Poor workmanship. Poor communication. A frustrating and, at times, genuinely unsafe experience…read more What initially felt like a company we could trust turned into a project we wish we had never hired them for.
If you value your time, money, home, and peace of mind, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere.
The work on our floors and dry wall required multiple return visits. After the second flooring visit, we told them the floor was still uneven and that the vinyl continued to pop up. On the third visit, a team member stepped on the area that was popping up and said, "There's nothing wrong!" After we insisted they open the floor, we discovered that cardboard packaging from the vinyl floor boards had been used underneath the floor to address the leveling issue...
When we finally thought the flooring was finished, another problem surfaced. The trim at the top of our staircase that had been installed only about two weeks earlier came loose, and I fell down the stairs as a result.
We then discovered that our replacement dry wall was visibly uneven and not flush with the existing wall. Even after their team came back to work on it, the transition was still not flush, if not worse!
Regardless of whether subcontractors were involved, we hired Into The Woods to ensure the work was completed properly and ultimately hold them responsible.
On top of having to repeatedly identify problems that should have been caught through proper supervision and quality control, the most frustrating part has been communicating with Into the Woods direct team members, especially their owner, Shamus. We constantly felt like our concerns were minimized and dismissed. Even if the work had been perfect, the interactions with the company throughout this entire process made us wish we never signed anything with them.
*Additional Review After Owner's Response*
Unfortunately, Shamus' response to my review is itself a reflection of our experience with Into The Woods. Throughout the project, our concerns were repeatedly reframed rather than addressed. We were reassured that issues would be taken care of, only to find them unresolved on subsequent visits. When we continued to speak up, we often felt our words were misconstrued, our concerns minimized, and the burden shifted back onto us.
The response emphasizes that the company made 7-8 return visits. But the number of visits does not mean the work was properly completed. In fact, having to repeatedly request corrections is exactly what made this experience so frustrating. Many of those visits were to address warranty or punch-list issues that should have been resolved as part of completing the original work.
I also want to correct the characterization of the financial accommodations. The nearly $10,000 shortfall was not covered by Into The Woods as a "good-faith discount." The remediation company that referred us to Into The Woods chose to cover the additional costs after we shared our negative experience with Into the Woods. They asked Into The Woods to go above and beyond to restore our home, and we are genuinely grateful to the remediation company for stepping in to help make things right.
Separately, Shamus offered us a $1,000 "gesture of goodwill," which we declined. This offer came after we discovered cardboard packaging from the flooring underneath our floor.
The stair-nose explanation in the response is particularly frustrating. The response leaves out the fact that approximately two weeks had passed since its installation. When the stair nose came loose, we photographed the underside and found a substantial amount of adhesive that appeared not to have properly bonded. The company subsequently returned to repair it.
We don't expect construction to be completely free of problems. We do expect a contractor to listen to concerns, supervise the work, communicate accurately, and make sure problems are actually resolved.
This experience cost us an enormous amount of time, frustration, and peace of mind. After everything we've experienced, we would not hire Into The Woods again, and we hope prospective customers consider our experience before making their decision.
