Half Price Roofing and Construction

Gary D.

This contractor is a nightmare. I contracted for a complete bathroom remodel. The plan called for 3 X 6 subway tile with a charcoal grout. I checked during the grouting phase and found them scraping the grout off the tile with a paint scraper and screw driver and called the owner. I showed him numerous crooked tiles in 3 planes, up, down, in and out. The grout lines were terrible. All the tiles were essentially ruined. The shower walls, shower floor, and bathroom floor all of it.

They had put the 12X24 tile down for the floor and did not protect it. It was covered in clumps and smears of thin-set. Again tiles were misaligned in 3 planes, up, down, in and out. The owner said they would re-demo the shower, tub surround and take care of the floor later. We doubted their ability to handle 3X6 tiles, so we changed our design and sent pictures to the owner who said the new tiles would be easier. In addition I provided tools, including a tile saw to the crew from my shop as they did not have adequate tools for the job. They did not use the ""free"" tile saw and the cuts on the tiles were chipped and uneven.

Bathroom Version 2 was no better then the first one. The tile guy ran 5 feet of 8 X 16 tiles in the shower in a couple of hours. The next morning the tiles slumped again out of alignment. The three courses of tiles on the backwall with about 3/4 thin set tilted in toward the backer board, they were level when the tile guy left. I told the tile guy I did not think he could fix it.

I got a call from the owner about 2 hours later and he said they were terminating the contract and that I must have ""sabotaged"" the tile. He said he would keep half of the money and send back the other half. I told him I was no better off than when they started and was out $1000 in additional tile and supplies. He said a business had the right to terminate at anytime . I was incredulous.

I made several attempts at coming to a reasonable solution. Every subsequent conversation to mitigate the issue was a rant about his experience and multiple 5 star reviews and I must be the problem either sabotaging my own tile or was too picky.

Here are somethings I noticed during and after. I am still finding issues.

1. The tile crew had no idea how to lay and grout tiles, even the owner admitted this.
2. I was presented with Home Depot bills everyday for unexpected supplies.
3. No dust protection for the rest of the house, in two days everything was covered in dust. I had to buy plastic sheeting and install it myself.
4. Extremely crooked tiles and grout lines everywhere.
5. No waterproofing in the shower. None of the joints between the backer board had tape, mud or anything else. I was billed for Red Guard water proofing.
6. Several backer board screws were tightened all the way through the board.
7. One board did not have any screws in the upper right hand corner and was loose.
8. Most of the metal studs were bent and mishappen from 2 demos. It seemed like screws were twisted and ripped out.
9. One of the floor backer boards was laid on the same seam as the underlying plywood and then a tile course was placed along the same line. It flexed.
10. Nothing was plumb or square. The owner said they are all like that and can't be fixed.
11. The next day after Bathroom V2 the 8 X 16 tiles could be pulled from the wall by hand and there were no trowel marks only three globs of thin set per tile. The whole bottom course simply fell off.
12. I was able to pull up the floor tiles intact with only a screw driver. Still unusable with thin-set globs and streaks.
13. Other than reviewing the first debacle, the owner only came by to present a change order. He never once checked on his crew and did not even come to look at the second attempt, despite his claim of just leaving 2 satisfied customers that were less the s or 2 miles away.

My experience was simply infuriating and disturbing. I have many pictures.