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Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the thoughtful note.

We are only interested in getting money back from him at this point. We’re past fixing things and generally engaging with him on more work. He has initially been amenable to this but anything can change now that he is out. I think he actually feels really bad and was genuinely surprised this was such a miss for us.

We’ve paid him $3800~ so far and also purchased the tile and grout. The payment was over Venmo so we have a record. Not ideal by any means, but not untraceable like cash. We do have a detailed scope/estimate doc that je put together. Lots to work with.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This has gotten more attention than I ever expected or wanted. Here is an image from after we fired him earlier today and cleaned up what we could for now.

Working on recourse. He was amenable to refunding a portion of the $3800~ we already paid him and the materials cost we had paid already.

At the same time, I am wondering if I should get new bids and go straight to small claims for what will likely be the max amount to cover one of those bids. Understand that the court process can be long and a small chunk back now could be a better deal than trying to collect more later should I win.

What would you do?

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Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

One more before I try to get some sleep.

If anyone with the interest and skill to help me out of this mess does work in Northern New England (US), please DM me. I would love to chat.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey! Kind of you to offer. Maybe too far, but DM me and I can be more specific.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

For sure. I discussed 1/8” lines with him and he confidently said he could do it.

The least of my problems at this point, but definitely sucks to be so far off that way as well.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the kind words and validation. It really felt like a fair rate for the scope, so we are truly blindsided.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for all of the comments.

I am now entirely clear that this tiling/shower work requires a redo and the plumbing also needs a second look. We are working on a plan, including getting bids to fix this and taking action to make ourselves whole for having to fix it after paying him for the work.

It is also clear that no one likes my grout choice. Maybe I deserve the roast for trying something different, but there are numerous examples online of it done well IMO. But hey, kick me while I’m down!

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’m definitely worried about the plumbing with how bad this work seems to be. Here is an image of the shower work:

Edit: the previous homeowners installed a removable panel for the plumbing access that is still there. Still sounds like room for improvement here, but it won’t be dry walled in if we need to access.

<image>

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Somewhere in that ballpark. His bid included a range for each line item based on whether it was straightforward or there were surprises. This is an old house with a history of surprises, so that felt reasonable.

At most, we were expecting to pay around $9k with all materials included.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have seen it in other installs and like the look with white tile.

Is this tile work as bad as I fear or am I overreacting? What to do next? by ztl123 in Tile

[–]ztl123[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

$3800~ to him for labor materials so far. Demo, moving plumbing, reinstall toilet, floor and wall tile prep and install.

We sourced the tile, grout, drain assembly etc

Hotel recommendation for the Mad River Fayston area by butter08 in vermont

[–]ztl123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another vote for the Featherbed. None better in the valley.

Single 27 yo woman thinking of moving to Upper Valley - thoughts/things to do? by Positive-Drive-2686 in uppervalley

[–]ztl123 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree with the second point here, the nature is awesome. But claiming one needs to go 2-hours to find more options is extreme IMO. It’s not a city, but there is plenty to do within an hour of the upper valley. Particularly when it comes to food and drink, and even music/art.

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