Reposting on Yelp because they were deleted on Google & FB: I am by no means happy or eager to write this review. The last thing my husband and I wanted was to be unsatisfied with our full bathroom renovation after years of saving; but here I am. A&G Flooring/All About Tile/Howell Kitchen & Bath - all owned by Carmine DiMarco.
Initially, we had good communication and I felt confident in my choice of contractor. When they began laying down the tile & adding the finishing touches is when it all went downhill.
To name a few...
- Our grout is now falling apart and crumbling everywhere. The grout is falling into the bath while we bathe our babies.
- They installed a vent fan and we asked for it to vent out the soffit to the outside. They advised us that it was complete and Carmine approved. My husband then crawled into the attic and found that they in fact DID NOT do it correctly and vented it into the attic which can cause molding issues.
- They provided & installed PEX piping in the shower wall when copper was to be used according to the manufacturer's instructions (which they clearly didn't read). The only way we knew that it was wrong was because the shower head was leaking water when the tub was being filled. And of course, we found this out AFTER the job was done. Carmine first indicated that it was the valve aka that it was the Moen product we purchased and that we'd have to go back to the manufacturer. After some research, my husband concluded that the wrong pipe was installed. Sure enough, Carmine & his workers came back, ripped out the tiles and once they used copper, the faucet worked properly. This is knowledge that he should know if he has been in business for 20+ years. At least he should know how to read directions before beginning a job.
- The tile and grout laying in the shower was uneven. I had to point this out to him. It was incredibly sloppy work. They redid a bunch of sections but at that point, the guys wanted to leave and finish out our job and rushed it. I was fed up and told them to leave.
- The sink faucet was leaking after they left one day - of course we were blamed for it that we touched it but in reality, they didn't seal it properly.
- The spackle and painting were horrendous and I was blamed that it was because I chose the color white. There were imperfections everywhere and Carmine admitted that we were correct and it needed to be redone.
- The door was installed improperly.
- Carmine wasn't at our home the whole time or at least half the time. I had to ask him if he was coming to inspect. At the end of the days he should have at least come back to inspect their work. But it became clear that it was our responsibility. When we advised him of issues - he then would say "yea you're right - I even found MORE problems than you did". Like - seriously?
- Were blamed by the workers that we didn't purchase enough molding; but in reality, they cut it incorrectly and we found the damaged pieces on our lawn.
- They broke our vanity light. I indicated that it was in perfect condition, Carmine said that since it was from Wayfair, it's cheap and most likely came broken.
- They cut into our vanity to fit the pipe. I authorized it because there was no other way and they cut it extremely uneven and said that it looked fine.
Carmine will argue that he went above and beyond for us. Yes - verbally he went above and beyond but didn't follow through in the craftsmanship. He didn't stand by his workers and either blamed us alongside them for issues and/or blamed his workers for the wrongdoing. He credited us $1395 for a new vanity and light but honestly, we would have much rather wanted a job well done. We understand that 100% perfection isn't feasible but ... something close to it? So sloppy. read more