Hi I'm the new kid on the block. I have a question I have not been able to get answered.
We recently built a house with cement floors. The floors were supposed to be lazer leveled so the tiler could have an easier job of laying even tiles. He was angry when he saw the floors were not leveled and quit. The builder hired another tiler and our tiles are very unlevel. Some are very noticeable in bare feet and even shoes, pushing a chair in under the table gets caught. What is the normal acceptable level of uneven tiles in Ontario. We have not yet had an answer, is it written in a book of 'rules' somewhere or is it subjective????? Thanks for any information

Hi
I sounds like the concrete floor is in really bad shape for the first tiler to quit. It is very difficult to do a nice job of setting tile over an un-even floor. Going over hills and valleys is almost impossible with some tile. But, the floors could have been repaired prior to setting the tile. It takes a bit of time and money to fix them, so it could have come down to who was responsible in the first place. The first tiler sounds like he new what he was up against when he quit. A certain amount of lippage is acceptable...a lot of tile these days is so poorly made, that the tiler has no choice in the matter. What has the builder and the newest tiler said about it all?

Hi Maggy
Bri's right .... there are ways to install the tile level and flat and it's up to the tilesetter to provide these options to the contractor and/or the home owner. At least if they decide to go over the existing surface he's off the hook.
A couple of weeks ago I ran into the same situation and provided an option to the contractor of a mortar-bed to correct a very unlevel and uneven cement floor which was approved by the home owner. The tile I used was 22"x12" and there is absolutely no lippage.

I'd have to check but I think the TTMAC suggests a guideline of 1mm allowance (lippage) for every 3mm of grout line width. I've created this amount of lippage in a test to gain an idea of the feel and look and there's no way I'd eccept that much on most of the tile I use. Take a straightedge and lay it across your tiles at various locations to see how much lippage you have.

I respect the first tile setter's decision NOT to tile over the existing surface, although I'm curious ... did he provide a solution to the problem before leaving?

I am also confused about how much lippage. I have alot. every tile has a high corner or side and is againist the low side of another tile. some enough to stub a toe. I don't think its the floor because its all over the room. so I am making them raise the grout. it was very low. they said epoxy shrinks. (like it can't be helped) they have been here 3x and it is not fixed. the kid installer said he was going to loose his job over me. and he has created some more flaws tring to fix it. help!

What is the tile ... ungauged stone? Why was epoxy grout used?
Tell us a bit more about the installation.