SEAN WARD TILE WORK

I recently spent approx $20,000 on a kitchen remodel. I was originally going to install my own backsplash, but then decided that since I had spent so much on the remodel and backsplash itself, that I would hire someone to complete a professional installation. I called Sean based on a referral by the contactor that did my kitchen remodel, and made an 8:00am appointment for an estimate. However, that morning our appointment time came and went, and several unreturned phone calls later, Sean finally called me at 4:30pm and asked about coming out the next day - without so much as an explanation about why he missed our appointment. When I asked him about it, he said he, "forgot".
Shame on me for not seeing this as a sign of bad things to come. Howver, since I was happy overall with the contractor that referred Sean, I went ahead and hired him for the job. He came early on a Monday, and when I returned home after work, Sean was wrapping up. I immediately noticed several things I wasn't happy with, but Sean said he would return that Wednesday to finish, so I let it be. Wednesday evening I came home to discover that none of the items I was concerned with had been corrected. Sean had left the invoice and a note that appeared to indicate his work was complete. When he approached me about payment, I indicated that I would be happy to pay him once I was satisfied with the work, but that I had several concerns.
The following are the concerns I expressed:
1) There are several crooked tiles (mostly around the stove area - which is highly visible), and am not sure what can be done to correct this as everything is already set. My kitchen renovation and this backsplash was very expensive and if I notice it, then others will too and that's not acceptable. I hired someone to do this professionally because I didn't want it to look like a DIY project, but that's what it looks like right now.
2) The grout along the bottom of the wall where the sink is is very uneven, meaning not a straight line - mostly where there is beveled glass is, but it doesn't look good especially when the rest is in a straight line.
3) Isn't there supposed to be some kind of clear caulking placed at the bottom to keep water from deteriorating the grout? Home Depot's instuctions for DIY backsplash installation indicates this should be done (below).
 "Be sure to apply a bead of mildew resistant silicone caulk at the base of your backsplash where it rests against your countertop."
 I don't think this has been done.
 4) I am disappointed that my electrical fixtures were not left in the same condition they were in prior to the work being done. The one outlet was left attached crooked even after the grout had set. I removed the panel to find a bunch of extra dried grout blocking it. I have not had a chance to re-attach the plate to see if that fixed the problem or not, but if not, I will expect this to be corrected. And there was one outlet you left the plate completely off of. I know you said I need a longer screw or screws, but it seems like you should/would have ensured this was left in the same condition it was prior to the job. I don't understand why all the other screws for all the other fixtures were fine except for that one.
5) I see that the caulking didn't end up getting replaced around the soap holder as you said it would be.
Not having seen my e-mail, Sean called again for payment and I addressed each of these issues with him. He agreed with me about the electrical outlets; said that yes it's a good idea to have the caulking along the seam where the countertop meets the backsplash, and said he would call in a few days to arrange a time to come out so I could show him the rest of the items -- my main concern was the very visible crooked tiles. He kept saying over and over how busy he was, and I stated that I thought that was part of the problem - he rushed through the job and I was left with sub-par work because of it. I told him I wasn't in any hurry and would rather wait for him to have the time to do the job right. When I didn't hear from him for over a week, I sent an e-mail asking for him to contact me about a date/time to meet to have him finish/correct the items I was concerned with.

This evening he responded with the following very short, very unprofessional response:
"Forget it. You seem to have too many issues of your own for me to waist any more of my time with.
S."
Bottom line - do NOT hire this person unless you want to be left with messy/unfinished work you'll have to hire someone else to fix/complete.

Nice guy.  Very punctual.  Did a great job.  Would use again.

This is the second time we have used Sean.  In 2004 he also did a remodel of a 1922 bathroom, putting marble on the walls.  We have been completely satisfied both times.  He is responsive to requests, easy and pleasant to work with, and expert at his craft.  Our projects were not easy since they were in an old building where walls are lath and plaster, are not plumb and corners are not square.  He did a great job working with these obstacles and making it all work together with the old tile and finishes.  We highly recommend him!

He did an awesome job and we are very happy about it. It wasn't a major job. We have an old home and he replaced some tiles in the bathroom but he didn't do the complete bathroom. He was on time and he was very efficient. I knew him through a friend of ours and they recommended him. That was the reason we chose to go with Sean Ward. He was very personable and we enjoyed working with him. I don't know much about the company. All I know about him is as a person. We would use him again in the future.

We purchased a new house and the Realtor listing the house had the 2nd bathroom tiled (it originally had carpet like the master bath, yuck!) to show the house better. We ended up purchasing the house, a mid-century classic and our architect, who was helping us with some other rennovations said that the tile work on the bathroom floor was perfect, grid line, grout, detail; and he suggested we find out who did the tile. That is how we found Sean, we had him come out to install the same tile in the master bath. The work was amazing, perfectly flat, true, perfect grout & gridlines, Turns ou Sean is from Ireland and was an apprenticed tradesman (like his Father) which probably explains the flawlwess work. He even remvoved and reinstalled the toilet for us, all included. You want the best tile work you have ever seen? I have rennovated 3 homes and have seen a lot of craftsmen, but this guy is the best...tust me on this one. Hire this guy!

He worked very hard and did what he was supposed to do. There is a lot of work involved with the tile but he did a wonderful job. He is a very nice guy and he was very easy to work with. He is very hardworking as well.

Things went very well. The new floor and shower look great. Work was done well. They came back to fix the small problem. He stands behind his work.