In April 2013, we hired Mike’s Flooring based on largely positive reviews on Homestars, which in hindsight was a horrible decision because we ignored several very negative reviews that closely mirror our experience. The process of selecting our flooring, the estimate and the install took approximately two weeks, which was very quick. Our experience went progressively downhill after that. The day of the install the contractor showed up and was abrasive and loud. There were a few jobs that were left to do before the install (removing staples etc.) that he told me he would do ‘under the table’ without the company becoming involved. So he charged me a price I that I couldn’t really haggle on due to the last minute nature of the request (we were moving in the following day and had a small baby). The price was definitely on the high side given that the initial quote for removal was $500.00 or so, but given that we had no other option, we agreed to the price.
I came back when the job was almost finished and took a look around and noted a few deficiencies (ie baseboard not re-attached) and he became angry and said he had already put his nail gun away. Eventually his assistant volunteered to do the quick fixes and he proceeded to finish the carpet on stairs. While doing the carpet he yelled loudly and cursed at his assistant constantly and seemed more intent on finishing quickly than doing a good job. After I looked around quickly (things seemed ok on first glance) they left, at which time I noticed they left garbage from the job on our front steps, as well as a thick layer of sawdust throughout the house (I am utterly convinced they did many of the cuts in our master bedroom as it was covered in sawdust, which also got into the window screens and had to be scrubbed out).
Before the move in I took a closer look around and noticed that many of the cuts on the base shoe were poorly done, leaving large gaps between them. In other places the base shoe was separated from the baseboard, or just tacked into place where it clearly didn’t fit. Some of the base shoe’s were cracked or broken from the nail gun, but left in place as if things were actually ok. The bull nose on the stairs was substantially smaller than the one it replaced leaving large gaps on either side of the stair way that are very noticeable. The fireplace was also left with gaps and the base shoe was just tacked into place leaving visible holes on the floor. When you read Mike’s contract it says he is not responsible for anything besides the flooring…this was clearly evident as the base shoe was just tacked into place everywhere regardless of whether it fit or not. The bull nose also looks horrible. Should that not have been part of the consultation process??
The carpet on the stairs was also shoddily done. The cuts were not clean enough leaving runs on the edge of the carpet. On the top landing the cuts leading to the bull nose were not precise, leaving a visible gap underneath the first stair. Many staples were left in the carpet, and were not sunk completely. We have a young baby and are still finding random staples protruding from the stairs when she is crawling up and down them. I have had carpet installed before without a single complaint, and I know it shouldn’t look anything like what I have right now.
In May, we sent Mike an email noting the deficiencies in the work, along with photographs of the worst looking sections of the base shoe. They initially told us that Mike was on vacation but that the issue would be resolved on his return near the end of May. We never heard back from the company until we contacted them again in June. In late June they made one attempt to arrange a time for the contractor (the same one, despite my protests) to come in, however they did not call to confirm the appointment as promised so on the day he was supposed to come, he didn’t show up. We had spent the night before preparing for the installer to come and I also took the morning off from work. When I called the office that day to find out what had happened, no apology was offered and I was not given any sort of commitment on when the issue would be fixed. I was simply told to call back the following week. Despite numerous calls to the office to have the issue fixed, and more emails, it is now 7 months later (as it is now November) and there has been no real progress made to solve the problem. In mid-October we did receive a brief message from Mike stating they would send a new contractor to fix the problem, after we threatened take legal action against the company and file a Better Business Bureau Complaint, however we have yet to hear back from Mike on when this “new contractor” can come in. Let’s just say I’m not going to hold my breath for a solution.
Mike’s Flooring does only two things: take your money; and install flooring without any concern for appearances, or that the job is done completely and thoroughly. I recommend you find a contractor who will do the complete job, instead of charging you for a complete job and only doing 75% of it. Also take a look at the BBB rating. A whopping C-.
Also, I will note that we are REAL customers of Mike's Flooring and this review is was written in the vain hope that other potential customers of Mike's Flooring will be aware of his horrible customer service and shoddy workmanship.
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