Well, here's the other reason why I hate my white tile floors.
See that? That is in the middle of my kitchen/dining area. If I had taken a picture of it yesterday, you would've seen that the tiles had popped up off the glue and buckled- causing a kind of little "tile tent" in the middle of my floor. Here's the really stupid thing: This is the 3rd? 4th? time that this has happened since our house was built in 2004. Each time, we called the builder who brought out the tile guy, who redid his work. Each time the builder and the tile guy acted baffled by what was going on and hinted that it was somehow our fault (WHAT?) that the tile was popping off the concrete. However, they always agreed to just redo the work free of cost- out of the goodness of their own hearts.
Bless them. (If you didn't read that with a sarcastic tone, then go back and reread it accordingly. Because that's how I meant it- sarcastically.)
So this story gets stupider. After talking to our neighbors, we found that there were not one, not two, not three, but FOUR other homeowners on our block with our model that have had the same problem.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Needless to say, the tile company and the private builder are both out of business and nowhere to be found. Home warranty was only good for a year after move in date (How stupid and naive we were when we bought this house). Homeowner insurance doesn't cover this. Our neighbors who did begin litigation got their floor redone, but they ended up paying more out of pocket to lawyers.
So.
I started calling around and thankfully got some good recommendations from friends. After talking with two different tilers yesterday to get estimates, we found out that the guy not only used cheap glue, but he didn't use proper proportions when mixing the grout. What's more (and this is the root of the entire problem) is that we learned that he tiled directly onto the expansion joints in our floor. Someone who knew what he was doing would've known to put down an "uncoupling mat" between the joints and the tile, which would have absorbed the energy and movement from the earth, instead of just letting the pressure build up in the tiles until they popped.
Good to know.
The silver lining in all this mess is that this happened at a time of year when we have our tax refund handy to help with the expenses. I've been trying to focus on that, instead of just complaining and whining about the situation. However, sometimes I let myself slide into that nice, dark, place deep down where rolling around in the negative muck of it all gratifies. (Why does the dark side feel so gratifying? And why does being all Pollyanna about this feel so irritating? These are things I wish I knew the answer to.)
While I was down there I started thinking about gas prices. Then I started thinking about what a friend of mine said when I was complaining about the current cost of living. She said "Well, you shouldn't have had so many kids.", which really, was the most unhelpful stupid statement ever.
(By the way, YOU. You who said that to me- I'm reconsidering our friendship, okay? You suck.)
Then I started thinking about how, last I checked this was a free country and why should I have to feel bad about having 4 kids and a floor to fix?
Then I went out to the gas station and was cut off by a Snowbird (not an actual bird, I'm referring to the retirees who live part time in our desert during the winter months) from Washington and I especially hate Washingtonians right now because the last time Mr. C went to Costco, one yelled at him for not returning the shopping cart to the proper place. Way to crap on someone's day, Washiontonian dude. Mr. C usually does return the shopping carts, but he had a car full of kids waiting and really WHO CARES?
Then it occurred to me that I may just be the tiniest bit hormonal. So I decided to just vent it all out on this post and spend the rest of the weekend holed up in my house with it's crappy floors until I can be nice again. A glass or two of wine may help. And yes, kettle chips.
Always the kettle chips.
Bless them. (If you didn't read that with a sarcastic tone, then go back and reread it accordingly. Because that's how I meant it- sarcastically.)
So this story gets stupider. After talking to our neighbors, we found that there were not one, not two, not three, but FOUR other homeowners on our block with our model that have had the same problem.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Needless to say, the tile company and the private builder are both out of business and nowhere to be found. Home warranty was only good for a year after move in date (How stupid and naive we were when we bought this house). Homeowner insurance doesn't cover this. Our neighbors who did begin litigation got their floor redone, but they ended up paying more out of pocket to lawyers.
So.
I started calling around and thankfully got some good recommendations from friends. After talking with two different tilers yesterday to get estimates, we found out that the guy not only used cheap glue, but he didn't use proper proportions when mixing the grout. What's more (and this is the root of the entire problem) is that we learned that he tiled directly onto the expansion joints in our floor. Someone who knew what he was doing would've known to put down an "uncoupling mat" between the joints and the tile, which would have absorbed the energy and movement from the earth, instead of just letting the pressure build up in the tiles until they popped.
Good to know.
The silver lining in all this mess is that this happened at a time of year when we have our tax refund handy to help with the expenses. I've been trying to focus on that, instead of just complaining and whining about the situation. However, sometimes I let myself slide into that nice, dark, place deep down where rolling around in the negative muck of it all gratifies. (Why does the dark side feel so gratifying? And why does being all Pollyanna about this feel so irritating? These are things I wish I knew the answer to.)
While I was down there I started thinking about gas prices. Then I started thinking about what a friend of mine said when I was complaining about the current cost of living. She said "Well, you shouldn't have had so many kids.", which really, was the most unhelpful stupid statement ever.
(By the way, YOU. You who said that to me- I'm reconsidering our friendship, okay? You suck.)
Then I started thinking about how, last I checked this was a free country and why should I have to feel bad about having 4 kids and a floor to fix?
Then I went out to the gas station and was cut off by a Snowbird (not an actual bird, I'm referring to the retirees who live part time in our desert during the winter months) from Washington and I especially hate Washingtonians right now because the last time Mr. C went to Costco, one yelled at him for not returning the shopping cart to the proper place. Way to crap on someone's day, Washiontonian dude. Mr. C usually does return the shopping carts, but he had a car full of kids waiting and really WHO CARES?
Then it occurred to me that I may just be the tiniest bit hormonal. So I decided to just vent it all out on this post and spend the rest of the weekend holed up in my house with it's crappy floors until I can be nice again. A glass or two of wine may help. And yes, kettle chips.
Always the kettle chips.
That sucks. We decided to participate in a class action lawsuit. It took FOR.EV.ER. It finally settled, I signed all my rights away. I've yet to see a penny. So I look up the lawyers online (you'd think that I would have done that before diving in, but no) and it seems this is typical of this law office. I have no idea when I'll see my money. I may have to get a lawyer to get my money from the lawyers. Then there goes my money.
ReplyDeleteAn on another note, I totally hear you about the shopping cart thing. I usually look for a spot that's next to a cart stall. If not, the kids take priority and the cart gets left wherever. That's life.
sorry you're having to deal with all this. super frustrating. I get all kinds of looks from people when I'm out with my four littles. Nobody has said anything mean yet but i'm sure it's coming. also, the Costco by your house doesnt have enough cart return thingies. Especially for the spots far from the entrance.
ReplyDelete-Karen