First, what brand sealer did they use? Did they use a spray on sealer or did they put the sealer normally brushed or wiped on in to a spray bottle? Bill Vincent has posted here and on John Bridge many times about the health hazards of using the spray sealers (purchased in a spray container already). Please find this out - the fumes shouldn't be as bad as you describe if they just put it in to a spray bottle.

Second, I did a DIY sealing/enhancing job on my indian slate laundry room floor. I did not adequately remove the excess sealer and it left blotchy, miscolored, sticky areas. Bill suggested that I actually add another layer of the exact same sealer and while it was wet to use some elbow grease and it will actually help remove the first layer of excess. Worked like a charm! However, it did take some work and I did it because it was my mistake. This will not change the enhanced color, but will make it more even.

Good Luck!!!!

They used a sealer that was to be brushed or wiped on in a spray bottle from a different sealer. I literally couldn't be on that floor of my house, and had to open all doors and windows and turn on all fans, and STILL get my 1 and 4 year old out of the house. It was awful - I nearly lost my voice, my throat was so raw from being in the room for 5 minutes. My kids were on that floor of the house for all of 3 minutes, but I am now sick to death of them being exposed at all.

When they left, the tile looked dripping wet still (in fact, there are what look like drip marks in some areas). Sounds like that was the issue. Was your grout blotchy, too? That's what really looks the worst.

I am just sick over this. I know in the grand scheme of the world this is small potatoes, but knowing they (I) put my kids at risk now has me more upset than how awful it looks.

Thanks for your response. I do appreciate it.

Cellomama, as you describe it, no you are not over-reacting. I guess the big question is - will the contractor have the same perspective? Hopefully after you talk to him, in retrospect, he will see he should have handled it differently and be apologetic and willing to do whatever it takes to fix it.

I just don't understand one not having pride in their work. Sounds really sloppy and unproffesional, not to mention unsafe, and I am sorry you are going through this.

I would NOT be happy. It's enough to drive a person to DIY.

Cellomama, I am sorry to hear about your unprofessional contractor.

If you haven't already, I would take pictures of your kitchen for quality control purposes and make a basic factual report of your experience. These two documents will help you in confronting your contractor and if need be, the licensing board for your county or state.

I also recommend that you seek medical advice. Your physical reaction to these chemicals should not be ignored. For you to have lost your voice and had such an instant reaction tells me that you have something very nasty in your home that your body is telling you it considers unhealthy for it. Please do no ignore what your body is telling you.

Your experience is one of the reasons why so many of us are willing to pay more for low VOC cabinets, paint and the like.

Hi Cellomama, We installed Indian Autumn slate in our master bathroom and I got to be honest with you, regardless of which sealant you use or how it's applied, the smell is going to be strong. It's just the nature of the beast. Our master is on the second floor and I have birds on the first floor, even with the windows open and doors shut it was an issue. I had to move my birds to the porch because it would be deadly if I didn't. So, you can't get around that one.

About the enhancing, I hate to ask this, but did you sample some pieces before they sealed it so you'd know what you were getting? We used Miracle 511 for our sealing. They have 2 products, one that's just a sealer, and another that is a sealer enhancer. We put 1 coat of sealer/enhancer to brighten the stone and then several coats of regular sealer over that because ours is a bathroom application. If we had only used the Sealer & Enhancer, each coat would have made the tile darker than the last coat. As someone else mentioned, applying a new coat of sealer will remove the remnants from the last coat so that's an easy enough fix but you need to either use the same brand of sealant your contractor used or make sure the brand you are using is compatible with it by calling the manufacturers and asking. Also you should only use a sealer on the stone (not a sealer/enhancer) so you don't risk darkening the stone even more. As for the stone being too dark, I don't know how true this is (or if it even applies to the sealer he used) but I have heard that after a while, the enhancer does wear a bit and lighten up. After you find out which enhancer your contractor used, you may want to call the manufacturer and ask what options you have to make the stone look the way you want it to.

Our contractor was as neat as pie, but his help was worthless especially when it came to using care with our carpet and such. And if our contractor wasn't watching him all the time, we were screwed. Once while the contractor was in the garage working, I walked upstairs to find that Yahoo sanding drywall over our new carpet. So I totally get what your saying. You need to address the messes with the contractor and tell him (nicely of course) to clean it up and be careful. Luckily, I have a good relationship with our contractor so the approach I took was to comment sarcastically to him that I wasn't planning on replacing our NEW carpet, but if he continued to let his help work without tarps and ruin it, I'd certainly be happy to let him replace it." My contractor was very apologetic and his exact words to me were, "You have every right to expect that the other parts of your home are not destroyed just because someone is working in it" so I don't think you're over reacting at all if you say something. Take a breath, everything works out in the end, it's just not fun during the process but soon this will be a faint memory.

PS...I love the Indian Autumn Slate, enhanced or not enhanced it's so...

Thanks, everyone. I am not surprised that the enhancer was "fumey"- I think it was just made so much worse by the fact that he sprayed a product that was not intended to be sprayed. That is issue #1. The second issue is that the sealer was applied incorrectly and is blotchy, sticky and bubbly. Lastly,(and much less of a big deal) its that he was so careless in execution that the sealer got on everything - appliances, counter tops, woodwork, etc. It seems to be removable, but it will take a ton of work.

As far as the stone being too dark, I don't blame him for that. It was our decision to enhance, and we probably didn't do as much sampling, etc. as we should have to prepare for the darker color. We also didn't know that enhancer darkens the grout in addition to the tile, which is not his fault (although I'm a bit bitter with the consultant/designer at the tile shop who neglected to mention this when we selected grout). The contractor did supply the caulk, however, which is several shades lighter than the grout/counters/tile and looks pretty bad. We will probably fix that ourselves.

I have regained my sense of smell today, and my throat feels fine again. I have also debated seeking medical advice, but I'm not sure what they could even do for me or my girls. However, perhaps I will call poison control and see what they think.

My big issue now is what recourse to request. I don't want him back in my house to either fix his sloppy sealer or to clean up the mess he made. The trust is too far violated. So I can certainly complain to him (and the licensing office - good idea), but I'm not sure what to "demand". the only good news is that I found this guy because of his raves on Angie's List, so at least I can post my very negative experience there.

Thanks much for your feedback and thoughts. They are very appreciated. If anyone has more thoughts on what I can do to request recourse or to try to quantify the health risks he subjected us to, it would be welcome.

Bill Vincent has posted here and on John Bridge many times about the health hazards of using the spray sealers

That was about aerosol sealers, but they still should've used a rag.

As for the fumes, most solvent based sealers will have fumes to them that aren't any fun to be around until they dry, but they're also not toxic to most people and pets. And for the record, the fumes wouldn't have been any better had they used a rag. The only way it would've been worse spraying it is if they used an "atomizer" sprayer (kind of like a perfume sprayer that literally turns it into a fine mist-- windex bottle or the like won't do it).

As for cleaning the mess up, with reference to the tile and grout joints, you can do as lagrant suggested and use a rag with sealer on it and rub out the excess sealer wherever you find it. With reference to the cover plates, and other surface, try using some acetone, instead. I suggested using the sealer on the tile and grout because you DO want there to be a coat of sealer left on those surfaces when you're done. All the other surfaces are a different story. You want it ALL gone, and that's what the acetone will do for you.

Cellomama, You've asked if you're over reacting and after reading your last post I'd have to say yes, you are. I too found out the hard way you can't expect people to remember every little detail and explain it to you. You have to take responsibility, learn the process and ask the important questions. Tile reps aren't going to tell you how the grout will react to sealer unless you ask. As a homeowner, maybe you should have asked a lot more questions and understood the process a lot better before starting the job. And since you were unfamiliar with this contractors work, you should have probably supervised the job a little closer too.

"reporting to the licensing board - Good idea"
NOT! Just because there is a bit of mess left and more than you think it should be is no reason to report someone and put a mark on his record. And why would you no longer trust him? You haven't complained about the tile work it self. Is this the first time you've hired for a project on your home? Do you realize how hard decent contractors are to find? Believe me, a little mess is NOTHING. At this point I'd have to say yes, I do believe you are over reacting.

Thanks, Bill, for more detail about the sprays. I feel much better hearing it straight from you that it's not that big of a concern. I appreciate you taking the time to respond, and will try your tips to address the situation.

Lukkiirish, I find your comments a bit stinging, but I came here asking the question so I better be prepared for the response. I actually got more upset as I read the early responses in thinking this was unusual. I was quite upset when I wrote my second post. I do take responsibility for a lot of this - even for just not supervising the contractor better. I know this is not his house, and have enough experience with contractors (we did a full exterior remodel last year) to know that they can't read your mind and you have to be extremely specific and pay attention. That was difficult for me to do with the kids around yesterday.

Since then, I have calmed down considerably. I actually did call poison control and they assured me that there aren't likely to be any lingering health effects, and knowing that I calmed down. I then called my contractor and told him I just wanted to keep him informed about how we felt, and that we weren't sure what we wanted him to do yet. I explained how I wasn't happy about everything being sticky (and still don't love that they got the sealer all over my new and expensive Kohler faucet). I also talked about the blotchiness. He was apologetic and responsive and offered to do whatever we wanted to ensure we were happy with his work. At this point, I've got about half the residue cleaned up, so I can't imagine what there is, other than to have him back to even out the sealer.

In the end, I've learned a ton and also gone from thinking this guy was a total idiot to being pretty darn impressed with his customer service. We had a great conversation, and while I would have preferred the work be 100% the first time, I am still pleasantly surprised that he's so willing to stand behind it.

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond and sharing your feelings so honestly. It really did help me work through my feelings on this (sorry - with my stay-at-home life I don't have many other options to talk through this stuff, and feeling alone and not quite sure how to react didn't help matters. I think I knew I was overreacting and needed validation). In the end, I feel confident we will get a good resolution.

Godspeed.

Cellomama - That's great that things have started work out with your project and that your contractor was responsive to your concerns. We all deserve the opportunity to make a wrong right. I'm glad you gave him the chance and that he came through for you. Sorry if what I said stung, I wasn't trying to be mean, just honest in regards to your question. You have no reason to apologize for being a stay at home mom, or needing a vice to work through things, we're all in the same boat one way or another and that's what makes this forum so great. Believe it or not, I'm just as guilty of over reacting during our own remodel and it was the honest responses to my concerns that carried me through the process. Time to take a breath, it will be over soon and then you can enjoy that beautiful Indian Autumn slate!

In the end, I've learned a ton and also gone from thinking this guy was a total idiot to being pretty darn impressed with his customer service. We had a great conversation, and while I would have preferred the work be 100% the first time, I am still pleasantly surprised that he's so willing to stand behind it.

ANY contractor who tells you he's never had a problem is either a bold faced liar, or hasn't been in the trade very long. ALL of us have jobsite problems, whether they be due to carelessness, or situations we weren't aware of. The difference between a good contractor and a jerk is how the contractor deals with the problem once he's made aware of it. Although I don't agree with the spray bottle, it sounds like you've got a decent guy there. Keep us informed!

Oh my thoughts are with you. I over reacted so many times during my kitchen remodel and I know how difficult it is to see that everything will be OK. I am glad that things are resolving now. Good luck!

Hi Cellomama,

I don't think you overreacted at all. Many of us on this
site are not Kitchen Gurus, Renovation experts, KDs or
stone specialists. It is very easy to 2nd guess, worry,
inquire or doubt because of our lack of knowledge.

Your post was a question to find out what is normal,
standard or common in these installations. Did anyone else
experience the same thing? Did anyone have nasty fumes? ...
I don't think you overreacted. You did the right thing.

Your installer SHOULD have explained the installation
process, fumes etc.. better.

Your job as a stay at home mom is one of the most important
jobs in the world. The gift you are giving your children
by being there for them and helping them to grow into
caring, kind humans is priceless. You are wise to take
your small children out of the area so they would not
inhale fumes. Had the installer cautioned you about the
fumes you probaly would not feel the need to question.

I am thrilled for you positive ending.
~boxerpups

Glad it worked out for you, cellomama. I am about to embark on my renovation and what happened to you would TOTALLY freak me out! I am trying to prepare myself for possible issues and problems and am telling myself not to over react if something does happen. Its hard, though, when you've placed so much time, money and, especially, emotion into the project.

Thanks to everyone for your sage advice and compassion. Our story has indeed had a good outcome. We still have a little work to do to get all the sealer off our countertops, but we have found a method that seems to be removing it completely and leaving them back to normal. The faucet came clean with some good old fashioned elbow grease. The tile/grout is still blotchy, but we are going to just fix that ourselves at some point when we can pre-arrange for the girls to be out of the house. The contractor offered to come do this for us, but I think at this point we'd rather take control back for ease of scheduling. (we are rather experienced DIY-ers in general, but had never done tile so we hired out - but we'll have to reseal eventually anyway, might as well learn now)

The contractor offered a FULL refund of the project, he was so upset by the situation. The tile looks really nice (it has grown on me - I really like it now) so we didn't find that fair. We instead requested a discount (15%) to compensate us for the cleaning time. We are going to donate that money to the Red Cross for Haiti.

I was pretty much a mess last week when this happened and I really appreciated the straight-up advice. You all rock!!

Thanks again -
Laurie

I LOVE a happy ending!! *sniff*