E & T Finishing

Contacted E & T Finishing April 2016 to refinish top of our 40” X 40” oak and burl walnut coffee table. As per their request, email photos were sent for their cost to do, which was subsequently quoted as $390.00. Upon delivery of finished table we were given a bill of $500. This “extra” cost of $110.00 , which was never mentioned before, was explained as pickup and delivery. We reluctantly paid the $500.00. Notably, no protection or security/tie-down of the table was provided and the finished table was delivered dirty. While the finished table top eliminated locally exposed wood, closer observation of the finish after clean-up exposed a very disappointing flat finish rather than the original gloss finish!!. Subsequently, the rating of “C” was given for the finished workmanship.

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I left a message and he called me back within 15 minutes.  Another refinisher that I had called previously took 6 days to call back.  I sent pictures via email to give him an idea of the damage.  When I got to his business, the damage was more extensive than the photos showed and we agreed on a course of action. The repairs took a little over a week and he and his wife did excellent jobs.  You could not tell that there ever was any damage to the game table, and that was the most damaged item.  I am extremely happy with the work and the cost and would definitely use them again.

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They did a great job and the table looks like new.  The surface is perfect and I only am sorry I did not just take to them initially!. They had the table for pick-up on schedule and the price was a agreed originally.

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The table is beautiful.  The finish is perfect and matches the chair sample I gave them.

I used E AND T FINISHING

Terry came out to my house, gave me estimate & started working.  I was quite picky about what we wanted as an outcome & Terry was very accommodating throughout the process.

I called Terry at E&T Finishing to refinish an Executive Desk with a short window of time that it can be done in.  He was very accommodating, punctual and the cost was very fair.  Terry is professional and easy to work with.  I would call him anytime.

The chairs are very sturdy and have been used nearly daily since. The dining set is at least fifty years old and had been refinished once due to water damage. The original refinisher is deceased and so I am pleased to have found someone who could do the job so well.

It went really well. The work is beautiful.  It was an almost antique table and chair set.

The barstools and side chair I had refinished by E & T Finishing were approximately 10-12 years old and had a faded dark blue stain and rattan seats.  After a discussion on the pros and cons of paint versus stain, I requested a semi-gloss paint job in black.  Terry did a fine job; the stools and chair look brand new.  He also reinforced the chair which was a bit "wobbly" and he deep vacuumed the rattan which had absorbed years of dust.  I was very pleased with the job and would recommend Terry to my friends.

I believe the problems I encountered were with the term 'restoration'. I thought they were going to strip off the old varnish, clean the pieces, replace the caning lashings at the joints and revarnish. This is not what happened. The owner gave me an estimate after seeing the pieces, I agreed to that estimate, and he took the pieces to his workshop. A day later, he called to tell me that the caning work was more complex than he anticipated and the estimate of $1700 was going up to $2700. A big increase, but I agreed telling him if the work was excellent, I would be happy. A week later he delivered the finsihed pieces and I was not very pleased. I thought they had not done a quality, craftsman sort of job. The caning was a bit sloppy, finished with staples rather than nails. A few areas were noticably bad. Several nails in other areas were still partially exposed. There was a visible scratch on an arm rest. Some areas were still dirty as if they had not even cleaned the pieces before shellac was applied. After living with the pieces for a week I called the owner and told him I was not satisfied, especially given the increase in cost over the initial estimate. He was very responsive, came back out and took two of the pieces back to work on again (the chair and ottoman which had most of the problems). I mentioned especially how I thought they had not even been cleaned of old dirt and grime and the problems with the caning. A week later, he returned with the pieces. They were better, but still not what I had hoped they would look like. I realize that cleaning and restoring vintage rattan is not easy or quick. That's why I paid (top dollar!) to have it done professionally. Perhaps this company does not specialize in this sort of work. The owner was responsive, friendly, and tried to make it right. I give him credit for that. Given the entire experience I would use this company again, but not for any rattan work. I wanted refinishing: stripping all old varnish, cleaning, and revarnishing. Instead I got what he called 'restoration'.

Bottom line: the furniture does look better. He delivered on time. He tried to fix the problems when asked in a timely, friendly manner. So, not a disaster at all. Just not the quality work of a craftsman that I had hoped for. I would hire them again but be more clear about what my expectations were.