How does his guy get such good reviews?
Nothing about this reno went well and every time there was a problem it was always OUR fault. We picked the wrong tile, our bathroom was too hot to make the grout right... Where to start? During installation of the tile, one of them cracked on the wall so it had to be taken off. When the installer re-did it, it stuck out about 1/2 an inch more than the others (looked TERRIBLE) so he had to re do 1 more time and this is on top of the tile that was installed already being uneven in 3 areas, we were told that its because of the tile we picked and it cant be made straight... (ISN'T THIS WHY YOU HIRE A PROFESSIONAL) The bathtub was scratched, in my opinion, on the bottom from boots of the plumbers (who by the way are AWESOME people) who admitted they made a mistake and told me they would take $100 off the bill which I mentioned to Gary and he completely ignored me when he gave us the bill. Part of the grout cracked immediately after they grouted it and the worker just put caulking on it - very professional. The caulking was peeling off within 2 weeks of the work being completed. It sounds like our tub moves every time there is water in it. I was so frustrated from dealing with this man that I just paid it so I would never have to talk to him again- little did I know that 1 year down the road the grout would start pulling away from the tile. I told him about the problem and he sent one of his workers to come and put more grout on the cracks (and fix the caulking- which she did a really good job) Then it started happening in another spot, so I emailed him again and he came and took some photos and told me he would get back to me. That was over a month ago and NOTHING. There should not be cracks of ANY KIND OR ANY SIZE OR DEPTH in grout that is in an area where water is hitting it multiple times a day. To top it all off, whenever our shower gets hot and steamy it is starting to smell like mould. He told me he didn't consider them cracks-- K WELL WHAT ARE THEY THEN... no matter how you want to label it "small opening" "crack" it still is what it is. What a waste of money. I am normally not one for confrontation and I have been resisting writing this company a bad review for quite some time because I wanted to give them a decent amount of time to make it better. I wish I would have stood my ground from the beginning and NOT PAID FOR IT UNTIL IT WAS DONE RIGHT. I guess me being a young female it was easy for them to convince me I was being crazy for having these concerns. LESSON LEARNED. I picked them because of the reviews on this website and I hope my review will help someone in the future. I have photos of EVERYTHING that happened along the way. UPDATE: I took Gary's advice (sort of) and had an inspection done by a qualified Home Inspector and he found a surprising amount of moisture behind the tiles (100% saturation. 23%-24% and above are conditions that mould and fungi grow in) Gary came and had a look at it, didn't say anything besides "I will email you". He emailed me back with a few questions- I don't recommend that you get tile or grout installed in an area where water will be in contact with it by this company. The funny thing is, is that I originally didn't want tile and Gary told me there was basically no price difference so I took his opinion and went with tile instead of a tub surround. He hasn't wrote me back (again) or communicated with me in any way a resolution for this problem so unfortunately we will be going to small claims court. I cannot stress enough how difficult it has been to talk to this guy. Gary just does NOT care about us, and will not acknowledge that his company totally messed up our renovation. Now we have to get all of the tiling redone as it will not pass an inspection when we go to sell. He can claim whatever he wants about the temperature of our bathroom (Jerry, the tile setter, kept turning the heat lamp on in the bathroom- no wonder it was so hot) I get that he is trying to save face and make it all our fault so that he doesn't look bad but the truth is, its not my fault, I didn't do the work, i'm not the professional- If he thought that products I purchased were below standard he should of informed me prior to installation as I know nothing about such things (I have been assured by numerous professionals since that non of the products are though) The whole time his "tile setters" were at my house they were complaining about Gary fitting my job in between too many other jobs (which I also have written in an email that he would "fit me in") and I believe that the tile setter having too much on their plates probably had a part to play in the sub-standard job done here. He actually does not care THAT MUCH that he blocked my email from contacting him. Great customer service. So my final thoughts are that it appears he might do some good work, but if you are one of the unfortunate ones that has a problem: He will not help you fix it, acknowledge it or give a damn about you or the work that has been completed. Please RUN from this company when considering a bathroom renovation!!!!!!!!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,400.00
- Company Response
Hello Frasers from White Rock.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to write this review. I value client feedback, both positive and negative, as a way to improve the service that I deliver to my clients as a remodeling General Contractor.
Secondly, please accept my apologies that the renovation did not live up to your expectations.
In answer to your question, I get good reviews because I do outstanding work as your 50 plus predecessors on the HomeStars review website will confirm.
Your review, while entertaining and imaginative, has many inconsistencies, contradictions, half truths and complete fabrications all of which I will address.
You purchased the tile and either delivered it yourselves or had someone deliver it onsite. I was not involved in picking it up or delivering it. After installation began, it became evident to my tile setter that the tile was of very poor quality and had been dropped as there were hairline cracks in many of the tiles. In addition, the tiles were of irregular sizes, a characteristic of poor quality tile that makes it very difficult to install.
My tile setter painstakingly picked through the tile in an attempt to find enough useable pieces to complete the job. After installation, hairline cracks appeared in several of the tiles. My tile setter returned several times, at my expense, to replace the cracked tiles. Obviously, this was not anticipated in the Scope of Work so time was not allowed for it. There was no additional cost to you for the extra trips.
While installing the tile, my tile setter reported unbearably high room temperatures in your condominium. He threatened to walk off the job as it was simply too hot to work. Out of respect to you and your condition, I requested that he endure the inconvenience and complete the job... which he did.
Contrary to your accusation, the bathtub was not scratched. My plumber advised it was not scratched but you insisted it was so I arranged to have the Tub Doctor inspect the tub.
Specifically, on January 15, 2015 I advised you by email that the Tub Doctor was scheduled for January 22, 2015 to inspect the tub and make any necessary repairs at my expense. Your response on January 16, 2015 as follows:
Yes, thank you. The plumbers were going to come by and try to take the glue off but I was able to get it all off myself with their suggestion of using acetone. I just spoke with Justin and let him know.
In your review you state “the bathtub was scratched on the bottom from boots of the plumbers (who by the way are AWESOME) who admitted they made a mistake and told me they would take $100 off the bill which I mentioned to Gary and he completely ignored me when he gave us the bill”.
Furthermore, regarding the tub, this is the first time I’ve heard that “it sounds like our tub moves everytime there is water in it”. I just spoke with my plumber, who confirmed that the tub was installed to manufacturer’s specifications as are all of our installations. Since by your own admission, my plumber is awesome, I’m sure that you will agree with him.
So which is it? You say my plumbers are awesome but apparently they scratched the tub and didn’t install it correctly. You say I ignored the $100 reduction in price but by your own admission the glue (not a scratch) came off and the Tub Doctor was not required.
However, I do agree with you that my plumbers are “AWESOME”.
With reference to the grout and caulk. Both my tile setter and myself responded to this complaint and found no evidence of the grout cracking. There were inconsistencies due to removing and replacing cracked tiles (faulty materials provided by you) and some minor shrinkage attributable to either extremely high room temperatures on the day of installation or the use of caustic or abrasive cleansers or a combination of the two. The same applies to the caulk which I would attribute to the use of caustic or abrasive cleansers subsequent to installation.
If you truly believe there is a mouldy smell, I suggest you consult a restoration company asap and have the area tested for the presence of moisture. My inspection revealed absolutely no evidence of moisture behind the tiles or cracks in the grout or cracks in any of the tile. The tile is installed on DenShield tile backer board and coated again with a waterproof membrane.
If you review the Scope of Work that you authorized for the project, you will note that my warranty does not extend to materials that you supplied. My warranty covers the workmanship only on client supplied materials exactly for this reason. In hindsight, I should have refused to install the sub standard finishing materials that you provided.
You state that “Nothing about this reno went well and every time there was a problem it was always OUR fault”. Once again, this is the first of I’ve heard of this. I requested final payment on January 20, 2015 which you made promptly with no comment about being unhappy with the renovation. I never heard from you again until August 28, 2015 at which time I sent one of my people on site again to investigate your claims and once again no deficiencies attributable to the renovation were found. I didn’t hear from you again until a few weeks ago and I went to investigate your claims and could find nothing wrong.
Our correspondence has always been cordial and quite frankly the review you have written surprises me.
In summary, your allegations are unfounded, unsubstantiated and libelous.