IDEAL TILE

Run, don't walk from this company. My initial purchase of kitchen floor tile was, admittedly, uneventful. The owner measured the space and ordered an appropriate amount of tile. The installation was done by someone hired by my contractor. Though I am happy with the tile itself, the sealer has been a huge disappointment. It was expensive (over $300 in total) and highly recommended by the owner of Ideal Tile because it was "good for 15 years". However, it has failed in several places after only a couple of months since it was applied. I now have to pay someone else to properly seal the floor. My new installer never heard of this product (which I am sure is plausible) although it does seem odd that someone who does nothing but install tile for a living would not have heard of such a "wonderful" product. The real issue however was the master bath tile. Again, the owner measured the space. In fact, he measured it more than once. However, the amount of specialty tile he ordered was 50% more than what was needed (the 50% overage was in addition to the standard 5-15% extra generally accepted in the industry). After initially refusing to accept return of the excess tile because it was a special-order item, the owner did finally agree to take back the extra tile after much discussion. He subsequently issued a "credit memo" for the returned tile (nearly 1000.00), but did not put it through to the credit card company. I had to put the matter into dispute and the outcome is pending. Unfortunately, after this experience, I learned from a friend that she had ordered tile from the same company with a very similar experience with excessive "overage". A second issue relates to the installer from Ideal Tile (who was hired by my contractor). He actually did a reasonable job installing the bathroom tile but not with the granite trim. I have had two independent evaluations and estimates to date. Both companies agreed that the granite was installed improperly and that to "make it whole", I would need to purchase new granite which would need to be cut and installed. Now, my contractor should never have let this happen, but that is another story. Additional tile and wall repair would also be required as the granite has been grouted into place and removing it would impact everything adjacent to it, including the glass shower enclosure. Needless to say, the estimates are in the thousands not hundreds of dollars. Though Ideal Tile does have a nice product selection, in my opinion, so do other companies and given their business practices I would recommend you look somewhere else, and hopefully avoid the charge for excessive overage.