Update, September 10, 2019:
I am compelled to update my initial five-star review based on new events. I hired this company to install an OTR microwave in August. That went fine and was the subject of my initial review. For small, menial jobs, this company may be an acceptable option.
After that positive experience, I hired them to refinish the hardwood floors in my home. And that's where the pleasantness ends. My floors look just awful. And worse than they, they ghosted me for weeks afterward, and I didn't hear from them again until I filed a dispute with my credit card issuer.
The quality of the work they performed is well below what could be reasonably considered satisfactory or professional. There are visible roller marks in areas of the bedrooms with dry globs of polyurethane around them. There are spots throughout the house that were coated significantly less than others, and which are clearly visible and unsightly, not to mention rougher to walk on. The dining room is a completely different sheen than the rest of the house, suggesting that it received fewer coats than the other rooms--in fact, it looks exactly as it did after the first coat, so I assume that is all it received. This is one of the most aggravating things for me because its the most exposed floor in the house, it's where we usually entertain guests, and it hardly looks like it has been coated at all.
Plus there is a bare-foot print in the polyurethane in the threshold between the dining room and living room. Can you imagine having some else's foot print permanently affixed to your floors? I'm really disgusted by the whole thing. And I'm baffled about how nobody noticed that they had slapped their bare foot down onto wet polyurethane (perhaps more likely: they knew but didn't care).
Also, there are polyurethane drips down the rises of the stairs. And there are areas of damaged paint on the stair rises as well, which I believe was the result of someone trying to scrape off the drips (we found a torn-off fingernail on our mantle which supports this theory--thanks for the souvenir. Also: gross).
Also supporting the conclusion that they did not apply on as many coats as agreed is the fact that they used only about half of the polyurethane I was told would be required to compete the job. The owner told me it would take four gallons for proper coverage. I purchased, at their request, five gallons so that they could apply additional coats. The last time I was at the house before moving in, there was one unopened 2.5 gallon container (which I have since returned to the store) and another that was opened but felt about half full when I lifted it up.
Only one can was used in total, and I doubt it was even emptied. But the can is no longer at the house. It is unclear what happened to it. I highly doubt it was all used up considering the timeline. And since I purchased it separately (they do not supply materials--their prices are for labor only), any left over should have remained at the house.
Add to that the fact that there is hardly a single surface, whether horizontal or vertical (including the walls, appliances, window screens, etc.), that does not have a film of sawdust caked onto it. It's a terrible mess that I will need to have professionally cleaned. One of their big selling points was that they would keep the house clean as they worked. I was disappointed to see that this was not remotely accurate. I noticed that they also used our shop vac (though without a bag as is required for vacuuming fine particulates like sawdust), but apparently only in some areas. And that's ignoring all of the trash they left behind--coffee cups, energy drink cans, crusty paint brushes, and the list goes on.
I probably could have done a better job myself. I paid for professional results, but I got less than DIY quality.
But worst of all, they ghosted me for a couple of weeks after I tried to tell them there was a problem. We had just bought this house. They did the floors before we moved in. We didn't see the floors all done until we showed up with the moving company to bring in all of our furniture and belongings. I only heard from them after I disputed the charge with my credit card company--thankfully I at least have some protection there. They asked me to articulate my issues with the work, and I sent them a long email explaining essentially the content of this review. That was five days ago, and I have received no response.
Today, I filed a claim with their insurance carrier. The insurance information is available for licensed contractors from the Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board: http://www.crb.ri.gov
We will see what comes of this now. It's obviously much harder (and more expensive) to refinish floors when the house is occupied and full of furniture. Plus wood floors can only be sanded so much.
Everything about this experience has been terrible. I do not recommend hiring them. read more
