Pete The Plumber

What a nightmare. We were looking to install a one piece tub/shower combo so we went to Pete the Plumber's showroom to see what they had. We ended up booking an estimator to come out and take a look and get some measurements because we were pretty sure we wanted to go ahead with the purchase. When the estimator, Mike, came out he was quite rude and impatient and he made it very clear that he did not want to be there. He even said "I don't know why they sent me out here". He spent about 4 minutes in the bathroom and took a couple of measurements. I specifically asked him if we would need to get new flooring after the old tub was removed and the new one put in and he said that there would only be a small gap that could be filled with silicone so we wouldn't need new flooring. I should have gone with my instincts at that time and not gone ahead with the job just based on the estimator's lack of professionalism and bad attitude. But I didn't and we went ahead with the order. After the tub installers were done the installation we ended up with a 2.5 inch gap between the edge of our flooring and the new tub - I'm not sure how that would be taken care of with some silicone. The friendly but clueless plumbers who were installing the tub suggested that we just cover it up with some baseboard. After the installation we also ended up with a 2-3 inch hole all around the top of the tub surround where they had cut out the drywall. So we needed to get someone in to repair the drywall and tile around the tub. The first contractor who came out (and was recommended to us by Pete the Plumber) said that the tub was installed poorly and should never have been installed in our bathroom. He said the best option would be to tear out the tub and put a different model in without the attached surround. This was because apparently our studs in one wall were not entirely level so the plumbers used a piece of wood as a shim on one end, which pushed the tub out quite a bit past the existing drywall. The contractor said that there would be no way to do a professional finishing job and it would look pretty bad if he were to do it. I contacted Pete the Plumber and told them about this and also provided them with the contractor's written opinion. They said "you asked for a tub and we installed a tub". I was totally unhappy with this since they are the professionals and they should have mentioned something about the fact that they were going to have to shim the surround before they went ahead with the install. Pete the Plumber said we should get a second opinion. In the meantime we decided that we could at least try out the tub for a bath, so we did and that's when we noticed water coming through our basement ceiling, leaking from the bathroom above. As it turns out, they hadn't connected the pipes for the overflow drain on the tub at all. It wasn't just a leaky seal the pipes were totally unconnected! By this time I was so fed up with Pete the Plumber that a family member who is a plumber was able to fix it for me. He also mentioned what a botched job the tub install was. We had two more contractors in to see the tub before we were able to get the drywall work started and both commented on the bad installation job that was done by Pete the Plumber. As of today, it has been just over a month and a half since we had the tub installed and I was finally able to have my first shower in it this morning. But wait, there's more - the shower head installed by Pete the Plumber is faulty and none of the settings work. Water only comes out of a fraction of the holes. I phoned Pete the Plumber and they say they are coming to replace it in a couple of days. So at this point we were able to get our drywall and tiling done, but it is not done properly due to the way the tub was originally installed. It looks okay and the contractor did the best he could do, but for the amount of money that we ended up spending it's a real disappointment to see that the drywall and tiling had to be done in a way that doesn't look quite right. We've pretty much decided that this is just a temporary bathroom renovation (even though in the end it ended up costing us about $5000) because it's just not up to snuff. It's a real shame considering our original quote from Pete the Plumber was $2200 and we were planning on getting the tub done first and then redoing the rest of the bathroom later. Now we are going to have to replace the tub, tiles and new flooring in a few years when we can afford to re-do the work that Pete the Plumber totally botched for us. When I contacted them with each new problem they were understanding but not helpful and left me feeling like they really didn't care too much. I feel totally ripped off and like I wasted a bunch of money on an amateur renovation. I would never, ever recommend Pete the Plumber to anyone.....ever.