Green Step Flooring Inc

We had our wooden floor refinished by Green Step. They did a wonderful job. The owner was very knowledgeable and responsive. The team did a great job sanding, staining, and adding footboard. They also cleaned well before they left. The price wasn't the lowest I got, but for the quality of the work I'm very happy. Will definitely use them again if I need more flooring work in the future.

The job well very well. I enjoyed working with the owner/sales person, Janar, and the crew leads. They were punctual, communicated well, gave good advice, and performed quality work on schedule and at a fair price. I would use them again and will recommend them to my friends and neighbors. We love the end result: white oak with English chestnut finish!

After having a less than great experience with Lee's Hardwoods on our staircase and second level of our home- we searched to find another vendor to sand and refinish our prefinished main level floors in our home. We were going from a gunstock red/orange finish to a dark ebony finish. Green Step flooring was definitely an improvement over our experience with Lee's Hardwood - but there were still a few issues that prevent an excellent end to end rating. The estimate process was simple and everything was clearly explained. We also went to their showroom just to get some ideas of the stain options to help narrow it down before their crew came onsite. Green Step promotes a "dust free" sanding process which is one of the reasons we chose them over others at similar price quotes. I will say now that this experience is over - there is no such thing as 'dust free' and we had PLENTY of dust. Their crew did a decent job of cleaning it up -but ultimately we had to dust/vacuum the entire house (even upstairs) after this process as the fine dust is everywhere - our HVAC filters were saturated with dust and had to be replaced as well. The crew that came out was friendly and helpful, but there was a communication barrier in some cases. They had a very difficult time disconnecting our gas range. They eventually gave up and told us to call a plumber or other service to do it (which would add expense). After my partner came home he went down and asked them to show him what the issue was - it turned out they were not only not using the right tools and technique, but they were turning it the wrong way. He basically talked them through it and then magically it was disconnected (thankfully saving us the $100 charge to get a plumber out there to just turn a wrench). We also had some difficulty with picking the stain as we were doing a mix and asked for two different stains to be mixed and we thought we liked the result - then found out that he mixed in a different color than we asked for (or he thought he did and couldn't remember). So we had to do it over again and clearly watch what was being poured into the mix to ensure it was right. The lead person who did this process for us was patient and overall a nice guy - but sometimes the lack of communication or miscommunication was a bit stressful. When you are staining your entire downstairs and you have to live with the results for years to come - you want to ensure everyone is on the same page. We were also told that a supervisor would be there daily to check on progress - that never happened which was a disappointment. It was another reason we chose this company because we had a similar bad experience at Lee's Hardwood with lack of communication and new crew people coming out every day that didn't seem to know what was going on. At least we had the same crew everyday with Green Step - but we would have liked to have seen a bit more oversight from a project manager that could communicate better and answer our questions. They did this job in 4 days - but it was 4 long days (something we weren't informed of initially). They typically started around 8:30-9am and didn't leave until 8-9pm that night. While I appreciate the hard work - it would have been good to understand this schedule up front as we were not prepared to have people in the house all evening. Our last experience with a flooring company had them leaving at the usual 4 or 5pm - so we just had not planned to have our entire downstairs taken over from sun up to sun down. For the last 2 nights we did move out of the house due to the smell of the stain. The crew did have a few mishaps with stain getting onto our walls but they did offer to repaint the areas (luckily we had leftover paint) and for the most part they cleaned up properly before leaving. Upon returning home we realized they forgot to install quarter round molding around all of our kitchen cabinets and behind the refrigerator. I contacted Helen at their office and she was able to send someone out later that day to fix the issue (although we never got the molding behind the fridge installed because we didn't want to roll it out on the fresh floors at the time - so eventually we have to do that ourselves, but he did leave the quarter round pieces behind). I do appreciate that Green Step includes reinstallation of the quarter round and painting as part of the standard service. Some other vendors do not offer new quarter round or if they do, they tell you to hire your own painter or paint it yourself when they are done. I like that Green Step includes all of this as just part of the standard offering, so it's one less step for the homeowner to have to worry about. At the end of the day - we are happy with our floors. There are a few spots where we feel the sanding is not level and in one small area in the kitchen it seems like the poly coat is missing or not as thick as other areas. These issues were not critical enough to warrant a formal complaint with the vendor- but must be pointed out as something for others to keep in mind. I get that 1200sqft is a lot of flooring and every inch can't be perfect, which is why we are not calling to complain - but ideally it would have been nice to have a supervisor out to inspect everything at the end of the project and review with us just as a courtesy.

It went very well from the time I first contacted them until all was finished. And, when our sofa scratched up our beautiful new floors, emailed Janar and he sent a nice young man out to fix it! It looked good as new and he didn't charge us a penny. How generous! Thanks so much, Janar!

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Initially it went well. However, over the winter the wood started to shrink and cracks between the boards developed. Some of the cracks were big enough to allow a quarter in the crack. I had shown him our floors in the house we were moving from and he assured me that could produce the same quality. Initially he said he would fix it but then after talking to the wood supplier and getting no support from the supplier, he was blaming the problem on the conditions in the house. The house had normal temperature throughout the winter and I had installed a central humidifier to avoid problems. The actual humidity in the house was at a normal acceptable level. When I realized he wasn't going to fix it, I told him I would take legal action. We are talking about $27,000. He then offered to give me my money back. My wife and I decided we would get someone else to correct the problem. When the floors were finished, many of the boards have these milk like spots which the finisher found out was something Brazilian cherry may have and cannot be fixed because it is a mineral deposit in the wood. The only way to prevent this is to identify these boards when installing the floor. This was obviously not done. Our floor is done but the quality of the floor is no where near the quality of the floor in our previous home. When we left our former house after 12 years, the floors still looked better than our present floor. Other floor installers indicated that he didn't allow the wood to acclimatize initially. The wood was delivered and put down 3 days later. Others indicated that the wood needs to be in the house for several days to weeks to let the house humidity and wood reach equilibrium. The owner of Green Step Flooring said the contractor was pushing him to get the floors installed and that is why he moved ahead so quickly. I don't accept that as an excuse because he is the expert not the contractor. He had great reviews in Angie's List but I certainly would not recommend him.

It was quoted $2,000 but it wasn't. Their work was excellent but they brought in KV-220 equipment expecting me to have a plug for KV-220. They needed to find their own power source.

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Went well, see above.

Short version:
The company left our house empty and unlocked, used damaged floor boards and tried to fix large gaps with putty and left a very dusty house. When confronted, the owner, Janar was rude, patronizing and unhelpful. 
Long version:
The reason we chose Green Step flooring for our hardwood installation was because of their promise of dust free sanding and the use of safe floor finishes (Bona). When scheduling the work we were very thorough when discussing the concerns of dust and off gassing because we have small children and pets. Helen guaranteed that they would hang sheeting to keep dust from going upstairs and would have everything cleaned when we got back. The owners assured us that dust free sanding and the use of water based Bona products meant that we would be able to inhabit the house within three days of the start of the project.
We stayed in town while the work was being done. When we came by to check the progress we found the house unlocked with the key in the door. There was a thick layer of dust everywhere. We called the owners to find out what was going on, and heard nothing back. We left a lockbox for the crew to use to lock the house while they came and went, but apparently they chose not to use it.
Once the work was done, there was still dust everywhere and the smell from the finish was so bad we had to stay out of the house for an extra couple of days. The owners were out of town so we had to find our own cleaners to clean dust from every single surface in the house. 
Helen was very apologetic and tried to be helpful, but Janar told me I was overreacting and that there must have been an equipment malfunction for there to have been so much dust in the house. He argued with me and was very unprofessional. They promised dust free and didn't deliver. 
In addition, they used putty to fill gaps in the hardwoods they installed in many places. They used plenty of damaged boards and I am disappointed with the quality of the work they provided. My floors from 1990 are in better condition than the ones installed 4 months ago. I asked them to come fix it, but all they could do was use more putty. That said, they did a good job blending the new and old floors. The work was done a few months ago. We are shoes off, keep the floors very clean and there are already many small scuff marks on the floor. We paid extra for the "hard as nails" Bona treatment, but that didn't seem to make much difference.
This experience was not a good one. Seems like they have mostly good reviews. Perhaps the owners being out of town the supervision wasn't there. 

They were very punctual and very prompt in all of the feed back.

Absolutely beautiful work!  We had new hardwood installed in the living
room and kitchen and refinished the existing hardwood in adjoining
rooms. They strived to get the shade of stain that I wanted and nailed
it.  The weaving from the existing floor to the new floor is flawless. 
Everyone involved in our installation was professional, caring and
attentive to detail.  I couldn't have been more pleased and would highly
recommend Green Step Flooring.  Job well done Janar, Helen and staff!

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Everyone comments on what a fabulous job Green Step did with our floors.  They truly shine!  They use a dustless system to sand so the mess is almost non-existent.  Then the staining work was fabulous.  They put 4-5 colors on the floor for you to see before you pick.  They were on time and professional and had excellent pricing.

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Review of Green Step Flooring , Inc, Cary, North Carolina: February 28, 2014
Green Step removed our very old carpet and particle board and hauled them to the dump; installed red oak flooring in 3 rooms and a hallway and sanded, stained and sealed it; installed stained shoe molding to match; and refinished the oak flooring in kitchen/dining area, stairways and entryway.
The bottom line: they did a great job and it looks terrific.  Everything was very professional, on time and done carefully and efficiently.  What to expect:
Janar, the owner, arrived as scheduled for a no cost estimate and within 15 minutes he had measured the relevant space with his laser "yardsticK", input the data into his tablet, and emailed an estimate of cost for the job including breakdown of all items.  The cost was at least as good as that of excellent competitors that we had checked and we received a discount for choosing Green Step through Angie's list. 
The work was conveniently scheduled to begin in two weeks, on a Monday, and end that week, on a Friday.  Those expectations materialized.  The floor installation and refinishing was completed on time by Brian and Chris and they completed installation of shoe molding a week later,  as we requested, without additional charge, to allow time for completion of wall painting. 
Before the work was to begin, we visited the Green Step Flooring office, where Janar showed us large oak squares with different stain options.  That helped in narrowing our choices.
After we had all furniture removed on a Tuesday, the red oak flooring arrived Thursday on schedule and was stacked out of the way to allow it to acclimate to the interior environment.  The total delivery time was only 30 minutes, done very carefully and efficiently.
The following Monday, Brian and Chris arrived on schedule, pulled all carpet and particle board and laid out the wood in the rooms.   They worked energetically and carefully and were an excellent team, having done this together for years.  We were amazed that they got so much done in one day.
Tuesday, they returned on schedule and worked that day and the next installing all of the new flooring, with Mikey's help cutting some pieces to size.  Again, excellent work and teamwork.
Thursday, Brian and Chris returned on schedule and sanded and stained the new flooring and the existing flooring. 
Brian gave us a preview of how our 4 potential stain choices would look by creating a grid of temporarily stained squares on the new and old sanded floors.  That helped us narrow the choice to two possibilities.  Brian's input helped to swing the vote, for which we are grateful. 
But Brian's advice about how to spend the evening was even more valuable.  The
oil-based Dura Seal Quick Coat Finishing Stain does a beautiful job but has a very strong chemical odor.  With Brian's
advice, we stayed overnight in a nearby motel.  That mini-vacation was so enjoyable that we stayed a second night as
well.  We recommend at least a one night vacation the night of the staining.  Even better, a second night also, after the 3 coats of Bona polyurethane are finished, which was done on Friday by Brian and Rob.  We chose Bona Traffic HD polyurethane; it is
a bit more expensive than the basic Bona Traffic but creates a more resilient floor finish and releases less volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) into the air during the finishing process.   On Saturday, we were able to air out the house and walk on the floors.  One year later, we can now attest to the durability of the product in protecting the wood floors.
In one short week, the job was begun and finished and the rooms transformed.  Good riddance to the old carpet and the scratches on the wood floor installed years ago and hello to a beautiful new--and healthier--residence.  Thank you Green Step.  Thank you Brian and Chris (and Mikey and Rob).