Mike's Hardwood Flooring

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There was a lot of controversy about whether the old painted kitchen floor could be saved to look beautiful enough in the newly remodeled kitchen with its new cabinetry,stainless and granite. I requested a darker stain on the floor both to hide flames as well as to create a contract with the cabinetry and with the lighter honey finish of the oak floors. The kitchen floors are fir. Basically I made the executive decision to proceed, believing the floors could be brought back to compliment the new kitchen.

As it turned out, the white paint could not be sanded off completely, but basically the floor looked ok so they went on with the poly. What both they and I should have realized is that we could have easily applied something like shoe polish over the white paint streaks to mask the white before applying the poly coats. Fortunately it actually looks almost better with the slightly distressed look of the floor I keeping with the age and style of the house!

They neglected to put toe mold on the stair landing but came back to do so and installed toe molding in the kitchen at the same time. Honest job, well done.

I was sitting in the kitchen when the crew came roaring into the house, unannounced. A heart-stopping crash ensued when one of them dropped the sanding machine. It was like one of those cartoons where you can see nothing but a cloud of dust and stars and lightning bolts. They got right to work.
The first day they sanded and applied filler to cover the original 1927 nail holes. When they sanded that, all the filler fell out of the holes and cracks. I had been working with the very excellent colorists at RC Shaheen to get an appropriate matching wood stain color, which I applied afterwards, at night. We let it dry for a day or two. It looked perfect.
They spilled quite a bit of filler on the front steps outside. They said that the rain would wash it away but knowing how craftsmen tend to fib about things like that, I got a bucket and a scrub-brush and washed it off.
They then turned off my furnace pilot (so the house wouldn't blow up, which would be unprofessional) and applied a lacquer sealer. The next day after that came the first of two top coats, a process which I wasn't there to witness. As it happened, whatever material they applied had a traffic-cone fluorescent tint to it, making the room pretty much uninhabitable. I ranted about this to them and they were miraculously able to remove it and re-do it with something a little more appropriate. Of course this means that I only have one coat.
When I went to the basement to see whether the furnace was turned back on, I saw that it was perfectly in order. I also saw that all my spare fuses had been employed and a number of blown fuses were sitting about. Also all the basement light fixtures were unplugged.
It may seem to some people that I am describing a bad experience but the guys were absolutely honest, conscientious, and a swell bunch of fellows. I'm a lifelong amateur craftsman myself and I can pretty much tell when somebody is okay. They were cavemen but they were a swell bunch of fellows. I absolutely recommend them (but hide anything breakable). You may find that time has mellowed them since my experience with them. If not, expect an amusing experience.
Oh, and the floor looks beautiful and the price was very reasonable.

Went fine -- as expected. Called their number. Mike returned call. Mike came out and gave estimate. Job scheduled and completed in timely manner.

Work done well. Polite. Efficient. Cleaned up well. as promised.

Mike and his guys are pretty popular and consequently are a little hard to get. We got a date, and an hour or two after the appointed time they came barrelling in to the house, dumping big machines onto the floor and yanking windows open. These are very motivated guys. Don't leave anything fragile lying around. They are NOT egotists, salesmen, or dummies like many other floor contractors. They're guys who do floors. If you have a concern, they understand it. They are professionals at what they do, they know the work, and they are the kind of people who are willing to work with you, to get you whatever you want. I talked with a lot of candidates who I knew were not what I wanted. Mike is a floor guy and does a nice job for not too much money. I would absolutely go right to him next time.