Alpine Ceramic Tile

Review Alpine Tile and Ceramics 490 Henderson Dr. Date: January 21, 2009

Backsplash Tile Installation – Kitchen & Baths 1615 Hird Ct. –Regina

We purchased very expensive glass tile from Alpine for the backsplash for our new kitchen cupboards and bathroom vanities.

The Alpine installers set the tile on December 17,2008 and the grout was placed on December 18. The crew that did the work on December 17 did a satisfactory job and left the house in the same condition as they found it.

However the young man sent on December 18 to grout the tile was obviously inexperienced or perhaps just didn’t care. He left a mess that took us over two hours to clean up. The quartz countertops were covered with grout, as were the walls which had to be washed. Not one of the electrical outlets, switches or cover plates were secured properly and he had managed to somehow blow one of the electrical breakers. On top of all this, while in our home, in clear view of our daughter, he had the audacity to kick my daughters’ 1 year old puppy who he thought was getting in his way.

The grouting of the tile around the exposed edges looked like a 5 year old finished it. The top edges of the tile in the bathroom had the mesh backing of the tile sticking up through the grout.

Initially believing the work was not complete my wife called Alpine Tile and I believe talked to Ian on December 19, 2008 to see when the installer would be returning to finish the job. To our dismay he told her this was normal and that she would have to clean off the film, smooth out the exposed edges and seal the tile. Although it was not detailed specifically, this is work that should have been covered in the original estimate. However, my wife and I attempted to do as he suggested but we are not experienced glass tile layers and the results speak for themselves.

Frustrated, my wife called Alpine a second time on January 5. Installers were sent back on Janury13 to finish the work done on December 19. The installers told us there are no transition strips that will work to finish the edges of glass tile of this thickness. Alpine billed us for transition strips even though they must have known they would not work on this tile.

The final product looks almost identical to what was left on December 19. With the exception of a little more damage to the freshly painted drywall which I will now have to repair and paint as a result of the carelessness of the installers.
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Listed below are several questions that in hind sight should have asked prior to paying the bill

1.Why were we not informed when we bought the glass tile that there was no way to finish the exposed edges? I’m certain it would have changed the product she purchased.

2. Why were we billed for transition strips to finish the exposed edges when we are told by their installers such a product doesn’t exist?

3. Why is there such distinct difference in the quality and care of the installation based on the installer they happen to send?

4. Why are their installers not given clear instructions respecting quality expectations, clean up and just basic appropriate behavior in a customer’s home?

5. Is it Alpine's expectation that the customer is responsible to finish the tile installation to a presentable condition by doing such things as cleaning off the film and forming the exposed grout edges?

I did a quick calculation of the time the installers spent doing the installation vs the cost and it worked out to in excess of $100.00/hr. Granted a rough estimate, but based on the final product we are left with, it really makes us wonder what we were paying them to do.

6.Why do they not spend as much time ensuring they are delivering a quality product as they do issuing bills before the work’s done or phoning for payment a day after the repairs are complete? They wouldn’t have to worry about payment, at least not from me, if they had done a decent job the first time.

7.Why is it they sell high end product like glass tile yet do not have installers who have the knowledge, expertise or ability to provide a high end finished installation?

Based on the results of January 13 and against my better judgment we did decide to pay the invoice, cut our losses and either finish the job ourselves to the extent possible or hire a contractor who can finish the job properly.

If I could have rated Alpine with less than half a star I would have.