Mr Sandless® Inc

When we pulled up the old rug in our guest room, we saw how bad the wood floor looked -- lots of black scuff marks that couldn't be rubbed out in addition to some paint splotches. We didn't want to have to recarpet the room and also didn't want the mess and expense of traditional refinishing. We had heard about sandless refinishing from a relative so we hired Tom to take care of the floor. Even though he wasn't sure he could get all the marks off, he actually did an amazing job! The floor looks gorgeous! Tom was friendly and pleasant to work with and the whole job was done in just a few hours. We'll be asking Tom to refinish our other floors in the spring.

Kevin was great on the phone and was able to get me into their schedule on short notice. The floors definitely needed a new coat of finish. In some spots there is still a difference in color and you can tell where there was wear and tear. However, I do feel like this was better than sanding and will extend the life of the floors.

It looks like the original from when the house was built. They had 3 guys I think come to complete the service. One of the people they brought wasn't an actual worker, I think he was going to start up his own Mr. Sandless business somewhere else and he was observing. It's a franchise. It took about 5 or 6 hours to complete the service. The whole experience was easy. I looked at multiple options for re-finishing the floors. They left the area very clean when they finished.

They confirmed timing he night before and then showed up an hour late. When they got done they explained that they would put all of the furniture back but we needed to wait 48 hours to put the carpets back so in effect we had to move all of the furniture ourselves. The manager of the business was jerk and should not be trusted. He was very specific when we reviewed the job in advance that they would be done in one day. Not 48 hours later and you get to move the living room, dining room and family room furniture yourself...He actually tried to explain his operational definition of what when "the job is done" means. He actually said If you don't pay now he would have the team take the finish off.....

Where was the guaranteed satisfaction

John  

Not good - the first timed they came out - there were several spots missed.  They had to come out again (and were not nice about it - accused me of doing something) - they came out and fixed it.

A month later - the new finish in the kitchen was almost gone - I used only their product (they told me I could no longer use Bona and had to buy theirs to keep a warranty in check).  I contacted them and they said they would come out.  I got an email that they would come out on a Friday and they would let me know the timed - knowing their untrustworthy, when I did not hear back from them as to the time,  figured they weren't coming out..  That Friday morning I go a call from the tech saying he was on his way - however - I had already left for work and I told him no one reached out to me to tell me the time so I figured they weren't coming - the tech was surprised no one reached out and said they would reschedule - however when I went to reschedule I was told it would cost me $100.00 because I "missed" the last appointment.  I argued but figured I needed these floors fixed! For the amount of money it cost it looked like CRAP in the kitchen.  I finally agreed to pay the $100.00 and NEVER HEARD BACK from them.

Finally- the last straw was 2 weeks ago when I was cleaning - the finish started flaking off - it as like skin pealing. I took pictures and sent it to Mr. Sandless again - that was 2 weeks ago and I still have not heard how they plan on correcting this.

I am filing with small claims court

It went good in some places,better in others. All in all the job sold our house.

It was awful as stated above. I had several friends that were going to have that floors done but after I told them my experience they would not use this company.

Good

Did the work fast and actuary time.

Did a great job. Performed as he said they would. Great crew, owner was involved. 3 day job with great care and minimal disruption to our daily lives.

The crew arrived a bit later than promised.  They told me that they got stuck in traffic.  They were very professional, and the lead man seemed to take great pride in his work.  They finished earlier than I expected, as I had been told by Ruth that the job would take all day.  They moved the furniture in the dining room for me.  To do so, they had to take the table apart.  Upon completion of the job, they moved the furniture back and re-assembled the table.  They had a bit of a hard time getting the table level and one of the crew was getting a bit exasperated with my insistance that it wasn't right.   After they left, I realized that the table was not sitting on the legs as it should be.  I called Ruth and she sent them back.  It turns out that the legs were put on incorrectly, but they did fix it.
I did find that while Ruth was very pleasant and responsive during initial conversations, she was less so during conversations once the work had been scheduled.  I was also a bit surprised to find that they would not schedule the work until a downpayment was made. 

Two days after the job was completed, I noticed that no care had been taken to protect the staircase molding and spindles from the the finish and it (the finish) was on the molding below each riser.  When I called about it, I was told by Ruth that is covered by a disclaimer in the contract and it really isn't a problem, as they use a water-based polymer.  There is no mention at all of the possibility of finish getting on the moldin in the contract.  I told Ruth I am concerned because I am having the front hall painted and I don't want this to affect the job.  She called me back to tell me it wouldn't be a problem.  If I am using a professional painter, they should prime and that should take care of it.  I have a call into the painter to explain the situation and get their opinion.  A second call to Ruth has gotten no reply.

The easiest way to communicate my experience with Mr. Sandless is to provide a copy of the complaint I have filed with the BBB based on the companies lack of response on resolving the issue. The BBB confirmed that they have communicated my complaint to Mr. Sandless around May 4th. As of May 23rd I have not received any confirmation that Mr. Sandless has responded to the BBB.
Submitted April 30th, 2012 In January 2012 we contracted Mr. Sandless to remove light surface scratches from pre-finished hardwood floors in the foyer area of our home.  The living room, office and dining room areas are all connected to the foyer so all areas were to be done using their wet sandless process. Ruth, at the Mr. Sandless Philadelphia branch agreed that they could do the job via phone conversation, so pre-inspection of floor was not done. Note: The floors were just under five years old when Mr. Sandless worked on them. Three of the years the home was used as a model home by the builder with little use. We have lived in the house for the past two years so the floors were in excellent condition save for the light surface scratches in the foyer.
The first job was almost complete when the Mr. Sandless crew lead expressed concern that he was not satisfied with a small area in the office. He told us that he would need to return and start the entire process over.
The Mr. Sandless crew returned for the second job and completed it after dark, stating they were complete but that we could not walk on it (and therefore not inspect it) for a few hours until it dried. Upon inspection a few hours later we found significant damage to the quarter round, baseboards, columns and walls throughout the area that they worked on. Including splashing of stain on walls, baseboards, etc. as well as areas where paint had been pulled off the quarter round and baseboard from where they had left painters tape on for over two days. Additionally, the floors were splotched and unevenly finished.
We called the Mr. Sandless Philadelphia branch (where we contracted the service) and notified them of the issue. They offered their apologies as well as to schedule a time for a crew to come out and survey the damage as well as clean and repaint the baseboards, etc. They also stated that no stain should have been used so the crew apparently did not follow the proper process. Another crew came out and repainted the damaged areas (using our original builders paint) and notified us that another crew would be scheduled to come out and fix the floors. We re-painted the walls in the office as they had stain all over the lower parts. According to Mr. Sandless, their wet process could not be used a third time so they would need to use their dustless sanding process to strip the floors down to the bare wood, stain and seal. They also offered to allow us to pick any color, which we did. Upon completion of this job, the crew left, again stating not to walk on the floors for a few hours to allow for drying. After a few hours of dry time, it became apparent that the sanding was not done correctly as the floors were ?rippled? throughout as well as showing swirl marks, most noticeably in the corners.
We again escalated the issue to Mr. Sandless? office and was this time directed to their corporate office where Len (do not know last name), the Vice President, agreed to come out and survey the issue. Len, along with the crew head that did the dustless sanding (Bruno), came to our home to survey the work. Both agreed that something had not gone right that caused the rippling and swirling and agreed to try again to do a light surface buffing to even out the floors then have the wet sandless process done again to restore the color and shine (they later denied committing to the wet process again).
The dustless sanding process was done again to the floors and was stained and sealed. Throughout the day the crew head (Bruno) confirmed with us that he had spoken to Ruth at the Philadelphia branch and that the wet process crew was scheduled to come out the following day to complete the job. The dustless sanding crew completed the job and left. Shortly after their departure, Ruth called and left a voicemail stating that she was made aware that we were expecting them to return to do the wet process but as far as Mr. Sandless was concerned, the job was complete and they had no intention of returning. By the time I called her back the floors had dried and it became apparent that once again the sanding was done incorrectly and the floors were still rippled throughout. In addition the floor was now approximately 1/2? below the quarter round leaving a gap between the floor and walls. The floor was also sanded down to the point where the nails were showing.
I again contact Ruth at Mr. Sandless Philadelphia branch who confirmed that Daniel Praz (Mr. Sandless president) stated that they considered the job complete and were not willing to do anything further. I left two separate message for Mr. Praz over the course of a few days asking him to survey the floors himself to understand the damaged state the floors were left in. The last message I left stated my intent to escalate to the BBB unless I received a response.
Mr. Praz and Len called me back and stated that they did not feel there was anything further they could do using any of their processes. He continued to state that he felt the floors were left in very good condition; however, he did not accept my invitation to survey the floors himself in person and was only going by pictures taken by his crew while the work was just being completed. He also stated that he felt that the quality of the wood used in the flooring could also be part of the issue. The pre-finished flooring used by Blenheim (builder) is rated as High Grade per the insurance adjustors claim report.
Mr. Praz and I agreed that Mr. Sandless would submit a claim to their insurance company for replacement of the floors. Mr. Praz advised that he believed the insurance company would probably depreciate the cost to replace enough where it would not be worth it, but agreed to do it anyway. Knowing that the floors were only a few years old I did not believe that much depreciation would be applied (which was correct based on the insurance adjustors final claim report).
After providing the insurance company (Ohio Casualty) with the specifics of the damage they sent an independent adjustor (Capstone ISG) to assess the damage. The Capstone ISG adjustor confirmed that the damage to the floors was evident (rippling, gap created between floor and walls, nails showing) and that the floors would need to be replaced. He also confirmed that the damage was a result of the workmanship/use of sanding equipment by the Mr. Sandless crew.
In mid April I was contacted by Mr. Sandless? insurance company (Ohio Casualty) representative on the claim decision that they had provided to Mr. Sandless. It was explained to me that the claim was being denied on the grounds that it was the work performed by Mr. Sandless that caused the damage to the floors and that their insurance did not cover that kind of damage. He stated that we would need to engage Mr. Sandless direct to have them return the floors to pre-work condition which would require the replacement of the floors as defined in the insurance adjustors report.
At my request, Ohio Casualty released the adjustors report to me. The report shows a Replacement Cost Value of $11,337.77 and an Actual Cost Value of $11,188.50 (to accommodate for a depreciation of $149.27).
After my discussion with the Ohio Casualty representative I left a voicemail for Mr. Praz requesting he contact me to discuss how Mr. Sandless would rectify the situation. My call was never returned.
I submitted this complaint to the BBB in an attempt to recover the cost to replace the floors damaged by Mr. Sandless. I am able to provide the claim adjustors report as well as photographs documenting the damage. I have also confirmed that  I can have statements from both the insurance company and the insurance ad

The work was very nice.

On the morning of September 29 at 9:05 the Mr Sandless truck arrived and pulled into my driveway.
Bruno, Pat, Gee and Terry unpacked the equipment and set to work. These four young men were tireless, professional, hard working, polite and incredibly pleasant. They worked all day finishing around 4. They moved the furniture without making a mark. They placed it where I wanted it and did so with good humor. Over the day they frequently told me how the job was going. 
I love the floors. I selected a gloss finish as I love a shiny floor. The floors were dull and old. They are now beautiful, perfect and glisten. They look great and the floors here are 73 years old.
Mr Sandless is blessed to have employees of such professionalism, quality and character. They represent the company beautifully. Ruth was also helpful and informative.  
Bravo and well done Mr Sandless.

Good.

They were absolutely wonderful. The floors turned out great and we would absolutely recommend them. The workers were on time and they were very nice. We had no issues with them at all. We were very satisfied with the outcome. We sold the house 1 1/2 years later and they were still in perfect condition. We would recommend them. They were very affordable.

The job went very well. Everything is looking good and there are no complications. They were very good, very courteous and on time. They were very communicative. They are very thorough and they do a very nice job. They are reasonably priced and are professional.

READ ABOVE

The process went very well from start to finish. Everyone I dealt with was capable and professional and seemed to go out of their way to satisfy me. They explained the process to me, answered all my questions and gave me an estimate of the cost. We set a date and the work was completed in a very timely manner for the price quoted. My old, dirty, beaten up floors are now clean, beautiful and shiny. This process did not involve sanding. Anyone considering this should educate themselves as to what a "sandless" process can and cannot do for their floors. Mr. Sandless was very helpful in explaining the pros and cons so I knew what to expect and what my options were.

They scraped off the old wax that was there and put in a fresh coat of polyurethane or whatever it is that they use. They did the job well and were personable. I would rate them highly and would use them in the future if necessary.

The work was of the highest quality and they kept me well informed on the progress. I was very happy with the end result. Of the many projects I am doing in my home this has gone the smoothest. They arrived when they said they would, did what they said they would do, and fiinished on schedule. Bravo!!

They were prompt and professional. This was a sandless process. It turns out that this process removes the original coating on the hardwood floors and then they apply their water based coating. No imperfections on the hardwood floor are corrected before this coating is applied. Minor scratches and stains show through this coating. This was certainly not what I expected.

A rep from the company first came to look at our floors and give us an estimate. He performed a small test area cleaning so I would know what to expect. Later, when deciding whether or not to use their services, I let him know that we were concerned about cost. He further discounted the quote $100. We scheduled the floor treatment and the workers arrived on time and completed the work in a timely fashion. We were very happy with the results. Our new home had hardwood floors that had been sanded down to their limit but were in sub-par condition. The Mr. Sandless treatment evened out the color, removed stains, and was finished to a shine.

I called several companies and they were far away. They were absolutely horrible and I have had the worst experience in my life. It would have probably been fine if I had different guys to come and do it. The company and the product were ok by itself but it was the guys who were doing the work. They were in a hurry and the quality of work was not good. I had to have them back a few more times because they did not do it right.

They arrived when they said they would but when they got here they discovered a problem with the floor. Someone, not us, had previously tried to refinish the floors and had made a real mess of it. The poly finish that was on the floor had been put down incorrectly and it was peeling. At first they thought they would not be able to refinish the floor but after some discussion with the office they did try and refinish the floor. They worked all day and got the floors done. Because of how messed up the floors were they could not give us the 5 year warranty but they did give us a price break because of the problem. They also removed carpet from the master bedroom and refinished the floor there. They also laid quarter round to make the floor look nice and like the other floors in the house. The whole crew worked very hard and explained to us what was happening and why. Because of the prior damage we do not know how well the finish will last but it looks really good so far. I am keeping my fingers crossed and as I told the crew they may see problems and issues that we will not see because they know what the floor is supposed to look like and how the finishing is supposed to work. My husband and I think it looks a million times better and even if there are problems down the road it will probably still look better than what it was like originally.