In November 2011 I had hardwood floors installed in my home. Although it has been 18 months since the service I feel it is necessary to write this review as it's important for consumers to really understand the level of service and support you get from a company. To start with, during the initial consultation (they did come to my home) it was agreed to put hard wood floors in, soundproofing underlayment and new baseboards, for 2 separate floors. A price was negotiated and a payment agreed upon, to which 50% is paid up front for materials, (this is is non-refundable). The day the installer arrived he immediately complained about not being able to install the sound proofing (for some reason which made no sense to me or to the person who came to my home for the consulation ). So, now I can't have soundproofing and feel that I can't decline the service because they already have my money. My first issue is why have an inhome consult and sell a service that you can't support? In addition to this, the installer was 'put off' by having to install the larger base boards and stated that he didn't have enough "nosing" to complete all the stairs and landings (which I paid for). So 2 more components of service were not followed through. During the installation, the installer broke one of my light fixtures ... which I cleaned up and no offer from the company to compensate me for it. The installer was running behind and started to rush through the work and cut the carpet away from the stairs leaving an unsightly transition from the stairs to the floors. I had to ask him if he could fix it to make it look even somewhat professional. After all of this, I ended up paying for the job, begrudgingly. 6 months after the installation I notice all of my floors start squeaking. When I stop in to see the folks at downtown flooring and raise the issue with them, the only response I get is ... there is nothing we can do. When I ask if the soundproofing could have prevented the issue, I get the classic, "shrugging of the sholders" - translation - too bad.
1 year later the squeaking problem continues to get worse and I finally find a company, "squeaky floors" to come in and see if they can solve the problem. It turns out they can (at the tune of $1000) and the reason for the issue ... the installer was lazy during the installation process and did not stagger the staples between the joists. This coupled with a slightly uneven floor causes the floor to squeak. If the installer wasn't negligent with the staples and if I actually got what I paid for (the soundproofing) I wouldn't be having this problem. In the end, Downtown Flooring failed to fulfill their obligation to me. I only wish I had written this review sooner so that other customers would not have to go through what I have. I am extremely disappointed in this company.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,000.00
- Company Response
Further to the above issue and inspection by the senoir wood installer and the owner of Downtown Flooring Co. Ltd - Steven Knab the following was determined. The existing floor has developed a large roll
in the sub floor. This is caused as the joists settle under neath the subfloor and in the case have risen up creating a roll in the floor. As the joists move it causing the ply wood sub floor to move and hence
the final surface ( hardwood we insttalled ) is now also moving. Resulting in a "squaeking floor". This also explains why the noise got worse over time. This type of sub floor issues are not the responsibility of the flooring installer and in fact we could never know this was going to happen 12-18 months later. all these types of issues are explained in our " Terms and Conditions" Now not to leave the client un happy and trying to help resolve the issue proberly we have agreed to remove the new floor and expose the sub floor issues. We will also try to repair the sub floor but the client under stands and agrees that we are not in the framing / structural business so they may need to call in a general contractor if required? Also as a gesture of good faith Downtown Flooring Co. Ltd. is supplying the replacement hardwood at no charge and the client is paying for the labor to try to do the repairs to the sub starte. We are attempting the repair towards the end of May 2013.