FAQs
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
My name is Roger Labbe JR. I am the owner of R and R Tile and Carpet located in Marlborough Mass. I have been installing tile and stone for almost 30 years. I also provide shower re-grouts, meticulous carpet and upholstery cleaning, and floor-tile and grout restoration with a Pro-Chem truck-mount machine. I started out back in the '70s working part time for my father after school and on weekends. My father had a couple of karate schools for almost 35 years. Of those years, I had participated in about 20 of them under his tutelage. I was exposed to, and ultimately learned a lot about discipline, honor, and of course self-defense. I had drummed into me at a very early age by my father, that if you cannot do something right the first time, then you shouldn't do it at all. I realize that saying is so old and hackneyed; so much so that you rarely hear people ever saying it, never mind employing it in their lives. In my dealings with customers or potential ones, I really try to emphasize the importance of this, but so many times, they just will not listen. Most homeowners when looking to get some work done in their home usually on average get 2 to 3 estimates or proposals before hiring a contractor. So many times, and much to my dismay, the homeowner ends up hiring the contractor who submits the lowest bid. This is a big mistake! I can't tell you how many times over the years I have been called to come out and look at someone's bathroom or kitchen tile, marble or stone, and I will look down at the floor or up at the wall and see grout coming out or tile cracking or lifting. I always ask the homeowner when it was installed. I usually have a good idea of when an installation took place because of my vast familiarity with the wall and floor products that have been in distribution over the years. The response I usually get when I ask that question is "I don't remember." I go on and ask questions such as "what was used for backer-board," or "what type of adhesive was applied". Almost every single time, I get the "I don't know" response. It amazes me that someone will spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a product and a contractor and not know what they are getting, meaning: They don't know the qualifications or expertise of the tile installer, or what the installation specifications of the tile or stone being installed are. A good installer such as me Roger Labbe JR from R and R Tile and Carpet will take the time to go over the proper installation methods and direct the customer in the direction of a tile installation lasting a very long time. After I have spoken with the customer, he or she will know a few things about proper tile installation and care. When homeowners cannot answer the most simple of questions pertaining to their tile project, I know they were not educated or subjected to the dos and the don'ts. So many times, the customers eagerness to get the lowest price from the contractors obfuscates their better judgment. This means he or she didn't take the time to learn the correct way of installing their chosen product. The Tile Council of America (TCA) has in detail what a proper installation should consist of. So many "installers" don't even know what the TCA is. So my advice to a homeowner is very simple: please educate yourself with the huge array of products that are available; and when you finally have chosen the right product for your home, make sure you know how it should be installed, and how it should be cared for. Very simply, one shoe does not fit all, and the lowest bid 9 out of 10 times means the lowest quality. Roger Labbe JR/ R and R Tile and Carpet Marlborough Mass 508375