I got a call from a customer we did a pool tile job for. He supplied about $6,000 in glass tile and it seems that the tile was cracking. new website list . He notified the manufactuer and sent them pictures. Their response “it was the thin-set the installer used” That seems like an odd statment. He sent pictures and it didn’t make sense to me how thin-set (an inanimate object) could cause a crack. So ( like all responsible contractors do) we went out to inspect the job. I called the Thin-set manufactures rep and scheduled a time to go out there. Upon inspection I viewed tile that seems to randomly crack. The homeowner said it was the “light blue” ones. ask kids . After reviewing left over sheets front the original insulation we realized that theses “light blue” ones were the back side of the iridescent tiles. Looking at the profile the glass seemed to be fused together. The glass supplier said the thin set we used didn’t allow the glass to move and thats what causes cracks. Cracks are caused by pressure & stress. Alleviating those eliminate cracks. Usually you’ll see those in linear directions. I thought that these random single tile cracks didn’t make any sense. So I asked if the homeowner had a heat gun I thought if we get the glass hot to the touch (like it is in the sun) and then drop cold water on it and see what happens. Sure enough the tile cracked. Proving that the cracks are caused by cold water hitting a hot tile. The waterline tiles that had cracked in a linear direction were caused by the concrete slab pushing outward. So now since the homeowner supplied the material he now has to figure out how to battle with a supplier that never even seriously wanted to address his issue. When I supply material I mark it up. Its what happens in business. What it gives my clients is peace of mind that if there is an issue we will fight with them since we “supplied” the tile. I have several jobs where we did what it took to make the job right even in some cases at our own expense. More on that in my next blog.
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