Houston Plumbing, Remodeling Contractor Does Shoddy Work

I had my tile wall torn out and bathtub replaced 10 years ago. I asked if they were going to replace any of the rotted wood and they did replace one piece with an old ugly 2 x 4 they had in their truck. I then politely inquired if they planned to change the insulation that had been wet. They said "No problem, if you want to run down to the store and get some we will be glad to put it in." Silly me assumed that replacing the insulation instead of covering up old wet stuff was part of the job. I walked in to check on their progress about 4 pm one evening and saw that my bathroom window was broken. It did have a BB hole in it and no doubt broke when they were pounding on the wall to remove the old tile. Not really their fault but it is January and unusually cold for Houston. I asked them if they were going to replace the window. Sure if you go get some glass. I got to the store just before closing and got the glass. I wasn't upset that they broke it, I was upset that they didn't tell me. Had I not walked in when I did, it would have been a very cold night. Well they finished their half assed job after 3 days. The last day I had to run across town to get one piece of floor tile from their supplier. They were one piece short and I didn't want them to have to come back for a 4th day.

A week or so after they completed the job I noticed a bad smell and opened up the bathroom access panel. There is a bowl cut in the slab under the tub drain pipe that can hold several gallons of water. It was full because they had installed the overflow drain wrong. They came back out and fixed it. I hate to imagine what would have happened if there had been no access panel or no place to put one. Rip out the tile again? It would have been hard to determine what the problem was if I didn't have an access panel to see under the tub. Would have been very hard to convince them to rip out the their tile job and redo it.

They used no caulk anywhere. They grouted the area between the tile wall and the tub, which I have since learned should never be done. There is stress at this point and caulking should always be used here. Caulking should also be used in the corners where the side walls meet the back wall. They should have taped the joints in the greenrock in the corners. They didn't tape the corners, the grout cracked and water got through. They should have used plumbers putty or caulk around the faucet flanges and the faucet. They used nothing here, so for years little drops of water seeped through. Not enough to cause a visible leak, just enough to get the wood wet day after day after day and cause major rot. They did not seal the grout, nor did they tell me it should be sealed. That was the one thing I did know and did do.

Some movement always occurs in house walls where two different planes come in contact. Movement will cause the grout to crack. This is the reason caulk should be used in the corner where the walls meet. Putting tar paper behind the greenrock or hardibacker that the tile goes on also prevents water from getting through to your studs. This is seldom done yet tar paper is very cheap. A few extra dollars, a little extra time to build a bathroom properly would save thousands of dollars over the years. Why not use treated wood in areas that are prone to leaks and termites?

The company I hired to do the job has been in business for years, they have no complaints against them at the BBB. This is not some fly by night company. They apparently send out untrained people to do the job. Sending untrained people seems to be common practice with contractors. All you see is the finished product on the outside and you think everything is fine. I am not going to mention the contractors name because I feel the quality of work I got is standard practice in Houston. That and the fact that I don't like to be threatened with lawsuits. The purpose of posting this story is to make you aware.

Lesson number one is don't assume you get a professional job just because you hire a professional. Read up on how a job should be done. Ask the contractor what will be done before you hire him and watch to make sure it is done right. You won't know they didn't tape the seams after they have the tile up. Had they taped the seams and used a little plumbers putty, I wouldn't have a wall full of rot. Plumbers putty, caulk, and tape might have added $20.00 to the cost of the job, we aren't talking big money nor does it take that much extra time to apply these things. Due to someone's simple stupidity we are talking thousands of dollars in damage. A friend may recommend a contractor or a contractor may have many referrals saying they did a great job. If you are only looking at the finished product and have no idea about the process, how do you know they did a good job that will last for years. Keep in mind that many people move every 3 to 5 years and aren't even in their home long enough to know if quality work was done. Contractors know this!

When you are looking at a house to buy, inspect the bathtubs closely. If there is an access panel use a flashlight and a mirror to look in the wall. I didn't realize just how much rot I had until I stuck a mirror in the wall and could see the studs in the corner. If the seller is making repairs, make sure they are done right. If you hire a contractor to make repairs, keep an eye on them and make sure they know how to do it right. Often a salesman will come out to give you a price on the job, he may know very well how things should be done. That doesn't mean the people they send out to actually do the job are well informed.