MAIN STREET FLOOR COVERING

We had a very tight window -- one week -- but the folks at Main Street worked with us to make sure that all of the work (which included tearing out several layers of linoleum and plywood) was done within that specific time frame. The owner even came over on Saturday afternoon to put the baseboard back on (after leaving time for the final coat to dry). I suspect I could have found someone to do this job for less money but I don't think it would have been done as well or as meticulously and still fit into the time limits. It was also very nice to be able to walk into a local office and talk to someone familiar with the job any day of the week. This is clearly an old-fashioned family business where the owners take pride in their craft and want to see their customers happy. Oh yeah, and the floors they installed and refinished look spectacular, transforming the house at a fraction of the cost of a remodel.

They were 100% professional: experienced, conscientious and smart. Plus their price was competitive in our local market of established, reputable contractors.

This is a very professional company. They showed up when they were supposed to. The employees were all courteous, friendly, knowledgeable and very trustworthy. We are going to hire them again when we replace our kitchen flooring. We had another company years ago who had done our kitchen floor and we were not satisfied at all.

Their installation was horrible. They hit the hammer on the wood flooring too hard, and it left dents and cracks on the flooring. I have been trying to fix it with them for two months, and it still remains unresolved. Their pricing is fine though.

Original installation went very well. Installers arrived on time and completed work on schedule with minimal problems. However, approximately 2 months after installation, floor started buckling (later called "cupping") and cracks developed in approximately 5-10% of boards in the floor. Main street was very responsive in coming out, and engaged flooring distributor immediately, but claim was denied. Distributor (NRF distributors) and flooring company (Lauzon) said cracks were a result of high humidity in my house, and that I needed to run dehumidifier. I then started reading up on proper flooring installation. National Wood Flooring Association installation guidelines describes in detail wood is supposed to acclimate prior to installation, and how installers are supposed to take moisture readings of subfloor and hardwood, how these are supposed to be matched, and how the installer is supposed to take into account typical humidity levels for a geography. All of these are then used to adjust installation (adding spacers if necessary) to allow for expansion / contraction of the flooring. None of this was done. The only acclimation was to place the unopened boxes of hardwood in our house 2 days prior to installation. I went back and forth with Main Street, the distributor NRF, and with the manufacturer Lauzon for over 2 years. First I was told that additional spacing was required around edge of the room. Then I was told that Main Street would replace cracked boards, but that I had to wait for a year in order to let the boards shrink. Then, I was told that there were too many boards to replace and that the best solution would be to add a layer of finish to the top. Finally I was told that the best solution would be to buff the surface of the floor and then recoat with finish. The straw that broke the camels back was when I was told that neither Main Street, NRF, nor Lauzon would pay for this work. At this point, at the cost of $450, I hired an independent flooring inspector to come to the house and give me an opinion. He indicated that the problem was not my fault. In his opinion, the problem was with defects in the hardwood. I again tried submitting a claim with this new information, which Lauzon denied again, instead relying on the original inspection that stated problem was with humidity level in my house. At this point, I realized my only option was to appeal to the only party that had real leverage in this situation. I wrote a letter to the CEO of NRF Distributors. Through the assistance of NRF customer service and the appeal to the CEO, I eventually received 3 boxes of hardwood and a cash amount to pay for labor to remove cracked boards and replace them. My complaints with Main Street in this process were: 1) I believe they did not follow best practices for installation. NWFA installation guidelines clearly describe detailed measurements and installation techniques and these were not followed. 2) Main Street did not act sufficiently as my advocate to achieve resolution of this issue. Eventually they told me I needed to deal directly with the distributor. Main Street should have aggressively pursued a compromise solution between themselves, NRF and Lauzon to resolve my flooring problem. 3) If indeed home humidity level is critical for flooring performance, Main Street should have advised me of this fact before selling the product to me and installing it. They are the flooring experts, not me. They should ensure that the location and conditions where the product is being installed are suitable. I do give Main Street credit for being responsive and for coming out to the house several times to discuss options. Unfortunately, the options kept changing and they dropped the ball by not taking ownership to drive resolution of this problem.