Tiling mistake

We've started tiling. It is a new phase in many ways, since this is finish work. The level of craftsmanship required must be much higher. The tolerance of error much smaller.

At first, we have a sub who's willing to do it for a very reasonable amount. We have worked with him before with some framing and rough masonry work and thought he was ok. So we gave him the job. He started by preparing our showers and tub surrounds with cement boards. That was not bad. Then he moved on to put the "subway" tiles on the two smaller bathrooms. That was when things went awfully wrong.

I'm not going to get into details and let's just say that there are unacceptable gaps, rows of tiles that were out of plumb, as well as rugged edges that looks like the tiles were hand broken instead of sewn. Some things that we observed that should have sounded some alarm bells:

1. He doesn't really use a level
2. He never plan the layout of the tiles before starting
3. He started with a whole tile from the edge
4. He was not responsive to our demands or suggestions

And so, we had to replace him with another guy after just two days. But the damage was done. The tiles in one of the bathrooms has to be torn down and replaced, while those in the other bathroom had to be altered significantly.

I would still call the guy who messed up our tiles for rough work. He worked hard and did a pretty good job when it comes to those other things that he did. Nonetheless, I know now that he will not be able to meet my expectations when it comes to finish work.

I guess the lesson is this: someone who's good at one thing doesn't necessarily means that he/she's good at everything- check reference for every single tasks, even if it is someone with whom you have worked with before on other things for your project.