Wrong tiles put in our bathroom by renovator. What's reasonable compensation?

[Jessie]

The company doing renovation for us has just put wrong tiles onto our bathroom (It's different from specified in the contract). I don't want them to re-work because it will take another 2-3 months. I'm seeking for a compensation. Does anyone know what's a reasonable amount of compensation? eg. 30% discount, 50% discount, etc. Any past cases?

Thank you for any help.

[Sturdee]

Unless otherwise specified in your contract with the renovation company you will have to allow them to rectify the fault without any further costs to you.

However if you refuse to allow this then you will probably end up without the right tiles and no compensation whatsoever. Therefore before signing any contract always read the fine print with the view that the builder will stuff up and ensure that penalty clauses are inserted.


Peter.

[Jacksin]

Sturdee is correct in the legal sense. You cant refuse them to remedy the error unless of course their work is shoddy. But as an easy-out to saving your time and the builder's expense of completely re-doing the job I would see what he is prepared to offer first as compensation.

You are the one that will be looking at the incorrect tiles so if you are satisfied with say a 50% discount as compensation, then go for it.

The alternative is a whole lot less financially attractive to the builder.

[Sturdee]

Sturdee is correct in the legal sense. You cant refuse them to remedy the error unless of course their work is shoddy.

Comes from having worked for a builder in a previous life. Although most of the homes we built were spec homes we did do some on order and some renovation and extension work and invariable disputes arose from incorrect tiles and or colours as they are very deceptive in descriptions.

Normally it would be cheaper and less hassle for us for us to get the subcontractor to fix their mistake (for they would be paying for their stuff ups) rather then negotiate a settlement.

However if they were refused reasonable access to do that we would not pay any compensation and instead preferred for our legal team to handle it. In the cases that went to court we always won.


Peter.

[Bleedin Thumb]

It must be a big tile job to take 2-3 months to redo!

If they have to re do the work it means that they will probably loose 50% of the total value of the tiling (assuming 25% profit)

If you offer them 50% of the total as payment they will be facing a 25% lose.
If they angle for 75% then they are trying to break even on the job once again this is based on 25% profit margin.

If I was you I would be asking myself

1. Can you live with the incorrect tiles? and
2. Do I need to save some money?

If the answer is yes then seek compensation if not ask then to rectify.

[dazzler]

Have you paid them yet?

[makka619]

Wow. I agree with what has been said. If you can live with the tiles, then I'd be asking for at least a 50% discount. They are not what you ordered, and I would not settle for less. Otherwise get them to re-do it at no charge. Maybe you could talk to Office of Fair Trading for some advice.



Several years ago when my parents were getting the bathroom re-tiled, the tilers brought around boxes of the wrong floor tiles on the day they were to start the job. I happened to look at them and noticed they were the wrong ones. They were white with black streaks. They should have been black/grey. They looked completely different. I told my dad. He spoke to the lady that sells them and she said that they didn't have enough of the ones he'd ordered for the job and so they were going to use these ones. WITHOUT TELLING US - Just going ahead with them I still don't understand it.

Dad stopped them from tiling and ordered some floor tiles elsewhere. Lucky I saw them before they tiled, save dealing with all the payment/dispute crap.

[totoblue]

The company doing renovation for us has just put wrong tiles onto our bathroom (It's different from specified in the contract). I don't want them to re-work because it will take another 2-3 months. I'm seeking for a compensation.

Who made the mistake? The right amount of compensation is the cost to that person (or persons) of putting it right. That's what it would cost the renovation company - if it is not the builder's mistake, it might cost him nothing.

Worst case for the builder is cost of correct tiles + cost of installation + cost of demolition. Best case for them is either the tiler fixes it for nothing or you get zero compensation.

Of course the builder might insist on putting in right, in which case there's no compensation payable, except if your bathroom is out of use for an extra 3 months, it would be reasonable to get compensation for that. If it is going to take more than 1 week extra, I'd demand compensation and I'm sure the builder will get it done faster than 2-3 months.

Get the agreement about rework and time frame and compensation for lateness in writing. If you agree on the phone, then write/fax a letter to him confirming the discussion and the agreement you reached.

[rudyzzz]

whatever u do try to avoid office of fair trading, they are a toothless tiger in my opinion, same with small claims. youd have to work with the builder and come to some arrangement. remmeber everyone makes mistakes, I think it would be unfair to not give them the chance to fix their error. It shows how important it is to do regular inspections. never rely on a builder to think. Theyre mentality is usualy something along the lines of 1 hours work $65 2 hours work $130 3 hours work $195.

[roy]

lmao at that rudy yeah i think plumbers think like that as well, 1 potato 2 potato. they are getting us back for sticking their hands in crap when they were apprentices

[Bleedin Thumb]

lmao at that rudy yeah i think plumbers think like that as well, 1 potato 2 potato. they are getting us back for sticking their hands in crap when they were apprentices

Kind of funny, maybe true comment about plumbers but what has it to do with tilers? Or more importantly the project manager which is the builder?

Hey but don't let me stop you laying shyte on plumbers, ...after all it is a national pastime.