Porter Tile Co

Joy

I give this business 0 stars. I have a rather large tile job done that Mr. Porter said he could do (over 800 sq ft). He pointed out a crack in the concrete (this was in the basement) and that that might result in a problem later. Other than that he got to work and as a large portion of the basement floor was being replaced and the family room which was at the bottom of the stairs going down was where he started first, I was unable to (and told not to) walk on the floor. I could only see the job from the stairway. It took him a week, and he left grout haze on the floors, stating it would be able to be quickly removed with a Swifter mop the next day. From my vantage point on the stairs, it looked fine, however it was so covered with grout haze I didn't see the real problems until he left and I went ahead and got down onto the tile. Approximately 10 minutes after he left, my check to him for installation was cashed (I had called the bank to stop it). I texted or called him, no response. I then contacted the tile store I purchased grout and tile from, who recommended this guy. They said they wanted to come over and take a look at the job. Mr. Porter called me the following day, after I spent at least 90 minutes on my hands and knees cleaning the family room, removing tons of grout haze, only to find that the tile finish was still blotchy. Mr. Porter apologized that I was not happy, offered to come over, and I said I wanted the tile store to look at it first. When 2 guys from the tile store came over, they determined that the job in the family room was very poorly installed, and in the other rooms (2 bedrooms and a hallway), multiple tiles were going to need to be replaced. They sent over another installer they had used in the past and he agreed that the entire family room floor was going to have to be removed and replaced. The blotchiness on the floor was determined to be from latex additive or some epoxy Mr. Porter added to the grout. I was told that would not come off without a special product and buffing it off. So, unlike what Mr. Porter said, that it would mop right up, it is not going to and that will result in more work and cost. I believe he left all of the grout haze on there so I would not notice the problems until he was out of my house and had that check cashed. Every installer I have had out since to give opinions said that with grout that has whatever additive Porter put in it needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible and to have advised me to leave it on overnight was WRONG. Others have commented as I had suggested: that he wanted it left on there to have time to cash the check and not have me notice the poor workmanship. I have now had an inspector for tile out and they basically said this is in the top 10 of the worst tile jobs they have seen. Mr. Porter will not return my money; he claims if he comes over he can pop out a tile here and there and repair the floors. No one who has looked at the family room feels that is possible, and the inspectors said at least 60-70% of the family room would have to be replaced so it wouldn't be worthwhile to do part of it, since it's so much. I received a certified letter from Mr. Porter citing that he advised me that my floor was not in ideal condition for a good job, which is a lie. I never signed off on anything, and the crack he did point out before he started from the house settling could have had a membrane placed over it per multiple people, and that would result in that area not cracking, as he suggested it might in the future. The tile store and I determined that we did not want Mr. Porter to come over and do anything. He also left marks on my doors he rehund with grout, handprints, poured grout water down the toilet and frankly left my house a mess. No one can believe the photos of what the area looked like after he left. I would not recommend this person to work on my or anyone else's home.