Borchert Kitchen and Bath (Note the new name 2017 Lincorp / Borchert) started a remodel in our 2nd floor master bathroom suite in May 2015, completed early June 2015. Within 2 weeks we noticed water damage to a wood floor, at the doorway of our newly tiled bathroom. Then we saw water on the closet floor, next to the shower wall and water damage to our dining room ceiling. We stopped using the shower and notified Borchert of the problem.
We were very patient for three months, as they sent out their "experts" to look at the shower. We would call to follow up and they would send someone else out. Borchert's office staff would tell us that they needed to be sure what caused the leak before they could proceed. Early September, Borchert sent out their new foreman RJ. He looked at the water damage and returned on September 10th with some floor tiles. His plan was to remove/break out a few tiles just outside the shower to explore the mud base. When he found out that the current inventory of tiles from the distributor did not match the installed tiles, he packed up and left. If a color match was not available, a partial re-do would not be feasible. A few days later we called to follow up and we were told that Ron, the owner, would be handling the issue from then on. We received an e-mail from him offering to fix the problem by removing "the old grout at floor and wall intersects-install silicone where grout is being removed". We declined, as our opinion was that there was a more serious issue here.
Three months now without the use of our shower..
We e-mailed Ron to tell him that we were going to bring in our own "expert" to look at the job. We contacted another contractor and told him where we had spotted the water damage. He came out the next day and within 20 minutes of his arrival, he was performing one of three recommended water leak tests. He taped over the drain, filled the shower floor with 1.5" of water. We saw water on the closet floor within 15 minutes. The water was traveling under the tiles and seeping out in several places. He suspected that the problem had to do with the waterproofing of the base material, which should have been applied before the tile was set. The location of the ceiling damage in our dining room proved that the water was traveling under the tile for at least 2 feet from the shower area. He diagnosed the probable problem within 35 minutes based on all the evidence and the water test!
At this point, we hired a lawyer and he asked to read thru the job contract, which was 11 pages. We learned that when we signed the contract for the bathroom job, we gave up our right to take Borchert to court, we would have to proceed with arbitration. On November 20, 2015, we requested a meeting with Ron. We discussed the possibility of mold developing on the sub floor and a few other issues regarding the installation of the shower and the substituted material used in the installation. We reported the findings of the contractor that we hired to assess the water leak. We told him that we had a quote to tear out and re-do the bathroom. Ron asked for a copy of the quote and said that he would contact us in the near future. A couple days later, he agreed to cover the cost of the re-do and WE would hire the new contractor.
It took another month and many e-mails to finally settle with Borchert. The plumber, a sub-contractor for Borchert, filed a claim with his insurance company and we had to deal with them. That was another big issue.
We were not happy with the compensation from Borchert for the re-do and dining room ceiling repair, which fell short of the quote that we gave Ron at our November meeting. We felt that if we didn't accept what was offered, we would have to take the next step: Proceeding with Arbitration to get a fair payoff from them would be expensive. It was Dec. 23, 2015! 6 Months.
We hired the new contractor and went thru the second complete tear out, re-model and ceiling repair. The sub floor in front of the shower was still wet and had to be replaced, as we suspected. We found strong evidence that the tile contractor did not install the waterproofing agent Gold Guard on the mud base ...We now have a shower that is waterproof!
Our first visit to Borchert Kitchen and Bath was in August 2014. When Bill and Denise still owned the business. I was impressed with the showroom and Bill's reputation. I didn't learn that he had sold the business until my second or third visit with Ronda and I had paid the $700 deposit. We were happy with the look of the remodel at its completion. It was the way this issue was handled that we are unhappy about. It should never have taken 6 months to settle this problem. read more
