Stripling Custom Tile LLC

Mr. Stripling did an awful job of installing tile in our bathroom. Our story is similar to the other review on Angie's list- he kept saying he would come back to rectify the situation and never did. He also quit answering our phone calls. I can't believe Melcer is still recommending this guy.

Jason Stripling was recommended to our decorator by Melcer Tile to install a natural stone tile backsplash in our FROG kitchenette and to install slate flooring on an approximately 4' x 6' stair landing leading to the FROG. We had seen an installed sample of our backsplash tile on the wall at Melcer, and we told Mr. Stripling to take a look at the sample on Melcer's wall and to duplicate the installation pattern. Mr. Stripling had to go to Melcer anyway to pick up the materials, and could easily have gone into the showroom to view the installation sample as we had requested. It turns out that he did not even bother to walk the few extra steps it would have taken to view the sample. Instead, he assumed that "he knew what we wanted." Jason sent another workman to do the installation, telling us he had told the workman how we wanted the tiles installed. Since neither had bothered to view the sample, the result was predictable. Instead of the tiles being close together with exposed facets around the tiles and narrow grout lines between as in the sample on the wall at Melcer, what we got was tiles more widely separated with thick grout lines covering both the facets of and the space between the tiles. On the positive side, the installation of the slate flooring was very well done. However, because we could not walk on the newly laid slate on the stair landing, we could not go up to the FROG to view the backsplash installation for several days after completion. In the meantime, I made the mistake of assuming a similar quality of work on the backsplash and paid Mr. Stripling in full. When we informed Mr. Stripling that the backsplash installation was done incorrectly, he assured us that he could and would correct it. According to him, the tiles did not need to be respaced. All that was required was to scrape off the excess grout from the tile facets, and the tiles would appear closely spaced as in the sample he was supposed to have duplicated. He again sent his workman, who made a half-assed effort to remove the excess grout but did not correct the problem. When Mr. Stripling viewed his work, he admitted that more needed to be done and promised to come back the following week to complete the work. On the morning he was to come back, Mr. Stripling called and cancelled the appointment. The next week, he did the same thing. After a third appointment was cancelled on the morning of the appointment, I called Mr. Stripling and asked him point blank if he could "give me an appointment he could keep." "Yes, Sir," he assured me. "Just let me check my schedule, and I'll get back to you." Needless to say, he never did get back to us, and calls to him ever since have gone unreturned.