TILE WORKS

When my husband first spoke with Mr. Gary Robertson, the contractor, in DEC 2014, my husband first asked Mr. Robertson if he was a licensed contractor, bonded, and insured. Mr. Robertson assured him he was a licensed contractor, bonded, and insured. Major mistake for us, we did not verify. Contractor began demo of bathroom floor tile, in early FEB 2015, damaging special accent tiles beyond reuse. He convinced us we needed larger accent tiles in order to look correct with the new larger tile we selected. In hindsight, realize this was contractor's means of escaping his failure to preserve our existing accent tiles he destroyed. This forced us to order accent tiles which were very expensive, handmade, and delayed installation by 5 weeks, in addition did not provide the proper number of accent tiles required to place in pattern discussed. This was a $400 expense we had not budgeted for. The day he laid thin set and tile, I brought to his attention the variances in spacing where grout was to be placed. Contractor informed me once grout was down I would not notice variances in spaces between tiles. He admitted he failed to number the accent tiles when cutting the larger tiles. I said to contractor, "I'm not an idiot but you are the professional here, so if the floor is unsatisfactory after grout installation, you will have to redo, it is your call." The day he grouted bathroom floor tile, we were not present, but my Mother was. Arrived home to a disaster of a bathroom floor. Grout lines were different widths (did not use tile spacers) among the tiles, just as I had suspected & had addressed prior to grouting; lippage was apparent; no baseboards removed prior to installation; some accent tiles had grout spacing, some did not; and baseboards were damaged. I phoned contractor that evening and discussed the disastrous installation of our new tiled bathroom floor. He arrived the following week and walked into my home, and in front of a worker I had never met, acted like he wasn't aware as to why I was unhappy with his work. His arrogant attitude annoyed me, and I told him so, and didn't appreciate arriving acting like this was the first time he had heard of my displeasure with his installation. Before he left, I could tell he was upset and I asked if everything was all right and he responded he was having problems with a customer who was not paying him for his work. It was the last time I saw him. He left my bathroom in disarray. He did not reset our toilet, did not replace sink pedestal, did not repair baseboard, and of course did not repair his mistakes. He would not return my numerous phone calls, would not reply to my email, so I emailed his attorney, as I had paid him for his services, including the special order for accent tiles. Contractor closed his business under Tile Works and is now under the name of Artisan Construction as of AUG 2015. Contractor's attorney responded after a month, via a formal letter, filled with fabrications stated by the contractor, with exception of one, and also stated the contractor claimed I stilled owed him money, but wished to move on. Really???, unbelievable. In the state of VA, a contractor performing work over $1,000 without a contractor's licenses, is guilty of a criminal offense. While waiting for an actual licensed contractor to provide an estimate on repairing our floor, we attempted to replace the pedestal under the sink, only to discover the pedestal no longer fit. New contractor said he cannot save the special order accent tiles (so I have reordered and ordered the appropriate number), must rip up entire floor due to it's poor installation, hire a plumber to move our sink up since former contractor built the floor up and it will no longer support pedestal, replace all damaged baseboard, order all new tile, and may have to replace cement floor. This has cost me even more than the first installation. Licensed contractors charge more as they are performing work legally and must include their cost of licensing, bonding, and insurance. Lesson learned, only hire reputable, licensed contractors who are, at the least, insured.