Barnum Floors

It went well. They stayed on schedule and kept us well informed. They were very professional and wanted to make sure everything was done well and right. It is a small local company and they are great!

We left town while our floors were refinished, our house was kept safe, locked in the evenings and the job was done on time.

The work they did was fine, the office is a little unorganized.

unknown

unknown

unknown

We had used Barnum Floors when we built our first Iowa home in 1998. The floor and finish quality was excellent. When we built our second Iowa home in 2013 we went straight to Barnum Flooring. Great consultation as we were putting hardwood floors throughout our home (only the bathrooms and laundry room/mudroom were tiled). We ended up with hand scraped white, wide plank oak in a custom brown color. We had a couple post construction issues and Barnum was quick to repair without hesitation. They didn't look for a quick, cheap fix rather took their time to be sure it was done right. We will be back when we build our third house!

unknown

Perfect!

unknown

unknown

WoW!  These guys are fantastic!  They are artisains in additonal to flooring guys.  The job was perfection and each night left the house cleaner than when they arrived.  The quality of workmanship and products used were the best I've ever seen.  A shout-out to Stephanie for all her hard work as to scheduling, communicating, and billing.  She was great to work with.  The entire staff was great to work with.  I look forward to working with them again.  The "raised" flooring to a new level of workmenship.

They do awesome work! Best in town and very dependable. Do what they say they will

They were here March of 2014. The owner came, and made a wonderful recommendation. He came when he was scheduled to come, their work was scheduled and then they completed it on time. We had normal issue after the work was done, and they handled it within minutes. Everything was just really good.

They were very professional, provided great direction, and met the timeline perfectly.  The finished product was of excellent quality.

The crew arrived on schedule.  Removed existing floor and staircase.  They laid new hardwood floor and built a new staircase.  Crew were professional, neat and are amazing craftsmen.  Very talented.

.

Contacted Barnum and had onsite visit from Gary within several days and estimate emailed that evening.
I was able to schedule further out to work around my summer schedule.  50% deposit secured the contract.
In advance of the work, I removed all wall decor and moved the furniture from the rooms that would be refinished/install.  I also pulled the toilet (and reinstalled) from the bathroom.  The customer has the option of doing this on their own or Barnum will sub with a plumber if requested.
Flooring was delivered about a week in advance to acclimate.
Day 1:  Removed trim, doors, major appliances, and installed master bedroom floor.
Day 2:  Sand, and coats 1 and 2.
Day 3: Coat 3
Day 4: (skip over weekend) Install trim and appliances.
Overall, the experience was pleasant and professional.  Kathy and Stephanie at the office kept me up to date as to scheduling and answered my questions and the workers were very respectful and professional.
For major work happening inside, the dust was minimal and I only needed to do touch up to walls in a couple areas (this is normal and detailed in advance to the customer).
After the work was completed, there were a couple areas where there were drips in the finish on the floor.  When I pointed this out I had the option of them refinishing that area, but I actually passed (I had had a previous experience with floor finishing and the rework area didn't exactly match afterwards).  So it boils down to where you are still going to know one way or another.
My only recommendation to this contractor (and any contractor) is that it would be a nice professional touch that the person giving the estimate or the owner come out to the work site when the work is completed and they do a walk through of the work.  That way the principal of the company is saying "Yes this meets the standard I want to set" and it gives them an opportunity to see if they need to work on some areas.  I think that gap opens the door for businesses to loose a quality control opportunity that would actually strengthen their reputation.  Just having the workers leave the site and leave it up to the customer is a lost opportunity.  I know it takes extra time for the owner to come back out and do a walk through but I believe it provides a better connection and ownership of the quality.  Again, not just in this situation, but in all contracting I feel that the closure of the job should be with the owner or a principal actually surveying the work and saying, "yes this is what I stand behind" and also giving them an opportunity to see their employees work.
I had an excellent experience overall and would both recommend and use Barnum again.

unknown

unknown

I dropped off my house key, and they finished the job while I was out of town. There was a 12" x 12' hole in the floor & subfloor to repair. Before the finishing, I can't even tell where it was. Beautiful job, trustworthy, and fairly priced.

Technicians were skilled and efficient in all phases of the project. Blended color of new strum to older installation. Worked with us to schedule work as part of remodel project but often missed commitments of service dates and times.

Everything was done as quoted.

The floors that had to be refinished were scratched natural maple.  Floors were dyed, stained and protective coats added.  Barnum worked with me to get a custom color.  When they were almost finished and I was going from Omaha to DM to see the floors I got a call that Barnum was not happy with the final color (they were way too dark), so the workers completely refinished them at no extra cost to me.  They are beautiful.   I believe in quality over cheap and Barnum may be more expensive but the end result is worth the price.

Fantastic experience with each contact starting with the owner (Gary) who came to the house to look at the floors.  It was evident that he knows his stuff!   In a  follow up visit to their store in Clive I found more employees who also know their stuff when it comes to wood floor.  And an extensive collection of woods which have had different top coats applied and allowed to age.
I was able to see what my white pine will look like in 5 years if I use oil vs water top coat.  To say that was very helpful would be an understatement.  One company I had give a quote recommended water based top coat.  Man am I glad I didn't go with that.  Oil in my house looks 100% better.

My house is almost 100 years old and therefore needed some boards replaced (35 in total).  I talked with each crew during the process and was pleased their attention to detail.  The finish crew stopped back at the end of the day after applying the 1st coat and gave a couple of areas some additional attention.  2nd and 3rd coats were applied on the following 2 days.  Then on the last day they installed the base shoe which had been removed and refurbished.  I had a number of areas where base shoe was missing and the crew had noted that during the removal process and had new/old pieces that matched the current profile.  When they were finished the floors looked great and all baseboards had base shoe.   If you gauge a company by the interaction with employees, you'd be hard pressed to find a better organization.   Local and family owned.
Two areas to give you a heads up especially if you have never had hardwood floors refinished.  They give you a hand out of recommendations to follow which allow for a best experience.  Such has removing all art from walls along with all the furniture.
Even dustless systems will have some dust, so plastic over doorways is good idea.
And finally, sanding machines are noisy, don't plan on napping while they work :-).