I was visiting my brother and they have 12" ceramic tile in most rooms.
A lot of the tiles are about a half millimeter higher or lower than the one next to it. Maybe less, but I can easily feel the difference with my fingers, and when pushing a dresser, the dresser has to be lifted up to get onto the next tile.
I worked administration in a large nursing home and we contracted our main hall way to be done in 12" tile. After it dried we noticed the tiles were not even and the administrator had them take them all out and do it again. Mainly because the residents rarely worn shoes and it was uncomfortable to bare feet.
A half millimeter? How did you measure that? Basic of tile installation is to use a length of 2x4 or whatever to tamp newest-set tiles so that they are level with and at the same level as adjoining tiles. Saw a neighbor going through great pains to set pavers in cement on a concrete sidewalk - used a level to make sure each paver was level as he went. Every paver was precisely level, just not the same level....a little higher, a little lower. Can see it clearly. He claimed to be brain damaged from falling off roofs when he was an alcoholic. There was no "was" to that part of the story :o)
*Every professional has his own standards. If this was a low bid, fast install, get in and get out job I think those tolerances are pretty good. If this is a multi-million dollar celebrity mansion I would say that is unacceptable.
*No, not what I was thinking. Some contractors are low bid types who do work for builders. In order to make money they must go fast and do volume work. Something suffers when speed is a priority. Some homeowners are more concerned with the quality of the job and are willing to pay a premium for an outstanding job.
Any hack would point to a job where the lippage was within a half millimeter as a great job, and he wouldn't be wrong. Most owners would be tickled to have a job that flat. A half millimeter is about the thickness of four sheets of paper. Fold over two sheets of paper and make a sharp crease, put it on your desk, then run your finger from the desk over the crease. Now factor in that it's ceramic tile so there are no 90 degree corners - the top edges are rounded over a bit. Plus there's a grout line in between.
There are tile standards, and they are specific. They take into the size of the tile and the width of the grout line. The contractor has little to no control over the tile. All tile has some warpage from the firing and drying. An owner would go ape shit if a contractor rejected 50% of the tile the owner had supplied. If the owner wants a perfectly flat floor there are ways to achieve that, and it doesn't necessarily have to be in multimillion dollar houses.
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To the OP: To answer your question - yes. It is within acceptable professional standards as outlined in your brother's contract. And here's a bit of unsolicited advice - don't slide dressers over grout lines on tile. Even if the edges are in plane the grout line is lower and you could chip an edge.
My guess would be it's off further that .5 mm. But you're right. That's hardly worth complaining about.
As far as sliding stuff over grout lines; we do it all the time. Some tiles handle the variance better than others. The ones we used in our nursing home hallway had sharp edges where the ones we have in our home are contoured on the edges. The ones in our house are off but because of the shape it doesn't matter as much.
Any hack would point to a job where the lippage was within a half millimeter as a great job, and he wouldn't be wrong. Most owners would be tickled to have a job that flat. A half millimeter is about the thickness of four sheets of paper. Fold over two sheets of paper and make a sharp crease, put it on your desk, then run your finger from the desk over the crease. Now factor in that it's ceramic tile so there are no 90 degree corners - the top edges are rounded over a bit. Plus there's a grout line in between.
There are tile standards, and they are specific. They take into the size of the tile and the width of the grout line. The contractor has little to no control over the tile. All tile has some warpage from the firing and drying. An owner would go ape shit if a contractor rejected 50% of the tile the owner had supplied. If the owner wants a perfectly flat floor there are ways to achieve that, and it doesn't necessarily have to be in multimillion dollar houses.
*In my mind I was picturing cut stone tile such as marble. I didn't take notice that the OP was talking about ceramic which can be all over the place. I remember seeing unfinished Mexican tile being installed in a Beverly Hills home that had an old Mexico Theme. Rough and uneven was normal.
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To the OP: To answer your question - yes. It is within acceptable professional standards as outlined in your brother's contract. And here's a bit of unsolicited advice - don't slide dressers over grout lines on tile. Even if the edges are in plane the grout line is lower and you could chip an edge.
R
One day it was explained to me the not all tile is square and grout lines may get crooked (?). The guy stacked numerous tiles and aligned them like a deck of cards. Sure enough the difference was obvious.
He showed the mark/stamps (not all tile is the same) and said if you orient the tile with the mark/stamp in the same way you will avoid poor lines for the grout.
your POV might be correct in a parallel universe but in my experience HeyBub's comment is "spot on"
or as we say "fast, cheap or good" ..... pick the two you'll be happiest with...... :)
A guy who's trying to deliver on a "cheap" job with skimp on mat'l AND labor cost to minimize the overall cost
Very few people intentionally do sloppy work but the realities of business & low bids force workers to cut corners and accept lessor results. Just the facts. :(
A half millimeter or less?? That's less than 1/50 inch. I think your brother should burn a joss stick and give thanks for a good job. He also might want to bevel the dresser feet slightly.
your POV might be correct in a parallel universe but in my experience HeyBub's comment is "spot on"
or as we say "fast, cheap or good" ..... pick the two you'll be happiest with...... :)
A guy who's trying to deliver on a "cheap" job with skimp on mat'l AND labor cost to minimize the overall cost
Very few people intentionally do sloppy work but the realities of business & low bids force workers to cut corners and accept lessor results. Just the facts. :(
cheers Bob
+++++
The guy doing the job in a mansion or a shack is probably going to lay the tile to the best of his ability. The pro is going to do the job right regardless. He's not going to screw it up because he's laying cheaper tile. ---
Sounds like my old neighbor setting up a used above ground pool. (home made but very good quality) There were 8' panels for the walls and he made sure every one of them was level, and he even compared them to the panels next to it. Most stuff he did was nice but I saw a disaster coming. I went back over with string and a line level but he didn't use it. He installed a fancy new liner with fake tile up at the top and boy did that look pretty, until he filled it with water and it showed how far he was off. It went up and down at least 1 1/2".
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