I signed a contract with Apex on 7/3/24 and paid a 50% ($6,000.00) deposit. On 7/8/24 I received an email outlining the next steps, and letting me know that I would be receiving a "preliminary notice." A few days later I received via regular mail an Arizona Preliminary 20 day lien notice. On 7/16/24 an installation manager came out to verify measurements. I asked about the lien and said that I was very upset that Apex took this step after I'd signed a contract and paid a huge deposit. I was told that Apex had had issues with non-payment and that this was standard practice. I also asked about containing the bathroom so that my bedroom would remain clean and I was assured that the mess would be contained to the bathroom and that the installers would clean up afterwards.
Installation was on 8/28/24 and 8/29/24. It was incredibly messy, with construction dust all over my bedroom and bed. There was also a terrible smell from the bathroom and walk-in closet that backs onto the shower. The installers apologized for the mess and told me the smell would dissipate. The shower looked nice so I paid the $6,000.00 balance and signed the completion paperwork. A few days later I received the lien waiver via email.
The first time I used the shower the shower head and door both leaked, and the shower pan was dangerously slick when wet. Upon closer inspection the caulking was atrocious (smeared and messy in places, thin with gaps elsewhere), the glass door and metal door frame were chipped/scratched, and the wall with the niche not only had a chip in it but it wasn't bonded to the sheetrock properly. And the smell was getting worse, seeping out of the caulked seams and filling the entire shower stall.
Apex tightened the shower head, replaced the glass, re-caulked, added non-slip stickers to the shower pan, and replaced the wall (at this time Apex determined that the noxious smell was coming from the "supertach" bonding agent they use and that it should go in about four weeks). Yet the door still leaked, the niche wasn't reinstalled properly, the caulking was still unprofessional, the stickers were ugly, uncomfortable and not easily rinsed from hair, and the smell was getting worse.
Over the course of ten weeks I kept hoping that the smell would improve and that the leaking and cosmetic issues would be fixed. But Apex failed at every attempt. And after ten weeks of keeping my bedroom window open, using an air purifier (a Dyson that kept registering high levels of VOCs and needed frequent carbon filter replacements), and using the odor eliminators that Apex suggested, my health was suffering. Confusingly the smell got worse when using the second shower and also when the a/c and exhaust fans were on; so I paid a plumber to check for leaks and run a sewer smoke test to make sure the sewer vent hadn't been damaged, and I had my a/c company check the a/c and exhaust fans. Everything was fine, so the only explanation for the noxious smell was the bonding agent, but it wasn't dissipating as Apex insisted it would. The smell burnt my nostrils and chest, made my tongue burn and feel raw, gave me headaches and made me feel dizzy and nauseous, and forced me at the nine week mark to move into my neighbor's house.
At the beginning of November 2024 I asked Apex to remove the defective product and replace it with a shower that doesn't cause noxious smells, doesn't leak, has a non-slip shower pan, and has neat caulking. Apex's response was unsatisfactory. The ROC told me it would be at least four weeks until they could send someone out, and that I couldn't alter the shower until then; so I did the only thing I could to protect my health, I paid a contractor to come in and rip the Apex shower out and start over. (The Apex shower spent ten days in a green dump bag in my front yard, and still gave off a noxious smell. And a small piece of it is currently in my neighbor's garage where it still smells after almost six-months.) I'm now back in my home with a non-noxious smelling, non-leaking, non-slip, professional looking shower, and my respiratory system is on the mend. I'm just out the $12,000.00 I paid Apex. read more