I moved into a 34 year old single floor home.I think it's a concrete slab. I knew that some tile work needed to be done since the ceramic tiles (9 1/2 " squares) were lifting off the floor in the hallway entrance. I hired a local contractor that came recommended by the real estate agent. The contractor walked around the house hitting all the tiles with a broomstick handle so he could tell the general state of the tiles.
Sometime in the past, work had been done in the same area. Twelve tiles had been removed and replaced with different tiles to form a diamond pattern by the entrance hallway. It looked really nice and left some used spare tiles that were in the garage.
The guys reset the tiles, using six of the spares to replace some of the others that had cracked or been nicked over time. They injected adhesive between some other tiles to make sure that they didn't come up. The whole job was just under $900, paid by credit card.
The next morning I walked through the kitchen, heard a CRACK, and over a 10 second period watched as tiles adjacent to the repaired tiles lifted up and one even cracked in half and jumped about 6" into the air. Around 20 tiles (9 1/2 " tiles) are now no longer attached to the floor.
The contractor says that this happens sometimes and that the contract specifies that they aren't responsible for damage to nearby tiles, and that if this type of thing happens it usually happens when the guys are actually doing the work. The owner offered to repair the damage for half price, around $700. But he also said that he couldn't guarantee that the other kitchen tiles would stay in place and suggested that it would be more cost effective to have someone redo the kitchen tiles. There also aren't enough spares to replace all the tiles that cracked.
I brought the tile that jumped into the air to a nearby tile store and he says that he tile didn't have enough adhesive on it to begin with. But the tile guys at Home Depot say that this should not have happened and that the contractor injected too much adhesive under the tiles.
I'm a reasonable guy. If this was just something that does happen to even experienced tile guys and it was just bad luck, then I allow the payment to go through and don't cause a fuss. But if you folks think that it was an error by the contractor, then I'll stop the charge and complain to the state business people.
So? Shit Happens or Bad Work?