How to Answer Common Tile Complaints

Firstly, although manufacturing defects can be the cause of tile complaints, first grade tiles are most often within spec. The most common cause of failures and complaints by far is improper installation. It is crucial, if you are to avoid making expensive recompense, to establish the real cause of the failure. Remember that customers generally won’t have the expertise to accurately determine the cause.

Complaint: My tiles are scratched.

Problem: Tiles can become scratched during freight and delivery. This can happen if two tiles are rubbing against each other during freight and transport. If this does happen, it is usually with wall tiles that have a softer glaze than the tougher floor tiles. More commonly tiles can be scratched when grout and adhesive is removed. Scratches like those in the picture above were clearly caused during or after installation.


In the International standards, a scratch is defined as such when it can be observed easily from normal viewing distance. For example on a floor, a scratch would need to be seen without bending over from a standing position. If you need to get close to the tile to find the scratch, the tile is up to international standards and the customer has no basis for complaint.

What do I say to the customer?
Your client doesn’t want scratched tiles installed and neither do you. The tiler should not install any scratched or damaged tiles. It is standard practice as set out in the national standards of building practice. It is the responsibility of the tiler to put any damaged tiles aside. If the tiles have not been installed you should make good on your guarantee and exchange the damaged tiles. If the tiles are fixed to the wall there are two options for your client to consider. The best option is for the tiler to replace the scratched tiles with the 10% extra that should have been purchased for breakages, cuttings and spares. In specific circumstances, with small amounts of scratching, a glass repair service can remove some scratches from tiles, the same as glass can be repaired. The important point is to stress to the customer is that the scratched tiles should not have been installed. The tiler should complete the job satisfactorily.

Complaint: My tiles are warped

Problem: Warping is also known as lippage because if they are laid the result is a lip between two tiles as you can see in the disatrous installation above. Due to the process of firing a natural product like a ceramic tile, not every tile is going to be absolutely perfect. Warping of the tile itself is one of the more common issues in manufacturing. This is why there is an International Standard set down to specify the acceptable tolerances for warping in tiles. This is generally around 1% or 6mm on a 600cm tile. As explained above with scratched tiles, if a delivery includes tiles that seem to be warped, the customer’s tiler should not to lay these tiles.

What can cause the problem?
Tiles simply cannot warp after laying; they may lift, or break but any warping in a ceramic tile happened in the factory during manufacture. It is important to realize that a certain amount of warping across a tile is acceptable under international standards. The calculation for acceptable warpage is related to the size of the tile and the degree of warp across the length of the tile. Although all Tiles are graded within the set tolerances, sometimes poorly graded tiles can slip through and be packed as first grade.

What do I say to the customer?
If the tiles fall outside the standards, we will replace them. Excessively warped tiles should never be installed on site. If they need to be removed and reinstalled, the tiler would be expected to do this at no charge. I stress again that if there is any doubt about a tile, it should not be installed.

Complaint: My tiles are not square

The best option to avoid size and squareness problems is for the customer to buy “rectified” tiles, these are specially trimmed at the end of the production line and are cut to much finer tolerances, however…

Problem: Being a natural product that is kiln fired, there will always be some tiles in each batch that show some imperfections. It is not common for glazed ceramic tiles to be out of square. Plus, before packaging, tiles are sorted and graded to remove any that were. Sometimes a few can slip through the system. These tiles are perfectly sound, but all the same are imperfect. The generally accepted standard allows 5% of any first grade consignment to have some imperfections. 5% means that 5 tiles may have some imperfections in each batch of 100 tiles. The tiler should always put these tiles aside and use them when a cut tile is needed.

What can cause the problem?
Laying tiles which are not square will make the grout joints a difficult job. Some "extruded" or quarry tiles are made in such a way that each tile is slightly longer than it is wide. This is standard for this type of tile and the tiler should realize that each tile needs to be laid in a particular direction with wider grout joints. Mosaic tiles can be placed "off square" on the mounting mesh. This mesh can also be creased if the tile boxes take a severe knock on the edge or if the boxes are stacked on their side for transport.

What do I say to the customer?
If there are a lot of odd shaped tiles in the consignment bought by the customer something has gone wrong and the tiles will need to be replaced. You should exchange the affected tiles. If the tiler decided to lay unsquare tiles and spend the extra time needed to straighten each tile and grouting joint, that is his choice and the customer should take it up with the tiler. You obviously would not be expected to compensate the tiler for extra time spent laying the tiles. Visually imperfect tiles should never be installed unless specifically requested by the owner.