Flooring By Design

FBD was contracted to supply/install new solid hardwood floor, remove ceramic tile floor around the kitchen cabinets, and remove solid oak flooring. Included was remove/replace a fridge, a dishwasher, a toilet and a sink. Contract $8691.46. “All material is subject to 25% restocking charge of total contract.” They will not accept payment by credit card over $3000.

FBD statement
' Located in Barrie, our team of highly qualified flooring installers is friendly and diligent and maintains the highest standards of professionalism and cleanliness throughout installation.'

Contrary to above, their installers arrived with no tarps, no protection for kitchen cabinets, granite, marble entrance, adjacent carpet areas or to seal off duct vents. They did not sweep up at days' end. Broken tiles, cement, empty boxes, wood with exposed nails and tools were left everywhere overnight. Material was loosely carried out in un-taped boxes scavenged from a local dumpster which made a total mess through our main hallway. They called it a ‘construction site’, not our home. Construction sites are kept clean for safety?

Cleanliness was one issue, damage was extensive too. They damaged solid oak kitchen cabinets, kicked in bases using a large crowbar, gouged portions of subfloors using an electric jackhammer. They pulled a sink from the wall using the same crowbar rather than simply remove 2 screws. They broke a refrigeration line, which ran all night through our floor to the finished basement below. They told us, ‘if you wanted the job to be done right, you should have removed the cabinets first’. We asked them to leave. Trevor the owner had them complete the demo portion and offered a new crew to install the hardwood.

They claimed the prep was complete, I pointed out is was not done well enough, they left anyway. I spent 8 hours the following day removing about 5 lbs. of bent nails, wire and debris ensuring the floor was ready for hardwood.

Independent installers arrived to install the hardwood, (they contract for many retailers). Darl & James had professional tools, and planned out the installation. They cleaned up every night. They took care in the installation process, although they didn’t allow for the baseboard when installing the doorstop trim. I removed and re-installed half of what was installed. They do not re-install toilets or dishwasher plumbing although we were charged about $200 for this service.

Trevor told us to deduct the water line repair and the ceiling repair $250 which was fine. We have to have our speaker serviced to determine any internal water damage. Trevor added $260 for quarter round which was not part of our contract. I explained this to Trevor, and stated doorstop was added, and the agreed amount in his sales showroom was $100. We added the $100 to our payment. Trevor demanded we pay $160 more!
No information was left regarding the use/care, or warranty of our new hardwood or installation.

We noticed the large holes in our bathroom wall, making it impossible to re-install the sink without replacing the wallboard in that area. This was deliberate by his crew and I contacted Trevor. He never responded.

In less than 2 weeks, a splinter came loose along a board, upon close look several splinters were appearing along this edge. I sent a picture to Trevor and offered him to view this for himself. Trevor replied he was not coming out, “clearly it was damaged” (not true) and to fix it ourselves. I requested a rep to review the area. Trevor refused. I called, he offered to repair, but demanded an extra charge.

We are so disappointed having done business with Flooring by Design, the blatant mess throughout our home, damage to cabinetry, deliberate damage by their staff, the overcharge of $160. Refused service of a brand new floor.

We paid full price for hardwood with no warranty or installation guarantee.