I am an extremely satisfied customer of ProTech Bathtub Refinishing. In March 2012, Victor Ortiz refinished my bathtub and did a great job. But, it made the tile around it look so bad that I had the tile replaced a few months later. The new tile exposed edges of the tub that were hidden the first time Victor refinished it. So, I asked Victor if he could return and touch it up. He explained that it would have to be redone entirely, but offered to do it for a reasonable price. He made my old, scuffed-up cast iron tub look brand new. And it has stayed looking new for the past 12 months.
While he was refinishing the tub for the second time, I showed him a crack in the floor tile that was caused by a rotten floor joist. I was in the process of removing and replacing it myself and he offered to help me finish the job. The joist was rotten and cracked at both ends near two large knots. And it was bearing the weight to two adjacent joists that must support an old cast iron tub that weighs at least 300 lbs empty.
I got most of the old joist out the way by the time Victor joined me to finish the job. The last few pieces near the top plate were very difficult for me. But, Victor removed them in about 10 minutes.
The really big challenges we faced came while threading the 12-foot 4"x8" beam through a myriad of wires, gas pipes and air ducts so that it would sit on the top plates while being flush with the plywood sub-floor. Through it all Victor was undaunted. It was Victor who came up with the master stroke of using a vent hole in the exterior wall to get the joist into place. The hole was not obvious because it was occupied by an air duct before Victor saw the opportunity that it presented. It was just wide enough to accommodate the beam.
We wedged a 2"x4" from below to elevate the beam so that we could jam the shims under it. Both the new joist and tile floor above is between the lines for the length of the beam.
We solved an astounding variety of problems that required many different tools.
We started at 4pm after Victor had spent 3 hours refinished the tub. We didn't finish replacing the joist until 11pm. There were so many obstacles. Along the way I developed a deep respect for Victor's talent and character. He is a very determined, creative, resourceful and skillful craftsman who is a pleasure to have around. I would not hesitate to hire and/or work with ProTech again for any construction job. read more