Jack,
You might have a point on going through a door shop. My mindset is normally geared to retail purchasing, but since I seem to be stuck with trying to shoot a squirrel in a hole with special orders anyhow, it might work out better to deal with a local speciality shop.
My latest bad experience with Home Depot junk is wall tile. I bought 16 boxes of tile a few weeks ago, ahead of doing the two tub enclosures. I was ready to start on the master bath yesterday, but when I opened the first box of tile, I found the face of every tile in the box was covered with deep scratches. I've been working with tile off and on for over 20 years and I have NEVER seen ANY manufacturer pack their tile front to back without anything between the tile. The standard has always been to pack the tile back to back with paper between the glazed surface.
Now, instead of working on the things that have to get done, I have to load the garbage HD sold me back in the truck, get treated like a thief while standing in line at the return counter, and start the shopping process all over again. It's a pure mystery to me how any company could be stupid enough to accept delivery on such shoddy merchandise, and even more amazing they have the gall to put it on the sales floor as if it was suitable for use in a home. Setting tile is a lot of work and the last thing anyone would want is to have the finished enclosure look like it'd been through a riot.
Why in the name of all the gods in Southern California would any company pack perfectly good tile in such a way as to guarantee it will be destroyed before the customer gets it? A tip to builders and do it yourselfers: if you see a box of tile packed back to front without any paper between, keep shopping. |
