I contracted Loudoun Valley Floors for a stair refinishing project, which included installing new…read morestair treads, risers, and staining as part of a larger flooring job.
**In reply to the business: You company's years in business doesn't have anything to do with the multiple 2025 reviews for your crew's current poor quality/issues with staining. I would recommend potential customers look at other recent Yelp 1 star reviews for Loudoun Valley Floor's current quality standards for staining.
And thank you for confirming that after a year, your most recent attempt at staining options, that your company has not been able to find a correct stain method to come even close to our LVT that was also purchased from your showroom at the same time.**
** Issues are still unresolved after about a year and Matthew Ange an owner who never contacted me to resolve this mess has placed a mechanics lien on the house. **
The initial staining attempt on the new stair treads produced an uneven greenish tone. After I provided photos of the issue, my concerns were initially dismissed as incorrect. It was only after further insistence that they arranged an in-person inspection.
The crew that showed up agreed that stairs needed to be redone. In an attempt to correct the staining, the stair treads were sanded down and treated with a bleaching process. However, this resulted in a purple undertone.
Based on my research after the poorly done "correction", I found out that the green and purple tones in red oak staining are often due to unprofessional work. These issues arise from improper handling of the wood's high tannin content, which can cause color blotches if not addressed through proper preparation or sealing techniques. Tannin pull, where tannins leach unevenly, is a known problem that professionals should anticipate and prevent, especially in oaks, leading to reported discolorations in green or purple.
Following the purple toned wood stairs and landings outcome, new stain samples were provided for my selection, but they were dropped off almost a month after promised. These samples were applied only to unstained and unbleached wood, which does not accurately represent the potential outcome on my purple-toned wood.
Due to this mismatch, I have been unable (but pressured) to select a stain or authorize further work as the final color cannot be reliably predicted. I have withheld permission for another staining attempt to avoid a scenario where the work is deemed "complete" despite unsatisfactory results, potentially obligating me to pay.
In addition to the stain color, the application process was sloppy, leading to splatters and damage that extends beyond the scope of simple touch-up painting as outlined in the contract. Remediation would involve at a minimum sanding and applying multiple coats of paint to cover the stains as well as complete molding replacement in some sections. In certain areas, molding was rebuilt using filler, resulting in a substandard finish that requires complete replacement rather than minor repairs.
Additionally I had selected "shoe molding" from the two available white samples at the sales desk during the contract signing. I specifically chose the shoe molding sample over the quarter round sample that was also presented. Despite this clear selection and it being line itemed in the contract as shoe molding, they instead installed quarter round molding. When confronted, they claimed that shoe molding and quarter round were the same thing, even though the samples I reviewed were distinctly different and I had explicitly picked shoe molding.
Their initial resolution offered was a discount, but this did not address my preference and contract for shoe molding. Subsequently, they finally proposed replacing the quarter round with shoe molding, but this would require me to pay additional costs even though the contract states shoe molding. "We can install new ¾" X ¾" White Scotia shoe molding (still needs to painted) 600 lf @ $1.95 for a total of $1170.00."
As far as follow-ups with the company, I have had to deal with no shows, late arrivals, and unexpected visits, which has shown their lack of concern or value for my time.
I have asked multiple times for both parties to mutually agree to walk away from the project so that I could hire another company to complete the job, but they have refused.
As a result of these unresolved disputes and my refusal to accept the proposed resolutions, one of the owners of Loudoun Valley Floors (Matthew Ange) who has never contacted me about this mess, has filed a mechanics lien on the property for the unpaid balance on unfinished work.
