Creative Surfaces

unknown

Owner did not show up when promised 2 week job took 8 weeks. Very confussed on details had to do additional tear out after miscommunication. Had various Subcontractors in my home making huge messes they did not clean, most did not know what they were there for and I had to explain details all over to each one

unknown

I so wanted to be able to give a good review on this install. Aside from quoting me a very fair rate, seeming to know every aspect of his business, and being punctual, I liked the owner very much personally. He was always congenial and very easy to get along with. However, sweet personality aside, just about everything the owner handled personally was bungled. April 22- The owner came to my house to measure for the new granite and back splash. Upon leaving he told me it would be 2 weeks before they would be ready to install, and the whole process would take approximately 4 days from tear-out to the finishing of the back splash. Aside from calling him once to tell him I had changed my mind from a diamond pattern tile to strait subway, I didn't hear from him during those 2 weeks. May 6- Two week mark. I called him to ask if the counters were ready yet. He said they would come to tear out the old counters and sink on Wednesday, May 8th. May 8, morning- He and an assistant came and tore out our counter tops and sink. The installation, to include the sink hook, up by a plumber, was to begin the next day. There was a slight drip in a sink pipe from the tear-out, but they put a container under it to catch it, telling me to keep an eye on it. The plumber was to resolve the drip the next day when he installed the new sink. May 8, afternoon- A very distraught owner informed me that the granite to go around our sink had been dropped by the workers while loading the truck. I could tell he felt horrible about it, as we were now essentially without a kitchen. I was understanding, as I know accidents happen. I asked how soon new counters could be made. He said by the following Tuesday. This was going to leave me without counters or a sink for just about a full week, and over Mothers Day, to boot. But complaining wasn't going to fix anything, so I resolved to make the best of it and we ate out a LOT- an expense we hadn't anticipated. I also was not looking forward to keeping an eye on the bucket and drip under the sink for the next 5 days. I had to replace the small bucket they had left with a dishpan, since the leak seemed to be picking up a bit of speed and the bucket could not contain the leaking water all night. May 9, 9PM- I'd gone out to eat with my family and upon returning I heard a steady trickle of water from the kitchen. The leak under the sink had gotten much worse and was now overflowing the dishpan. The floor and counters were flooded. I called a reliable local plumber, who sent someone out at their after-hours rate, and then called the owner of Creative Surfaces to explain what had happened. He was very sweet and said that had I called him he would have called his plumber and they'd of charged me quite a lot less. But when you are woman at home alone (my husband was working out of town), you call for help first, THEN fill the contractor in on the situation. By the time the leak was capped off and new parts installed, we were out a hundred and fifty-five dollars. May 14- Counters, sink and faucet were installed by the counter installers. The granite was lovely, but when the tile for the back splash was brought in I noted that it was not the subway I had indicated weeks earlier. The owner admitted this was his fault and said he would need to order new tile for the back splash, which would he said would both be in and installed on Thursday, May 16th, at 8:45 AM. Also on May 14 we paid plumber recommended by the owner of Creative Surfaces to hook up the faucet and garbage disposal. This was an anticipated expense that we knew would be in addition to the amount we were to pay Creative Surfaces. The plumber, as well as the counter installers, was very friendly. And praise God, I had a kitchen again! May 16 8:30AM- I had a funny feeling and called the owner to ask if the backsplash was indeed going to be installed that day. He said "No Ma'am, I am in Dallas right now picking up your tile." He told me the installer was scheduled be there the next day. It seems he had told me the wrong install day. I had arranged my schedule, once again, to accommodate workers who were not going to be there. I explained to him that as a personal trainer I could no longer move clients around would not be available the next day. He scheduled the counter installer to come out on Saturday, May 18th, which we really appreciated. May 18- The tile installer arrived, along with the owner, to do the installation. When he took down the trim from the window in order to put tile all the way up to the sill as we had discussed, there was a narrow gap under the windowsills left by the finishers when the home was built. One of them did not have drywall behind it- They had simply covered it with the trim. It was now an open gap. When the installer got to that section of the backsplash, he was not able to cover the gap due to the lining up of the subway tile. We discussed him covering it with wood trim for an additional cost. My husband transferred the money to me to cover this additional cost. Towards the end of the job, the installer discovered that he was short on tile by just two sheets, which isn't much. Why the owner didn't order a couple of extra sheets to ensure there would be no further delay is beyond me, but it was what it was. The installer left without finishing the job, which he said he could have grouted and completed that day, had there been enough tile. The owner was informed that day and additional tile was ordered. 20 May- I called the owner and asked him to stop by and take a look at the gaps under the window. I was thinking perhaps he should be brought into the loop on the situation. He thanked me and said that he would personally put trim over the gaps at no additional cost to us. I was appreciative, since we had already had the additional expense of paying the plumber to fix the leak under the sink. 23 May- The tile was finally installed and grouting complete. While the installer was still putting up the tile, the owner came in and handed me the bill which was, much to my surprise, $150 more than his original estimate. I pointed this out to him and showed him the original estimate. In comparing them, it turned out he had not told me about the tear-out fee. Fortunately my husband had transferred me extra money to pay for the trim which he had now said he would do for no additional cost, so that would mostly cover the difference. He then asked me if I could pay him right then. I told him I'd pay him as we had discussed, when the job was done to my satisfaction and the gaps under the windowsill resolved. I could tell he was not happy. I was concerned if I paid him we'd never see him again and the gaps would not be covered as promised. Nice as he seemed to be, this kind of thing has happened to us before and I wasn't going to be stuck in a situation like that again. The tile installer finished the job (beautifully, I might add), and left. 24 May- The owner called me again to see about collecting the amount due. I again explained that I would do so once the gaps under the windowsills were trimmed out. He said he would not be able to come until Saturday afternoon to do so. We were pleasant, but I could tell he was irritated he was not going to be able to get the check from me before the end of the week. 25 May- The owner came by and "installed" the trim, but he did a deplorable job. The rest of the install was, while delayed, beautiful, so how he could do such shoddy work personally and be satisfied with it, I do not know. He brought some kind of glue in a hot-glue gun to attach the trim. There was nothing he could do about the uneven sills, but I expected he would miter the edges of the trim and bring them even with the sill edges to make them look as professional as possible. I tried to point out that they were too long in the corner, and he roughly ripped them off the sills, went outside, cut them, came back in, and put them up, STILL too long in the corner. It was clear he was not listening to me and just wanted to get the gap covered so he could get his check. It was also clear that he didn't really know what he was doing. Not only were the trim pieces uneven and poorly done, but there were glue globs dripping out from under the trim, which I removed with a carpet knife the next day. I wrote him his check and he left quickly, leaving his bucket of supplies. I put them on the front porch thinking he would notice, but the next morning they were still there. I called him the next day to tell him we had his supplies. If I am able, I will attach pictures. The overall look is beautiful, as he hires first-rate installers, but unless we pay someone to repair the trim, which I hope can be done without damaging the tile, there will forever be a bit of a pallor in my mind when I look at our kitchen.