Julio “Adrian” Sanchez, Contractor

I am sharing the experience that I had with an independent contractor who was paid to install a tile floor for me so that other new homeowners don’t have to make the same mistakes that I did.
I consulted with Julio «Adrian» Sanchez an independent contractor who was referred by a friend. He quoted me $ 700 to lay the floor, not too much less than what it would have been to go through Home Depot. And he had a lot of advice on what materials would make the end results better even if it might cost more in materials up front. I’m not a flooring pro obviously so I trusted in his advice.
Little did I know that the more expensive materials were actually less quality shortcuts to make his job easier…
I paid for 5 $ 50 buckets of premixed tile adhesive when he should have used 2 bags of $ 15 grout. And $ 100 in T-​molding when he should have cut the tile to meet up with the tile in the adjoining rooms. He also advised me that the right way to handle baseboards was not to remove them and put them back in place, but to leave them exactly where they were and buy an additional $ 50 of caulk to fill in the gaps.
Well just take a look at the end results of his «expertise» and $ 2,000 in materials and labor!
Now he’s been paid and won’t answer my calls. I’m going to have to file a lawsuit to have any hopes of recovering my losses. And it will be another $ 5,000 or more to rip up his work and replace the tiles and baseboards.
If I could do it all again I would:
1. Use a reputable company: licensed, insured and/​or certified.
2. Check references and reviews from multiple sources.
3. Do my research on how the job should be done even if I ultimately want to pay someone else to do it.
4. Never allow someone to work on my home unattended.
5. Be clear about which rooms are their work area and what areas are off limits.
6. Be clear about my expectations on clean up and end results.
7. Never allow someone to use my indoor plumbing (sinks, tubs etc.) to clean their tools.
8. And most importantly — never pay until I am 100% satisfied with the work.
At the end of the day it is my home and I am the one with the most to lose if a project goes awry. It is all too easy for a contractor to take the money and run. And very difficult to recover from.
I still believe that most contractors are honest, hardworking people who do their best possible work. But I can see now how someone could be easily tempted by a high dollar job that is well above their qualifications too. I hope that contractors will think twice before taking on a job that is out of their realm. And I hope that other present and future homeowners will use my experience to proceed with caution when choosing someone to work on their home.