J & S Custom Hardwood

Johnny Barker was recommended by a reputable flooring company to look at my existing floor to see if it could be refinished. Johnny came and showed me why trying to refinish my floor would not give a good result. He knew a lot about wood floors and seemed to care a great deal about them, so I asked him to give me an estimate for replacing the floor. After a week I called him and he apologized for taking so long for the estimate. He sent it to me that same day. Once I agreed, he brought a sample by the house. It was not the right color, so he brought one more. We said the sample was fine, and he prepared to start work the following week. He arrived the first day with his workers, and he stayed just to get them started. At the end of the day I realized the workers had not removed the drapes from the library. They had only tucked them up on the windowsill. They had also not covered the bookshelves with plastic like Johnny had said they would do. Sawdust was on the drapes and the bottom bookshelves and leather bound books. The following day I asked the workers to remove the drapes and to cover the bookcases with plastic. They said they were going to yesterday, but that they had forgotten the plastic. They finished taking up the floor and applied mud to smooth the surface. The following day not all of the areas were dry, so they waited an extra day before laying the floor. When they had finished, we looked at the floor and realized the planks were 3 different colors. Plus there were many areas where glue was apparent. The shoe molding had been damaged in places. Plus, there were different sized gaps between the boards. I also noticed a large stain spill on the curb where their truck had been. The spill extended from my driveway all the way to my neighbor's. I called Johnny the following day (a Saturday) to ask him to come by Monday morning because we had concerns about the job. He said he could not come over first thing, but that he could arrive that morning. When he did, we went over our concerns. He said the color variation was to be expected because the floor was a red oak. Originally we told him we were trying to match an existing flooring. It had a more uniform color. During the selection process Johnny never mentioned that there would be such a wide color variation between the boards. He did say he would replace one section of the damaged shoe molding. He also said some obvious glue beads were unacceptable. I asked him about the stain on the curb that ran from our driveway down to the neighbor's. He said his crew would be by the following day to work on it. He arrived on time, and they worked through rain to power wash the stain from my curb and the neighbor's driveway. He said those areas were the most important to him. The rest would wash away in time, he said. When he brought the final bill, he had added a $300 charge because removing the floor and evening it out had been more work than expected. It was the first time I had learned of the charge. He knew I was disappointed in the work. My husband and I were so disappointed in the final product that we told him we were going to redo the floor. There was no need for his guys to do touch up. He took $100 off the bill because his workers would not be coming back to replace the shoe molding or do touch ups. I asked him if he would give us a different flooring at cost. He said yes. I did not take him up on his offer because I later learned that he had ordered a very inexpensive flooring for us. After he left, I had 2 different people do more power washing along my curb and by the neighbor's house. I had his work ripped out and the floor redone for $1000 less with a higher quality wood and a better installation.