Tangra Corporation

Please see details above.

I had just purchased the house and wanted to get large projects done before moving in. I wanted to get the hardwood floors refinished as they were very worn, but I wanted it to be quick and inexpensive. My friend just had SandFree refinish her hardwoods and suggested I speak with them. I used their online form to request a free estimate. I was required to enter the square footage for each room that I needed refinished. I wasn't sure, since I had just purchased the home, so I estimated 400 sq.ft. I quickly received an automated response that quoted me a price of $800. There was also a message from the company president asking me to call to schedule the work. Also, it asked for digital pictures of the floor if I were using their color mixing service (ColorMagiq). I wrote back stating that my numbers regarding square footage were only estimates, I didn't feel comfortable having them mix a color based on digital pictures, and we wanted to alter the color anyway. He wrote back saying he'd have the manager in my region get in touch with me. He did, his name is Filip and we scheduled a time that he could come out and measure the floors as well as talk with me about how the color would be handled. Filip was very nice. He did measure (my estimate was only 20 square feet short!) and he looked at some areas on the floor that were damaged. He was very honest and said that some of those damaged areas would not be "fixed" completely, but they would be less noticeable. In order to fix them completely, we'd have to use a regular sanding method instead of their sand-free method. Filip got back to me with an updated estimate. It included additional charges for removing and replacing the quarter round as well as removing any existing wax on the floor. He had spoken to me about these things when he came to the house. If there wasn't wax on the floor, he wouldn't charge for removal. If we wanted to handle the quarter round ourselves, he wouldn't charge for that either. Satisfied with that, and the price, I submitted a 50% down payment and scheduled the work. Filip was very accessible during the conversation to schedule the work. Prior to the scheduled date, we pulled up the quarter round and taped off the baseboards with masking/painters tape as requested by Filip. On the morning of, Filip and his partner arrived earlier than scheduled. We weren't at the home yet, but he called to let us know and told us to take our time, since they were early. We got there as soon as possible, and they begun working at 10am. First, Filip tested for wax. He found none, but I told him that we had found a bottle of floor wax that the previous owner had left behind. He tested a few more spots and still found no wax, so I would not be expected to pay that portion of the estimate. They vacuumed the floors and then washed/screened them with a machine that looks like one of those carpet steamers you rent at the grocery store. Soon, the color was being applied. I was worried since I never got to approve the color beforehand. They had mixed it based off of our conversation as to what we had in mind. However, they did ask me to come look after the first coat of color had been applied. I was asked to take off my shoes before I walked across the newly stained floor, but oddly enough, my socks picked up none of the stain! The color was a lot more red than we wanted and again, I was worried. He told me that the color would darken with the second coat. Also, the damaged areas were still rather noticeable. He admitted that the second coat would help conceal them more, but the process would not allow for complete coverage of flaws like that. He went ahead with the second coat of color and again, I was invited to come look. The result was MUCH better and was so nice looking that it almost didn't need the urethane! The damaged spots were just barely visible and he said that the urethane would hide them just a little more, as I had chosen the satin finish. Since all the exits of my home are adjacent to the hardwood floors, I had to wait outside while he applied the urethane. He made sure all the other doors were locked and lights were turned off before he finished. He said I could walk on the floors in socks after 4 hours of letting the urethane cure. I didn't plan on returning to the house for two days, so that wouldn't be a problem. But it also meant that I wouldn't be able to see the finished floors for that long. Once I did get to see the finished floors, I was amazed. They look almost new. It seems as if not only the color and finish were redone, but it almost looks like the condition of the floors themselves are much improved. The damaged areas are still just barely noticeable to me, but that is because I know where to look for them. I'm guessing that most people won't even notice them at all. The color is wonderful, too. They say that they use the same urethane as Brunswick uses on their bowling alleys. I hope that is a testament to their durability, but the floors look so good, I'm probably going to baby them for quite some time anyway.