Floorwood Solutions Inc. No Longer In Business

A perfect job was done! We had some tough spots (e.g. curved areas) but they were done perfectly. Great attention to detail. I literally couldn't find a flaw and I'm a pretty picky person. They are worth every single penny.

This is a long overdue review for an install done in early 2012. Patricia and Robert were great to work with and VERY patient and accommodating when working around other trades during our big renovation. The areas done were the entire 900 sq.ft. main floor and 600sq.ft. upper storey. They helped us choose the perfect floor for our situation (engineered hand-scraped Hickory Winchester), and it looks fantastic. It's already taken a beating but looks as great as it did when it was installed. Thanks guys!

When we bought our house, we had very dated and squeaky floor and we knew we would have to get it updated. After looking through reviews on homestar and another online forum, we've decided to go with floorwood. From our initial contact to the end of the project, Patricia and Robert have both been extremely responsive and accommodating. Robert is extremly knowledgeable about hardwood floors and floor installation. I really appreciate how they patiently explained to us our option in terms of floor choices + what needs to be done through the installation.

In the end, we went with hand scrapped natural maple and we just love how it looks in our place! I love how they are very attentive to every detail with finishing touches around the pillars along the staircase, the details around the irregular shape fireplace. They are also extremely fast! We got our master bedroom, dinning room, and living all finished in less than a week. We are definitely looking forward to having them finish the rest of the house in the coming year! Thanks again for the wonderful job you did for us! Can't wait replace the rest of our place with new floors.

I initially found Floorwood Solutions via a forum on the net in which Patricia is a VERY active participant :-). I then read many of the reviews on HomeStars (all very positive) and decided to contact Floorwood to get a quote on installing hardwoods throughout our house (approx. 1800 of floorspace that required hardwood). From the get go, it was a wonderful experience. Patricia is very responsive to all inquiries and will respond to emails late into the night! I was able to meet with her and Robert to go over options and decided to go with the wood they recommended to meet our pricepoint. In all of these initial dealings, I developed a real comfort level with Robert and was starting to appreciate that the reviews on HomeStars were spot on. So my wife and I decided to go with Floorwood for the installation; they simply blew everyone else out of the water with regard to these initial aspects of lining up a contractor. Now it was on to the installation. We Robert and Darek did not disappoint (and again the reviews on HomeStars are spot on). Robert and Darek did an INCREDIBLE job with the installation; to say they are perfectionists is an understatement. We also got them to do some framing around an entrance to our kitchen, and an entrance and open window from kitchen to our family room; Robert suggested putting a ledge on the window frame and we went with his suggestion (much to our benefit and delight – it really completed the space perfectly).

I felt that Robert and Darek were treating our home as they would their own homes - and really there is not much more you can ask of a contractor. In fact, I was going to run speaker cables using raceways in our family room. Rob saw this and suggested that we run the cable in the walls (as I had an unfinished basement). Lo and behold, Rob and Darek took an entire morning to run these cables through the wall!!!! We could not ask for better service. I have begun to spread the gospel at every chance I get::-) !!!

I have two suggestions for those looking to sign-up Floorwood. First, don’t hesitate - do it! Second, keep lots of brewed coffee around – the fellas do like their coffee :-)!!!!

Thanks so much guys, would use you again in a heartbeat.

I needed 1500 square feet of hardwood flooring done. I chose a Vintage product as Floorwood Solutions recommends (by sheer coincidence, my brother used to work for Vintage Hardwood so I knew that they manufactured an excellent product). It was solid sawn engineered (3/4 inches i.e. 19 mm thick vs 13 mm for the “crafted engineered”- by the way, the Vintage brochure refers to it as “structured”).

I chose engineered rather than solid wood due to its tolerance for greater variations in humidity. It is more expensive, of course. In case you are checking out the photos and are curious, the wood selected was hickory and the finish Old Mission.

The wood plus installation cost about $9 per sq ft. Once the extra wood for anticipated waste was added (Floorwood adds a minimum percentage for this because they work “tightly” with the quantity of wood ordered) and HST applied, this turned out to be about $16000. By the way, Floorwood says that in the Toronto area $10/sq ft pre-tax should get you quality wood plus installation.

I saved money (I am guessing about $1500) by removing the carpet and screwing down the subfloor myself (Floorwood gave me guidelines: 2 inch screw length, 6-8 inch spacing between screws, use flooring screws only – you can buy a container of 1800 at Home Depot for about $45). The subfloor was already nailed down but should be screwed down to eliminate creaks. It took 3-1/2 days to put in the 2300 screws correctly (they can’t stick out) and the work is hard on the back. You can save additional money by buying and installing the moulding yourself but I was not up to the task since I had been painting on weekends all summer.

I had a bad surprise in discovering that the mezzanine’s bannister nosing (the strip of wood that acts as its base) was higher than the flooring would be; so I had it raised. In the end, I ordered 3 extra jobs (including raising the nosing and the doorstop moulding job) that cost another $3000.

The initial quote is done via email. So they depend on you to make accurate measurements. Some clients will find it an unusual process but it saves time. This way of doing business means there is less time spent by the installers on the selling process and more time allocated to actual installation. The quote is revised when Robert makes a visit to measure prior to installation.

As for the installation, the quality of work was fantastic.

Other posters who have obtained multiple quotes have said that Floorwood’s rates are competitive. But the prospective client will have no idea as to the quality of the work that will be done. I did not bother obtaining other quotes. I had already concluded from the fact that Floorwood (alias patrob) provides free advice/info on redflagdeals.com’s special hardwood flooring section and that there are over 100 reviews on Homestars with an exceptionally high average rating (10) that Floorwood should be my contractor.

Of course, you probably have already heard through other reviews that the reducers (the pieces that serve as transition to another type of flooring e.g. ceramic tiles) are custom made on site. Robert and Darek spend 10-20 minutes cutting, shaving and testing each reducer to ensure that it fits just right. Some contractors, to save time, use slosely matching store-bought T reducers that are nothing more than“humps”. Those are not cheap and they are a tripping hazard.

Robert and Darek are conscientious and take pride in their work. I believe that they are motivated by a desire for the customer to be happy with the job.

As a testament to that motivation, I can point to three “extras” that they did to make the job look better:
1) They rerouted a visually unappealing electrical cord for our installed stairlift so it would be neatly and discreetly tucked away, by directing it into the unfinished basement from its transformer box at an outlet in one room and pulling it back up at the base of the stairs in another room;
2) They rerouted the TV cable via the unfinished basement so that it exited at the desired location;
3) They fixed a badly installed door which previously was always a tight close so that it would close easily. This had nothing to do with the job but it bothered Robert.
I did not ask for those “extras”. They volunteered to do them.

In my opinion, if you live in the Toronto area, Floorwood Solutions should be your preferred hardwood flooring contractor. Just be aware that you have to book the job two months in advance.

Originally found this company through the Internet. used them to remove existing flooring and install Engineered Wood. Extraordinary knowledge and attention to details. if possible would rate them '100'.
Rob and his partner did a fantastic job!!!! I have remodelled and renovated a few of my homes and rental properties and i have learned an important lesson. You always get what you pay for. These guys were worth every penny .

I love my new hardwood floors. Dark stained wire scraped Oak which match the stairs perfectly.
The floors were professionally installed, within the timelines quoted, and for the best price I could find.
I would like to thank Robert & Darek for a beautiful job- well done!
Floorwood Solution will be recommended to all my friends.

Many thanks,
Anna

We hired Floorwood Solutions to install new hardwood flooring on the 3rd floor of our house, including two bedroom and a hallway, and we're thrilled with the results. One complicating factor of our job was the need to tie in with the trim at the base of the handrail. The old vinyl flooring was much thinner so the new hardwood would have ended up being higher than the trim. Although this stumped some of the contractors that bid on the job, from his initial visit, Robert described in detail how he would handle the problem and the new flooring ended up perfectly flush with the base of the handrail. Following Patricia's advice, we selected 1/4 sawn hand scraped 5" Hickory in Old Mission. Despite the narrow corridor and smallish rooms, Patricia explained how the thicker planks can actually open things up and make a small space feel roomier. She was right and we love the results. Robert and Darek worked incredibly hard through a heat wave at the end of May, cutting all of the boards outside (to keep the dust down) and going up and down two flights of stairs without complaint. Their skill and craftsmanship is absolutely superb. Some challenges and surprises arose once the vinyl tiling was removed -uneven subfloors and damaged planks - but they handled it all with ease. At the end of the job, they even made the extra effort to repair the cracked treads on a couple of stairs at no additional charge for which we are very grateful. The floors look amazing and we couldn't be happier with the results. We wouldn't hesitate to hire Floorwood Solutions again and highly recommend them. Thank you Patricia, Robert and Darek ... it was truly a pleasure doing business with you!

This company is totally professional. From the first email to Patricia who answered all my questions to the installers Robert and Darek this company is amazing!! We had our dining/living room combination done along with our Family room. We chose the 5" Baroque hand scraped wood and we couldn't be happier. Patricia even invited me to their house to see it first hand and as soon as i saw it I knew this is what i wanted. The installers were professional, curteous and perfectionists. They were constantly cleaning up after themselves and apologized for the dust they made. Very curteous and helpful. Like I said Patricia was there all along to answer any questions and co-ordinate the install. I would definately use them again. Amazing job, thanks Patricia, Robert and Darek