
Tile Specialties Unlimited
About us
Tile Specialties Unlimited is your one source for custom tile creations. No matter how large or small we can complete your project very quickly and efficiently while maintaining ultra high quality. When you choose to work with Tile Specialties Unlimited you can leave the worrying to us, with a full written guarantee on all work performed. We are the tile professionals in the tri state area.
Business highlights
Services we offer
Cement work, Decks, Drywall, Flooring, Light electrical, Light plumbing, Painting, Power washing, Siding, Tile, and HVAC when necessary., bathroom remodeling, electrical, finished basements, kitchen remodeling, trim and molding work. We use licensed sub-contractors for plumbing
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
60% | ||
2% | ||
11% | ||
9% | ||
18% |
The work was scheduled to be done in Nov / Dec of 2012. Didn't finish until February and we had to push out selling a home and moving. Many days people didn't show up when expected with no notification. Regularly contractors would work a short day or get sick and go home. Several times we had troubles getting a hold of the company to confirm wether or not they would be working one day or another. We seriously considered legal action against this company and if we hadn't moved out of the area we may have followed through. During home inspections we had to touch of some of the work these guys had just finished because of the quality of the finish work. Most of their work was acceptable but the finishing touches around basement and stairs carpeting had to be cleaned up by another company.
We would not use them again in the future.
We purchased a "deal" on Angies list and then we were locked in to that amount becuase we had already paid. Of course when the cnotractor came out to review our basement the amount was three times as much. And it took them several weeks to come out and get started. Extremely frustrating. Others may have had a better experience with this contract company but this was our experience and we will do everything possible to avoid them in the future.
From the time the craftsman started demolishing our old kitchen, I knew I would be pleased with the project. Right away, I noticed everyone was very clean with their work and they did an excellent job of keeping the project contained to the kitchen only. I was so happy to see the old cabinets and flooring removed.
As the job progressed after the demolition, the first major step was installing our new ceramic tile floor. The craftsman recommended angling the tiles in a diamond pattern, and although it was more work for them, it was definitely a good design decision. Once the cabinets were installed, I could really see the final design start to come to life. At the suggestion of the consultant, we decided to change our 2-tier breakfast bar, into a single level breakfast bar. I'm glad we did, because the breakfast bar has so much more space now. The white granite counter tops and tile black splash really make our kitchen look like it is straight out of a magazine!
My husband is much more observant than I am when it comes to craftsmanship. It seemed like everyday he would go over the work from the previous day, and he was always pleased. We are both so impressed with the finished product of our kitchen. I honestly would love dealing with Fix it All again. Every part of the process was handled professionally and efficiently. There were absolutely no set backs throughout the whole process (except when I changed the handles for the cabinets!) and the initial estimate was very close to what the total project wound up costing at completion. If you are looking for a professional company that provides high quality work and individual attention to the client, than I would highly suggest checking out Fix it All.
In April 20120, I had a consultant (Eric) from Fix it All come out and do an estimate of the small bathroom I wanted remodeling. Eric explored the bathroom, ran measurements, and captured what I wanted done (including new bathtub, sink, toilet, flooring, tile, and walls/painting). Eric said he would write up the estimate, share it with his project manager, and confirm everything back to me via a proposed contract. Eric sent me a contract for $1500 saying everything was included. He said nothing about plumbing not being included in the price. Both parties signed the contract stating the bathroom would be remodeled for $1500. This did not include material costs, which I knew I would pay separately.
Between May and July of 2012, I had difficulty getting a hold of Fix it All. I called, emailed, text Eric and the general Fix it All Email address. Finally, in July, Robert emailed me. He apologized for the miscommunication but Eric had left the company. Robert said he would look up my contract and help me mover the project forward again.
Once Robert looked over the contract (in late July), he said it needed to be re-written because it had expired. When he re-wrote it (without coming to my house and reviewing the bathroom), he said the contract needed to be re-written because it would include plumbing work. Robert gave me a proposal for this work. I asked him how he could give me a proposal for the work if he hasn't even seen my bathroom or my plumbing system? I refused to sign the new contract and asked that he come by my house to do the estimate, himself. Robert never came to my house. Between vacation and various cancellations due to "busy days", the month of August was completely wasted. When I expressed my frustration with Robert on the phone, he promised the next date he offered in mid Sept - he would be there. Of course the day of the meeting, Robert had something come up - but at least sent his colleague Mike over to do the estimate.
Mike was informed, helpful, and professional. We walked through the entire project, similar to what I did with Eric many months prior, and he also helped me make some materials decisions. When Mike verbally told me the likely estimate of the bathroom to be $5,999, I was quite surprised. To go from $1500 to $5,999 (and supposedly the $5,999 included a discount similar to the spirit of the Big Deal on Angie's List) when essentially plumbing and some drywall work was added (from Contract #1) seemed like A LOT. But Mike seemed like he knew what he was talking about - - and it became clear to me that Eric had had no business writing the first Angie's List Big Deal contract the way he did. So, Contract #2 was signed for $5999.
When Mike was at my house he shared with me that they subcontract all their work out. This took me by surprise. So, buyer, beware - Fix it All actually fixes nothing themselves. You can use the same subcontractors they use without the headache of trying to communicate with Fix it All, deal with their terrible means of writing contracts, or obviously giving them any of your money to get the job done.
Let me be clear: the subcontractors I had actually did a really good job. They were professional, respectful, punctual, and the work looked good. The low ratings I am giving to Angie's List reflect my ratings for Fix it All - not their subcontractors. I will give the subcontractors separate reviews on AL. But if you want to know who I used so you can look them up on AL, they included Hunt General Contracting (Jim Hunt), CB's electric, (Chuck Bronzo), and Fast Response Plumbing (Bob Soley).
The bathroom remodel work finally actually began in October. The goal the entire last couple of months was to complete the job before my parents came to visit. Needless to say, when my parents came to visit, the bathroom was in complete renovation mode - the could not use it at all. Fix it All had months to get this project up and in order, and everything took 10x longer to set up and get done than was necessary.
Throughout the job, Fix it All was not at all interested in coming to my house and monitoring the work. Robert, my 'project manager' had never even been to my house. When I asked Robert to come out and see the work, he delayed any type of response. So, I called Mike, the one person who I seemed to get some value from, and asked him if he could come monitor the job - even if it was just once. Mike came over around the time when Bob the plumber was doing his part of the job. Apparently there were some pipes that needed to be replaced (the length of these pipes was just a few feet). Mike said this was not a part of the contract and would I be ok moving forward with the work. Mike gave me no estimate as to the price of the work. Since the contract had already gone up from $1500 - $5999 to include plumbing and dry wall, I was surprised that it would cost any extra. So I naively assumed that the extra money could only end up being slightly more than what they had already charged me. I told Mike that the job needed to be done right - but please let me know about price. Mike said he would get back to me with the cost - and never got back to me. The plumber did the job, with approval from Fix it All.
It was then, when the plumbing work was already completed, that I got a request for 3rd contract to be signed by Fix it All. They were asking for an additional $2,000 for the 'extra' plumbing they had not 'yet' charged me for (keep in mind how much Contract #2 already went up when plumbing was added). This contract did not have a breakdown of the work - it just said it was an add-on of Contract #2. On 10/21 I emailed Robert and asked him for an itemized summary of the contract. Given the extra $2,000 being requested from me, I was seeking to understand what the plumbing work cost by work item. Robert wrote me back stating "The amount of money that anyone is paid from our company is generally not of concern of our customer and will not be released under any circumstances." That response infuriated me. My subcontractors even said that that was sketchy. How do they expect a customer to hand over $2,000 more cash when they do not respect me enough to outline the specific plumbing work I am paying for? I then wrote Fix it All with an outlined history of my terrible experience with them - and asked to speak to someone about my issue. When I wrote them, I said that if they did not get back to me I would be happy to reach out to the Better Business Bureau, Angie's List, and potentially an attorney.
It is then that I got an email from Nick. Apparently Nick, just a few years out of college, is 'the boss' of the South Jersey Fix it All Franchise. (Interestingly, prior to this email from him - I noticed that Nick -- who had never reached out to me throughout my project even though he had access to all my emails with inept Robert - - had previously looked up my profile on LinkedIn. How odd is that? I suspect he wanted to look up my job and see if, per my title, I could afford to be scammed.) Nick offered to meet with me and talk me through 'the work' of the contract. Even though we did meet on the phone, I never got a full understanding for the breakdown of the plumbing work and its prices. Needless to say, I am a sucker. I got nervous that the subcontractors would not get paid if I did not succumb to the new price. Reluctantly, I agreed to the Contract #3. $7,999 for a 5' x 7' bathroom - when Contract #1 was to do the same job through Angie's List Big Deal for $1499 (keep in mind the job still equated to about 40 hours worth of man-work, which is what the originally contract was for). I regret doing that. I let myself get scammed.
It is also important to note that Fix it All clearly scheduled my project with the subcontractors last minute. Specifically, they called CG's Electric and asked him to d
"This person has a house in California. We have never worked with them. We are located in New Jersey and we do not do exterior house painting. Please remove this review."
On the second scheduled installation they were accurate and punctual - the workers showed up on the day and the time that was agreed to. However the sales person from Fix It All was not there. The workers were quick and hard working, minimized noise and were considerate to the fact that my toddler and my nanny were at home during the work. Trying to arrange for the flooring to be installed was another reschedule. Realized after the fact that the door that was already existing in the basement will no longer close after the finished basement. Spoke with several folks at Fix It All and the door is still not fixed today (December 2012).
After an initial period of time when communication was a real problem, I expressed my concerns and after that it has been much better. It still hasn't been a fantastic experience but with each milestone it has improved. I can't say that I would use them again nor recommend them, but by the end of the project that could change.
UPDATE: The project was finally completed on December 15th. There are missing gaps in the grout, the doors to the cabinets don't close properly, rather than painting the entire kitchen (there was very little left that wasn't covered by a cabinet are backsplash) they only touched up the areas that they had to patch due to work. They left nail holes and just painted over them. The list of pictures and video for this project would create a mini series. Rob is a really nice guy and I would love to give him a better review, but the crew he had on the job was absolutely terrible. I finally had to request that Rob be on location for the final day of the job because the crew were so unprofessional that I wasn't willing to allow them back into my home unsupervised. Even then they put a threshold between the kitchen and family room that wasn't a T but was a nose...meaning there was a 2 inch lip for people to trip on and I had to tell them that it wasn't acceptable. The sink leaked, the faucets were not securely installed and became loose within a week. The finished job looks great from a distance but at close examination there are so many things that are done poorly that it clearly wasn't worth the price that was paid. Honestly, I think Mike and his crew should be embarrassed at the quality of workmanship.
"Customer paid in full for his project because it was completed."
"If having your project completed more quickly and efficiently than you anticipated, while maintaining excellent build quality and professionalism sounds like a horrible experience, we are probably not the right company for you. The customer signed a labor only contract for the partial construction of a deck and re-installation of an exhaust fan in the attic. As you can see on the actual, signed contract show below, she was never quoted a price for materials and it explicitly states that she is responsible for supplying them. The customer paid the ACTUAL COST of materials, with absolutely no markup and was provided receipts. As you can also see, we quoted her a timeline of 5 days in the contract (which is a maximum to allow for the resolution of potential problems) , and is exactly what it would have taken if there was one man working on the job. We brought in a crew of 4 craftsmen for two days and were able to finish it more quickly than she anticipated. http://www.****-1.jpg - This is a link to the contract she signed."
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