ARTISTIC HARDWOOD FLOORS OF CONNECTICUT

Very high quality results, great people to work with, and reasonably priced. I will absolutely use Cliff again for the rest of the hardwood floors I need installed. I am not the easiest person to satisfy and I do require that I get what I was told I would. Cliff and his crew lived up to what I was told!

We're extremely happy with our new floors, and the entire experience from quote to completion was excellent!! We're in the process of doing some remodeling and Artistic was by far the best contractor we've worked with - he was very prompt on returning all calls, very transparent and flexible on his pricing, and the services were performed on-time to our complete satisfaction. Highly recommended!!

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Job was completed and Wayne Patterson( owner) was called back to review some blemish areas where boards were not fitting properly and buckling. He was paid the full amount due for the job. He committed to repair and commented on how he always delivered complete satisfaction. However he has not returned numerous calls over last 2 months to schedule the repair. I would not use Wayne again not recommend him to others As he does not stand behind his work. (In)action speaks louder than words! Stay away!

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The Process:

We met with Wayne initially to discuss the project and walked him through all areas we wanted addressed. Wayne, who is well-organized and responsive, came back quickly with a price quote that was affordable and acceptable.  Wayne had several suggestions on installing and maintaining our floors, for example, creating sections by using a threshold or other separator as part of the floor so not all of the floor needed to be refinished at frequent intervals ? only high-traffic areas. 

Upstairs hardwood flooring ? new install:

We chose oak hardwood floors and a latex finish that was a close match to our existing hardwood floors. Wayne?s work is very impressive. There are no gaps between boards and the finished product was beautiful and really changed the feel of all the rooms on the floor.  His work is so good, in fact, that our old floors (installed by another contractor when we bought the house) look inferior to what he installed.

Refinishing and repair of existing hardwood floors:

Wayne also refinished our existing hardwood floors installed by another contractor. There were several areas where the workmanship of the other contractor was not good and we asked that he repair these. He did a very good job repairing the work, making it look better than it did even when it was first installed.  Wayne refinished the existing floor and perked it up very noticeably. He did a great job of blending it with the newly installed floors on our second floor.

Installation:

Because we had such a significant part of our house being worked on (two floors) we moved all our furniture (it?s amazing how much furniture you can fit into a bathroom) into various rooms that were not being refinished, and planned a vacation so that we were out of the house while he did the significant part of his work.  As it was during the winter when this work was being done, Wayne went above and beyond by installing a plow on his truck to get his equipment into our driveway when our driveway plowing contractor did not clear as much snow as was needed for Wayne to operate.

We met with Wayne initially in April 2014 as we started to get quotes to have hardwood floors put in our home.   We hadn?t decided yet on whether or not to go with pre-finished wood or natural and have Wayne stain the unfinished floors
? he was willing to whichever we chose.  Very flexible.
Wayne knows a lot about flooring and provided fantastic guidance without any bias at all. He wants you to feel comfortable with your choices.  There is no pressure or sales tactics with Wayne.   His only goal is to provide you with information so you can make an informed decision that works best for you.  We took our time and did more research.  We ultimately decided on
unfinished flooring and had hired Wayne to handle the finishing.
Wayne did a FANTASTIC job with the flooring in our house.  We had to do this over several months from mid-summer through the month of November.   Wayne and his crew are all business and extremely reliable ? they always arrived when expected.  
Wayne takes pride in his work and clearly enjoys what he does.   He installed flooring in the entire first floor of our home and it looks fabulous, so good that we plan to bring him back to install hardwoods on the 2nd floor of our home in Spring 2015.
We would highly recommend Wayne for any new installations or refinishing of your existing hardwood floors.  On a personal note, we found him to be friendly, personable and trustworthy.  Great guy that is highly skilled in his craft.    You may find cheaper alternatives out there but in doing our research, we learned that this is a business that you truly get what you pay for. And with Wayne, he delivers on his promises.

Wayne Patterson knows old houses. He was one of 4 quotes we received and was the most reasonable. He also has a true appreciation for the old house, and wanted to remain true to the design. Therefore, the new floors were not prefinished, but beautifully build in, sanded, and finished. Quite a transformation. And completed in time for our move-in date.

Wayne and his crew renewed our 120 year old hardwoods and expertly matched the few sections that were beyond repair.  The work was all done while we were away and when we returned we could not be more pleased with the work done as well as the cleanup - not dust at all.

The results are excellent.....we love our new floors!!   Wayne had to weave the new kitchen flooring into the existing hardwood floor in our dining room, as we wanted a seamless look.  He also had to match the floor levels in the adjoining rooms, since the old flooring, which was tile in our kitchen and carpeting in our living room, were higher than the rooms with existing hardwood floors. We received two other quotes but Wayne understood our concerns and gave us confidence that he could work through the issues. Mission accomplished..... our floors are fabulous!!!  You wouldn't know that the dining room floor was installed many years ago.  He also refinished the floors in our dining room and family room areas.  We went with water based polyurethane and we're so glad we did.  It had minimal odor and were were able to walk on our floors a couple of hours after application in our stocking feet, so no need to relocate us and our cat.  The dustless sanding really is dustless and they were very clean while they worked, always cleaning their work area each evening before leaving.  Wayne, his brother-in-law and another worker were always pleasant, and professional.   In watching them you know that they take pride in their work.  They were also flexible in providing more service than the service we previously agreed upon, as we had decided to remove the old flooring (not recommended after going through it). We had some problems with removing some of the tile and sub-floor in our kitchen.  Wayne and his brother-in-law finished up the removal in no time at all. Since they are a small company with Wayne and/or his brother-in-law doing the work themselves, you can be assured they are making certain high quality of work is being performed.  They truly are experts in their trade and you can see it in their work.  I would highly recommend them to anyone considering refinishing or installing wood floors.  (Note the above cost includes the cost of the wood.)

It didn't go but I needed to provide all the answers in order to submit this.
That is also the reason I didn't complete the 1st request for a review.
Update:  11/18/13.  Angie's list sent me an email saying that I didn't complete the survey or the results of my using this provider.  If you had read my answers you would've known that I didn't use this contractor!

We were very pleased.  The price was very reasonable; they called and said they could do it earlier than promised; they showed up on time; they went about their business and the results were excellent.   And on top of it, Wayne and his crew are very friendly and a real pleasure to work with.  We will probably have some more work done next year and will definitely call them.

The work went just like they said it would. They showed up on time, moved the furniture (I had done all the small furniture), ripped up the carpet and got rid of it, removed the moldings, installed the wood flooring using a clear tarp to keep dust to a minimum, there was 1 small change I wanted and they took care of it no problem. Next day they finished the job of installing, cleaned up and moved all the furniture back. Also replaced the molding. Professional!

At the time we were selling our home this company refinished our hardwood floors in the  short time after we had moved out and the new family moved in.  Phone calls were answered promptly; they were always very responsive and willing to reschedule to an earlier date when the buyers wanted to move up the closing.  I would highly recommend their quality work which was done within our short time constraint.

Based on recommendations from Angie's list, I contacted Wayne Patterson, who came to our home within a few days of my call to evaluate our situation.  I found him to be exactly as described by other Angie's List members - honest, knowledgeable, straightforward and very pleasant.  Wayne measured the rooms and gave me a cost estimate right then.  I had expected to have to wait while he went back to his office to do the calculations.  The price was within our budget, so we set a date for Wayne and his crew to come back in a few weeks to do the work.  On the first day they removed all the furniture from the rooms and put plastic over the doors and built-in bookshelves to contain the small amount of dust generated.  They tore up the carpeting and removed it.  I didn't even have to worry about disposing  the remnants of the old carpeting.  They took care of everything. 
Many years ago, I refinished the hardwood oak floors in our daughter's home by myself, so I had some idea of how it should be done.  Or so I thought. The techniques that Wayne and his crew used would put me to shame!  They were much more efficient and effective, with much more impressive results.  The crew is used to working together, so the work is done in almost total silence.  Each worker knows what the other is doing and where his part fits in the total scheme.  It was enjoyable to watch.  The floors became more beautiful as each succeeding coat of polyurethane was applied.  My wife and I couldn't believe the final results, which were better than we had hoped for.
It has been over 6 months since our floors were done and they have held up perfectly, even with the regular visits of our active grandchildren..
Artistic Hardwood Floors has got to be the best-kept secret in this area.  It is very easy to give them my highest endorsement without reservation.

Wayne was great to work with.  He was honest, professional, dependable, friendly & knowledgeable.  I would definitely recommend him for anyone doing hardwood floors.  The result was beautiful.  He offered some great ideas on our fireplace hearth.  He was easy going when our schedule changed & we had to push his work out a week or so.

I joined Angies List recently as my brother and I wanted to get started on some improvements on the family house. Not having much experience in this area we decided to join the List and see what other people had to say about their contractors,we are glad we did.I read the reviews on Artistic Floors and called Wayne Patterson.Wayne came to do an estimate on Aug 9th( he arrived 15 mins. ahead of time eve though it was about 30 miles away, I like that). I had two other estimates all within a $100 or so of each other but I decided to hire Wayne because I liked his demeanor,easy to talk with,energetic and never pushy.We were in the middle of remodeling the kitchen and bathroom and were hopeful that project would be completed by the 1st week of September, Wayne said just to give him a call a week in advance if I could for scheduling purposes.Needless to say the bath and kitchen were not finished on schedule. I called Wayne on Tuesday Sep 18th and said my brother was moving into the home shortly and asked if he could do the job as soon as possible.Even though Wayne had told me in August that September was a busy month for him and his crew,they would find a way to get the job done because he never refuses work.The next day Wayne called and said they could sand on Thurs. and they would finish with the polyurethane coats on Saturday and Sunday! Wayne even repaired a board that had cracked at the top of the stairs when we moved the refrigerator( no charge).Wow.... The bottom line is that Wayne and his crew did a terrific job and went out of their way to take care of the customer and I couldn't ask for any more than that!

They were very professional and did what they said they would do. No games.  The stain we picked was a very light color which is not always easy to apply evenly.  There were some areas after the first round that we were not completely satisfied with.  They redid them without any complaints.

Wayne and his team did a great job and were very clean and punctual. He had to be a little creative with my hearth situation and did a great job.

We had about 5-6 different estimates.  We liked Wayne's energy.  We just got a good feeling from him.  He was a little bit more expensive than the other people, but we were able to come up with a fair price.  Wayne was our 1st choice and we didn't regret it.  He & his team are very professional and courteous.  Wayne was prompt in returning my phone calls, and patient with answering my questions.  The job took 1 week to put the wood in, week two we had the painters come while the wood adjusted, week 3 Wayne's team came back to sand & apply the water based protectant.  We also bought our wood from Wilson Woodworkers (which I'd also highly recommend)  that also gave Wayne great reviews.  We are very please with the results & would highly recommend Artistic Hardwood.

This was one of the best experiences ever in having work done in our home. Wayne came to review the project and provide an estimate exactly when he said he would. The work was performed on time and the crew was always punctual. The kitchen floor was stained and then three coats of polyurethane were applied with a light buffing given before the last coat was laid down. The results are superb and we are delighted with the results. Our floors now look so beautiful, it seemed a shame to cover them with the oriental rugs again. Wayne even came back with a crew member to replace the heavy pieces of furniture. I commend Mr. Patterson not only for his considerable skill, but for first rate time management, good eye for matching colors and for the enormous pride he takes in his work. He also kept exactly to the quote he issued. I would recommend him to friend's and strangers alike. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I had a new two story house built, with hardwood floors installed throughout. One of the last steps to completing the house was finishing the hardwood floors. Unfortunately, I had a terrible experience getting this done until I found Artistic. The first company that performed the work applied an oil based sealer that was incompatible with the waterbase finish. I then hired a second company to redo the floors. They ruined my floors with a very bad edging job. Around every corner there were unsightly gouges, valleys, etc. This required the floors to be totally refinished again. As a result, I hired a third company, who did a good sanding job but applied the finish very badly. I then hired a fourth company to redo the work yet again. They ruined my floors by leaving chatter marks everywhere. i was about ready to give up and carpet my house when I saw the good reports for Artistic on Angie's List. I called the owner, Wayne Patterson. He came to my house and assessed the work to be done. I hired him on the assumption that i wouldn't be fooled five times in a row. Also, I was determined to get my floors finished correctly. Wayne and his crew spent about two weeks at my house. The job was made difficult because removing chatter marks takes time, skill, and patience. Of course, the cost of Wayne's work for my house reflects this and was therefore higher than what would normally be charged. Wayne and his crew did an excellent job. They were prompt, hard-working, professional, and very easy to deal with. Their work ethic and standards are far superior to the other companies I had used. Generally, Wayne had a crew of two or three people in addition to himself working at my house on any given day. Every crew member was a true professional. The chatter marks were removed and the floors are now flat. The edging and blending are near perfect. The finish is excellent, with no lap marks or pooling. I note that a waterbase finish takes skill to apply properly. It is not easy to do. They did not harm any of my walls, many of which i had repainted because the previous companies had damaged them with scrape marks, hit marks, and  splattered floor finish. I have expensive custom cabinetry in my kitchen that was likewise unharmed. Wayne even fixed some gaps between floor boards that had appeared due to poor installation. I had been unaware that such problems could be fixed. None of the other companies seemed to know about the procedure that Wayne used. it is much better than filling the gaps with putty, which will eventually crack and fall out.The sanding equipment used was advertised as dust free. I found very little dust on my walls or woodwork after their work was complete. As a result, there was much less cleanup to do than with the other four companies. My advice to anyone having floors refinished is to realize that this is a very unregulated industry with no standards.  There are many companies doing shockingly bad work. I know because i hired four of them. You won't see how bad the work is until the final finish is applied and it is too late to correct the problems. With no industry standards, it is difficult to identify a good floor refinishing company. Those reading this review now won't have this difficulty and don't have to go through the expense and agony that i went through..

I recently purchased a new home and one of the first things I wanted to do was have hardwood floors installed on the 2nd floor. Since this wouldn't be cheap I did some research. There are so many hardwood flooring contractors that I ended up calling at least 10 and scheduled several estimates. Out of all the people I talked to, I had two people that stood out (Wayne and someone else). During my research I spoke with Charles Peterson who writes the exams for the NWFA (national wood flooring association) inspectors and writes a lot of articles for Fine Homebuilding. He said the two people I chose would do a good job. Wayne spent the most time taking his measurements and was the only one to point out possible problem areas (there was a rounded part of molding on the bottom of the stair rail, the nosing before the stair landing was not level, and the nosing that had to be installed at the top of the stairs had an issue). He was the most knowledgeable and was able to answer all my questions. I was surprised that his price was lower by $1000 compared to two other people who submitted bids. He also was the only one who was able to give me a quote right after he measured. The timeline of the whole project: Wood was delivered on April 20th and let acclimate for a week. Wayne's distributor delivers the wood and puts them in rooms where they will be installed. Others may just drop them off in your garage, etc. They removed the baseboard molding on April 29 and had flooring installed by Sunday May 1st. It is worth noting that Wayne used a vapor retarder between the subfloor and hardwood that is specially made for hardwood flooring. Others may just use regular tar paper not specially made for wood flooring. The floors acclimated more and sanding started on May 10th and finished with the staining and 3 coats of poly on May 13th. After they were done, I looked over the floor and noticed that some spots the two walk in closets that looked like they were not buffed. I called Wayne and he sent his workers to screen and recoat the closets the next day. Everything else was great (no large gaps or waves, etc) We were very happy with the process overall and would highly recommend Wayne. He was great in keeping in touch with the customer. If you left a message on his home number he would always call back that night and you could get a hold of him on his cell very easily. Wayne was always there on the job with his employees. Others may have several crews where the owner doesn't do work anymore. I have found good success with owner operated contractors. One of my friends used a competitor who sent a different young kid each day to finish installing! Make sure you do your homework so you can ask good questions when interviewing contractors. If you do, it will be obvious that you should choose Wayne. If I need to have any hardwood flooring work done in the future, I will definitely give Wayne a call.

We recently purchased a 30 year old home that we wanted to renovate before moving in. We initially were just going to refinish our hardwood floors in our dining room/formal living room (solid oak, small planks, light wearing), but when we tore up carpet in our eat-in area, we found the same flooring underneath. There were five very large stains on the wood, but overall, it was in really great shape. There were also a few holes from old radiators, but nothing that couldn't be remedied fairly easily. Wayne came out to do an estimate and was extremely thorough and forthright from the very beginning. He responded to our phone calls and always kept us informed of what was going on. We only had a week before we were going to move in, and Wayne managed to squeeze us in so that we could have our floors done before our moving date. Wayne and his crew worked hard and efficiently, and they kept the surrounding areas really tidy. I am not exaggerating when I say that our floors way exceeded our expectations - the color and the character that Wayne and his team brought out of our floors was just absolutely amazing. You cannot even tell that the dark stains were even present in the wood, and the finish is even and shiny. The custom nosing that had to be installed was also perfect and we could not ask for anything more. Everyone that has seen our floors has been speechless, and we could not be happier with the service, quality, and value that Wayne and his team provided us.