Home › Forums › WSB Reader Recommendations › Refinish Hardwood Floors
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
January 17, 2008 at 5:16 pm #586263
JimmyGMemberWe want to pull up the awful carpeting in our living/dining rooms and have the oak hardwoods underneath refinished.
Does anyone have a recommendation for great hardwood floor refinishers? As always, a W. Seattle company would be best.
January 28, 2008 at 2:16 am #613975
acemotelParticipantI used Ballard Hardwoods, (not West Seattle), they did a fabulous job.
January 28, 2008 at 6:31 pm #613976
JohnMMemberJanuary 29, 2008 at 5:41 am #613977
acemotelParticipantoooh, I don’t remember the price per sq. ft. but the area we uncovered is somewhere between 1000-1500 sq. ft and the cost was around $3000. There were a lot of imperfections and repairs necessary. This was a couple years ago. They also made some vents for the air return out of oak to replace the old metal ones, and re-routed one of the vents too. We had the old linoleum floor in the kitchen replaced with a new wood floor, and they did a fine job (that cost was extra). It’s impossible to tell that some of the wood is new and some old. Their phone number is (206) 784-9369,
www.ballardhardwoods.com.January 30, 2008 at 1:18 am #613978
JimmyGMemberMy experience with Ballard HW was less than positive, although it was back in 1999. It was a small refinishing job (kitchen) and the quote was reasonable.
What they didn’t tell me up front though was since it was such a small job they subbed it out. The guy showed up and told me he was a sub. He did a half-assed job and when I complained they said they always sub out the small jobs. Nowhere in my paperwork I’d received or signed did it disclose they wouldn’t do the job themselves.
I learned a great deal from that experience–I always ask all contractors what they sub out before I sign or agree now.
So, no W. Seattle refinishers?
February 3, 2008 at 10:33 pm #613979
AnneTParticipantI just did mine myself. I rented a great machine at Home Depot for $50 a day plus It took 5 pads and the cleaning solution, floor repair kit,stain,sealant, masks & plastic.
It took me two days to do 1100 sq ft.
Total bill: $270 and a great workout & sence of accomplishment.
After I got over the inital scare of the machine ( it was like arm wrestling a lumberjack) I got the hang of it.
If you have the time…its not that hard.
February 4, 2008 at 2:01 am #613980
karenParticipantI have used Seattle Hardwoods for both of my houses. I have been very happy with the work and the staff.
They did what they said, for the quoted price with no problem. I also had a small problem with one are and there was no problem getting it fixed for us.
Plus they offer a finish that is less toxic and smelly than traditional finishes.
February 13, 2008 at 3:16 am #613981
AnonymousInactiveWe used Dallas Watson and were very happy with him. He came in and did the floors the way we wanted them after a previous contractor wanted to argue with us that they just wouldn’t look right the way we wanted them (the other contractor did the work but didn’t want to do the finish the way we wanted). The other guy had very non-personable workers, and Dallas was awesome and very nice and his price was fine. So I’d recommend him.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dallas-watson-flooring-seattle#hrid:5MYRKW_R9ZZJFVgCmQlqxA
December 19, 2009 at 11:09 pm #613982
TishParticipantAny new recommendations or further thoughts on the companies already recommended above?
December 20, 2009 at 2:12 am #613983
AlkiRagdollParticipantI had hardwoods put in 12 yrs ago, and they are starting to look like the need for refinishing. I did swedish, and had to move out of the house for 3 days. Is this the current finish that has durability or is there something new?
December 20, 2009 at 3:59 pm #613984
PDieterParticipantJanuary 18, 2010 at 8:30 pm #613985
TishMemberSo just a quick update: I called Dallas Watson, Seattle Floors, Lane Floors, SLM Floors, and Ballard Hardwoods. All five came out and performed estimates. Here is what I can tell you
Seattle Hardwoods: Were in and out of my house in five minutes and gave me the most expensive bid.
Ballard Hardwoods: Reasonable bid but slow reponse time. It took them a week to send me the estimate.
Dallas Watson: Never got an estimate.
Lane Hardwoods: Very knowledgeable but expensive.
SLM Floors: I chose them because they were the most responsive, knowledgeable, and in my price range.
I’ll be getting my floors done + stairs leveled in the next few weeks. I’ll let everyone here know my thoughts after the fact.
February 23, 2010 at 4:56 am #613986
tishanMemberHi Tish: Thanks for the great report. I’m hanging with baited breath in anticipation of the last chapter…how did your floors come out?
February 23, 2010 at 3:37 pm #613987
TishMemberAlas, my hard floor job is being put off for a couple weeks because of delays that were incurred elsewhere on my home remodel project. I’ll provide an update soon though :)
February 23, 2010 at 7:44 pm #613988
sasquatchMemberHope the floors come out well! We had ours done Feb 2009 and I could still feel my throat burn when I entered the house after a week of airing it out. The waterbased finish (which was not what we had done)is supposed to be less toxic. Ours was the semigloss swedish finish on red oak. It came out amazingly well.
February 23, 2010 at 10:55 pm #613989
ALSParticipantLooking forward to hearing your update! I would love to rip up our carpets and finish our firs underneath. I prefer to go the DIY route usually to cut costs, but I have no idea what condition the floors are in, so I figured it would be better suited for a professional job.
May 2, 2010 at 8:21 pm #613990
TishMemberSorry for the delay. Here is my update as promised.
Scott from SLM floors did a fabulous job. His father owned Ballard Hardwoods and as a result, Scott has been around and/or working in hardwoods for years.
My job was a tad tricky because I had an old 1920’s wood floor that hadn’t been sanded in years, there was lots of repair work in sections, and it needed to be stained to match the dark bamboo wood floors that the previous owner installed in parts of the main floor.
My fear going in was that, too often, staining jobs can look splotchy, the wood repairs stand out when placed against the old floors, and/or the sander does a poor job which results in obvious sanding marks being left on the newly-finished floor.
In every way, Scott exceeded my expectations. He hand-sanded all the edges to ensure that no sander marks were visible and his staining job was pristine — they floors look AMAZING. Best of all, even though there was a lot of repair work, you honestly can’t tell.
There were, like on any job, a few quibbles. In a couple areas, I thought the gap between some of the new wood pieces could have been tighter and while he said that he wouldn’t get stain on the newly painted trim, he did in a few places. That said, he fixed all problems pointed out without a complaint and it was clear that he set a high standard for himself which resulted in a floor that looks beyond fabulous.
Honestly — I couldn’t recommend Scott more. He does great work at a reasonable price. He uses quality products, and his high level of perfectionism means that he’ll put a lot of care and attention into your floors and he won’t be satisfied with anything that looks subpar.
Overall, I highly recommend him.
All the contractors and my amazing realtor (who still drops by and helps out — I love that man!) all agree that he did good work.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.