Custom Ceramic Tile

I am stunned to find that Gene has no reviews here yet. My contractor (Carmike Kitchens) pretty much insisted that my whole bathroom installation project revolve around Gene's availability because of the extent of the tile work and the quality of his work. I cannot say enough good things about Gene and Pat's work. Gene is a consummate professional. He is meticulous in his perfectionism. There were several instances where Gene and Pat measured and cut a tile five or six times until they agreed that is was ready to fit perfectly in the spot where it belonged. (This happened at odd spots like my shower threshold which is an odd angle because of the size/position of the side walls, rather than a normal 45 degree angle; the weird angle made it difficult to match the abutting pieces of marble.) He checked level over and over to make sure all the tiles were exactly and properly aligned. Gene is the neatest workman I have EVER had in my home. Not only did he clean up after himself, he cleaned up the messes that other tradesmen left behind. Gene told me on the first day that he was going to do whatever made me happy and that I would be smiling when he left my home. He was absolutely correct. I am a control freak and wanted things laid out in a very specific way. I wanted a random pattern in the tile placement on the floor, which Gene had never done before. We worked out a method for me to say where I wanted the tiles and he gave me EXACTLY what I wanted. Gene and Lil Pat worked hard to conserve the tiles and minimize waste. There is a band of mosaic tile that runs through the glass block wall (7.75" high courses) and the tile wall (12" courses). Everything had to be done just so to ensure that the band would align perfectly where the tile walls met the glass block. Because of the excellent work of Mike (of Carmike Kitchens) and Gene, the matchup is beautiful. And both of them are just delightfully personable. I loved having them come into my home each day. It felt like having (very talented) friends come by in the morning. I quite enjoyed hanging out with them the few of the days I stayed home with them. (When particularly detailed work was being done, I took the day off so I would be available to answer questions.) I would advise anyone who is having tile work done to take time off to be available. No matter how good the workman, he is not a mind-reader. Once the tile is set, there's really no changing it; so better to be there to answer questions as the tile is being installed. I am one of those annoying people who can utterly fixate on minor imperfections. I am happy to report that THERE ARE NONE in my bathroom to fixate upon! Largely because of the phenomenal job that Gene did, I smile every time I walk into my bathroom. The actual cost of the job was higher than the estimate, but that was partly because of requirements scope creep on my part and partly because some aspects of the requirement weren't clearly conveyed when Gene made the original quote. I would recommend Gene without hesitation to anyone needing custom tile work.