7-13-12: Two Romanian workers (one about 30 yrs. Old/the other about 18) begin to set up their electric saw (older one smoked a cigarette while on balcony & flicked it down below) on on my balcony to prepare to cut planks of Morning Star Bamboo Hardwood Flooring, which will be installed in master bedroom and master closet... Told by estimator, who worked at Lumber Liquidators, that this would be a one day job. Previously, my condo association was faxed scope & sequence of floor project to be approved before work could begin. This project, as per "Raul", my floor estimator from Lumber Liquidators, in Arlington Heights, IL, was to take ONE DAY, so condo elevator had protection padding for just one day. On 7-13-12, at noon, workers went to lunch. I went in my bedroom to see how things were looking, when I noticed a deep hole and a 2 foot scratch on my newly painted bedroom wall, which happened when installers moved furniture and failed to tell me! Upon their lunch return, I mentioned the damage (worker #1 denied damage, saying "it was already there!" then said "I will fix" when I showed him paint containers still on my dining room floor, from July 2nd! He had a burger in his hand, still wrapped, as we discussed how he would have to get the paint, (since I had lightened it by two shades and did not have extra of that particular color and spackle AND come on July 14th. I took pictures of damaged wall with my cell phone and immediately emailed A to Z Flooring, Inc. On July 14th, the same workers arrived at 1:45 pm (knowing they had to be out by 5pm because of my condo rules) and rushed to complete the flooring in closet, baseboards, and quarter rounds. At 4pm, worker #1 says, "You need more glue." I had previously researched exactly how much Mapei Moisture Adhesive buckets I needed to purchase given the exact square footage of master bedroom and closet (and was told by an online Lumber Liquidators specialist, named Dave, on June 28, "One bucket of the adhesive covers 200 square feet so if you are covering the area twice that, you will need one extra bucket to complete the job." I printed this online chat conversation as proof that these installers failed to apply the adhesive properly. (I have Dave's contact number and email, if needed.) SO, I had a friend stay in my condo while I drove my car to Home Depot (at 4pm on a Saturday) to inquire what to use to lay THE LAST PLANK OF WOOD! On suggestion from Home Depot Worker, I purchased Liquid Nails and raced home knowing that workers had to be done by 5pm (condo rules.) They very quickly rushed to finish the closet floor and began measuring, sawing, and installing baseboards, quarter rounds, and moving furniture back in place.By the time worker #1 handed me the paper for final payment, it was July 14th, 6:48 pm and they STILL NEEDED to come back and remove blue tape they left all over the closet flooring! I had to pay the balance online and printed my receipt with the 6:48 pm time as proof that they did not follow my condo association rules, being aware that 5pm meant "you must leave." On Tuesday, July 17th, I called A to Z Flooring to find out when someone was coming to remove the blue tape; the receptionist, ALICIA, was totally unaware that the installers failed to complete the one day job! I was dog-sitting for a few days at a friend's house and returned to my home on July 22, when I noticed several smudges/stickiness from the installers shoes/hands all over the new floors, my hallway, and my living room! There was white glue on part of my bed's headboard! On July 23, I called Alicia again (and emailed A to Z Flooring Office) to make them aware of the sloppy and careless workers. I was sent an email by Alicia, suggesting three products: Mineral Spirits, Goof Off, or Penthinner, that I COULD PURCHASE at Home Depot, to try and remove the spots myself, so I make my SECOND TRIP to Home Depot on July 24, and purchase the Goof Off Liquid. This Goof Off Liquid had a strong smell, tried it on one gluey spot, did NOT work, so I called Alicia AGAIN. On July 26, Alicia called me to say that she was going to send two "new guys" on Friday, July 27, to scrub the glue off of my NEW floors and the wood floors in my living room and hallway that also were dirtied because of failure to lay down butcher paper due to sheer laziness! The first two professional installers did not clean/wipe their mess but did manage to hurry and make sure I paid them so that they could finally be on there way out... After all, they should have been gone by 5pm... And this should have been a ONE DAY JOB! I could not wait for them to leave my presence! Because it was late, I had to make an online payment of $845 (I had previously paid $845 over the phone to A to Z Flooring, on July 6.) I remember being told not to step on new floors for 24 hours, so there was no way I would have seen the gluey mess! So, on Friday, July 27th, the same two guys who came to remove the blue tape on July 17th, came to clean and scrub the gluey mess from the first two 'professional' installers... They scrubbed hard with a never before recommended product, called Goo Gone Citrus, for an hour and a half! During this time, I consulted an online chat person from Goo Gone Citrus and asked "Jaylin" if the adhesive remover these guys were using on brand new Morning Star Bamboo Hardwood Floors was safe" I also printed this conversation... Jaylin said this product needed to be rinsed with soap and water! These two floor workers said "NO WATER!" I looked at a bottle of Goo Gone Citrus and on the back label it does say: RINSE WITH SOAP AND WATER. Now, I am very worried that the 30 year warranty on my brand new floors is void! Alicia, from A to Z Flooring, never recommended this as one of the three possibilities when she emailed me the 3 names of adhesive removers to solve my floor issue. At 4pm, on Friday, July 27th, after the new floors had dried from the applied Goo Gone Citrus, I entered my bedroom and closet only to be majorly disappointed AGAIN because several of the the gluey spots were still visible... Although, some did come off. My hallway and living room still have very visible smudges even after the guys scrubbed very hard. AGAIN I called Alicia, and told her I wanted to speak to her manager... She said he was "out of town." Alicia said she would have my floor estimator, "RAUL" (who recommended A to Z Flooring as my installers but works for Lumber Liquidators) come over on Monday, July 30th at 10 A.M... It wasn't until 8:30 A.M. That very morning, that I read an email saying that "both the installers and Alicia's manager agree that there is nothing that can be done except more scrubbing." I must say, after I reported the hole in the wall incident, A to Z Flooring did call me and reimbursed me $95 "for my troubles." This morning, July 31st, I sent an email to ([email protected]) letting them know that they can once AGAIN send the two men for a second scrubbing and I will have to wait until NEXT WEEK for this to take place! Can you believe this nightmare? I want to be reimbursed the total $1500 I paid for installation (minus the $95 for my troubles)... The trips I've made to Home Depot, the big tube of Liquid Nails (which the first installer kept) and the Goof Off Liquid, the days I have had to sit and be home for my new floors to look just that... New!
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