First, we want to briefly commend the quality workmanship of Randy Shores, owner of 1st Class Countertops. There was only one seam, and the granite was so well matched it appears almost seamless. We visited Randy's shop to leave the required 50% front-end deposit. We genuinely like him and were initially quite excited about doing business with him.
The most important part of our review concerns the clean-up fiasco, the unbelievable demo/installation mess left behind due to Randy's cutting the opening for the stovetop inside the house with no protective barrier. Absolutely nothing was cleaned up afterward. Three weeks later, we're still cleaning up, hiring outside help, and dealing with the toxic dust that settled into and on literally everything. The fine dust covered not only everything in the kitchen itself, but also -- with our home's open floor plan -- the entrance area, the music room, dining area, an open hallway, living room, and den. Only the 3 bedrooms with closed doors were spared; every other room and literally everything in them were covered in a thick layer of toxic dust. The ceiling fans, chandeliers, Oriental rugs, hardwood floors, all door frames, baseboards, valuable works of art, a rare books collection, grand piano, heirloom furniture (including 13 upholstered pieces), were totally covered with a thick layer of the fine, toxic dust. All drapes for 11 windows were totally permeated with the dust, requiring removal, cleaning, and re-hanging. The damage is overwhelming!
Randy received a trusted recommendation where our slabs of granite were purchased, and we read every review on his website with many glowing reports of the thorough clean-up afterward. Verbatim quotes: "came in and took out the old countertops without making a big mess; they even clean up everything before they leave; an excellent job cleaning up after the job; I expected to come home to a mess, but everything was as clean as it was when I left this morning. I couldn't be happier. They cleaned up every little mess."
We had every reasonable expectation that these 5-star reviews reflected the quality of what to expect. Nothing could have been further from the truth! In addition to already hiring 6 men to assist us, we've personally spent more than 150 total man-hours on the massive clean-up, and there is still considerably more to do. We've spent more than $1,000 out-of-pocket on the clean-up, more than half to immediately have our duct work and all vents cleaned out, because the granite dust was circulating into every room of our home.
We are 75 years old with serious health issues and tested Covid19-positive back in November, which took a physical and emotional toll. We're still not fully back to normal. The health implications of what Randy did are beyond staggering. When you inhale the silica dust particles, they scar your lungs causing a disabling, irreversible, and incurable lung disease called silicosis. They wore state-of-the-art masks/gear to protect themselves from the toxic dust cloud that erupted.! But nothing whatsoever was done to protect our home and -- most importantly -- our health.
We sincerely hope this review will be constructive for Randy and all who read it. Communication is key; and honest, open communication was almost entirely lacking. There was nothing at all in the signed contract about cutting granite INSIDE OUR HOME. Randy showed up for the job 3 hours later than he said he would, and night fell. Then they just left, no clean-up taking place.
A sister recently had new counters put in, and the installer built a tent of heavy-mill plastic 360 degrees from floor to ceiling as he cut inside. When Randy returned to fix 2 other important issues, we asked why he didn't take any protective measures. He insisted he always follows "industry standards", but those clearly say to cut either off-site or outside; or, if it must be cut inside, take protective measures to completely contain the toxic dust. Randy said he'd never seen or heard of such, so we showed him pictures! He never explained his process to warn us of the inevitable outcome. It is definitely not the "industry standard" to leave a toxic mess behind. Randy, to his credit, rebated $200 to help with the massive clean-up; but as our costs continue to mount, that sum, while sincerely appreciated, seems a drop in the bucket.
Never having gone through anything like this before, we tried to do the research/ask all the right questions at the outset. But we ultimately placed our trust in the professionalism of this young man and his company. And we paid a very great price for doing so. Our property and our health were egregiously violated. All potential customers who read this should learn from our most unfortunate experience and only go with a company that takes all the measures necessary to protect you and the integrity of your home.
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