Gardner's Ceramic Tile

We are dissatisfied with the quality of product and service from this company, in addition to their lack of professionalism when asked to address it. We contacted this company to remove old tile work in our kitchen/foyer, and to install new tile. We purchased the tile, but they supplied the thinset, grout and backer that was used. The owner (Quent Gardner) responded quickly and promptly scheduled the visit to give an estimate for demo/installation. We requested a specific type and color of grout to match another tile area, which the owner refused to do, citing inferior quality of this product. We then requested that he match the color of the grout. The work was completed in 2 days, as expected. In the course of the work, the company made no attempt to contain the substantial dust and debris from the demo or subsequent sanding, nor did they make a noticeable attempt to clean up afterwards. The grout that was used was an entirely different color than what was requested. Although it was not the color we had wanted, it was not entirely objectionable, so we didn't complain. We paid for the work by check upon completion. We made sure to seal the new tile and grout using the product they suggested and have followed their recommendations for proper care and cleaning. Within 3 months of installation, we observed extensive cracking in the grout throughout the kitchen and foyer, and it was crumbling (in large pieces, up to 1/2 inches long) in several places. We also could feel/hear a grinding noise under multiple tiles in different areas of both rooms. When the cracking and crumbling kept getting worse, we contacted the owner regarding these concerns. Again, he responded promptly by email saying the problems would be fixed, and came out to have a look. At this point the owner claimed that the problem was 'pinholes' caused by micro-bubbles in the wet grout. We have photographic evidence of the considerably-larger-than-pinhole-sized pieces. The owner then missed the scheduled repair appointment ('completely forgot'). We contacted him again to reschedule, and he canceled the rescheduled appointment the following week. The repair appointment was again rescheduled for two weeks after that, but the owner canceled at the last minute again that morning, and pushed it until the following day, when he attempted to patch the crumbling areas by reapplying grout there. This type of repair, I've been informed, is not best practice. The crumbling problems persisted, and the re-grouted patches also crumbled (within 2 days of the patch repair). I contacted the company again on a few weeks later and scheduled the repair for the following day, strongly requesting that the problem be identified and fixed, not simply patched. The owner missed the appointment ('forgot' again), and we rescheduled. That morning, I made certain to text him as a reminder of the appointment so that he wouldn't 'forget'. He showed up at that appointment to survey the problem, and now claimed that the problem was being caused my movement in the subfloor or the supporting joists. He and I looked under the house, and (with my husband jumping up and down on the floor in the kitchen) we observed no movement. Under the tiles where the grout crumbling was the worst, there were audible air pockets under the tile. He agreed to replace these tiles and regrout, but refused to use a different product, as we requested. This appointment was rescheduled on Oct 24, 2018 and I again sent a reminder text that morning. The repair was completed as agreed, but the grout is still crumbling in a few places, and a different area of tile has developed air pockets. Given that the installation was completed less than a year ago, and we have continuously observed quality issues, we contacted them again to attempt to address the problems. We made multiple attempts to contact Mr. Gardner by email, and by phone, and we received no response until I said I would file a claim with the Better Business Bureau if the issues were not addressed. He now refuses to perform any further repair, insisting that the problems are caused by the 'pinholes in the grout', and that we knew that there was subfloor movement. We have filed a claim with BBB and have requested he refund part of the fee for this service. If you want an inexpensive tile job, contact Quent Gardner. If you want your tile job done right, by a reliable contractor who proudly stands behind his work, go with someone else.