Sloppy waterline tile install

[mappo]

I'm in the process of having my 30 year old IG gunite pool mildly renovated with an Aquabright surface and new waterline tile, plus a few other odds and ends. Today while I was at work they installed the new waterline tile. I got to see it this evening when I got home, and I'm pretty unhappy with the workmanship. I was hoping I could post a few pictures and get opinions whether I'm being too demanding or this really is unacceptable, or maybe some of each for different areas. Also, it's helps to vent.

In general, the spacing between tiles is all over the place. Sometimes it's too big, sometimes it's too small, sometimes it's non-existent. For example:



While I'm not happy with any of the spacing in this picture, I'm especially worried about the tiles that are jammed right up against each other. They did this a lot. It doesn't seem like it'll be possible to grout between them, which will result in water getting behind the tiles. Also, shouldn't the two planes at the corner of the skimmer be aligned to form a clean turn? I'd think it would be possible to do so by varying the thickness of the mortar bed behind the tiles.


This second photo is an example of where I go back and forth about whether I'm being too picky or not. It's just poorly aligned tiles, it won't cause any water issues. But would someone who was taking their time and focusing on doing a good job really have misaligned the tiles this badly? Waterline tile is decorative - the whole point is for it to look good, right? If it looks like garbage what's the point? Counterpoint - I'm being too nitpicky.



Here's the other skimmer. Is that gap between planes really normal/acceptable? Can grout securely span that distance, especially around a bend? Also, that horizontal tile at the bottom right is about 1/8" higher than its neighbor, with a bunch of empty space beneath it. That one definitely needs to be re-set.




Thanks for letting me vent, and please let me know if and where I'm nitpicking stuff that is just normal variation.

 

[jblizzle]

It is your pool. You need to be happy. Raise your concerns with the renovation company sooner than later.

I think the gap at the skimmers if fairly normal, they will just pack grout in it at an angle.

 

[mappo]

Thanks jblizzle. Yeah, I'll be talking with them tomorrow morning. We've already had our differences on other aspects of the job, so me now giving them grief about the tiling isn't going to win me any friends. I'm trying to find the line between being an unreasonable PITA and refusing to accept substandard work.

 

[jblizzle]

Well, in my unprofessional opinion ... those tiles look sloppy and would drive me nuts.

 

[Pprior]

There is no way I would accept that tile spacing. Looks like a high school student’s first attempt. That would ruin my mood every time I was in the pool for the next 20 years....

 

[pooldv]

Well, in my unprofessional opinion ... those tiles look sloppy and would drive me nuts.

He was already nuts.

Me too, that isn't very professional work.

 

[mappo]

So can the tile be removed and reset, or would fixing this require buying a bunch of replacement tile?

 

[kellyfair]

So can the tile be removed and reset, or would fixing this require buying a bunch of replacement tile?

You shouldn’t have to buy replacement tile... you weren’t the one who made a mess of it!

 

[MinerJason]

So can the tile be removed and reset, or would fixing this require buying a bunch of replacement tile?

Typically removing the tile without damaging a significant amount of it isn't practical. Even if it can be removed without damage, the time and labor required to remove the thinset from the back of the tiles before reinstalling is excessive, and it's often cheaper and easier to just buy new tiles. If it does come off easily without damage, that's an indication that the installer didn't use the correct mortar or set them properly. Which based on those pics might not be a stretch...

And as Kelly said, you shouldn't have to pay to replace tiles that someone else messed up.

 

[mappo]

And as Kelly said, you shouldn't have to pay to replace tiles that someone else messed up.

No argument there! I just meant whether new tile would be required or not, to gauge just how much of a fight it was going to be tomorrow morning. I see your point about the labor cost of cleaning the tiles making the question moot. And yeah, they did a crappy job on the mortar bed too. There are some tiles that have no mortar behind them, they are only held on to the wall by the manufacturer netting that holds the pattern together. It sounds like my morning is going to be....confrontational.

 

[kimkats]

NOPE! Where is the pride in the work? The person that slapped that up did not do so with pride. They did it to get the job done as fast as they could. Even if there is a mesh there should still be spacers used so this kind of things do not happen. Off and out it goes

The skimmer is better than I thought it would be but I wish they had started from the front and moved back so the corner gap was not as big. They could have used small pieces in the back to fill it in as no one will see back there for the most part.

My vote? Redo.

 

[Captchaos]

I absolutely would not accept that and the installer’s management shouldn’t either. One look at that and they will agree that it is unacceptable.

 

[PoolGate]

Super sloppy. I would make them redo it.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

I absolutely would not accept that and the installer’s management shouldn’t either. One look at that and they will agree that it is unacceptable.

Good remarks relating to management.

 

[LeighHop]

Nope. The second picture in particular bothers me.

 

[riley00dog]

No, no, no, no. Just no! That is sloppy work that needs to be redone.

 

[Casey]

I can't even tell you what I think because I'd get the ban hammer.

Did you say anything about it yet?

 

[mappo]

Did you say anything about it yet?

Yes, I met with both the on-site supervisor and the primary service manager this morning, and did my best to express my dissatisfaction without being rude or insulting. I succeeded at the first part but mostly failed at the second. They definitely think I'm an A-hole, and they're not necessarily wrong, at least regarding how I acted today. Isn't that's a saying: you don't get to decide how other people act, but you do get to decide how you'll react to them? Yeah, I could have done better.

While they never volunteered that anything they did was substandard, they agreed to fix whatever I specifically pointed out as unsatisfactory, so I guess that should be good enough. It's weird to see such a mix of shoddy workmanship and dedicated customer service, if that makes sense. So I pointed out lots of stuff, and they spent the day redoing that stuff. At the end of the day, the site supervisor gave me a roll of painter's tape and told me to mark any tiles that are still unsatisfactory and said they'll redo them tomorrow. I did so and marked another 20 or so tiles, including some of the stuff they did today that I didn't feel was good enough. It might take several rounds of this to get it right, but they seem willing to go those rounds so I guess it'll work out. It doesn't give me confidence about the upcoming Aquabright installation though. I suspect that operating a thermoplastic-slinging flamethrower correctly is a lot more challenging than installing waterline tile.

 

[riley00dog]

Good that they’re willing to rectify (or attempt to). I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to just do their best work to start with? I wonder how many customers are too frightened to say anything?

 

[Teald024]

I’d ask him to meet me poolside and let him know the work quality was unacceptable. If the project manager didn’t fully agree and offer to replace it, I’d chew him up one side and down the other for the principle of it. Anyone who thinks that is even remotely acceptable shouldn’t be allowed on your property. Tell him you expect a different sub, his best available. Just WOW, that is clear cut a horrible job!! I feel bad with ya.