I got some phone estimates to get the tile and grout in my living room cleaned and sealed. This is less than 500 sf. I had one guy quote me about $700. I had another guy say that he could do it for between $200-250. Obviously I picked the lower price. The contractor showed up today to do the work. He immediately said that I had a very high-end natural stone tile that he had never seen except for in very upscale homes. My house is NOT upscale by any means. He said that he could clean it, but could not use standard sealer because it would damage the tile. He did tell me that I would see a difference after he cleaned, but it probably would not be what I had in mind. He said to do it right, that he would have to completely strip the tile and use several layers of special sealer. He indicated that it would cost me $1,600 to do and would be about 3-4 days of work for the one room. My BS meter went off. I let him clean the floor only...and he charged me about $100. There is an improvement, but he was right....I don't see much of a difference. I am obviously not happy with the results. He did warn me, so I went ahead and paid him the agreed price. I told him that there was no way that I would be spending $1,600 on that floor. For that price, I am sure that I could completely replace the floor. It sounds like he quoted really low in the hopes that he could convince to hire him for the bigger job. I don't understand how a room that size could take 3-4 days to do. It really sounds like a bait and switch to me. Has anyone had this happen?
This was not bait and switch IMO. He gave you a phone estimate which is just an estimate, not a contract. You said he immediately told you it would cost more than his original estimate. At that point you had the options to tell him you would consider his estimate after you talked to a few other tile cleaners.
If my BS meter was going off I certainly would not have let him clean my floor.
Usually Contractors give you an estimate (on paper), and they come to your home to assess the "job."
In my city, the estimates are free.
Then you pick them or not.
Stone tile, versus ceramic tile... are 2 very different things.
Stone, requires a certain type of sealer.
And if it is stained/dirty, on stone that was not previously sealed or the sealant was not kept up, then it has to be cleaned then sealed again.
Stone sealant does have to be reapplied every so often.
There are different types of stone, some being more porous than others.
ie: there is slate, limestone, travertine, marble, granite, quartz, etc.
And did he say how he would clean the stone? On the phone with you?
Did you tell him... you have STONE flooring? And what kind of stone?
If stone is very stained, (again, some stone is porous) sometimes it cannot be cleaned until it looks like new virgin unused stone.
The bottom line is: a "phone" estimate was given to you. The Contractor(s) did not come out to your home to assess the job. Thus, the Contractor could NOT give you an accurate estimate, of the job and per the type of flooring you have nor the solution to clean it etc.
Hence, once the Contractor did come to your home and saw the situation, the price of the job, changed.
Never.... get just a phone estimate for jobs like this.
Any professional Contractor, will come to your home first (or a professional Estimator comes to your home), to assess it... then give you an estimate. And at that time, the homeowner and the Contractor discusses what needs to be done. BEFORE you actually hire them.
Part of the reason it might take 3-4 days, is that in order to properly seal any sort of tile, especially natural stone, the floor has to be completely dry. So if they are cleaning it first, that wets it all. Particularly if they are removing any previous sealant. That includes the grout. When new grout is applied, they like it to cure for a MINIMUM of 24 hours. Usually they prefer a couple of days. Then, they can apply the sealant. And that too, needs to dry.
Just curious... what are your floors made of? ARE they natural stone? Or are they ceramic or porcelain tile? That would be my first thing to look at. If you have ceramic or porcelain, then I call BS. If you have something else then I would research THAT particular stone (limestone, travertine, marble, or whatever it is). There are differences in the way natural stone is "finished" that can affect what is involved in the sealing process, as well.
I would say that it's best to have them come out and do a free estimate .... sight unseen over the phone, you will never get a true assessment.
I manage an apartment complex and when I have to have work done here I always get 3 estimates, they all come out and look first and then send me their bid. Times are tough right now, so most will do free estimates, you cant get a good estimate over the phone tho, so always have someone come and look first.
Did this guy tell you what type of "high-end" stone this is? He most likely should have been able to tell you if he's been in the business for years. If he couldn't tell you, that's a bit suspect in my book.
If he didn't tell you, you'll have to try and find out what type of stone it is. If your house isn't that old, is there any way to contact the builder and find out? Do other neighbors have that type of stone? If so, you might be able to find out from them. Or, take a picture with your cell phone and bring it to a reputable, specialized flooring place that sells stone. They will probably be able to give you a better idea of what it is and how it should be treated/cleaned.
Ask them if they have anyone they recommend to clean these types of floors.
Then, once you know what it is and if it truly does require special treatment, have 3 reputable companies come to your home and give you an estimate.
I have marble flooring in my kitchen, family room, laundry room (crazy! It was here when we bought the home), entryway, and one of the downstairs bathrooms. These floors do require special treatment that is quite expensive. However, the quote for $1600 sounds a bit high for 500 sq. ft.
I'd definitely be looking for someone else to do the work.
Hope this helps.
Well for starters, you need someone to come to your house to give you an accurate estimate. No way can they give accurate responses without seeing it.
We just ripped out some carpet in a hallway and tiled it with travertine to match the other travertine in the house and we paid the contractor $530. We had already hand picked all the tiles so we spent a total around $700 for about 80SF. It does have 1 coating of sealant on it and hubby will finish out with the sealer.
The same contractor will come out to do our family room which is slightly larger than 500SF with the same travertine. We will hand pick the tiles and we'll need about 300 ($450 minimum), he will do the rest and it is $2000. Just insight on some pricing in my area.
We never ever go with the cheapest estimate... there is a reason they low ball it. You get what you pay for.
Go with your gut!!! I have marble floors which are exactly the kind he was talking about and had that done and it took about 4-6hrs for the entire process....and a lot more square footage was covered(not because I have a big house ;-) just that it's throughout entire house). My total price was $500.00! YOU could see a HUGE difference!!!! I hope you are able to get someone to help you and be honest with you!!!!
Good Luck!!!!!
Ouch! Yes, it sounds like he was trying to take you for a ride! But first of all, that much of a price difference between the two estimates should have been a red flag.
Any time I have anything done, I always check with the Better Business Bureau - if they're not with them, it's not that big of a deal, but it is a place to start checking on them. Then I would ask if they have any references; if not, then I would look elsewhere. Even if you weren't going to call any references, if they can't supply any, to me, that's a red flag. I have NEVER had a contractor that isn't proud enough of their work that cannot provide a reference!! Do you have any friends that have had this type of work done? Keep asking around and you might find someone by word of mouth that is just what you're looking for!! But definitely do your homework!!
Also, I would never rely on just a phone estimate. There is no way even the best of professionals can give you an accurate price - even if it is just an estimate!! I would get everything down on paper and ask questions about what happens if something changes.
Good luck!
