Larsen Tile & Stone is a one-man operation. His name is Jonathan Larsen. We contracted with him to set new tile in our bathroom to include the floor, vanity backsplash and shower. The job included a licensed plumber for the work on the new drain and new shower valve with separate valve for a hand-held shower wand. The first sign of trouble was on the day his plumber was supposed to be there.
Larsen told us the plumber was too busy. We asked him why he didn't tell us earlier so we could hire a replacement plumber. Larsen told us that he had done plumbing work at hundreds of his tile jobs. He told us his insurance company authorized him to perform plumbing work and he didn't need a plumbing license or permit. While I was at work Larsen did the plumbing work and quickly covered it with backerboard and a Schluter shower floor.
Our bathroom window above the shower wall was on order and we had expressed our concern that the new window should be installed first and then the tile. He convinced us that he could wrap the Schluter water-proof membrane over the window sill and tile the sill after the window was installed. When I took a look after I got home, Larsen had set tile from the shower floor to the top of the sill and there was no water-proof Schluter membrane there at all.
He told me that it doesn't get wet on the sill. I told him I have taken hundreds of showers and with the shower head just a few inches from the sill it was always dripping wet. The following day Larsen set tile on the wall on the shower valve side. There was a one-inch gap at the bottom and one and a half inch gap at the shower valve level. The tile was offset from the wall and canted forward because he installed the shower valve in the wrong place. He told us he would fill it all in with grout.
Larsen told us he had to tilt the tile because our wall was not plumb. That was a lie as we put up the bubble leveler and it was perfect. The bottom of the tile he set was also offset forward to try and line up with the shower valve handle. The shower niche was placed in a position without regard to the size of the tile. He ended up cutting tiny squares and slivers of tile to squeeze in all the gaps. The niche was crooked and the Schluter sticks had ragged edges and were not even mitered at the corners.
Larsen used mastic behind the tile on the wet shower walls instead of thinset. Mastic is only for dry areas. Larsen failed to put a stud where the shower door frame would be installed. He cut through the wall while putting in the niche and his saw blade went through the drywall into the adjoing bedroom. Larsen stood on our brand new vanity quartz counter with his dirty work boots in order to tile the backsplash. He had removed the cardboard and cloth we had put there to protect the counter.
There are chips in the quartz where he stood. Tile on the backsplash began to fall off the wall the next day. We asked him to fix the crooked shower wall. He wanted to use some type of glue to put a second layer of tile over the crooked tile. When we told him that the crooked tile had to be removed, he used the F word and grabbed his head. He went to grab a bucket of grout and wanted to grout eveything, telling us it would look good.
At this point we stopped his work and fired him. He had ruined over seven-hundred dollars in tile. Nothing lined up. There was bowing in the tiled walls. The backsplash tile was thinner than the shower wall and floor tile. Larsen used the same Schluter stick on the backsplash which left a large gap between the tile and the edge of the stick. It seems that everything he touched was done badly. We gave him a chance to fix everything but he refused to remove and retile anything.
Larsen was always in a hurry. He arrived each day at 10 am and would be gone by 3 pm. We had several tile companies come in to assess Larsen's work. We also had a plumber take a look. The concensus from the tile setters was that Larsen's work was sub-standard, out of code, and unprofessional. It had to be torn out and be redone. The plumber told us that it was illegal plumbing work and in essence Larsen was stealing from licensed plumbers.
We filed complaints with state agencies in Idaho who regulate contractors and plumbers. For example, Idaho State law required that Larsen have a plumbing license. There are monetary fines and possible jail time or both for violating the statutes. We found Larsen online by Googling his business name. What you find is that he has all his eggs in one basket which is Home Advisor. Larsen's Home Advisor listing shows him as licensed. That is a lie. He is only registered. There is no such thing as a licensed contractor in Idaho. They are only registered. Anyone can pay $22.00 and register as a contractor.
There is no schooling, training, experience or anything else required to be registered. This licensing claim is tantamount to false advertising. He has ten times more reviews than most anyone and almost every one is a five star rating. This is his liefeblood. However, we found that the reviews can be easily faked. The only way to know if someone is competent is to get actual referrals and see the work. These online companies are not reliable and designed to fool the comsumer. We understand that a rebuttal to our review can be made by Larsen.
Be aware that our experience with him is very bad. He conned us, lied to us, engaged in illegal plumbing work, damaged our home and cost us thousands of dollars to have all his work torn out and redone. It was a nightmare. He lied in his Home Advisor rebuttal that we owe him money. Absolutely false. We hope to recover the thousands that we lost through the appropriate channels and through litigation. As the tile setters who came to assess Larsen's horrible work told us, its people like him that give the business a bad name.
Please don't pay any attention to Larsen's rebuttal. He was dishonest and disrespectful to us and our home. We believe that he will lie and slander in the rebuttal. Actually, we have hundreds of photos of his terrible work. That is the true evidence and we will post these photos on this site and in a blog for everyone to see. The photos will speak for themselves.
Larsen Tile & Stone Reviews
Larsen Tile & Stone is a one-man operation. His name is Jonathan Larsen. We contracted with him to set new tile in our bathroom to include the floor, vanity backsplash and shower. The job included a licensed plumber for the work on the new drain and new shower valve with separate valve for a hand-held shower wand. The first sign of trouble was on the day his plumber was supposed to be there.
Larsen told us the plumber was too busy. We asked him why he didn't tell us earlier so we could hire a replacement plumber. Larsen told us that he had done plumbing work at hundreds of his tile jobs. He told us his insurance company authorized him to perform plumbing work and he didn't need a plumbing license or permit. While I was at work Larsen did the plumbing work and quickly covered it with backerboard and a Schluter shower floor.
Our bathroom window above the shower wall was on order and we had expressed our concern that the new window should be installed first and then the tile. He convinced us that he could wrap the Schluter water-proof membrane over the window sill and tile the sill after the window was installed. When I took a look after I got home, Larsen had set tile from the shower floor to the top of the sill and there was no water-proof Schluter membrane there at all.
He told me that it doesn't get wet on the sill. I told him I have taken hundreds of showers and with the shower head just a few inches from the sill it was always dripping wet. The following day Larsen set tile on the wall on the shower valve side. There was a one-inch gap at the bottom and one and a half inch gap at the shower valve level. The tile was offset from the wall and canted forward because he installed the shower valve in the wrong place. He told us he would fill it all in with grout.
Larsen told us he had to tilt the tile because our wall was not plumb. That was a lie as we put up the bubble leveler and it was perfect. The bottom of the tile he set was also offset forward to try and line up with the shower valve handle. The shower niche was placed in a position without regard to the size of the tile. He ended up cutting tiny squares and slivers of tile to squeeze in all the gaps. The niche was crooked and the Schluter sticks had ragged edges and were not even mitered at the corners.
Larsen used mastic behind the tile on the wet shower walls instead of thinset. Mastic is only for dry areas. Larsen failed to put a stud where the shower door frame would be installed. He cut through the wall while putting in the niche and his saw blade went through the drywall into the adjoing bedroom. Larsen stood on our brand new vanity quartz counter with his dirty work boots in order to tile the backsplash. He had removed the cardboard and cloth we had put there to protect the counter.
There are chips in the quartz where he stood. Tile on the backsplash began to fall off the wall the next day. We asked him to fix the crooked shower wall. He wanted to use some type of glue to put a second layer of tile over the crooked tile. When we told him that the crooked tile had to be removed, he used the F word and grabbed his head. He went to grab a bucket of grout and wanted to grout eveything, telling us it would look good.
At this point we stopped his work and fired him. He had ruined over seven-hundred dollars in tile. Nothing lined up. There was bowing in the tiled walls. The backsplash tile was thinner than the shower wall and floor tile. Larsen used the same Schluter stick on the backsplash which left a large gap between the tile and the edge of the stick. It seems that everything he touched was done badly. We gave him a chance to fix everything but he refused to remove and retile anything.
Larsen was always in a hurry. He arrived each day at 10 am and would be gone by 3 pm. We had several tile companies come in to assess Larsen's work. We also had a plumber take a look. The concensus from the tile setters was that Larsen's work was sub-standard, out of code, and unprofessional. It had to be torn out and be redone. The plumber told us that it was illegal plumbing work and in essence Larsen was stealing from licensed plumbers.
We filed complaints with state agencies in Idaho who regulate contractors and plumbers. For example, Idaho State law required that Larsen have a plumbing license. There are monetary fines and possible jail time or both for violating the statutes. We found Larsen online by Googling his business name. What you find is that he has all his eggs in one basket which is Home Advisor. Larsen's Home Advisor listing shows him as licensed. That is a lie. He is only registered. There is no such thing as a licensed contractor in Idaho. They are only registered. Anyone can pay $22.00 and register as a contractor.
There is no schooling, training, experience or anything else required to be registered. This licensing claim is tantamount to false advertising. He has ten times more reviews than most anyone and almost every one is a five star rating. This is his liefeblood. However, we found that the reviews can be easily faked. The only way to know if someone is competent is to get actual referrals and see the work. These online companies are not reliable and designed to fool the comsumer. We understand that a rebuttal to our review can be made by Larsen.
Be aware that our experience with him is very bad. He conned us, lied to us, engaged in illegal plumbing work, damaged our home and cost us thousands of dollars to have all his work torn out and redone. It was a nightmare. He lied in his Home Advisor rebuttal that we owe him money. Absolutely false. We hope to recover the thousands that we lost through the appropriate channels and through litigation. As the tile setters who came to assess Larsen's horrible work told us, its people like him that give the business a bad name.
Please don't pay any attention to Larsen's rebuttal. He was dishonest and disrespectful to us and our home. We believe that he will lie and slander in the rebuttal. Actually, we have hundreds of photos of his terrible work. That is the true evidence and we will post these photos on this site and in a blog for everyone to see. The photos will speak for themselves.