Tile & Stone Journal - Alan Reynolds Article

Work has been unbelievably busy since my last blog hence the lack of updates. The other evening I heard my wife call out from the lounge, "Has Alan Reynolds written an article about you in the latest Tile & stone Journal?", " Very funny, you do have a point though come to think of it!" was my reply. A great article that looks at us tilers from a distance, when I read the article again myself I thought, "Yep, that sounds like myself and several other tilers and tradesmen I know". So, due to the British weather my days exterior tiling work has been rained off, so I thought I would use the time to blog about the below article.

Tile & Stone Journal - Alan Reynolds

When it comes to health and safety issues, I like to think I'm pretty conscientious. I have seen way to many accidents over the years to be lax about such things. Having said that, there is one affliction unique to fixers for which there is no suitable protective gear or best practise guidelines. You are literally on your own when it comes to this condition.

I am talking, of course, about 'tiler's syndrome', that embarrassing complaint that can strike without warning; an ailment that has nothing to do with shot knees or a bad back, quite the contrary. Its a little known malady that manifests itself on an emotional level rather than the physical and usually appears later on in a fixer's life when its far too late to consider a career change.

A friend of mine, now retired, with whom it has been my privileged to work with on numerous occasions, succumbed to this debilitating disease literally in front of my eyes. One moment we were happily laying travertine in a huge conservatory/kitchen; the next thing I knew he had morphed into this scary 'Mr hyde' character and was standing toe to toe with the customer.

I watched in horror as he ranted and raved about refusing to compromise his artistic integrity. Apparently the customer was considering dividing the two rooms with a slate border, laying the travertine 'brick-bond' in the kitchen and diagonally in the conservatory. 'It's going to look a pigs ear!' barked my friend. 'There's no way my name is going to be associated with a botch up like that' - or words to that effect. Personally I couldn't see the problem - different strokes and all that - but my friend was incandescent with rage and, gathering up his gear, stormed off the job leaving me to pacify the customer.

Maybe its the stress associated with the strict time constraints or the intricate nature of the work or perhaps its the fact that we are always expected to rectify other peoples shoddy workmanship. Whatever the reason, my friend's breakdown threw it into perspective similar incidents I've witnessed over the years involving fixers who snapped for no apparent reason - all well respected tradesmen at the top of their game.

Throwing tantrums seems to be very much a fixer thing and who can blame us when you consider what we have to put up with. What with plumbers cracking tiles when fitting sanitary ware, plasters producing works of art rather level surfaces and painters who insist on giving newly tiled walls and floors a coat of emulsion. The truth of the matter is that, when it comes to really losing the plot, nobody does it with as much panache as a tiler. They don't call us prima-donnas for nothing. AR.

www.tileandstonejournal.com