Please view the “Express Flooring” fiasco before you view this story.
Let the search for a new flooring contractor begin. We drove to Home Depot and we asked for referrals. We began calling flooring contractors. We felt more confident after the “Express Flooring” fiasco. Some contractors were too busy, but we did find a flooring contractor that we felt very comfortable with.
We told the contractor that we would not pay a deposit upfront for labor. We wanted to know the total cost up front before committing, including any cement leveling required. We felt the vinyl tile planks that “Express Flooring” had offered were “too thin and flimsy” to last long term, so we asked to see thicker “water-resistant” vinyl plank samples. The samples presented to us were much better quality than the samples that “Flooring Express” had shown us.
Of course, we knew the contractors were not going to let us pay everything after the job was finished. We went with the contractor to Home Depot and ordered the vinyl planks we would need. We got the “contractor’s discount” and paid for the order at the store. Home Depot said that the vinyl planks would take 10 days to come in, although they cautioned us that some orders could take a few extra days.
The contractor was going to put new flooring in 4 bedrooms (plus closets), the hallway ( plus closet), the formal dining room and the large living room. When the materials arrived, about 15 days after the original order, the contractor loaded up the vinyl planks and stored them in our garage.
We knew the contractor had other jobs going, but we also know that busy people with good planning skills, will get the job done in a reasonable time. About 3 days later, the contractor and his crew showed up and started removing the carpet. We had all the furniture and bedroom stuff stored in the large living room.
On day “one”, all the carpet (except living room) was removed and all the low spots in the foundation had cement spread out to level off the foundation in each room. We ran fans all night and by 10am on day “two”, the contractor and his crew were smoothing out the dried cement, and before you knew it, they finished installing the vinyl flooring in all the areas except the large living room. After finishing the (day two) vinyl flooring installation, the contractor moved all the large furniture back into the bedrooms and formal dining room.
On day “three”, the contractors planned to arrive after lunch, giving me time to remove all the remaining (smaller) furniture from the large living room.
At about 1pm the contractor and crew returned to pull up the carpet in the large living room. Next they poured cement over the low spots on the foundation and we put fans on for the night to dry up the cement.
On day “4”, the contractor and crew showed up around 10am, and promptly started smoothing out the cement. It did not take long for the remaining vinyl planks to be installed.
Before the contractors left, they swept up all around and helped move all the large furniture back into the living room.
We are very pleased with how the flooring looks and how the contractor and crew worked with us.
The Contractor did not get paid for labor, until everything was done to our satisfaction. Compared to the estimate we had with “Express Flooring”; we saved a small fortune. Without a doubt, we recommend Frankie Vargas, owner of “Allstar Flooring” for all your wood flooring needs. Unfortunately, they do not do ceramic tile. If you need a wood flooring estimate, call “Frankie” at (210) 410-8285.