ASHER'S FLOORING

This job was planned two months in advance to start when my husband would be out of town taking my daughter to college, so he would not be displaced from his home office. I got up early to exercise and shower before the arrival time of between 8:30-9:00 am. At 11:30 AM still no contractor, I called to find out why. They went to another job first. (builder with steady, repeat work for them) Each day same story, coming hours later than scheduled. I picked a stain color (in the light-medium range, light cherry) and was told I would like polycoating (mixing stain with polyurethane) because it looks exactly the same as if it was hand-stained, then polyurethane separately. It saves them a step (time is money). I was happy to save them time, if it looked the same. Because they always showed up late, I had to leave for an appointment before the polycoating started. When I came home, it was not the same color I picked out, it was much lighter and I wasn't happy with it. So for the next coat they reluctantly mixed more stain with the polyurethane, explaining "lapping" as a possibility (improper dark and light areas on the floor). They tried to fix the lapping problem by buffing, and lightly sanding the area and then re-coating. It did not work, I had a 4' x 15' walkway that was lighter than the area next to it. There were lapping problems in the kitchen by the back door, the entry way, around the island in the kitchen, the walkway previously mentioned and the kitchen eating area. I was very upset, as I had saved money and waited for 8 years to refinish the floors. There were many, big black marks on the shoe mold throughout the whole area and gauge marks in the pantry shoe mold, dust was everywhere, even with plastic, and you could see the swirl marks from the buffer in the polyurethane! The last day after moving back the furniture they tried to fix several more lapping problems I had marked and also re-coat areas that seemed less glossy than others. I payed the final payment (like a dummy) and assumed they would respond if I noticed any other problems. That evening I noticed thousands of bubbles on the entry floor and called to ask why. Rick said he did not know why but would come the next Tuesday when in the area to check it out. He did not come. I phoned to see why, got voicemail, left a message, left several messages after that and no one has ever returned my phone calls since. I found an EXCELLENT company (York & Miller Floor Company) and paid again to refinish my floors. The cost was less, for a SUPERIOR job! I am sick about the wasted money for the first job. The new company told me the bubbles were from no cure time in between coats, swirls marks from buffer, because the company did not know what they were doing, and you should NEVER, EVER mix stain with polyurethane because it does not look the same. Stain should be applied and allowed to cure for 24-48 hours before sealing. Now my floors look fabulous!