a bit of leverage as we send them lots of business. if he did jump i am close to doing the rest myself, been looking online at some options, i have several guys i could hire to help and get things done. ill see how it goes tomorrow.
i was to meet him at 8:30 this am and when i got there at 8 he had already taken all the tile off. he has been a great sport and it taking care of it. we are doing 1/4 inch grout line below the coping and trimming off a few low spots on the coping to keep more level look. it is looking much better he is doing great.
I hope you have food and drink to help soften the blow some.....he is really stepping up!!! NICE!
i plan to treat him well in the end, he is doing great and been very helpful so far.
ill check when there next, i did not read the bag, hope he is using the right thing though,