Straight Line Tile Design & Renovation

A learning experience that I will not repeat again.

Not well at all.  Jim Lawson, of Straight Line Tile, does excellent work.  He is an artist.  However, he is extremely difficult to work with, and has issues with anger management.  He walked off the job because of a delay with another trade who had to set the granite counter top and backsplash prior to placement of the tile on that wall.

   I was very uncomfortable with him being in the house, and would not recommend him to anyone.

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Jim was very punctual when seeking the job and touted his perfectionist details. Once getting the job, he never arrived before 9:00 and always left before 5:00. This prevented personal communication during the project and allowed a major error to occur. He was to install flooring to match existing flooring. He delegated the majority of the work to two employees, which he failed to mention would occur when submitting his bid for the job. The initial tile install seemed to go well, except the tile was cut to fit around the trim instead of fitting the tile under the trim. The major problem occurred when white grout was installed instead of light smoke, which is the color in the existing floor he inspected. The grout joints are irregular 1/2and quot; wide because of the chiseled edge and the grout couldn't be removed. No discount was offered and the only possible solution was to stain the grout. However, my existing grout is enhanced and so the light smoke stain doesn't match. In the several weeks it has taken to find a near match to the stain, the grout has cracked through to the thin set. Jim will not accept responsibility for installing the wrong grout or the flawed process that has resulted in cracked grout. Additionally, he used vinegar on the floor the day the grout was installed to remove grout haze. The industry standard states that vinegar is to NEVER be used on natural stone as it will etch the stone. This etching is evident on our tile by a spotty, dull sheen. The acidic vinegar could also have affected the grout cure and be a cause of the cracking. Jim has no insurance to file a claim and recover my investment. Opinions of 2 other tile installers have been obtained and state that the tile will have to be completely redone. Jim refuses to replace the floor at his expense and guarantee his work as advertised.

They were really good. He is quick in giving me a quote back and he works within our time frame and got it done.

Jim Lawson did an outstanding job on the installation of glass mosiac tile backsplash for our kitchen remodel. Jim is a real professional and we love our kitchen. His expertise put us at ease with our choices. We will definitely call Straight Line for our next tile job.

We first hired Jim to replace the ceramic tile around a tub and shower. When he finished this job we needed another total re-model of a large handicapped accessible bathroom with a walk in shower. The shower was leaking into the adjacent room where the sinks and vanities were located. Jim was excellent to work with throughout the entire process. The price quoted included all materials and labor with the exception of some insulation that had to be replaced when the old tile was removed from the wall. This re-model included removal of the entire floor in the double shower room because the liner had not been installed correctly during the original construction. Jim completely removed and replaced the sub-flooring to ensure that water would drain correctly and would not leak out into the floor in the adjacent room again. The tile in this project included a full floor to ceiling walk in shower and 3/4 of the wall in the adjacent second room. We also replaced the carpet in the vanity section with tile that matched the bathroom. The quality of work was excellent. Jim was always on time and very professional. He communicated with us daily regarding progress. He kept the work site clean since we were using the adjacent bedroom during this project. he finished the project several days earlier than the projected end date. We are extremely pleased with the end result.

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