This company was subcontracted for a recent renovation of our kitchen after water damage caused by a plumber's mistake. Our experience with Big Ben's was comparable to an episode of a sitcom.
Flooring representative arrived on a Friday to measure the kitchen and show me flooring samples. I liked the products he had, but was hoping for some other color options. He told me he could bring some other things by the following Monday, before he left for some flooring convention in Vegas. He never called or showed up.
After two weeks, during which time I had been asking our contractor "what's up with the flooring guy, can you contact him?" I got a message from the flooring rep asking if he could come by the following Monday. I apologized and said that would not work, because I was starting a new job. He offered to come by on Saturday, between 4-5 pm. "Great!" I say. I had plans, but was willing to leave early and be home to meet the flooring guy.
Saturday comes, and I leave my social club's gathering at 3:30 to make it home. He messaged me about 20 minutes past 4 to say he'll be there shortly after 5. Okay, fine. 6 pm comes and goes. I text him asking for an ETA.
Finally, he shows up about 6:30. He has some other flooring samples to show us. He also has his fly open. Awkward... but we selected a flooring color that works with the rest of the house.
Soon, the flooring is delivered, and construction begins on our kitchen. Before we know it, it's flooring time! Just over half of the old flooring had already been torn up by the restoration company, and the plywood that had been covering the subfloor in that half had been taken up in preparation by the contractor's main crew.
The guys came and got to work removing the remaining flooring. They popped the breakers within 10 minutes... but with an older home, and power tools, that's expected. They were apparently having some issues with their air compressor that day, and had to leave and come back with different tools. They had the compressor set up in our back bathroom for access to power, and at some point that day, the glass shower door was shattered.
They said they wanted to stay late and finish putting down the wood flooring, so they could do the laminate planks the next day. We admired their dedication... but when we discovered the shower door was broken shortly thereafter... they knew nothing about how it could have happened, but suddenly, they had to LEAVE.
Oh, and I forgot to mention one of us saw a flooring installer crew (allegedly) drinking alcohol hidden in a brown paper bag while sitting outside in their work van on a break.
Our contractor stepped in and handled the situation. Door was replaced, safety glass shards were vacuumed up. He convinced us that this was just a random fluke, this was a good company, and that we could refuse to have the crew back, but they were really sorry about everything and wanted to finish the job; also, finding another crew to come out would delay the construction, and it had already been delayed a week thanks to the comedy of errors of ANOTHER subcontractor. We reluctantly agreed, but we both stayed home from work to supervise, because we were fearful of retaliation or further problems. We also had one of the contractor's crew on-site to keep tabs on them as well.
So the flooring got finished, and it was lovely. All they needed to do was put the trim pieces down to separate the new flooring from the other rooms. But, what's that? They forgot the trim at the shop? And oh no, long trip home to Modesto, they will come back tomorrow to do it? Nope. We told them to go get the trim at the shop, get back here and install it. Which they did.
So we thought things were finished, no more stress. Then we discovered a whole bundle of oak that hadn't been opened. They WAY over-estimated how much flooring we would need. While that's a good thing for the laminate planks (accidents happen), we don't need a ton of oak floorboards laying around in our basement or garage. Our contractor is currently waiting to find out if we can get reimbursed for that flooring in full, because that's money that could have helped pay for other things in the restoration.
And then! (Oh, you thought this was over? Us, too!) Then, we went down to the basement to get something out of the freezer downstairs and discovered broken wood, debris and nails EVERYWHERE from the flooring job! Collectibles and video equipment and other things stored down there while all this construction was going on were covered in stuff. A chunk of wood actually pierced a shoe - thank god it wasn't a nail!
Once again, our contractor to the rescue, sending his cleaning crew over to handle the gigantic mess.
Of minor, but still legitimate annoyance - we did not receive a care sheet or instructions of any kind on how to care for our new laminate floor. We want to make sure this flooring lasts for many years, especially after all we endured to get it installed to begin with! read more