Wood I Do Floors

Review: I contracted with "Wood I Do Flooring" to tile my kitchen floor. My wife and I were advised to try to stay off the tile for a day to let it set. We were told we could walk in the middle of the tiles but try to avoid the edges. So we blocked off the doorways, didn't enter the kitchen at all, and heeded the installer's instructions. Shortly after laying the tile, the tile at the two doorways on opposite ends of the kitchen started to come loose. Grout started chipping up and away and the tiles felt and sounded loose (or "hollow") when "tapped". They came back a second time and re-laid the tile at both thresholds. My wife and I were advised to stay off the tile for several days this time, so we blocked off the doorways again. In stepping over the baby-gate blocking doorway #2, my wife stepped on one of the tiles on day #2. This would already have been above and beyond the manufacturer's recommendation and the installer's initial recommendation, but we were still trying to be cautious. Tapping the tile immediately thereafter, it still sounded/felt secure (not hollow or loose-sounding) and an inspection of the grout after the incident revealed no damage or separation in the grout or between the tile and the grout. Several weeks later, the grout started chipping away (not cracking/separating) by doorway #2 again. They came back a third time and re-laid the tile at doorway #2. In the process, they left a pencil-mark gouge in the wooden threshold marking the center of the doorway. I sanded and re-stained the threshold but the pencil mark was deep enough that I could not remove it. This time, the doorway was blocked off with a chair and no one got near the tile for over three days. A month or so later, the grout started separating again around doorway #2 and tapping on the tiles indicated the same hollow or loose sound that indicated they were not set correctly. This time the owner, himself came out made a fourth repair. And, again, a chair was placed in front of the doorway and we were out of town for a long weekend and no one stepped on or near the tile for 4-5 days. Several months later, the grout around doorway #2 started chipping/cracking/separating again. I called the owner who assured me he would take care of it. He never came. I called dozens of times over several months, and each time I was assured he would try to make it out. He never did. This past week, I noticed that the grout around doorway #1 was chipping/cracking/separating again - in addition to what was already happening around doorway #2. I called the owner each day this week - twice a day on a few occasions. Each time I was told he would try to make it out, and he never did. On Friday evening, I called him and told him that I was disappointed in his service. He told me to go tell my wife to fix the tile and hung up on me. Given that there have been six separate grout failures and her footstep could only have been arguably responsible for one of the six items (and a post-incident inspection indicated no problems), there is a larger failure going on which suggests she did nothing to cause damage in the first place.Desired Settlement: I want my floor repaired but I do not want "Wood I Do Flooring" to make the repair. They have shown me on six separate instances that they do not have the ability to make a tile transition into a doorway and I do not believe they have the competence to make the proper repair. Even to the untrained naked eye, the tile at doorway #2 sits at a clear angle and is not level. Further, the owner has insulted myself and my wife and was irritable and unpleasant with my nanny and infant son during repairs and I do not desire to have him in my house.

Business

Response:

I am receipt of your letter dated 6-17-2013. In response. First off the contract date was not 8-12-12, work was started on about 8-5-12 completed on 8-11-12. It was almost eight months before I heard from the customer stating there was a problem. I went out the next day and looked at the tile. During the estimate phase we had discussed the work to be done and what type of transition strips that were to be used. The customer did not want to use the ones I suggested because the profile was to high and he was afraid of it being a safety issue for his newborn. I informed him that the strip he wanted may cause problems down the road. He responded by saying he would make one like he had in the archway at a later date. There is only one true doorway. The other doorway (#2) is actually just an opening between a half wall & a full wall. So we fixed the tile and regrouted. Approximately three to four weeks later, he contacted me again. We went back out again, fixed the loose tile in opening # 2 all the rest of the floor was fine. We noticed the transition strip was cracked so we replaced it as well. The cracked strip let me know some had stepped on the very edge or had dropped something in that area which is the opening into the den area. This was done at no charge. The third time I went out personally to do the repair and requested that everyone stay off of the repaired area and I put a chair over the one loose tile that I had fixed. I started cleaning up my tools took them to my van. Came back in to check for any missing tools and in this short time the babysitter had already moved the chair over to give her enough room to pass though. I reminded her again to stay away from that area. She stated she was going to replace the chair with a baby gate. I stayed for a few more minutes to see if she was going to. She never did. I didn’t hear anything for about three more weeks. Received a call that the grout had chipped. So I went out to fix the grout again and found two handwritten notes stating the wooden threshold had a mark in the middle the customer couldn’t get out. I didn’t have a new strip with me or sanding material to get the ink mark out of it. So I informed the babysitter I would return on Friday, this was Wednesday. Friday was pouring down rain so there was no way could cut anything outside in the rain. There is no where covered to cut under and you don’t want to cut wood or ceramic tile inside an occupied house. It was on the Wednesday trip that I made the joke that they needed to quit having a rodeo in the house. The wife took offense and stated I didn’t break it this time and made a smart remark about sloppy workmanship. However, the chip that was in the grout was very apparent that someone had dropped something in that grout joint and chipped the grout out. It was also at this time the husband asked if I was going to extend the one year warrenty on the repair work. I replied for normal wear and tear. The customer would always call late in the evenings on my cell phone to complain when he knew it would be off. I always give my home number out as well. He never called me at home. In conclusion: I feel like I have went out of my way to address the customers issues. Especially knowing that the first time the tile work was done no one was home and it had three to four days to set completely. During the repair phases there was always someone there thus leading to the chance that someone would forget and accidentally walk or step on the tile. The mark in the wooden strip was an ink mark. We don’t use pens in the field and the mark was in length wise center, not on an end where we would have marked to cut the strip. The customer admits to resanded & refinishing the strip. The chipped grout could have happen then and if you use to much pressure on the overlap strip, it could loosen the tile. We continued to try to please the customer even after his wife admitted to breaking the tile and strip. If it happened once, it could have happened again. Furthermore the rest of the kitchen tile & grout is fine. So the only difference is they are there and they broke the original band. I even offered to make a strip similar to the one in the other archway, but it is something that has to be done on site and I would have had to personally do this. I haven’t shown my lead man how to do this yet. Plus it has to been a clear sunny day to plain down the strip & recut ceramic, As for rescheduling, there was almost always something. They cancelled just as many appointments as I did. But expected me to show up the next morning after my schedule for at least two to three weeks had already been made. The customer also threatened to try and ruin my reputation and I asked him was this a threat, his reply was could be, strangely enough this is the same day your office received his complaint. He then asked me who was going to fix his tile after what I perceived to be a threat I told him to get the person who broke it to fix it. His wife. So now I feel like I am no longer responsible to fix something the customer broke. Sincerely, Owner

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The owner offered no solution to resolve my complaint and the response contained inaccuracies and several outright lies. The owner's credibility should be questioned after previously informing the Revdex.com that "Wood I Do Flooring" was no longer operating as a business. His response confirms this lack of credibility. As I mentioned on the phone with Ms. [redacted] several weeks ago, my goal here is not to hurt Mr. Harder, his business or his well being - I merely want my floor fixed. I never threatened to ruin the owner's reputation or that of his business. Neither my tone nor my words were adversarial until after Mr. Harder hung up on me. Immediately following, I left a voice mail which was firm yet civil. If he saved it, I would be happy if Mr. Harder shared it with the Revdex.com - it mentioned nothing of Mr. Harder's reputation. I merely said that I was disappointed with his service and his inability to keep his word, that he would shortly receive a certified letter from me and that I might seek legal counsel. I later thought the Revdex.com and the DPOR to be a better first step. Attached, you will find my complaint to the DPOR matching this one but with several accompanying pieces of documentation. My check [redacted] was dated 8/12/12. The initial install would have been completed before payment. The date on the check is the date listed in my complaint, however it is largely irrelevant. Also included are the records of calls to Mr. Harder from both my mobile phone and office phone between 5/7/13 and 6/14/13. There are (13) calls, only (5) of which were after 5pm, and all but one of which were connected (as indicated by the call duration). "Missed connections" were not a reason for a lack of repair. My mobile phone does not keep records of calls farther back than the 5/7 call, but I would be happy to get full phone records from my mobile provider if required. As for my sanding of the wooden transition strip - I sanded this by hand, exerting less weight and pressure than my 16-month old son does when he walks over it. Once set, shouldn't a transition be able to withstand the weight of grown adults walking over it on a daily basis? I do not recall being advised by Mr. Harder that the "existing strip may cause problems down the road". If that were the case, I would have thought he would have reminded me of that during any of the multiple repair visits rather than bringing it up for the first time in this forum. As the customer, I rely on the expertise of the contractor if he feels there will be a problem with the job being discussed. If Mr. Harder felt strongly about the potential of future problems, he could have conveyed that by declining to warrant any transition work involving the existing strip. Regardless - if the strip is to blame for the failures leading into the den, how do we explain the two failures at the door to the sunroom? I dispute the statement: "the chip that was in the grout was very apparent that someone had dropped something in that grout joint and chipped the grout out." Poorly installed tile begets loose tiles, loose tiles beget cracked grout and cracked grout chips away. I have seen enough loose tile through the course of this installation (multiple failures at multiple transitions) to have seen this chain of events numerous times. I can go to my kitchen right now and wiggle the tiles at both doorways, and in each case, the tiles are surrounded by chipped, cracked and missing grout. Please keep in mind that following the most recent repair my family was out of town for a long weekend, so the tile would have had ample time to set under any recommendation. Imagine the coincidence of something being dropped on this very joint multiple times sufficient enough to cause four separate failures here - plus twice more at the joint at the other doorway. Meanwhile, nothing was dropped anywhere else in the kitchen to cause the same phenomena? I would contend that the tile/grout in the center of the kitchen has seen even more everyday "abuse" than the grout around the doorways. I recall dropping glass bottles and plates on it, and my son throws toys and bottles with some regularity. The rest of the floor has been quite durable. Mr. Harder seems to agree. But the center of the kitchen floor is not the crux of my complaint. My contention is that Mr. Harder lacks either the expertise or the competence to handle the threshold at the transition of a room. Further, I didn't pay Mr. Harder for "most" of a good install. The fact that the center is holding up well has no bearing on the quality of work at the transitions. I would welcome a second opinion and invite the Revdex.com or any third party professional tile installer of the Revdex.com's choosing ([redacted] to name a few) to come observe, wiggle and tap these tiles, and see the grout, themselves. Regards,[redacted]

Business

Response:

Am in reciept of the customers rebuttal to my response of his original complaint.Basically the customer has tied my hands and is preventing me from fixing his tile. By his statement of "he does not want me or my company to return to his home." If I cannot return to fix the problem, which I am willing to do then I can be of no futher service to the customer.David Harder Wood I Do Flooring

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Again, the business/owner has failed to offer a solution, and now contradicts himself. During my last verbal conversation with the owner, the owner said: "Tell your wife to fix the tile", hung up on me, and would not answer the phone when I called back. This was after several weeks of unsuccessful attempts to get him to repair the tile - including a week where I contacted him every day, including multiple times several days. In the owner's 6/27 response to the Revdex.com, he states: "So now I feel like I am no longer responsible to fix something" The owner has conveyed that he is not interested in correcting this problem. His 7/18 response stating "which I am willing to do" contradicts his previous response to the Revdex.com, his verbal comments to me, and his actions preceding this Revdex.com complaint. I have not received any correspondence from the owner (apart from this 7/18 Revdex.com message) informing me of any change of heart or a willingness to participate in the resolution of this problem. Further, and more importantly, a solution exists apart from the owner repairing the tile, himself. I have requested verbally to the owner, and again through these messages, that I would be satisfied if the owner contracted with another local professional tile installer to repair the tile. I would accept any of the three companies that I mentioned in my previous response to the Revdex.com - it can be of the owner or the Revdex.com's choosing. Regards,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. It has now been 21 calendar days, or 15 working days since I sent my letter to Mr. Harder. Even allowing for postal delivery, we have certainly surpassed the time in which I requested to be contacted. I have yet to hear from him. Please advise how to proceed. Thank you,[redacted]