Barrows-Hess Wood Floors

The work done was excellent. Jim and his crew were prompt, neat and very precise in the work they did. He did an excellent job in keeping us informed as to where he was with the project and if any issues arose. We are very pleased with how our floors turned out and definitely would recommend him and will hire him again for additional flooring projects. Thank you Jim!

Very pleased with Jim's work and communication. This a unique situation as we live in a different city then the work was done. The only misunderstanding was how the closet/laundry room was to be done, it competed to door jam, I thought it was being done up to stacked washer and dryer.

unknown

Excellent quality of work and professionalism.  Would recommend to anyone looking to refinish wood floors.

I called Jim Barrows to come for an estimate. He came the same day and explained what he would do and gave me a written estimate at that time. His estimate was very competitive with others I had received. Also, he was highly recommended to me by others who had work done by him. I arranged to have him do the work. He called to verify the day before the work was to start. He arrived promptly when scheduled and he and his crew went straight to work and were very professional in every way. Jim explained every step in detail and finished the job when stated. I couldn't be happier with the results. My floors are absolutely beautiful! I would highly recommend Jim to anyone.

It went really well. It was the first time we had used them. We requested they use water based sealer instead of an oil based. Some companies didn't want to but they didn't mind.

We bought a 1920 bungalow in Davenport with carpet throughout the main floor. Although the carpet itself was clean and in good shape, the pad had worn out in high traffic areas. So we decided to remove the carpet and refinish the dark hardwoods in the most heavily used parts of the house. On removing the carpet, we also found that there were three holes in the floor that had been patched with plywood where the old furnace returns had been. This had been OK under carpet, but would have to be patched with real hardwood to match the rest of the floor now that it was "naked". A finish carpenter friend from our old home town recommended that we use water-based sealant for less fumes since we would be living in the house and have an infant in the home. He told us it would also dry more quickly and be ready to walk on sooner. My wife called our realtor for recommendations for a hardwood refinisher, but none were willing to use water-based coatings. Also, none had time to patch the floor. So we went down the phonebook listings. Jim Barrows of Barrows-Hess Wood Floors was the first to agree to use non-petroleum based products. Although he didn't agree that the water-based products were that much better, he was willing to defer to the opinion of a finish carpenter and the wishes of the customer. The extra surcharge for this product was about $100 over conventional sealer. We told Jim we were on a tight schedule, and he said he could work us in the next week in between other jobs if we could get all the staples and tack strips removed ahead of time. The floor was sanded down to unfinished wood and Jim stitched in replacement stock where the vents had been. He did a great job matching the old and new wood for color and grain. Even though we left the wood "natural" instead of staining, the patched areas are nearly invisible. The sanding process went smoothly, and the crew kept the dust out of the rest of the house with plastic sheeting and masking tape. The sealer was applied over a period of two days, with a sanding in between. The job was done on time. I've only found one small "puddle" of excess in the 1000 or so square feet refinished.