Be careful. The customer, unfortunately, has to do the job foreman/project manager's job of…read morechecking behind every nuance of the job, to ensure he is getting what was promised.
Details:
Full home two-level hardwood floor re-sanding/staining/polyurethane sealing ("3 coats"). A 15k job; 7-figure value home. So, (should be always, but) extra attention to make sure all is right? No, unfortunately.
Step 1: all shoe molding comes out (to be replaced new after floor work done)
Step 2: floors sanded, stained, 3 polyurethane coats
Step 3: new stained shoe molding installed
**LAST: project manager/job foreman inspect finished project before getting payment? NOPE.
PROBLEMS (x3):
I followed project progress, and noted the stair-work was a day behind the rest of the floors. No worries: but I'll check stairs especially well at the end. We are told the project is done and we can walk on floors. Timing seems "too soon," and I am suspicious as to whether they put 3 poly coats on stairs.
(1) I immediately notice the polyurethane coating was lacking on the two sets of stairs. Casual inspection made readily apparent that the clear coat was thinner than on the floors elsewhere.
I contact owner Josh, who reiterated that he was told 3 coats were there. Josh added that "the lighting" can affect the appearance." I invited him to "re"-assess himself. He *does* offer immediately to have them put on another coat. They do this days later.
(2) Then, after work done, and payment given, I inspected home with realtor. We saw several areas of uneven sheen and thickness throughout the main floor the polyurethane thickness. There appeared to be thicker areas of application, and thinner layers applied elsewhere. We reach out again, and were told that these were "uneven drying" issues. He agrees to re-apply on the main level, and they *do* follow-through.
(3) Thereafter, I inspect the entire project again, and note improvement on the above two issues. I do note, *very frustratingly,* a ~24" span of a curved short wall where shoe molding was replaced. Instead of using a curved piece of shoe-molding (as had been there before), IT WAS SHODDILY REPLACED WITH TWO *STRAIGHT* PIECES of shoe-molding (see photo), with the expected gaps between the straight molding and the curved wall readily apparent.
I texted owner Josh on this 3rd issue, and asked for correction and explanation. Josh would not give an explanation. Only, "we will fix it." Josh told me that I "need to talk to Patrick about when he's doing molding.
What?
So the company OWNER is telling the customer to coordinate the corrective work of his employees? Uh, okay. Well, "Patrick" did fix it, in the end. My realtor (who had referred them) probably gave the company heat about future referrals. So it *is* now fixed.
But here are my problems with Floor Gurus:
(A) when the employee was removing shoe molding, he ought to have noted the short curved wall, and SAVED the shoe molding for reuse there, OR discussed issue with job foreman for instruction, not be on "auto-pilot." Doing so would have saved the work of having to soak the wood in order to mold the piece well, etc.
(B) with our two notable prior problems, the job foreman/project manager/owner should have had us "dead center" on his radar to "re"-inspect the project to insure no further mishaps. This clearly did not occur. This is top-level customer care that one ought to expect on any project, but especially for a 15k project in a 7-figure home.
(C) Beyond that, the project manager or owner (Josh) should have (a) run through the home FIRST to see issues (like curved shoe molding) and instructed workman to save that piece, if apropos. These matters ought to be things they've run into before (work smarter, not harder?) AND, (b) personally inspected the job AFTERWARDS so that HE (not me and my realtor) catches the issues that arise. THEN they are managed BEFORE we note it. This clearly was NOT done.
(D) When I brought this last issue up with the owner, Josh, I asked for an explanation, and expected him to validate our issues, *OWN* his mess up, and then *LEARN* from the experience, to improve his own business/employer's business.
Were I him, I would have stated, "you're right on all points. We will get it all right for you, and furthermore, thank you for sharing these details with me. I will meet with the demolition (shoe molding removal) team and re-educate them on the matter. And I will be more thorough on confirming that our work in the end is of the highest standard, " or the like.
Instead, Josh was defensive, and clearly did not like being called out on the issues. That's a shame for the business and potential future clients.
In the end, the work is good after the corrections, but perhaps not worth going through these issues. We are selling our home, and these delays do delay the time we can put the home on the market. It was not simply an "inconvenience."
