Kevin Fisher

My husband and I contracted with Mr. Fisher to install a tile back splash in our kitchen. He was recommended by a Fredericksburg area tile store where we purchased our tile. We paid over $700 for 21 sq. ft of tile, including the grout and caulking to match. The tiles are 1 inch squares, some tumbled stone, glass, and others ceramic, of varying intricate designs. Some have raised designs and some have etched designs. Mr. Fisher was prompt in returning my initial call for an estimate, and came a few hours later with his helper, Chuck. He gave me an estimate of $400 for the job. They returned the next morning and did a little prep work, as the old tile had already been removed by another party. Chuck did most of the work, while Mr. Fisher went in and out of the house, taking phone calls, and would return periodically to check on Chuck's progress. When the tile was laid, Mr. Fisher stated that they would return in the morning to grout. They arrived on time, with Chuck bringing supplies into the house. I left the room for about 2 min. and when I returned Chuck was already grouting the tile and Mr. Fisher was nowhere to be found. Chuck applied most of the grout, with Mr. Fisher occasionally returning into the house to check on Chuck's work. Mr. Fisher applied some grout in the corners but the bulk of the work was done by his helper. Mr. Fisher continued to spend most of the morning outside on his cell phone. While the excess grout was being wiped off the surface by Chuck with a wet sponge, I pointed out to Mr. Fisher that there was quite a bit of the sanded grout still left on the tiles, and he said that it could not be wiped off as it would affect the grout in between the tiles. I asked him how I was supposed to remove the grout and he said I had to let it dry and that I could "chip it off with the edge of a screwdriver". I told him that it would scratch the tiles, and he said that was the only way to remove the dried grout. He advised me to wait for it to dry overnight before I tried to remove the grout that was left on the tiles. I waited until morning and I proceeded to dampen the tiles with a wet sponge, and tried to remove the grout off the tiles with a soft toothbrush, plastic tools and other instruments with hardly any luck. I called Mr. Fisher and told him that I could not remove the grout. He said that he was "too busy designing to clean the tiles" but would send Chuck in the morning to use a solution on the tiles which would remove the excess grout.. Chuck arrived the next morning and had two buckets of clean water, a container of some kind of crystalized acid and supplies. I called Mr. Fisher and asked him if this acid would damage the tiles or my granite countertops. His reply was no. Chuck used a rough brush to clean the tiles and a small amount of grout was removed. When the job was almost done, I noticed that he was dipping the brush into the container of acid and rubbing the acid crystals directly onto the tile. I began to examine the tiles in both locations of the back splash and noted that there was damage to many of the tiles, at which time I directed him to stop his work. Upon further inspection, there was a large amount of discoloration and damage to the tiles, with the finish and color being eroded off, and in some cases pitting of the tile itself. I called Mr. Fisher and told him the tile was ruined and he said that the only thing he could do was chip out the damaged tiles and replace them. I told him that I did not want him to do that, because over half the tile was affected He agreed to come in the morning with Chuck at 8:30 a.m. to look at the damage. My husband waited here with me until 9 a.m. I stayed home all day, called Mr. Fisher, left him a message and asked him to return the call. My husband also called him on two occasions after that and Mr. Fisher never called us back and never came to the house to assess the damage. I returned to the tile store where I bought the tile and who had originally recommended Mr. Fisher and talked to one of the salesmen. I asked him what could have been done to protect the tiles before they were installed. He said that most installers will put a piece of blue painter's tape on each tile to protect the designs. He also said that the acid crystals should have been mixed with water before being used. Mr. Fisher will not return our calls and we are out $400 for the installation, plus over $700 more for the materials. My husband and I do not recommend Mr. Fisher for any work, as he has shown a disregard for customer satisfaction and his professional services border on incompetent.

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