DOUG ASHY BUILDING MATERIALS INC

The bamboo floors are beautiful and very well done. Bamboo is soft compared to the old oak floors in the rest of the house. The master suite is a light use area, where kids and pets are not allowed, so the softer bamboo will work fine. The tile, when finally completed, looks good -- but there were problems along the way. The tile job isn't up to the standards of the bamboo work. The installers didn't cut all the tiles as cleanly as I'd like. They used a dark colored thin set to lay the tile in -- they should have used white because the tile and grout is white. The installation job would get a "B". The grout job at first got a "D". There where chinks missing, globs left in places, areas where it didn't fill. Because it is small tile, and lots of it, there were many many joints to fill -- but these guys should be professional and should do it right for what you pay. The tile installers came back three times to make it right. Doug Ashy uses a rotating list of subcontractors, so you would probably get a good one 90% of the time. Also, most homeowners are using large tiles so grouting isn't such a big issue for them. The really good news is that Doug Ashy will make things right if a customer is not satisfied. The flooring manager come out personally to look at the job, and he was very responsive to my issues until I was satisfied with the job. Now the grout gets a "B". It looks great to anyone but me, because I know where the flaws are. I would use Doug Ashy again because they totally stand by the work- but I would ask for their best tile subcontractor who has the most experience with subway style ceramic tile or other small tile- I'd ask to look at one of their ceramic tile installations.