Did I choose the worst tiler in the world? scratched tiles

[radderfire]

Are you sure they are scratches and not grout that has not come off?

 

[Daze]

That should buff out pretty easily.

 

[flea.rider]

wax on tiles ?? never seen this before ... but he does need to replace the lot ..

 

[gort]

Do any of the scratches clearly continue in direction from one tile across to others? This would lend itself to indicating the scratches were done in one movement once on the wall (by the tiler).

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Thats a good point and in the middle clearly two short lines facing directly up do that
Both run to the edge of the taper then stop but line up perfectly

 

[200sols]

wax on tiles ?? never seen this before ... but he does need to replace the lot ..

They always come with wax between each tile in the boxes to stop damage.

 

[ANDARIAL]

on `good` quality grout tools it often has a metal back to the rubber to keep it stiff
Maybe the grouter has worn or become damaged?
BUT tiles should not scratch that easily

 

[JRJ]

I'd say the tiler has used some sort of scraper to take the wax off, see if you can run a blade or wallpaper scraper of a spare.

 

[***F1ZZY***]

That's a shame. On the 'after' photos, a few of the scratches look as if they span adjacent tiles, which would mean they didn't come out of the box like that.

this for sure seals the deal

 

[Semple]

I would definitely query the continuous scratch across two tiles - if they were scratched in the box you'd never get a continuous scratch.

I suppose even if he calls it quits on the payment, are you happy to leave it like that? It'll cost you more as well to have to replace them all + pay for another tiler.

 

[miller745]

this for sure seals the deal

Yeah from what I can tell there aren't many scratches that line up - some definitely do. But the scratches are all over the place, every direction. Most tiles around the hob are the worst, there is the odd tile which is perfect in amongst all those so does this point to an issue with the tile manufacture?
I had some good success with olive oil and white vinegar, so the scratches are much less noticeable now - but they're still there and they always will be. Most of them are tiny scratches, there is one you can dig your fingernail in.
I'm not really sure how to proceed. Get the tiler back to re-grout some leftover tiles with the float he used (at least I have a photo of that) and see if those tiles scratch as easily. That will prove it was him but he may say the tiles aren't fit for purpose if they scratch that easily.
Do I re-buy the tiles and get him to remove these and re-fit the new ones FOC? Are there guarantees none of those tiles will be scratched on round 2? not really..
The wax comes off with water and a sponge, no scrapers were needed/used. I still need to clean the leftover tiles properly and look for scratches, up to now none of those look scratched - at least I can go back to the tiler and say this - also that photo in the first post where the scratch lines up definitely proves it was him. In the bottom photo below, right side and 4th tile down these vertical scratches line up as well
Current state;
Only natural lighting bigger

Worst angle to see the scratches, bit closer, still natural lighting bigger

Worst angle, all lights on + camera flash bigger

 

[IvanDobskey]

Definitely try buffing them off. It's a shame as it looks like he's actually done a great job with the tiling.

 

[Griff7520]

surely if they came out of the box like that the tiler would surely have said something....looks like the tiler is at fault tbh

 

[wonko]

It doesn't look as bad in those photos - I guess what you do about it will depend on whether you'd always notice it and how much it would bother you.
I'd probably try polishing a scratched spare tile using a fine abrasive polish to find out how good you could get it, and then see if you could disguise any remaining deeper scratches by filling them with maybe a black wax. (Anything too abrasive might make things worse so test it on a spare!) It might be useful before speaking with your tiler to discuss what can be done.
It's a difficult one as you've bought the tiles and grout, but I'd also expect the tiler to point out any problems with the materials before starting.

 

[Maccapacca]

These types of tiles are destined for damage from the factory in twenty different ways.

Anything like this should come separated by paper at least and the tiles should be inspected before install. If waxed the wax should have been removed before. There’s no real need to protect for install and grouting.

Seeing you bought them from topps tiles I’d be errrring on the side they were damaged before install.

 

[Participant]

It's probably already been said but if they were like they out of the box, why on earth did he install them? Did he not check they were OK first?

 

[Chabsy]

Do you have any spare tiles left. It's hard to think how grout could be done without getting it on the surface.

 

[964rs]

Looks to me like the glaze on the tiles is not hard enough.
Makes no difference if they came like that or grouting them caused it.They should not scratch that easily.
Shiny black things are also the worst at showing scratches anyway.
If they continue to scratch that easily they will look terrible in a few years

 

[Diggsy]

Take a spare tile out of the box and rub some dried grout over it to see if it scratches easily. If it does, then I’d suggest reporting it to the supplier, but if not, then it’s likely something the tiler has done

 

[godinman]

Could be a ***** glaze on the tile making it super easy to scratch?