Burkholder's was paid to remove an old fiberglass tub in our primary bathroom and replace it with a…read moretiled shower enclosure, They were also paid to replace the old floor with luxury vinyl tile. Their price was high, but on par with other contractors. Burkholder's sales staff is very professional and their installer is very skilled. However, there were issues.
When the installer cut out the old fiberglass shower enclosure, he did nothing to contain the dust. He did not hang plastic or use an air filtration system. Also, he did not have enough tarps to cover the entire floor, so roughly one third of the floor was not protected.
Before the installer was about to grout the shower, I learned he was planning to grout the corners and other areas of a shower where dissimilar construction materials meet. Having done many home improvement projects over the years, I was fairly confident those areas should be caulked and not grouted. But I wanted to be certain, so I called the grout manufacturer, Laticrete. I spoke to two technical representatives (one used to work as a professional tile installer), and both advised against grouting those areas because the grout will crack.
So, I told the installer to use color matched caulk instead of grout in those areas. He said Burkholder's has never had a problem with the grout cracking, but they would order the caulk that matches the grout. When I returned later to check on his progress, I noticed the entire shower was grouted. I asked him about that and he said the owner instructed him to grout the entire shower and caulk over those areas later.
Applying caulk on top of grout is also wrong and something I confirmed with Laticrete. Grout is a porous surface, so there is a high likelihood the caulk will separate from the grout and mold will form under the caulk. I questioned the owner about this in a text and he wrote, "We always caulk after grouting, with no issues." Not true, according to the installer. They never caulk their tiled shower enclosures.
The owner knew what he was doing was wrong, but did it anyway. I could have insisted that Burkholder's remove the grout and replace it with color matched caulk, but I was concerned they would do a poor job, just to make a point. So, I asked them to warranty the grout against cracking for 10 years. As expected, they would only agree to warranty the grout for 17 months. The normal warranty is 12 months.
After the job was finished, I asked Burkholder's for their MHIC license number, and they could not produce one. In Maryland, unless you are a subcontractor performing work for an MHIC licensed contractor, you must have an MHIC license to do home improvements. That includes bathroom remodels and installing flooring, other than carpet.
If you decide to use Burkholder's, make sure they are licensed to do the work you want them to perform. Also, know the law and insist they follow it. In Maryland, you can check the status of a home improvement contractor's license by going to: https://www.dllr.state.md.us/cgi-bin/ElectronicLicensing/OP_search/OP_search.cgi?calling_app=HIC::HIC_qselect
