Fitzgeralds Hardwood Floors

Fitzgerald Hardwood flooring refinished our living room and family room floors. Floor were refinished last summer, Jim confirmed that there was a standing issue and we observed swirls on the new floor. He commented that there was dust or dirt on the pad which caused the scratches. He would have to redo the floors. I expressed my concerns as well as my concerns over the color was significantly lighter than the can. He proceeded to state they the can format was changed, round vs square was change, the manufacture confirms that there was not change in formulation. After many attempts of trying to reach Jim and no response am posting today in hopes of him contacting me. If we do not hear back I will post picture of his workmanship. Very disappointed.

We contacted Jim to redo our ballroom dance floor in October 2020 . It was previously refinished using Junkers HP, the floor manufacturers sealer and finish, by another contractor that failed to complete the job because the finish clumped and hardened upon mixing. The manufacturer was clearly at Fault here but we parted ways to seek a more experienced refinisher. Jim seemed very approachable and willing to help us at first to find an appropriate solution to our finish problems and even tested several finishes on different boards we supplied to see if it would provide the friction and glide we needed for ballroom dancing and one that matched the original factory floor finish. It took several months between trying different finishes and scheduling. We were Reassured by Jim that his application was going to match the example he refinished. Once we found the best finish we agreed to pay Jim a sum that was well above the rate of the nearest competitor because of his reviews and his additional work to find the right finish. This was our first mistake. Any contractor would be willing to do this . Jim and his helper sanded the flooring using a method that did not match his example he gave us and we noticed noticed streaking when the finish dried which seemed indicative of not spreading the finish evenly. We mentioned that the floor was not as smooth as we wanted and that this streaking was various areas so we wanted the entire floor refinished to get the consistency we paid him for. We tried reaching Jim after the job and we got a brief reply saying he hadn’t forgotten us but not a commitment from him to return . When I texted him late one night after 10 days to make it clear that we were upset that he wasn’t committing to a time . This is when things changed. He got extremely upset. He also demanded that we not show him videos from the finish manufacturer showing the latest technique that results in even spreading of the product despite him showing us old video that showed his technique! He insisted his T bar method was sufficient and that if we did not permit him to work without our supervision he would not return to redo the job. He agreed to refinish the entire floor but he was very resistant and reluctant to do so. We felt that he seemed offended so I let him work unattended to respect his wishes and his expertise. This was our second mistake. Jim took video after the first time he refinished to document his work and let us know he was leaving . Well this time he just left without telling us . Upon inspection we noticed that he left dirt and debris in puddles of finish at the entrances and exits. There were hairs in the finish that we had to pull out using a razor and drip spots randomly in certain areas from his T bar method. We could see that this was not just an oversight. He had not done such sloppy work like this in the first finish. The length of time it had taken us to get the job completed was over a year from our first contact to when he completed the work. This was extensive even with the pandemic and his location, which was almost 90 minutes from our ballroom . It was a challenging job but certainly attainable and it should have been started sooner but he committed to other jobs. During this time we had endured a few complications including my foot and ankle surgery that kept me off my feet and having to manage our friends business in the same building because he is recovering from a stroke due to COVID . I could hardly walk so my Wife had to let him in and clean the space so that it was fit for refinishing. This was an extraordinary task . We are extremely disappointed with Jim‘a lack of professionalism and follow through especially after telling us that if we had issues with the job he would do whatever he could to make sure it was done right. We feel deceived and taken advantage of. The puddles on the floor cannot be removed at this point. We spent $6000 over the next closest estimate next to his get the job done correctly because we know how difficult it was to find someone skilled to do the work. We should have looked at refinishers in New York City for this price. They would have come. Beware of the contractor with perfect reviews and do not pay them until you see what the job looks like AFTER the finish dries! He clearly felt he had no incentive to return once he had his money and he was not willing to stay committed to completion of the job .

unknown

Excellent! We couldn't have asked for a better job or more punctual, polite service. After removing the original carpeting, we ran into a couple of unanticipated problems, and Jim took everything in stride and came up with solutions. They were here every morning exactly when they said they would be and could not have been more conscientious with their work. We would definitely call them for any additional work we want done and would recommend them highly to anyone looking for hardwood floor work.