O'BRIEN HARDWOOD FLOORING

The floors are a C grade, the stairs were not sanded. The second run of fine sanding didn't go to the edges of the floor. They said that the second coat of tongue oil will make the floors better, which it didn't. They broke 3 spindles on my stairwell and still have not received them back from Kevin. I have been trying to get them back since July 2012. It is always an excuse as to why I cannot get them back, either he is busy, forgot them at the shop, or he will have them in his van and he just never stops by.

DO NOT HIRE O'BRIEN FLOORING. Here is why . . we were moving into a new home and knew we needed the floors refinished. It was going to be a big job, maybe about 3000+ sq. ft of pulling up carpet and tacking, sanding, staining and sealing everything. We had several estimates and they all came in all about the same price. So we based our decision on the fact that we just felt that Kevin (O'Brien) was a "good guy". He was very easy-going and seemed knowledgable about refinishing hardwoods. We had a very specific timeline that we needed to follow, and Kevin assured us he would get it done on time. Kevin's workers showed up when they said they would and began work. At first glance, the work seemed sloppy - they missed a ton of tacks and there were still tuffs of shag carpet left over from their first day of "demo". After all the carpet & tacks were pulled and cleaned up, the sanding started - no complaints there. But when the stain went on the floors - it went everywhere else too! We had other trades in the house at the same time working on different projects, and they all said they've never seen such sloppy work; stain drips all over our freshly painted walls; stain dribbles (as if they didn't wipe it up properly) in the corners of rooms and stairs; bald spots all over the house - some spots felt like the unfinished, sanded wood, and other spots just looked like they didn't use enough stain in that area. O'Brien did finish the job on time and on the specific schedule we had requested. And his workers were very pleasant. However, when Kevin (O'Brien) came back the day after the job was done for our inspection, my husband and I were all smiles - compared to the horrible brown shag carpet that coated this entire house, anything would have looked better. We pointed out a couple of the bald spots and Kevin said that it wouldn't be a problem, he would have someone out to fix the next day. We were happy, told him "job well done" and handed over a check for the full balance of the job. The check was cashed the very next morning, and we didn't see or hear from anyone at O'Brien Flooring for weeks. During that time, we kept finding more and more spots that just looked really bad. I repeatedly called the office and even Kevin's cell phone, and was reassured that there would be a call back or someone would be out the next day - but still nothing. Several appointments turned into no-shows - incredibly frustrating because my husband and I needed to rearrange our work schedules to accommodate these appointments. Finally, someone came out to "repair" the bald spots on the floor - WITH A MAGIC MARKER!!! And it was the wrong color no less. All this time and all this money for someone to come to our house with a red magic marker and they only "colored" two spots in the dining room. They never touched anything else (thankfully) and told my husband that if any other work was to be done it would cost approximately $1000! O'Brien Flooring is not a reputable company, and I would highly recommend not contracting any work with them. I absolutely love our new home, but this was a very disappointing transaction. I walk around the house and find new spots that just aren't quite right, and I curse Kevin O'Brien each time.

Kevin O'Brien (owner) came to estimate the site himself. He was extremely professional and knowledgeable. In the rooms that needed repairs, we actually thought we would have to replace the entire floor, but Kevin assured us that was not necessary and repairs could be performed. His crew showed up promptly and were very respectful. They tended to the work immediately and finished on time. The entire experience took 4 days. At the end of the work, Kevin did a final walk through (as he would also come by the job everyday to make sure the work was going as planned) to ensure that we were happy with the work. When we were selecting a stain for the floor, we were unsure of what to choose. Kevin accommodated us fantastically. He got a feel for what we were looking for and showed us samples of the possibilities. He was able to do this directly on the sanded floor in sections so we could see how the colors would look in the rooms. I was amazed by their eye for detail.

I THINK IT WAS A PRETTY AVERAGE EXPERIENCE, THOUGH I DID FEEL THEY SHOULD HAVE PAID MORE ATTENTION TO DETAIL. I DID FEEL THAT THEIR PRICE WAS REASONABLE AND I MIGHT RECOMMEND THEM TO OTHERS.