All Of Duty

OUR EXPERIENCE BEGAN WITH AN APPOINTMENT FOR AN ESTIMATE & A FEW DAYS LATER DANNY EMAILED HIS BID, THE BID WAS REASONABLE. HOWEVER, THE EMAIL STATED "WE WILL BE OUT THE BEGINNING TO MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK & WILL CONTACT YOU WHEN WE KNOW WHAT DAY". TO MY SURPRISE, THEY WERE AT MY DOOR AT 8:30AM THE NEXT TUESDAY & HAD NOT CONTACTED ME PRIOR. THEY COMPLETED THE CEMENT REPAIR TO MY 1940'S FIREPLACE AND MUDDED SOME CRACKS IN MY CEILING THAT DAY. THEY KNEW THAT IF THIS JOB WENT WELL, WE HAD SEVERAL OTHER PROJECTS THAT WOULD KEEP THEM BUSY THROUGH SUMMER. A FEW DAYS LATER, THEY RETURNED TO INSTALL THE GRANITE TILE I HAD SPECIAL ORDERED FROM LOWE'S ($450 IN TILE). I GAVE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE TILE BEING FLUSH WITH THE NEW WALL THAT IS PERFECTLY STRAIGHT. THE WORK WAS DONE WHILE I WAS WORKING (MY WIFE WAS HOME). UPON ARRIVING HOME, I LOOKED AT THE TILE WORK AND FIRST NOTICED ONE FLOOR TILE WAS RAISED UP IN ONE CORNER AND LOW IN THE OTHER, WHILE TRYING TO STRAIGHTEN IT, IT ROCKED, UNDERNEATH IT I FOUND A PLASTIC TILE SPACER AMONG PIECES OF SHEET ROCK SHOVED IN THERE WITH A LITTLE MORTER OVER THE TOP. THEN I NOTICED THERE WAS UP TO HALF AN INCH DIFFERENCE IN THE HEIGHT OF MANY OF THE TILES ON THE WALL AND ON THE FLOOR. I TOOK OUT THE FLOOR TILES AT THIS POINT BEFORE THE MORTER DRIED. A FEW DAYS LATER, AFTER LOOKING OVER THE WALL TILES AND FINDING THAT THE UNEVEN SURFACE WAS GOING TO CREATE A PROBLEM WITH FRAMING, I DECIDED THE WALL TILES NEEDED TO COME DOWN TOO. THE ONES ABOVE THE FIREPLACE, TO MY SURPRISE, SLIPPED RIGHT OFF, WAS A RUBBERY WET TYPE OF ADHESIVE ON JUST THOSE TILES AND IT'S BEEN 5 DAYS & IT STILL HAS NOT HARDENED, IT IS NOT THE MORTAR THAT WAS USED ON THE SIDE TILES OR FLOOR AND I BELIEVE IT WAS NOT GOING TO HOLD THOSE TILES ANY LENGTH OF TIME AS THOSE ARE THE TILES THAT GET DIRECT HEAT! (AND DANNY HAD PLANNED TO GROUT THEM THE DAY AFTER HE PUT THEM UP!!!!) THE TILES BESIDE THE FIREPLACE HAD TO BE CHISELED OUT AND OBVIOUSLY CAN'T BE REUSED, MANY OF THE FLOOR TILES ALSO CAN'T BE REUSED. I HAD TO ORDER MORE GRANITE TILES FROM LOWES, COSTING ME ANOTHER $170.00 (CAN'T ORDER INDIVIDUALLY BUT BY THE BOX). THE CEILING REPAIR, DANNY TOLD MY WIFE ALL THE "BUBBLES WERE BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN COLD OUT", YET I DID THE WALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER & THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. THE BUBBLES ARE FROM INCORRECTLY APPLYING THE MUD (IE USED MUD STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BUCKET). THE BUBBLES ALONG WITH MANY HIGH AND LOW SPOTS WERE A CONCERN BUT DANNY TOLD MY WIFE THAT HE WOULD BE BACK THE NEXT DAY TO FINISH SANDING & PAINT THE CEILING & HE WOULD BE DONE-WAS HE GOING TO PAINT OVER THE LOW SPOTS & BUBBLE HOLES OR WAS HE GOING TO MUD THEM AND THEN PAINT OVER WET MUD? I DO NOT KNOW, AFTER HAVING TO TEAR DOWN A SLOPPY TILE JOB & LOSING MONEY ON TILES I PAID FOR, I WON'T HAVE HIM RETURN. HAD MY WIFE TOLD ME THAT THESE GUYS DID NOT HAVE THEIR OWN LADDERS, EXTENSION CORDS, COVERS FOR FURNITURE, BROOM & DUSTPAN, AND RAN OUT OF MORTAR (PROBABLY WHY THEY USED SHEET ROCK AS A FILLER UNDER THE MORTAR) I WOULD HAVE KNOWN WE WERE NOT DEALING WITH A PROFESSIONAL REPUTABLE CONTRACTOR AT ALL. ALSO NOTICE THAT NOT ONLY IS "ALL OF DUTY" NOT LISTED ON ANGIES LIST, NOT IN THE YELLOW PAGES, THE BBB HAS NEVER HEARD OF THEM & THE CONTRACTORS BOARD SHOWS NO CONTRACTORS LICENSE IN DANNY BALLS NAME OR THE BUSINESS NAME EITHER. THE WEB SITE THEY LIST ON THEIR BUSINESS CARD DOESN'T WORK EITHER. I MADE A BIG MISTAKE IN TRUSTING A REFERRAL WITHOUT DOING FURTHER RESEARCH ON THESE GUYS MYSELF. SINCE I AM NOT HAVING THEM COMPLETE THE JOB, AND HAD TO TEAR OUT NEARLY EVERYTHING THEY DID, AND HAD TO BUY NEW TILE, THEY ARE NOT GETTING PAID. I TOOK LOTS OF PICTURES OF THE UNEVEN TILES, THE SPACER UNDER ONE TILE AND THE FUNKY ADHESIVE ON THE UPPER TILES AND HAVE A RECEIPT FOR THE GRANITE TILES I HAD TO REPLACE. UPDATE: WE DECIDED TO TAKE A PIECE OF THE WEIRD ADHESIVE THEY USED OUTSIDE THE FIREBOX ON THE UPPER TILES & SEE IF IT WAS FLAMMABLE (SINCE IT SMELLS LIKE GASOLINE) AND YES IT IS IT BURNS LIKE STRAW!!!!