The tile saga...lesson: never give up...LONG

11 years ago

Thought the story of my kitchen tile might serve to encourage folks who are suffering the frustrations of renovations.

One of the various things my GC (otherwise known as the RTSOG--rotten thieiving sack of garbage)stuck me with before I threw him off the job and took him to arbitration, was a tile kitchen floor with three cracked tiles. The subcontractor who had installed it, as well as done most of the actual construction work on the house, came by to see something else and when I pointed it out to him, he immediately checked, said yes, they cracked because the joists below it weren't properly supported. He quickly admitted it must have been his oversight, immediately fixed the joists and set a time to come by and replace the broken tiles.

Unfortunately, when he came with helper to replace the 3 tiles, he gave instructions to the helper to cut them out, but forgot that there was electric heat wiring beneath them. So...though he hollered "stop" as soon as he recalled, it was too late...the wires were cut. Now he had to repair the heat as well. To his credit, he did so, after another few weeks delay while we located the proper "repair" kit. Then he replaced the broken tiles with 3 of my remaining 4 kitchen tiles.

But, when the cold weather comes, the heating isn't working. So I call him back. He comes with electrician, they determine, yes it's still cut somewhere and we now have to pull up about 9 sq feet of tiles to make sure there are no nicks anywhere. But...I have only 1 tile left. Worse, it was bought at auction, it's natural stone (leathered limestone) and I now longer have the boxes or recall the name of the manufacturer. I hunt for the name of the tile on line...can't find anything. I spend every weekend in Jan. traipsing to every tile store within a 30 mile radius seeking a reasonable match. The closest I find is quoted at $55 a square foot AND it would need to be refinished from polished to leathered. The subcontractor is blanching, but still owning up to his responsibility to make good.

Finally, I find a tile guy who recognizes my one remaining tile, knows who the manufacturer is and tells me that they were sold at auction because the manufacturer closed their east coast warehouse. But he'll try to track some of the tile down on the West Coast. Two weeks later, he reports back...no go. His contact there has disappeared. But maybe, he says, I can contact the manufacturer directly.

So I find them on line and fire off an email saying I need 20 square feet of this tile and could they tell me if there is any to be found in the U.S.? An hour and a half later I get an email from Cairo (where it is now midnight), saying that tile is discontinued and I won't find it in the U.S., but he found some in their warehouse in Cairo and can either air freight it to me or put it on their next container shipment to N.Y. I say YES, please! How much?

$12 a square foot plus $80 for ocean shipping, it should arrive in March.

Each month after March, I get a message from Omar saying...

container hasn't left yet...should be there NEXT month.

Today, I got the message from Omar that my tile is in Baltimore and I can pick it up...no delivery charge and because of the wait, he's discounting it 50%!

Wahoo!

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Comments (14)

numbersjunkie
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
OMG! I think I would have had a stoke by now. But sounds like the tile guy is a real gem. Hope it all gets squared away soon. Keeping my fingers crossed for you that nothing else goes wrong....
bahacca
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
WOW! Glad for good customer service from the sub and from this tile guy!
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hags00
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I hope it is the right tile all the way for Cairo ;)
melissastar
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I"m pretty sure it is....Omar actually had me send him pictures of my floor so they could try to pick the tiles that came closest. Then he emailed me pictures of the 20 tiles they had picked and they look like a good match. Plus, it was the right name!
gone_south
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow, your patience was rewarded!
CEFreeman
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Melissa, I am SO glad this came through!
What a story in perseverance and people who give a d@mn!

I think your tile guy needs to have his name posted simply because when someone Googles him for a reference? It'll show up here with such glowing compliments.

I have decided the RTSOS in my life will be posted. If they want to refute? Knock their bad selves out.

But I am thrilled for you. I can't wait to see your home when I bring your 6x6s!

C.
User
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, that sounds like a great subcontractor. You certainly shook all the bushes looking for that tile. Congratulations! Did they send you a few extras too?
oldbat2be
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
So glad this turned out well for you! It's wonderful to hear a happy ending.

We had a similar story where all problems were caused by me. Let's redo bathroom (I suggest). DH takes out toilet, moves plumbing slightly. DH installs wiring for radiant heat. We tile complicated pattern on floor. DH puts toilet in, buys beeswax. (Forget what it's for, but you need it for the seal!) I decide pattern is too busy. DH takes toilet out. I manually chip out tiles which were too busy. Break wiring. DH takes out multiple tiles and repairs break. We retile. Toilet back in, more beeswax. We start tiling walls. Hon, I really can't reach back there, can you help? Toilet back out... mosaic tiling completed. Toilet back in, more beeswax. (Hon, don't you think I should buy a couple of these?) Actually, I may be a little off with the sequencing but know it was at least three times DH removed the toilet in this bathroom.
deedles
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow. Quite the story, glad it worked out thanks to you!
Bunny
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yay Omar!!! Great story! Don't forget to post a photo when it's all done.
aliris19
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Melissa, I know your RTSOG has made your life something of a living hell .... but I for one feel a teensy bit grateful to the guy. I just *love* reading your sagas and tales. You're suffering of course for our amusement, but isn't that what art is all about? ;)

Thanks for the wonderful reads. I want to say: keep em coming, only that might not be very caring of me, eh? But really, talk about making lemonade ... you make the recounting very diverting. Thanks.
williamsem
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wow. It's great that you can use the tiles you want. I hope you made that tile guy a pie or some cookies or something, he certainly deserves it! So nice to see something go right with this.
dilly_ny
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Oh my. I can relate and I am so glad your story has a nice ending (even though you must have been sweating for months). My tile guy shorted me 5 boxes of tile and told me he would give me smaller tiles for under the cabinets and in a closet. I said I would prefer matching tile and he told me it was in his warehouse and I would get it the next week. I trusted him (red flag) and installer tiled where cabinets are now placed. The whole space is tiled now except the closet and a 2 by 8 foot space where I plan to put a banquette bench. Of course it turns out tile is not so easy to get. Last I hear it is on its way from somewhere in Ontario where UPS does not do pick ups, so it was hand delivered to the Fed Ex drop. I am still waiting patiently, but I can't help wondering if we have the same idiot tile guy.

How do these people stay in business?
melissastar
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks guys. As I emailed back to Omar in Cairo: "I'm doing the happy dance". Progress is slowly being made on other items...all but two cabinets now have operating doors. All slides have been replaced and all doors and drawers are more or less even and flat now. The awful upper cabinet in the scullery area has been replaced. I found a way to restain the beadboard in the scullery area so it all more or less matches and have given it four coats of tung oil wiping varnish so far. The only major item left is to get all the painted cabinets repainted properly.

That is unfortunately not likely to happen until I get my hot little hands on some of the $20K the Md. Home Improvement Commission is supposed to pay me. And that I understand won't happen till Sept. at earliest, since the last two Md. state civil servants involved were wholly incompetent: First, the investigator gave my attorney incorrect information about having to wait for the judge's final order converting the arbitration award to a court judgment and thus delaying the process for 2 and a half months. Then he lost my file, waited to weeks till I called before he got a replacement one and finally, failed to pass it on to his boss before he left his job. When the boss finally located the file and passed it to the Attorney General's office, they sent the RTSOG the wrong letter informing him of the judgement and advising him of his right to respond, losing another 10 days until my attorney told them it was the wrong letter and they managed to get the right one out.

It has been an exercise in patience. Meanwhile, no chance of getting the remaining $2,000 directly from the RTSOG. We tried to garnish his company's bank account, but there was only $4 in it.

Anyone know of any legal, inexpensive and preferably deliciously wicked ways of tormenting him to get my money? Or at least of making his life just a fraction as miserable as he has made mine for the past 2 and a half years?

The tile saga...lesson: never give up...LONG

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numbersjunkie

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The tile saga...lesson: never give up...LONG

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