Neener Neener

Occasionally I get the pleasure of telling folks “I told you so”. Rarely does it cause a stir.

Here is a short story that worked out for all parties in the end.

This case involved an exhausted client and a tile setter that had real life issues.

I should have seen the warning signs, but I am/was too forgiving. The work, when actually accomplished on time, was wonderful. I was given ample warning and had several opportunities to resolve the problem or fire the tile setter, but my fault was that I was willing to overlook the mess, the missed promises, the incomplete work, as well as the crazy scheduling, and leaving several times in the middle of the day.

I “got it” eventually, and now have a real Masonry Contractor, who I love. Oops, I’m jumping ahead.

So, Levco was ending the project, turning into the home stretch of the addition, and the guest bathroom was the final part. That is when the homeowner baulked at having us do the tile work. He essentially fired the subcontractor for me and hired anther “Tile Guy” from out in front of Home Depot. The home owner proudly told me it saved him $300.00 Ah, if only all tile guys were the same, I warned him.

Ya, Sure...I Do Tile Work

I had not heard a word and assumed that everything was fine, until I was asked to return to remodel the dining room. I noticed that the pluming fixtures had not been installed in the guest bath. Confused, I asked why. As it turns out, the owners were so concerned about the shoddy workmanship that they never even put water into the shower pan for fear of it leaking into their new addition.

That was is when they contacted me again, 3 years later. Enough time had passed, I suppose, allowing him to get past the anger of making a mistake. One day, he just tore out all of the shower tile. He was calling to have us return to replace the shower completely.

The project was a huge success and we laugh about it now, but I wish it had never happened. In reality, I gave the owner no option at the time.

As I get more experienced, or the “older” I get, the more I see the big picture. This theme repeats itself with painters and all of the subcontractors, I suppose.

So, if you are an inexperienced general contractor, take my advice.

• Don’t allow a substandard subcontractor to sour your projects.
• Maintain a low tolerance for anything but perfection.

Your clients will appreciate it and your reputation will flourish. After all, the reason they hired you was to avoid gambling with their hard earned money.

Disclaimer: Some of these images came from the WEB. If they are yours, and you object to them being used, please claim them and I will gladly remove and replace them at once.

Missing Bricks & Mortar

I had noticed that my chimney was in disrepair several years ago and had meant to repair it some perfect weekend. It all came to fruition Saturday, The weather was cooperating and my son and I  had time to point the existing bricks. Plus my wife was out of town. As luck would have it , she returned just as the boys started the repair project. I suppose she is getting used to our daredevil antics and didn’t have me explain why I was risking our son’s life.

names for brick placement

I was shocked when I touched the 4 bricks on the Southwest corner and they just fell out in my hands. Undaunted we prepared some  mortar and scraped out the remaining flaky mortar.

We added a cup of acrylic adhesive and wet the bricks down. We then placed the Type S mortar which is a 2-1-9 mix Cement / Lime / Sand. Probably not the perfect mix for this purpose but that is what the store had. I placed it in a piping bag designed for this purpose and squeezed the mortar between the bricks.

Repaired

I relayed the stretchers and pointed the rest. Each one was cleaned then I rinsed the chimney and packed and pointed till it looked like new again. The acrylic bonding agent should really help things stick together for years to come.

Once everything was looking back to normal we washed it down with a mild solution of Muriatic Acid and water to get the bricks cleaned up.

Eroded bricks

Chimneys deteriorate so slowly that they are hardly noticed. Once in the bay area an earthquake shook the neighborhood pretty good and one of the most significant issues was tumbling or cracked chimneys.

From the street this  one looked OK. Once viewed from on top it was clear that a real hazard existed. In addition to deteriorated mortar the actual bricks turned to powder in the elements. Always check the flashing around the chimney for a proper seal, this is  topic to discuss later but part of a proper chimney inspection that I recommend. I recently had one inspected that was hit by a fallen tree. Our local fireplace shop inspected it with special equipment to give me the confidence of third party verification.

We are starting to see a serious problem as a result of the building boom of the late 80′s and 90′s. Turns out there is no building code restricting the use of water resistant drywall as tile backer for tile. Even today some remodelers and handyman services are sneaking it in to save a few bucks. Best practices dictate using a cementatious or otherwise waterproof product that won’t expand or disintegrate with water contact.

Hole in the shower wall

What happens is that tile is set on the “Green Board” Sheetrock because it is water resistant. Over time, the grout fails from poor sealing, failed caulking, missed grouting,expansion and contraction of dissimilar materials. Then before you know it the wall gets weak and while washing a pet in the shower ( This really happened) you lean against the wall and your hand goes through. This is a total gut and rebuild project. Fixing it half way will cost more in the long run. Green Board Sheetrock is no longer allowed in wall shower and tub locations in the 2009 IRC we must use one of a number of other products  REF: R702.4.2

Green Board is still useful for say a lid in a shower just not for tile setting.

At Levco we always install tile on a cementitious backer board and seal the cracks with Thinset. This ensures our tile showers won’t be susceptible to failure. For “Mud Set” shower pans we use a time proven custom shower pan liner procedure that involves multiple products and steps.

We offer standard grout and epoxy grout. The epoxy grout is a little more expensive but a great option for those that hate cleaning.

We turn our projects over sealed with the recommendation that regular sealing occur. Different sealers are recommended  at different intervals depending upon upon the tile or stone, the grout type, how often the shower is used and cleaned.

slate failure

Natural Stone: When sealed, does fine. It is relatively soft, porous, and is susceptible to failure without regular care. Flaking, discoloration, and disintegration are not uncommon. This one suffered from un-rinsed toothpaste and shampoo. Skin oils may have protected the center.

Humidity: Showers and bathrooms last best when the humidity is evacuated completely. This is a “Green” indoor air quality issue that will prevent shower failures. As long as there is a window (which opens) a fan is not required. However, I insist upon adding a fan. I also include a electronic fan timer which saves energy.

Drying the shower to prevent mildew from growing in the grout. Once a seal is gone and soap enters the grout it provides the food for growth. A synthetic shammy  from an auto parts store cut in half works great. It also helps to prevent water spots from appearing.

a cool product for shower glass

Water Spots: Once you have them or a haze, I found a great product called Amaz Clean & Green. I bought it at Atkinson’s Mirror and Glass in Boise for $10.00 it is a non toxic paste that you apply and then wipe off. It removes the spots and haze relatively effortlessly.

Case Study: This is a shower that looked fine but there was a suspicion of water leaking because of a spongy floor. There was a shower door placed on a stacked 3-2″x4″ curb. Chances are some of the screws allowed water to get into the wood along with the poor seal of the door.

Travertine Shower Walls

Dustin miller a second generation tile setter for Levco, and  has been working for us since a call I made to Rod at ASI out of utter frustration with our previous tile setter. Dustin in a phone interview had all the right answers to my questions about shower membranes and backer board preferences. He uses the old school materials and most importantly stands hind his work.

We have had our learning moments and have overcome some serious obstacles but at the end of the day the projects look great and he has received rave reviews after all the tile is a focal point.

Dustin has done some decorative niches and makes a mean triangular soap dish. His bench seats are elegant and on occasion he has made bull nose tiles for us and done some decorative edge treatments that mimicked the full tiles. In this case we are using several tiles types with porcelain, ceramic and Travertine.

Dustin Miller

Dustin will be setting the back splash with granite as well. So far things are looking spectacular. Except for a minor hiccup in the guest bath floor that we overcame gracefully, everything is looking good.

We did discover a substandard concrete base in the studio and are taking the corrective action to replace it it prior to setting the floor because it is the right thing to do, and we’ve learned that “if we cant stand behind it… we just won’t  do it.”