Hi
I have a client who constantly moves Goalposts, and has decided She wants Porcelain Tiles laid on a project, where before we were scheduled for Stone. The areas total to 76m2, this includes steps etc. Originally we were only supposed to lay 36m2 around Her new Garden room(posh conservatory) and we had specified 20mm Porcelain , from London Stone. The client has taken it upon herself to go for a 10mm Fired Earth R11 product, which will also be used internally, using R10 tiles. Now I understand she wants the seamless internal/external floor, but this now means we are going to have to lay several large concrete slabs to accommodate the thinner Tiles!!! I have 3 areas, 1: 25.2 m2 2: 28m2 C: 8.51 m2. plus steps and a small landing. I'm going to lay the slabs 100mm thick, so how long before I can lay the tiles?
5 days minimum. At this time of year, I'd prefer double that, but if you can get 5 consecutive days where the ambient temp is safely above 7° or 8°C, that would do it.
I know that, with the right additives, you could get that down to as little as 24 hours, so that might be worth investigating if 'madame' is in a rush (and willing to pay the extra!)
Cheers Tony. We're hoping to get her to go with 20mm tiles, as we originally specified, as the thinner "Fired Earth"products the client(with a lot of help from her interior designer and the sales rep) has chosen are actually the same price as London Stone have quoted me for the equivalent area, 90m2, plus 130m2 of Grey sandstone???? No brainer to me, but we'll wait and see.
Pheww, the clients going for 20mm tiles from London Stone, which are actually the same price as the 10mm from Fired Earth, have a better surface finish and will, in my opinion, do a far better job.
Have you ever noticed that, when it comes to these interior designers straying outside their normal realm of inadequacy, the less contact they have with reality, the more they charge for their alleged services?
On this project we have had to liaise with the Garden designer, interior Designer, Architect, the clients builders and the client, who appears is an amateur interior/garden/architect and has took on board all our technical and aesthetic advice and completely ignored it. We have discussed, priced and got samples for every form of paving, both natural and man made, in every size imaginable. We've gathered enough samples to pave the feckin garden with, and I've re-done the quote to every different permutation you can think of!!!!! It's been gruelling to say the least :p
We are now back to 20mm Porcelain(750x750 mm) laid in 3 terraces and steps, leading down to 130m2 of grey Sandstone. It's going to look the dogs, but it's certainly been a journey! Pictures to be posted.
We get quite a few recommendations from this particular interior designer, She works for some real high end clients and likes our designers Gardens, and our work, so usually it's all great, foot in the door and all that, but this particular client makes you work for your dollar!!!
