New staircase and entrance tiles
Overall the work was well done. Just a word o& caution, do not be taken by the videos that they show you before you sign the contract. Also be aware that you will have to pay 40% down before the work begins which I think it’s a little bit much as other famous contractors have charged 10 or 20% upfront but not 40%. The staircase was beautifully done, however the top riser was 1 1/4” shorter than the rest. When we asked Claudio and Chris why was that different, they said that they were still within building code even though Chris had informed us before taking the job that the stair risers had to be exactly the same size for safety reasons as the ones that we had originally were not. Hence, replace the staircase. As for replacing the entrance tiles, the workers did not bother covering anything while working and so the dust was all over our furniture, our bran new hardwood floor and even our bedrooms. When asked about the mess, we were told “ well, you have to understand this is construction, and construction is messy.” The reason I mentioned the video at the beginning of my text is because in the video,they mentioned so many times on their cleanliness and how they cover everything, but in reality, none of this was done.
One last thing, if you are a person into detail ,then you will have to constantly on their back to ask them to come and fix things after the fact. Both of us work, and when we hire contractors to come and do the work, we don’t think we should be constantly reminding them to finish their work properly. They are the professionals and they should know better.
But, I have to say that whenever I contacted Chris and asked him about something that was not finished that he would come the next morning and fix it. He was very helpful in all of our requests and tried to work with us with what he was able to do. But I definitely did not think that Chris was in any way the problem, but I think it had to do with the rest of the team and contractors that he were working with him.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $11,000.00
- Company Response
John
Thank you for taking the time to respond and review our work on Home Stars.
We at Floor Coverings International Mississauga take pride in our workmanship and strive to treat each home as our own.
Had we taken the project on from the beginning the scope of work, would have been done differently.
As a result of removing the existing ceramic tiles it was difficult to control the dust, and we regretfully did not use the plastic to cover off the entire main floor.
We offered to send in a cleaning crew, but your wife was generous enough to clean up the dust, which we appreciate and hopefully mitigated with flowers.
With regards to your stairs, since the staircase was being built and installed to fit the landing to the basement floor, we had to work with the space available (length, height and ceiling clearance) and make it as close to spec as possible but the first step is the one that has to be adjusted to fit these requirements which is what happened in your case.The work projected was scheduled for a time frame of 3 weeks.
Our crews work to finish the job each day to allow the next phase to be completed. For example after tile install you allow time for drying before grouting.
In order not to disturb the home owners we provided a lock box and key.
We spoke daily with John to reassure him that all work was being completed in a professional manor, and to advise him of the next steps.
With regards to deposits, Home Depot, Rona, and Lowes all require all goods and install to be paid fully before the work can even be scheduled. Kitchen and window companies require 50% in advance with 40% on delivery and 10% on completion. We as a flooring company have operated for 10 years with a 40% deposit structure and it’s generally standard in our industry.Thank you Chris