We recently had new sheet vinyl flooring installed in our kitchen and butler's pantry, replacing…read morethe old (and ugly) linoleum in the kitchen and dark carpet in the pantry.
The installation went fairly smoothly with one or two glitches (see below), and the final result looks great. Most important is the invisibility of the seam from the two pieces of flooring that were used. And the installation itself only took two days.
Unfortunately, there were some glitches along the way. After ripping up the carpet and before installing the plywood sub-floor, the installer suggested "a change of plan"--not removing the linoleum and the sub-floor in the kitchen. Taking it up, he said, would require two layers of new plywood to compensate for the height. My wife stood firm and reminded him that the contract said, "To lift vinyl/sub/carpet," rather than to leave it down and lay the new flooring on top of it. The installer agreed with no problem, but it was annoying, as we had lost a week testing the linoleum for asbestos and waiting for the result.
When the installers were finished, I did a complete inspection and found no problems. However, I did not open the basement door, as it was obstructed by a table, reminding me not to walk where the seam was, with glue still drying for another 24 hours. When I did open the door the next day I found the door rubbing the floor (yes, right over the seam). A call that day (Saturday) resulted in a callback the following Tuesday, with someone scheduled to return the following Monday. That fix took less than 15 minutes, and in the meantime the brand new flooring was scraped every time I opened or closed that door.
As a result, where I would fault the company is in communication. For another thing, our contract mentioned, "To install new 4" ribbon base along cabinets--color--" and a blank line. That color was never determined beforehand. Fortunately we found the blue the workmen arrived with was acceptable.
This inconsistent communication led to the project taking over one 6 weeks to complete, from first contact and appointment in the store to the final fixing of the door problem.
Also, I was dismayed when, putting everything back in place, I discovered dirty handprints on counters, doors, and appliances. It seems like the installers could have washed their hands before maneuvering the white fridge and stove back in place, leaving me less to clean up.
My wife and I, as college professors, are always giving grades, so we would give Molyneux a B+ for this job. We would likely use them again, but after the sticker shock of the final estimate, we will need to delay further work on carpeting for at least another year.
