Metropolitan Bath & Tile

Metropolitan Bath & Tile’s story began long before what it’s become today. Richard McKenzie started working at his family’s plumbing and air conditioning company at age 13. He would frequently shadow technicians and go out on job sites to learn the trade.

At age 20, he became the youngest person to get a Master Plumber License in the state of Maryland at that time, completing over 3,750 hours of training. When McKenzie became the youngest master plumber ever in Maryland, the agency allowed him to use his grandfather’s master plumber license number – which was issued in back in the 1950’s.

Nowadays, most plumbers’ license numbers are about six digits long. However, McKenzie’s master plumber license is 208 because it was issued so long ago. No matter how hard you search, you won’t find any company out there with a master plumbers license number lower than 208.

At the family business, McKenzie fixed leaks and replaced faucets as a service plumber, but would commonly run into problems that he was unable to repair. Leaking tile was a frequent reason customers called his family’s company, which he was unable to handle. He would refer his clients to a tile company instead of being able to fix the problem himself. McKenzie hired a tile specialist after becoming frustrated with the lack of capacity to help customers.

Small tile jobs turned into larger bathroom renovations. McKenzie headed up the family’s bathroom renovation division but quickly saw the drawbacks of selling cabinets and other features from brochures. Customers picked out accents from a catalog that would look one way on paper and entirely different than the way they envisioned once it was installed.

McKenzie pitched the idea of building a showroom so people could see products before selecting them to his father. Unfortunately, it wasn’t cost effective for the family business to invest in growing the bathroom renovation division at that time

Undeterred, McKenzie saw the need for a bathroom showroom and in 1979 he split from his family’s HVAC business. He opened his own business, Bowie Custom Bath and Tile. The showroom was located in Bowie, Maryland and still stands to this day. At the time, McKenzie didn’t envision how quickly his business would grow.

Customers from the surrounding areas suggested McKenzie expand his company after a decade of business, so he did. In 1990, Bowie Custom Bath and Tile rebranded to Metropolitan Bath & Tile, added a showroom in Montgomery County, Maryland and built a headquarters in College Park, D.C.

Our custom bathroom company prides itself on specializing exclusively in bathroom remodels. Customer’s who have chosen McKenzie’s company for the past 40 years call him again when they need an update.

“When I was a plumber and would snake someone’s drain, I solved a problem that was an inconvenience, but there was nothing to stand back and be proud of after. When you build a bathroom, it’s a collaboration between customer and company. And you have something beautiful to look at when you’re done. You have something to use for the next 30 years,” says McKenzie proudly.

Metropolitan Bath & Tile expanded in 2002, this time into Towson, Maryland. Now with five showrooms, the company has grown tremendously in scope and experience since it’s humble beginnings four decades ago. But no matter how large Metropolitan Bath & Tile has grown, we won’t ever outgrow our family-centric, christian values or commitment to craftsmanship.