TOPIC: How thick is the stucco?

And it seems soooo hard to find good tradesmen nowadays.  Seems everyone around here is a jack of all trades kinda guy.  Here are some pics of work done on my house.  We found this guy from another guy at church that used him to redo all his flips.  I came home from work and saw this..... talk about MAD!!!  I have tons of pics but am limited to five for this post.  This guy had been doing tile work for "20 years".

John,

I care that is why my tag line is what it is and these websites are on the net.

"I create controversy whether they like it or not!

www.your-leaking-house.com/

www.badstucco.com

C'mon Adrian - the guy didn't know where to start, didn't know how to cut tile, didn't know how to separate edges properly (two or three different sized little X's is no big deal, if he used them at all...) and didn't know how to finish the grout properly or get it out of the nooks and craters in the tile.  Oh, I assume that's a shower pipe and you can't get into it if it needs a repair or leaks and it doesn't stick our far enough - but GEEZ, what's your point!!  Cut the guy some slack - another 20 years and that job, why, I bet that job will look like he actually took the tile class at Home Depot and understood it!  He might even still have the cool apron they gave him when he took the class...

Picky, picky, picky - Holy Tirade Batman!  You know what I've been saying about picking guys up at the 7-11!  If I had known you were looking for a tile guy, I would have recommended, um, ME!  I gave my wife granite counter tops for Christmas last year and I did the tile back splash (well, and also the new wiring, sink, plumbing, cook top, new down draft venting and new gas line, but who's counting?).  Want some pics?  I've done a ton of tile - I have three different sized table cutters in my garage!!  I'm expensive, but good!  No brag, just fact...

If I might get serious for a minute - flip work is flip work.  Those guys are used to quick and dirty.  Did you look at some of the other jobs this guy did!  Did you have him come to the site and tell you how he would proceed - you know, from which point he would start his square lines and work?  THAT tells you everything you need to know.  The biggest key to tile is where to begin so you know where and how you will end.  And dry fit it first to make sure your plan is going to work, BEFORE you glue the first tile.  And the first glued tile better be dead on your square!  And, I am going to bet he used water to mix the grout.  Am I right?  Judging from the picture, it looks like it...  See the little bumps in the grout?  Water.  I'm talking about the little, tiny bumps in the grout lines, not that mess against the wall!  Water!  And he had it all done by the time you "came home from work"?  Walls and floors?  That's the definition of "quick and dirty."  It should have taken half a day just to get the floor dry fitting properly set down.  The mastic, hopefully not glue, but a mortar with admix, 1/2" notch, should have dried for at least 24 hours before the grout application or the tiles will move and crack.  Tch, tch, tch!  Twenty years - yeah, right, that guy's pants are on fire...

Are you paying him for that job!?  I feel for you, my brotha...

Ouch!

The Carlster!

John knows I'm tweaking him, but part of that post is serious.  Schmuck work is schmuck work...