Crystal Bath

I hired crystal bath to do renovations to both bathrooms in my home. The scope of the job was a complete gut and rebuild of both bathrooms from the studs up. Everything started out well with Ann being very friendly and personable. But, as mentioned by other reviewers, the minute you pointed out any of THEIR shortcomings it was always YOUR fault. Ann was very condescending as noted by other reviewers. When I pointed out certain things like the poorly taped drywall I was told that it was our responsibility to correct it as preping for paint was not included in the contract. I guess it should have been suspect to me when she was adament that they did not do painting but could provide us with the service at an additional (jacked up) charge through a"professional" painter. I can see why they don't like to paint. That would mean that they would actually have to learn how to properly mud and tape drywall. When asked to correct my leaking shower, again, I was made to feel as though we had done something wrong. That is why the shower was leaking. After much argument she sent one of the workers to re-caulk the shower trying to convince me all the while what a huge favor she was doing me by providing a shower that would not leak. Hind sight they say is always 20/20. Why in the wriiten contract are things not itemized? ie cost to supply the product, cost for labour, cost for disposal etc. Why use durock only on the first 36" of the tub and shower installations and green board on the rest? (Cost difference between a sheet of durock and a sheet of green board is negligeable and labour is the same) Hmmmm? Could it be that they want to do the minimum that they can get away with for maximum profit? My advice is do your homework. Find out what the best materials are and the best methods for their installation. Ask yourself why a company doesn't want to do a project from start to finish (ie painting). Ask yourself why caulk is Mario's best friend at the end of a job. Caulking does have a purpose but it shouldn't be to correct what should have been done right in the first place. Also ask why a supposedly reputable contractor would tell you that a permit isn't really necessary. That a permit was just a way for the government to make money and that it ultimately delays the job as they have to wait around for inspectors all day. There were so many red flags but unfortunately I was to overwhelmed to put 2 and 2 together at the time. At the end I paid a lot of money for a "professional" job which was carried out by a bunch of unprofessional people. If you want to charge top dollar for your services Ann and Mario provide the customer with that same level of quality, craftsmanship and service. You guys are definately not craftsmen. You are do it yourselfers with a building license. The sad thing is is that Ann and Mario think they are the creme de la creme of kitchen and bath renovaters in Toronto and do a good job of portraying that image to would be clients. I am telling you from experience that they are NOT! Buyers beware of a wolf in sheeps clothing. Do not hire cyrstal bath.