Stoddard Tile Company
About us
We provide tile and stone installation, repairs, cleaning and sealing, inspections and technical consultations for the greater Sacramento area. I've worked in the tile installation business for over 30 years. I combine my education experience, inspection skills, communication training and overall knowledge of the building trades to educate consumers and advise them about complicated job problems. My warranty training assists me in providing the best possible installations. I use cutting edge knowledge of installation methods and high quality materials to provide my customers with the best installations in the business. My installations hold up for decades. Please give us a call to set up an estimate.
Business highlights
Services we offer
30, We provide tile and stone installation, and 60 minute increments. We also provide technical reports: We inspect problematic tile installations done by others, cleaning, repairs, sealing and in-person inspections. Phone consultations are available in 15, then provide the homeowner with a concise document to pursue warranty repairs or reimbursement. Please see website for more information.
Amenities
Free Estimates
Yes
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 98% | ||
| 0% | ||
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| 2% |
Tile had extra wide grout, which was in poor shape - badly stained.
I was hoping for an improvement to the look of the grout, but the work made the grout look like new.
Was pleasantly surprised by that.
Total time of work was 2 days, as expected. Total tile area was "large" but not sure of actual measurement.
We moved the furniture to other rooms beforehand, leaving the tile clear (except for one large plant which they worked around).
She did it in the amount of time she said it would take. Very professional/helpful
Recommended some re-grouting in bathtub with absolutely no pressure. Gives a discount as a returning customer.
Would definitely hire again
- Kim measures my tub surround, tells me how many tiles to order and gives quote.
-Kim looks over materials after they are purchased (glass tile, glass shelves), including new tub (to confirm wall depth) and confirms that she knows how to install everything.
-Kim is given installation instructions from the material providers and claims they are incorrect so she calls the provider and argues with me about it. Finally Kim agrees to install the glass tiles and shelves according to manufacturer instructions. She also takes a sample of the glass tile home to test cut.
Kim refuses to cover the work area and insists that the plumber should cover the tub before she begins work. Kim also fights with the plumber and causes him to threaten to quit the job. Kim finally agrees to cover the tub before she begins work.
- Kim installs the walls crooked and blames it on the fact that my house is old and the fact that the tub lip is too wide, even though she measured everything beforehand. She threatens to leave the job again. Kim agrees to fix the crooked walls , but doesn't. We find out that Kim measured wrong so more tiles have to be ordered.
-Kim starts the job and informs me that she cannot work with the glass tiles I bought because they were not cutting correctly. I contact the material provider and they inform me that she is cutting them incorrectly. I have to fight with Kim to use the correct blade and cut them them the way the material provider suggests. Many of the tiles are damaged and cut incorrectly but Kim continues to blame her shoddy work on cheap tiles. She even yelled at me and threatened to quit several times and informed me that she was losing money on the job because it was taking too long.
-Kim does not finish the job leaves on vacation for two weeks, job has already been going on for 1.5 weeks. I am left without a shower for 3.5 weeks total.
-Kim returns to finish the job, I even agree to help to make things go faster because for some reason she did not bring an assistant. I complain again about the crooked walls and chipped tiles that had been installed. Kim agrees to remove and replace the tiles but refuses to fix the crooked walls. This entire time she refuses to give me her schedule and shows up to work when she feels like it.
Kim begins to install the glass shelves and realizes she does not know how to do it. Work is halted so she can look online. Kim makes me sign a waiver saying she is not responsible for the shelves after install because they have an irregular shape.
-Kim drops her hammer and cracks the brand new tub and refuses to pay for the repair. I argue with her and she agrees to pay for it.
-She finally finishes the work over a month later and at that point I had had the tub repaired. She comes over to collect the final check and begins to argue about paying for the tub repair. She starts yelling and I threaten to have her removed from my home. She finally agreed to pay for the tub repair and left my home.
The work that Kim did was less than acceptable. She did not properly install the tile or the glass shelves. She lied about knowing what she was doing and took advantage of me. The walls around my shower are completely crooked, my grout cracked 2 days after she installed it and grout seal around the tub crumbled. A little over a year later and I've already had to make several repairs to the work Kim did. At many points in the job, I tried to find other contractors to take over so I could fire Kim but could not find anyone to do so. What Kim did to me was horrible and completely unacceptable. I do not recommend her for any services and hope that she goes out of business.
- **Kim's response is a total and complete lie. At no time did I ask that she not bring an assistant and at no time did she recommend that I hire a general contractor. Instead she said she had everything under control. Her reply just goes to show how unprofessional and untrustworthy she really is. At the end of the job I told her how unhappy I was with the crooked walls and countless other mistakes, but she did not care.
Kim has done projects for us before, including an award winning patio tile design two years ago. For fabulous tile work I will always go to Kim. She is straight-forward, reasonable and friendly. She knows how to find out what her customers want and provides helpful input to make sure the result is solid and stunning. She tucked the tiles into the archway for the shower with such accuracy that you would swear that the building was built around the tile-work. The jaw has dropped on every person who has seen the shower tiles, including contractors, construction workers, neighbors, friends and family. And Kim was very complimentary about the framing and stucco work on the new garage, showing how the top tile on the left side of the arch could be flipped over as a template for the top tile on the right side of the arch: perfect symmetry.
I have a 1950s ranch and had a rotted tub enclosure (water damage) that needed to be replaced, but i wanted something compatible with the original 1950s bathroom, not this granite and marble material that so many people are mis-using these days (have you noticed that granite already looks cliched and out of style?) I love old tile and I can tell you that Kim has a VERY good handle on tile from different time periods. She informed me of difficulties and options for getting tile that would match the original pink tile from the 50s (including someone she knows who has original salvaged tile from 1950s). We settled on new tile in colors that are compatible with the rest of the original bathroom. She also suggested some simple accents that are compatible with 1950s tile, and I'm very happy I took her suggestions because they look great. If she suggests some accent tiles for a few extra dollars, take her suggestions seriously because she has a good handle on the aesthetics.
Estimate was thorough and thoughtful. Communication was a little rough at one point, but job generally went very smoothly once it started. There was some dry rot in the wall we didn't know about, and she worked with me to keep the price very close to original estimate while still treating the dry-rot in an appropriate manner . The measurements she gave me for plumber were accurate, and he had no difficulty plumbing job once tile was finished. She did an old-school mortar bed, (rather than just putting up greenboard -- much cheaper and easier, but less stable and straight), which is what I wanted and was happy to pay for. The enclosure itself was not completely true, and she did a VERY good job of trimming some tiles to make up for this, in a way that you don't notice that enclosure itself was not entirely straight. I have noticed one small crack (1 inch long) in one corner, but this is not unusual at all when grout dries -- especially after a year and a half. My impression is strongly that she didn't cut corners, such as putting grout in the tile/tub interface, which most contractors will do because it's much easier. The only complaint I have is there is one area where I can tell that some of the tiles were laid by eye without spacers (Kim, use spacers for 4" tile with narrow grout!). But I am very picky about tile, and think that overall the job is quite good. I know how much time she spent at my house, and the price was very fair. There are cheaper people out there if you have a crappy rental property that will get trashed anyway, but I definitely want someone of this caliber working on my personal residence. I would especially recommend her if you have either an historic home or want something modern that is aesthetically strong (many contractors can do the mechanics of tile, but lack the aesthetic/artistic sense to pull off a really beautiful job).
Kim's task: our 1950s house (2010 purchase) came with a 90's remodeled bathroom pretty much covered in 12"x12" slate tile. We neglected it for three years (not knowing how to clean it) and watched as the shower floor grout cracked and the tile became chalky, dry and ugly. It was past the point of cleaning.
Kim promptly responded to our call and scheduled within a few days. On her first visit she sent several hours experimenting with various methods to remove the materials coating the tile. Once she found the right method, she gave me a price for the full job and we scheduled the rest of the work.
Kim returned shortly thereafter and stripped the entire job and re-grouted in matter of hours. Kim returned when the tile was dry and put a completely new finish on the tile and grout using the highest quality sealer available.
Finally, and most important for us, Kim left us with a plan to keep the tile clean throughout the next couple of years and a schedule to have her come back every couple of years (as budget permits) to keep the tile looking perfect.
Licensing
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