>U Mom Knows Best: Bathroom Renovation Problems

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Bathroom Renovation Problems


Our bathroom renovation is at a stand still yet again.


  I was so excited that the tile workers were scheduled to start the work the Wednesday before New Year's eve. That meant my bathroom would be done by the 1st of the year. Well, we had some major setbacks and this is how my bathroom looks on January 2nd, 2017. What you are looking at is the shower with no tile. The place that we were using (Raby Tile) called us the night before the work was to be done and informed us that the tile guy was finishing up another job and would not be there until the next day. That meant work would be delayed by a day and that my husband only had one day to get his work done after they did the tile work. That was our first frustration.

  Frustration number two Our next frustration came on Friday when the tile guy showed up to do the work. He looked at the drain on the shower and told us that the drain we had placed it would not work. We had to add more pipe for the basin we bought and that we needed a plumber to fix it in order for the work to start. I was not happy as we were told three times by the measuring guy that our drain was fine. Also, our plumber that we used was busy and we would not be able to get the work done that day. Thankfully the tile store found a plumber who was able to fix the pipe that day and we did not have to pay him, the tile store did.

Frustration number three The tile store told us that the tile worker would be completing the job Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. So when the tile worker came on Friday, I asked him if he would be working on Saturday and Sunday. He told me he would not be as it was a holiday weekend and he would finish the work on Monday and Tuesday. He also informed me that the tile store never told him that he would be working on the weekend. I let the measure guy, who was our go-to person, know about my frustration about this lack of communication. Now that meant my husband would not be able to complete his portion of the work until January 7th.

Frustration number four On Monday the tile guy shows up with the tile and some guys to do the work. He opens the boxes of tile up and we discover that the black tile that we ordered is a brown tile and not what we ordered. There also is not enough of the wrong tile to do the job even though the floor has been measured several times. We immediately call the store, only to discover that the warehouse is closed. We also found out that one of the employees saw the wrong tile on the order and assumed that since in was called Noche (night) it was a black tile. Hello, we ordered the Nero (black) tile and why did he not confirm this with the person who ordered the tile. Also, why did not the measure guy show us a sample of the tile when the order came in. The measure guy came to our house two times after the tile came it to confirm other items, one of which tile was going where. I had clearly said the black goes on the floor (never said brown.)

Frustration number five My dining room is filled with boxes and other items waiting to go into my bathroom so I can not use it. My bedroom has been cluttered since July and is even more cluttered with the vanity top. I have also rescheduled my work several times to accommodate the workers. I know I work at home but I have not been able to work as I have been dealing with all this mess.

Frustration number six My husband is ready to cancel the work with the tile store and return the items that we bought. That would delay the project even more as we would have to find another store to do the work.


So now I have no idea when my bathroom will be done. I just hope that the Raby Tile will fix the mess of the wrong tile mess up. We trusted them with the work of our bathroom as they had done our kitchen tile 12 years ago. Now I am beginning to wonder if we should have checked out other places. This has been a long frustrating remodeling project. I will hopefully, one day, be able to share with you pictures of my new completed bathroom.

Read previous posts about my bathroom renovation.


16 comments:

Sarah Bailey said...

I just know how it feels to be frustrated a lot of times and rescheduling work several times to accommodate the workers. Just have more patience because it will make you less aggressive and angry. Look at ways you can successfully manage your frustrations to make them work for you rather than against you.

Unknown said...

Tara, Yes it's very, very frustrating but honestly, it's more common than not. The most important thing is patience to insure the right job is done, as that's what you'll live with for years.

I think it's time for you to have a long talk with the store owner. Why? Clearly they've messed up but they also took ownership for the plumbing problem & resolved it properly. Here are the questions I would ask:
- How are you going to insure right tile was now ordered?
- How are you going to confirm you have the correct tile quantities ordered?
- How are you going to expedite delivery of the correct tile?
- How are you going to juggle your calendar to install my tile as soon as possible?
- How confident are you in the installer (they're almost always sub-contractors), and that his schedule delay was for valid reasons ... and he puts quality first?

Happy to continue to offer advice on my Facebook, Savvy Homeowner group ... if you like.

Unknown said...

PS Meant to add at the bottom of my last comment, that if you're not comfortable with the answers you get (and someone coming out to re-measure), than your husband is right & you should switch to another company.

Unknown said...

Wow, you have a lot of patience! I really hope the tile store fixes the problem quickly and you'll have the bathroom done as soon as possible.

Unknown said...

Oh my word! I am so sorry your having so many set backs. We did a little renovating as well this past year. Removed a baseboard heating unit to discover some horrible 70's wallpaper.

AiringMyLaundry said...

Oh man, I hope that tile company steps up. We've been wanting to re-do our bathroom but this frightens me, ha. I'd be miffed if it took forever like this.

Elizabeth O. said...

That's a tough ordeal but at least they are repairing it. There will always be cases like this it's just rough that you had to go through it. I hope things get better.

Emma Eats & Explores said...

Ugh so frustrating - I hate it when that happens. Our water stopped working for a week so I know how inconvenient it is. I had to go and shower in the gym which is definitely not ideal. Hope it gets sorted soon!

Anosa said...

oh my goodness, what a terrible experience I hope everything with the tiles get sorted and your bathroom gets fixed.

PR Daily PH said...

Oh that sad. I hope it will be fixed in no time.

Mhaan | www.mommyrockininstyle.com

Kiwi said...

I am so sorry you brought the new year frustrated and without a renovated bathroom. Sounds very inconvenient and if they know whats good for them since you have a blogging platform that they fix it soon so they dont continue to get bad reviews.

Unknown said...

Omg, that's not good. I really hope you can fix that soon and finish your bathroom.

Dana Vento said...

That weekend schedule sounds whack but reading the others, it just sounds like a complete mess and I know how that feels. I hope everything's worth it in the end and they really should fix them.

Lisa RIos said...

We need a lot to do with our bathroom as well and I guess we need to be extra alert to avoid such frustrations that you have faced in getting them done. Sorry you have to go through this and I wish the work gets completed at the earliest!

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