On Wednesday August 26, 2020 I finally got to have my day in court with the owners of Cultured…read moreMarble Specialists; Tye Cothron and Pat Medina. And while I didn't get a judgement for everything I was seeking in damages, I did prevail and was awarded the refund in full that I had been denied by, who are in my opinion, the worst contractors I've ever hired to perform work in my home.
CMS installed a marble tub-surround on Oct 23, 2019... by Nov 7 I discovered that the panels of marble were not properly bonded to the walls. Not only did large sections of the panels flex, but if you pushed on them you could hear them knocking against the wallboard behind the panel. And I'm not talking about small areas, I'm talking about 50%-70% of the large back panel, and nearly all of one of the smaller end panels.
Tye is a nice enough guy, but his wife, Pat Medina, is the human equivalent of 20 grit sandpaper... the most abrasive human being I've ever had the displeasure of working with and an absolute customer service nightmare! Her husband told me, when I complained about her, that she 'used to work in government contracts and thinks everyone is out to get her'. That's who Pat is... someone who thinks everyone is out to get her, so she seems to think it's necessary to 'get them' first!
Upon making her aware of the problem, her first response was to ask me if I wanted a refund and to have the material removed. I'd had the work done for little more than 2 weeks, so no... I didn't want to have my shower torn apart again. When I told her this she insisted that they would refund my money and remove the material, and when I agreed she told me that their lawyer would have to draw up a document for me to sign 'to protect their reputation'.
If they really cared about their reputation, they should have done good work in the first place, and fixed what wasn't done right in the second.
After insisting on the refund, Pat tried to tell me that the marble knocking against the wall was normal. She and Tye then tried to blame this on my having leaned against the panels. Then they tried to blame it on the wallboard not being 'perfectly flat' (this is remodel work, there is no "perfectly flat" in remodel work!). Then Tye tried to pitch a repair that involved gluing trim pieces inside the shower, in the corners of the surround, to keep the movement of the panels from breaking the water-tight integrity of the caulk. Of course I refused... this was purely cosmetic and didn't address the underlying issues.
All this time they REFUSED to cover the matter under their warranty, and reneged on the refund when I declined to sign any document their lawyer might produce to secure my silence. Even though, after having gotten nowhere for weeks, I did ask them to go ahead and have their lawyer send me the document... which of course never happened.
Basically, CMS and its agents, Pat Medina and Tye Cothron, failed to install their product in a manner that meets the minimum industry standard (that's what the judge said!), refused to fix the underlying installation failure per the language of their warranty agreement, insisted on refunding my money, and then held that refund hostage in order to coerce my silence in an attempt to prevent me from posting this review of my experience. I've withheld this review until after I received a ruling from the court and now, with that ruling secured against CMS, Tye Cothron, and Pat Medina, I no longer feel bound in any way from sharing my experience.
If I were given a choice between doing business with Cultured Marble Specialists and gouging my own eyes out with a grapefruit spoon...
I'd have to think about it!
