Chuffin' French Tilers

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Chuffin' French Tilers

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BahamaMama

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Away with the fairies

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 09 4:55 pm Post subject: Chuffin' French Tilers

I have a holiday property in the Ardeche which needs a lot of work doing to bring it up to scratch but in the meantime is habitable. I have started by gutting and reinstalling the bathroom and shower, creating a 'wet room' rather than an enclosed shower. This work was done by a tiler who then went on to tile and finish the bathroom area.

In creating the wet shower area, he miscalculated and 3 of the 4 corners slope towards the central drain but the 4th corner does not, as a result the water pools in the corner. We have had an on-going dispute with the tiler for over 12 months now asking him to make good the error. On several occasions he has told me he has completed the work but when we visit it is very clear he has not. We have confronted him and he said he would come back and fix it when we were not there (we only have the one bathroom and shower and the repair would put it out of service for a number of days). All work was done through the correct channels, devis, invoices etc.

To cut a very long story short, I believe he has gone bust - I have not been able to get a response from his mobile since October until eventually I sent him an SMS and got a response saying the business no longer trades.

That is just the background! My questions are:-

Do I have any recourse through his professional insurance (SIRET?) to have my job made good? Would another tiler touch his work?

Is it worth it in terms of time and hassle?

I would be very grateful for any views on this situation - I am happy to provide more detail if I have left out any pertinent points.

Thanks.

boisdevie1

Joined: 11 Aug 2006
Posts: 3897
Location: Lancaster

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 09 5:18 pm Post subject:
He would have been registered by the local Chambre de Metiers. See what they have to say. Perhaps in the future it might be worth engaging some kind of project manager?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 09 5:20 pm Post subject:
no idea about the legal stuff ripping the floor tiles up ,setting the slopes and retiling should be a few days at most a puddle is bad for the house and annoying to live with

mousjoos

Joined: 05 Jun 2006
Posts: 1986
Location: VERY Sunny SW France

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 09 6:03 pm Post subject:

The SIRET is IIRC a sort of registered business number, some of the digits denote for example what branch of business you are in. As BD said contact the local Chambre de metiers & ask their advice.
On the matter of the shower itself, there are preformed/moulded shower bases available all ready to tile. One such is made by Wedi & though quite pricey, they are easily available, easy to install (dependant on existing floor etc) & come in several sizes. I put one in a very small shower room recently, connected to existing pipework, & hey presto.
I have a SIRET number but nobody in 4 years has given me a definitive answer as to what it actually is, although it also forms part of the VAT number. (There is also a SIREN number)
If there's anything else you need to know, ask & I'll see what I can find out.

BahamaMama

Joined: 21 Sep 2006
Posts: 2315
Location: Away with the fairies

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 09 6:13 pm Post subject:
Thanks - I did not really know where to begin so I will start with the Chambre de metiers. I know about the preformed base now but did not know at the time I commissioned the work or I would have specified - I think he was trying to save a few euros

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