Lovell's Hardwood Flooring

Lovell Flooring did a previous small job for me. When it came time to bid the larger job of replacing the carpet on the upper floor of our home, we asked Lovell to submit another bid. Of all the bids I received, theirs met our needs the best and was well within the range of the others. The crew came first and removed all the carpeting. They were the only company that offered me the option of having the carpet recycled through a not-for-profit organization and keeping all the carpeting out of the landfill. Once the job began, it took two weeks to complete. At the end of each day, John (our installer) meticulously cleaned up the work area and every day he was extremely respectful of our home. The floors are gorgeous and John is such a skilled craftsman. He explained every phase of the project as it progressed and explained each day what he would be working on. He arrived each morning at the same time and worked continuously until the end of the day. I would highly recommend Lovell Flooring.

They did a nice work. I would give them very good marks in the work they did. It was very well done. They got here when they were supposed to come. They finished when they were supposed to finish. It was a treat to do business with them. Our kitchen and bathroom-remodeling contractor referred them to us. The owner Bobby Lovell was very professional and helpful. The actual workman he had out, he was quite a professional. He did a good work. I would recommend them to anyone.

Bobby gave a quick and prompt estimate. His workers showed up promptly. Were polite knowledgeable and skilled. Worked efficiently and finished on the day specified in the contract. Floors are beautifully done. Have already referred family and friends. Will definitely use again when I do additional rooms and hallways.

They did a pretty good job. All of the work was done when I wasn't here. They started a little later than I thought they would, but they were solid. For what I paid, I expect rock solid top-notch work. Time will tell if it will hold up. It appears very nice. We didn't change colors, so it doesn't look dramatically different. There were places with wear that look brand new now. I feel bad about the fact that there was so much needless feedback. You can't really supervise them. It's pretty nerve-racking to trust a company to do work when you aren't there. I assume that they're bonded or insured. The floors look great. There isn't anything spectacularly different. It looks like a solid job, as it should be for the price paid. They do solid work, but I think it's overpriced. I called them about a scheduling issue, but they didn't respond at all. I would consider using them again, but I would look for somebody with a more competitive price.

I went with this company based on initial impression from both Angie's List feedback and their first visit to give us an estimate. They were very accommodating to our schedule. I fired them halfway through our project. - Floor's finish is now a red tint, several weeks after they were finished. Refinisher showed us the color sample and said it was the most similar that we would get since the other floors were finished previously. The floors that Lovell finished are red with the grain barely showing - the rest of my home is a brown with the darker wood grains accenting the brown finish. - Lovell doesn't or simply chose not to fill in the nail holes from previous carpet tack strips. Floor peppered with tiny nail holes. - Floor is rough. I have received quotes to correct the job that Lovell's completed. Consistent feedback is that the roughness on the floors is a result of poor / insufficient sanding. The straw that broke the camels back? I received a nasty voice mail from the owner one day saying we owed him money and he was going to have to come by today to pick it up. Aside from the fact that the money due was for the 2nd half of the project that had yet to be scheduled or completed, he called on the 11th to demand payment. I sent him a copy of his invoice where the due date was the 16th. I took his stance to mean that he has cash flow problems. The nature of feedback is subjective, so you be the judge as pictures speak louder then words. Send me an email and I will share with you pictures of their finished product. You will understand why Lovell's was fired from our renovation. I would recommend that you find another company and at the very least, get references for work similar to yours.

When looking at Angie's List for someone to refinish the floors in my son's house, I found Lovell's came highly recommended. I could not find the flooring company, who did my floors 3 years ago. But since this company was in Norther Kentucky, I thought maybe they had hired some of the other company's folks. When Robby Lovell came to do the estimate, I found out from him that it was the same company! I was so relieved because I knew they were a top notch company and would do a good job. They started on Monday and were finished by Thursday, just as they said they would be. There was a lot of animal staining in one room that could not be sanded out, but the floors look great. I used to recommend the other company to anyone who asks, and now I will recommend Lovell's!

The floors turned out great considering their condition. We are very happy with the level of service and plan on them doing a few more rooms for us this spring.

A Very Bad Experience. Workmanship of initial and the "corrective work" was shoddy. (examples in complaint letter below). Attitude was poor, professionalism was poor, communication/follow-up was poor. The following is a detailed summary of issues we raised with Lovell in-person on August 3rd at our home. The first two items were caused during the follow up "corrective" job. We had to time being out of our home (with small children no less) - this was an additional inconvenience and source of added cost and frustration so that Lovell could perform the "corrective" work. Upon return to our home, we were shocked to find more issues than prior to our departure. Additionally, since the original work was performed, we continue to have dozens (too many to even count) of spots appear where finish has bubbled, peeled, cracked. Issue Summary: * Shoe molding installed on brand new cabinets that we did not request. In fact we told Lovell several times we did NOT want this performed. Expectation is that new cabinet materials will need to be ordered and installed, and old pieces removed containing molding nail holes. * The section of floor between the refrigerator and mud room door is a complete mess - multiple areas are unevenly stained, hand brush marks are very visible and rough to touch, darker stain drip mark left. * Small 5" section between refrigerator and basement door contains uneven, circular drip stain mark. Baseboard/shoe molding not attached to wall. * Stain left on brand new cabinet baseboards. Sloppy application without any regard to avoiding getting stain on - no taping - no edging tools used. Expectation is that new cabinet materials will need to be ordered and installed, and old pieces removed with stain marks. * Stain left on baseboards for a second time. Sloppy application without any regard to avoid getting stain on - no masking tape - no edging tools used. * Minor scratches on flooring that were to be repaired were not repaired. (each marked with tape so they would be seen) * Shoe molding throughout entire job was not pre-stained evenly, in one session, in advance - resulting in unusually uneven dark/light pieces. We fully understand there will be some variation due to the variation of the wood species. * Shoe molding corners in several locations not cut / mitered properly. Joints mis-aligned. * Shoe molding in half bath has chunk broken off of it due to a nail injection. As mentioned above, since the time this report was filed with Lovell, we have new areas appearing regularly which are cracking, peeling, bubbling, etc. We attempted to schedule the (second) repair work with Lovell with about 1 week notice. Despite the shoddy work, frustrations and inconvenience we had thus far experienced, we were told that Lovell could not accommodate that time due to other jobs being performed. While we understood this was not multiple weeks advance notice, we would anticipate more consideration, understanding, and customer-focused response from Lovell to rectify the situation in the time convenient for us - given the circumstances. Since this time, there has been NO follow-up from Lovell to attempt to contact us to reschedule / demonstrate any effort and interest to resolve the issue. Lovell was paid in-full and promptly upon work completion. No monies are outstanding. Resolution: At this time, we do NOT wish to have Lovell perform any further services in our home. We are asking for a refund of the costs associated with the Labor portion of the work Lovell charged (NOT new wood flooring materials). Alternatively, we have received an estimate for the corrective work required from a reputable flooring contractor. This will be made available to Lovell if requested. We are also asking for Lovell to reimburse us for the costs associated with alternative lodging during the time required for the (hopefully final corrective) work to be performed.

Bobby Lovell was quick to come to our house for our initial meeting. He was thorough, answered all our questions and offered suggestions. His estimate arrived promptly by email. He was patient, taking my phone calls, delivering samples, and he submitted a revised estimate as we worked through our choices toward a final decision. We selected Lovell's based on the level of trust I felt (didn't feel like I was being promised something just to get the job), their reputation on Angie's list, and price. The work was scheduled to our liking. It job took a week and my husband and I were both home during the installation. The installer was professional, positive, offered suggestions, and went above and beyond what we expected. I appreciated that he explained things as he went, such as what he would do, what to expect from our new hardwood floor, precautions, etc. This home improvement experience is the best we have ever been through. I highly recommend Lovells!

I called Mr. Lovell to see if he would be willing to do a very small job on very short notice. I needed hardwood flooring in a master bedroom closet prior to a closet organizer installation. He not only assured me they could do the job, he sent an installer within the week to get it done! He was extremely professional and the installer was wonderful. The entire job took about half a day and the installer left no mess at all. I plan to replace the carpet on our second floor and Lovell Hardwood Flooring will definitely be the company I will use.

They were incredibly professional and prompt. The only suggestion I'd have for the company would be to increase communication with customer. They came to add another coat of finish when we weren't expecting them. We appreciated the fact that they weren't satisfied with the job and wanted to do another coat. We just wish they'd called to tell us that was what they were going to do. It worked out in the end. We scheduled them to come back out. The floor looks great. We'd highly recommend them, and we hope to use them again when we do our upstairs.

They arrived when they said, completed the agreed upon work and were very personable while they were here.

They sent two young men, not more than 25-27 years old which I was worried about at first, but they did an excellent job! The boys were very polite, answered all of my questions despite how silly some may have seemed, and gave me helpful advice. I even wrote a letter to the owner about how well the boys did and how well-mannered they were. It was almost dust-free as well. When we came back after the first day, there was very little and I was amazed. They did a great job cleaning up too which is very important. Overall, they did a great job! I have recommended them to others.

Overall experience was great ... Robert was able to come to our house very quickly from my initial call to meet with us to discuss the estimate. He also provided a quote very promptly via email (especially as compared to the other contractors who bid on the job). We selected Lovell's based on their reputation on Angie's list, along with their price. Once we agreed to move forward with the work, they were able to fit us into their schedule in a couple of weeks, and promptly finished the job. ... We only had one minor complaint regarding the quarter round installation, but Lovell's came back the very next day and completed th job to our satisfaction. ... It is a very good experience.

I wanted to get the floors re-finished before I move-in to the new house. I called Al to get an estimate for the job, and he said the job would take 3 days. I only had 5 calendar days between the close and move-in day. Al said he could do the job over the weekend and not charge me extra. The job finished without a hitch and my floors look AWESOME! I had no idea that re-finishing the hardwood floor would take 3 days. I appreciate Al's willingness to educate me on the process and accommodate my schedule. I would recommend Lovell's Hardwood Flooring to anyone looking for a GREAT hardwood contractor.

The floors looked fabulous. They were on schedule and was pleased with the whole process and price. Very professional and courteous. Had to stay in hotel for four nights so having them arrive as planned and leave as planned was very important. Everything went as planned. Highly recommend Lovell's Flooring. They are great. Have other floors planned for them in the future

They did a fantastic job, I can 't say enough about how great my floors look. I took bids from 4 contractors, and by far, Lovell's Hardwood were the best price and the highest rated for hardwood refinishing. Highly recommend them for hardwood refinishing! They were prompt, courteous... just can't say enough good things about this company.

It went on very well. He explained everything and gave me different suggestions. The estimate as far as pricing was concerned was really good because his price was lower than the others. I got to see his actual work at my sister's house and he had done an excellent job. That is the reason I went with him. He came out earlier than he said he would.

On the positive side, the job estimation/contract process went smoothly and the estimator/project manager was very responsive in helping work out the job details. The work was done as scheduled, and the project manager resolved many but not all of the issues that I brought up while the work progressed. On the negative side, many aspects of the finished work were unacceptably sloppy and careless. The work took place over the course of two full weeks, and I checked on the progress every few days. Many times over the course of the work, the project manager stated that they would resolve any issues that I brought to their attention. I notified the project manager of many issues over the course of the two weeks via the phone, in person, and at one point via a multi-page typed document. For example, when the basement level floor was finished, I noticed that many of the mitered shoe molding joints were quite sloppy with one actually having a 1/4 inch gap between the two pieces of molding. It was a bit perplexing because at least half of the basement level shoe molding joints were nice and tight and looked perfect, but then many were unacceptable. One of the shoe moldings had a multi inch split/crack in it too. The flooring technicians did replace the cracked shoe molding, and although, not the ideal fix , they filled the 1/4 inch gap and other poorly mitered joints with wood filler. Also, once I brought the shoe molding joint issues to their attention, they did a much better job of installing the shoe moldings on the remaining two levels. I did appreciate that they were willing to address many of the issues that I raised with them, but I did not like the fact that I had to raise such obvious issues with them. My feeling was that I was paying over $12,000 to have flooring professionals refinish and install flooring on 3 levels, and I expected professional quality work to be done without me having to look for the flaws that need to be reworked. A couple days after the work was finished and just prior to paying the final installment for the work, I found two more shoe moldings with multi inch cracks. I pointed these out to the project manager, and he agreed to handle this issue. Two weeks later, a floor technician showed up with two shoe moldings that were not polyurethaned. He pulled up the cracked moldings, nailed down the new moldings, and brushed some polyurethane on them with out masking off the base boards. While installing one of the shoe moldings, the floor technician brushed polyurethane an inch up the newly painted baseboards. I have no idea why he didn't mask off the baseboard or make an attempt to do the work neatly. While installing the other shoe molding, the floor technician didn't sink the nails below the molding surface and fill the holes with wood filler, so there are four exposed nails. He also missed covering half of the shoe molding with polyurethane so there is bare wood. After this experience, I decided I would be better off handling the remaining floor issues myself. Here is a summary of some of the issues I found after I moved into the condo: >> On both the first and second levels there are several (more than three) places where wood shavings, sawdust from sanding, and/or dirt were polyurethaned into the floor. On the second level there is actually a large staple polyurethaned into the floor. >> On the second level there are five places where the flooring was not extended far enough under the door frames, so there are gaps between the floor and the door frames where you can actually see the sub floor which is underneath the hardwood floor. This is the exception, not the rule, so I know the installers were capable of installing the floor under all of the door frames properly, but for some reason they didn't. >> On both the first and second levels there are many (more than ten) places where polyurethane was splashed up on the newly painted baseboards. I'm not talking about a few drops here or there. I mean a 4 to 5 inch run of polyurethane 1 to 2 inches up the baseboard. I was told prior to the job that I would have to touch up some baseboard scuffing, but this goes quite far beyond that. >> On the first level, there are several places where the hardwood shoe moldings that were installed along the baseboards were not completely polyurethaned. It looks as though rather than polyurethane them prior to installation, they were nailed down, and then brushed with some polyurethane along the lower half of the shoe moldings without covering the top half of the shoe molding. These are some of the same places where there is polyurethane splashed up on the baseboards. Spending a couple minutes to mask off the baseboards or applying the polyurethane to the shoe moldings prior to nailing them down would have alleviated this problem. >> On the second level, the hardwood thresholds into the bathrooms were installed, but never polyurethaned. >> On the second level, about 25 foot of newly painted wall, about 12 inches up the wall was scuffed with black marks about every foot. Some of the scuff marks are actually more than scuff marks as they are tears into the drywall about an 1/8th inch deep. I assume this was done while sanding the floor. >> On the second level and on both sets of stairs there are dozens of exposed nail heads. These should have been sunk and covered with wood filler prior to applying the polyurethane so that they would not be visible. >> The stairs to to the basement level and the stairs to the second level both have significant issues. Both sets of stairs were visually and structurally acceptable when they were covered with carpet, but neither set of stairs is visually or structurally acceptable now that they have been covered with hardwood. The hardwood step treads (the horizontal part of the steps that you walk on) overhang the step risers (the vertical part of the steps that support the step treads) by varying lengths (from about one inch to two inches) rather than by uniform lengths. This non-uniformity is quite noticeable, and it is partially due to the fact that the step risers were not installed straight up and down. Some of the step risers were installed quite crooked, and this leads to the step treads overhanging the step risers by a half inch more on one side than they do on the other side. In some cases, the step tread nose boards overhang the step risers so much that there is not sufficient support, and the backs of the step tread nose boards are popping up and pulling away from the adjacent boards, thus opening up gaps. On many of the steps, there are very noticeable gaps between the step treads and the supporting step stringer (the board that runs along the side of the stairs from the bottom to the top of the stairs). This is due to the floor boards not being cut to fit tightly enough. I do want point out that after the stairs were mostly installed, but prior to them being polyurethaned, I discovered some of the structural problems noted above, and I noticed that the depth of the steps on both sets of stairs was not uniform. Some steps were eight inches deep, and some steps were ten inches deep. It is not easy to walk down a set of steps of varying depths. I immediately brought this to the attention of the project manager who said that many of the structural problems were due to the fact that I had "builder grade" stairs. I pointed out that, prior to their work, I had structurally acceptable, usable stairs, and if they could not put structurally acceptable, usable hardwood stairs in they should not have proceeded to do the stair work that they did. I told the project manager that I thought it would be best to bring in a carpenter to make the stairs structurally usable, and that I was willing to pay for the added carpenter expense. The project manager did bring in a carpenter (which I later paid for). Most of the carpenter's time was spent on the stairs to the lower level which are now definitely in better shape than the stairs to the second level. All of the stairs now have a fairly uniform depths too. It is likely that Lovell's Hardwood Flooring will attempt to counter this review, by stating that they were willing to fix any problems that I informed them of. My response to this statement, as previously pointed out in the review, is that I tried to do this on a limited basis, and I got more unacceptable quality workmanship. Also, my expectation, when I hire professionals, is that they will do quality work without the burden being put on me to make sure that they do quality work.

Awesome!. Nick & George ? did a great job on our floor. I would not hesitate to call them back for additional work in the future. The price seemed a bit high, but there was alot of sanding & repairs to be made. The guys were very courteous and we felt comfortable with them in our home on their own. All work was done in the alloted time. Will call on them when we are ready to do the next room!

During this 3 week job, Lovell accommodated our schedule throughout. We only had to leave the house while the varnish was drying, a total of 4 nights. Given the size of the project, there was minimal interruption to our lives. A quality job at a fair price. It doesn't get any better!

I will not have them back again. Even though they did a pretty good job and their price was good for the refinishing of the floors, it was not very congenial. They left some things undone and did not do some things they should have done. They did what they wanted to, instead of what I wanted them to do and were not as easy to deal with. Something prevented them from doing the work as carefully and as well as I wanted them to. I would not use them in the future.

They did a good job and the prices were good, but there was a scheduling problem. They could come only on certain days and I worked those certain days. They got some of the stain on my wood work, so I would not give them an as good rating.

While no one has yet started to live in the house, most of the furniture was already there. We arranged to have everything moved out of the rooms to be refinished; most items were moved into the kitchen. (The opening to the kitchen was then sealed with a plastic sheet.) Also removed all doors. The two man team arrived on Tuesday, August 11th right on time. They needed to run an extension cord to the 220 volt dryer outlet in the basement through the tightly packed kitchen but we were able to accommodate this. They got to work right away. The final results of the floor and toe-strip were wonderful. The refinished floor complemented the new paint and makes the house look brand new! Bobby had told us that there would be a little dust on the walls that could be removed easily -- we used a floor Swifter and it worked fine. All cleaned up within an hour. Our only complaint was the condition of the base board. It had black scuff marks on it from some piece of equipment, probably one of the sanders. The contract had stated that some scuffing of the wall or trim paint might occur so we had expected to have to do some touch-up painting. But it took over six hours to repaint the base board. The scuff marks extended below the toe-strip which required very careful and slow brush work to cover the marks without getting paint on the toe-strip. I am a pretty good painter but I had to both kneel and lie on the floor to be able to paint out the black marks and yet keep the paint off the new toe-strip. I talked to Bobby about this later and suggested it would have been much easier to paint before the toe-strip had been installed. He told me that this does not fit into their normal refinishing process as they install the toe-strip after the second coat of urethane is dry and then the final coat of urethane goes on both the toe-strip and floor. He said this seamlessly blends the toe-strip in with the floor. I have seen other floor refinishing done where the toe-strip is installed after the third coat of urethane is fully hardened and it looks just fine. This enabled the baseboard to be repainted down to close to the floor and then the toe-strip covered any unpainted space. Using this procedure would require the Lovell's to come back another time but I would much rather have paid for this extra time rather than spending six hours on a Sunday tediously repainting the baseboard.

Robert Lovell responded quickly with a visit and proposal. He noticed a number of good and bad things about the floor and explained what they would do for repairs and the refinishing process. The repairs were done by a very experienced person and the two people doing the refinishing were also very capable. They cleaned up after themselves as they ended each day and the finished floor looks great. My only complaint was a missed communication on how long the job would take. I thought it would literally take 5 days, but that did not include additional time for the urethane coatings to dry. The net was 7 workdays to finish the project. It impacted my schedule, but I probably should have been more specific on the details. I would certainly recommend Lovell's to anyone based on the quality of the work.