The floors themselves look great. The installers were professional and did quality work. I'm giving one star because the owner, Chad, cost me a significant and entirely preventable 30% budget overrun -- and he did it after I gave him multiple chances to get it right.
Here's what happened: Chad visited our home three times before we signed. On his second visit, I pointed out that the subfloors were in rough shape and asked directly whether I should repair them. He told me not to worry about it. The weekend before installation, I sent him a video of the floors and said I was thinking about going to Menard's to pick up 1/4" plywood to cover the entire main floor. He called me and told me not to do that -- said it would be a waste of time and money.
Monday morning, his installers walked in, looked at the subfloor, and immediately said it was in awful shape. Their recommendation? Go to Menard's and get 1/4" plywood to cover the whole floor. Exactly what I had proposed. They charged $25 per sheet of plywood plus $40 per sheet to install it.
When it came time to settle up, I wrote two checks -- one for the agreed amount plus half the overrun, and a second check for the other half, with a note to Chad that he should only cash it if he felt it was fair for me to absorb the full cost of a problem he had twice told me wasn't a problem. He cashed both.
I don't know if Chad was inattentive, undertrained, or simply not honest with me. What I do know is that the owner of a flooring company should be able to assess a subfloor. I flagged the issue twice -- once in person, once on video -- and was turned away both times. If you're considering Third Coast, insist on a written subfloor assessment before you sign anything, and get any scope-of-work promises in writing. read more