Restoration Property Management

Work began on 4/9/12 with a review of the project, location of materials/fixtures, etc. We provided Terry with keys, understanding that there were times which he may not be present, and that his tile setter and/or other workers would need access to the work area. We also reviewed the house rules at this time. We placed protective film on our carpet, which we placed outside the work area, down the hallway, down the stairs and out the front door, which would have been the only path required in and out to access the work area. Terry assured us that drop cloths would be used to further protect the carpet, and the work space would be kept tidy. Another request was that no work be performed IN the garage and that the garage door not be open other than to run an extension cord out to the driveway to use for the tile saw. The garage contains a classic car which has a show quality paint job. We stressed to Terry that the car was not to be touched, and that no work should be done in the garage or with the garage door open. Terry agreed to the request. When we got home we saw the vanity had been set. We were disappointed to see that large, ragged holes were cut in the back of it to clear the plumbing. We did not mention this to Terry, as we didn't want to appear "nit picky" and the holes would not be visible anyway. On the 2nd day, cement board was installed in the shower, along with a shampoo "niche" which we provided (we have since learned that the niche should not have been installed on an outside wall, and believe that Terry as the professional, should have advised us against this). The wall tiling began on the 3rd day, but they didn't finish because Terry called saying we needed to buy another box of tile. (On the lien he filed he claims that he purchased "additional tile" but it is NOT TRUE). When we inspected the tile layout, we noticed immediately that the niche area was done incorrectly based on our familiarity of how tile is to be layed. They chose to put a frame around the niche using bullnose. We did not plan to take issue with the layout as we figured we could live with it, even though it looked cobbled up and odd, but we did take issue with how the niche frame tiles were installed. They were cut and butted directly up to each other with no space left for grout. This was completely unacceptable because water would penetrate those cracks and leak behind the tile. We called Terry to address with him, and were met with an extremely defensive attitude. Terry said that was "how the pros do it". My husband then asked him to redo it, as we prefer tile to have grout. After a brief argument from Terry, he agreed to change it - saying he was coming over right then to fix it. This was at 8:00 at night. He had access to the house all day long, there is no reason for them to be over working at night like that, when we are home from work. My husband mentioned this, and Terry said he wanted to at least pop the niche frame tiles off before they set. My husband agreed that this was reasonable. Terry came in, marched upstairs, popped off the tiles, and in very dramatic fashion said that he would "be out of our way and let us enjoy our evening" and that he was just going to "use the hose to rinse the tile and then would leave us alone". This was said in what seemed to be a very patronizing and dramatic manner, which we felt was totally uncalled for and confrontational. We chose to not acknowledge this although it was very unsettling to us. We felt our request was reasonable and respectful. 4th day the shower tile layout was finished (niche border corrected), and the floor board and tile installed. Upon arrival home, my husband found there were towels placed on his car. There were cut tiles in the garage placed near the car, that could have fallen into the car and damaged it. It seemed obvious to us that tile had been cut IN the garage because it had rained that day. The towels placed on the car were picked up off the floor of the garage, and were intended for the trash! They had dirt, lacquer thinner, debris, and other contaminants them all of which can (and actually did) damage the car's finish. I found FRIED CHICKEN on the carpet on the floor of my bedroom which is next to the bathroom. Near it, was a box of more chicken and food, a bag of food trash, a banana, and boxes of tile and grout and tools piled directly on the carpet. No drop cloth, not on the plastic we had put down. We also saw that the toe kick for the base of our cabinet was not installed before the tile went down. This left the cabinet unfinished. I called Terry and left a voice mail. Several hours went by and it became clear he was not going to return my call so I sent him an email of the issues (including a photograph of the chicken and trash) and requesting that they please show respect to our home. I received a response which contained a veiled apology and tons of excuses about how his poor worker was so busy he didn't get to eat his lunch, etc. Terry maintained no tile was cut in the garage. He gave us a story about how he was soaking wet all day from cutting tile in the rain. (He later said he didn't do the tile work himself) Terry admitted that he placed towels on the car to protect it from dust blowing in from the outside. THE DOOR SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN OPEN. Terry also said he was "unaware" of the toe kick and that it was unfortunate that it had not been discussed ahead of time. It was pointed out more than once, and located with all the other materials for the project. The day the tile was grouted, we found that unsanded grout had been used in 1/8" joints on the shower walls. There were holes and cracks in the grout everywhere in the shower, many places were void of grout, a broken tile under the tub spout, and the tile is wavy and the pattern crooked - noticeably. In the floor, there were several areas missing grout, uneven grout lines, and visible holes where cuts had been done incorrectly, and no grout or caulk or anything was used. The tile work was a sloppy disaster, in our opinion. The toilet was installed and SILICONED to the floor completely around it. We believe this is incorrect; should the toilet leak, we will never know. The countertop had not yet been installed, so we gave Terry the benefit of the doubt that he was not finished touching up. When the countertop was installed the following week, one of the sinks was not properly positioned in the cutout and needed to be moved. We also saw that there was no touch up work done or caulking done on the tile. Terry called us that night and told us that the bathroom was ready to use, except for the sinks, which he would hook up the next day. My husband did not agree, and Terry came over to review the problems. He acknowledged the grout bubbles, said he'd never seen it before in his life, and said it need to be fixed. He offered to move the sink himself, which we initially declined but he convinced us to let him do. We asked him not to use ANY silicone in the bathroom, and instead offered to buy him a tube of unsanded tile grout caulk to use for touching up. He said he'd buy it himself. The next day he was supposed to fix the grout bubbles and cracks and caulk around the tub and floor, install the toe kick, and fix the sink. The sink was not moved, but instead blobbed with silicone (which we asked him NOT to use) to create the illusion that it was flush with the opening. He claims he completely removed it and installed it himself, but then says he did not use the silicone on it? The toe kick was installed - cut in half (the trash was left in our dining room) and about 1/2" of silicone under it and blobbed all over it. He completely ignored our request NOT to use silicone. He purchased and used SANDED tube grout (we specified unsanded) and randomly blobbed it in some of the holes and cracks in the shower and floor, leaving others. He couldn't install the faucets because the countertop company had measured wrong and the whole thing needed to be redone. We insisted that he come over. He called the condition of the bathroom "shocking" and agreed it needed to be fixed. I asked to meet his tile person so we could discuss the problems and expectations and he refused citing "cultural differences". I have no idea what that means. There is a large scratch in our bathtub, also, which requires that it now be replaced. He left telling us he would have the countertop company contact us to get the new top straightened out. Fortunately, they were professionals, all went well, we got it installed and it's great.Faced with all the remaining problems and his apparent inability to fix them, we did not want Terry to do any more work. We sent him an email terminating him from the project. He replied saying that it's common to have minor problems, he has stellar references, etc. and asked us to reconsider. We replied, listing the problems, that we did not feel were "minor" and that our decision was final. We were upset, but we were respectful, and professional in our expression of our dissatisfaction. We never heard back from him. He never sent us a final invoice (or ANY invoices for that matter), we never said we wouldn't pay him, we just never heard anything back from him. We found out by accident that he has filed a mechanic's lien on our house. Now we not only have a bathroom we can't use, that's going to cost us thousands of dollars to fix, but we have a lien against us. We love our home, and we feel that he has ruined our bathroom. In our opinion, this contractor should be avoided.