Wood floor damage during kitchen renovation

3 years ago

I feel a bit sick. A few years ago we had our apartment (original 1930s) wood floors refinished just before we moved in. Fast forward to now, we saved enough to have the kitchen renovated.

I flagged in January - early on in the project - that I found debris under the cardboard 'protecting' the floor and that it caused scratches from being stepped on. We cleaned out what we could, and had the workmen do the same, but it was too late. My email about this went ignored, and I flagged it again in March. Again, no reply.

There have been a ton of problems since.. long scratch on the stainless steel apron sink, misaligned cabinet handles, dozens of scratches on the painted cabinets and then the biggest issue was that they messed up the scratch 'touch up' and now it looks like vaseline smudges all over. The GM saw this, apologized and said he would make it right.

I don't know what to do about the floor. It looks absolutely ridiculous -- perfect floor everywhere except around the wall-less side of the kitchen. Photos here: (with photo of full kitchen, so you can see the layout/why it's a big deal) https://photos.app.goo.gl/mSzzzY2js3SW1RHk8

I don't know what to do. Right now I'm super angry -- I've always been very precious about the floors -- but I don't know what can be done and what I should expect the contractor to do. There was never any mention that the floors could be damaged and me flagging it by email (note that I'm horrible with confrontation) have been ignored.

What do y'all think?

Comments (10)

rookie1986
3 years ago
“The GM saw this, apologized and said he would make it right.”

If they’ve said they will make it right then my next step would be to arrange a sit down to walk and talk through the issues (make sure to document the issues before the review so you don’t forget any). Then set an agreed date that you expect the issues // snagging to be resolved and make sure to keep lines of communication open and regular contact while the work takes place. Most contractors are decent people and will work with you (within reason) to get a good finish to the work.

One thing I’d advise is to make sure to document any and all communication (follow up phone calls / face-to-face with an email confirming everything you talked through), not that it will end bad but you need to build in a contingency plan which could result in small claims court, meaning you put yourself in the best position possible if you need to present a case.

Keep us updated with how things go.
Daisy England
3 years ago
I’d like to see the photos but can’t log in to them. Can you post them a different way? Click on the camera icon below where you’re entering the text and select them from your library.
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T B
Original Author
3 years ago
T B
Original Author
3 years ago
I kept trying to post a reply but it wouldn't work.. Thank you guys for responding!

The contractor was apologetic about the touchup that looks like vaseline smears, but not about this -- he just ignores my emails/voicemails.

Wondering how bad you guys think this is, if it's not a massive issue to fix.. refinishing the whole floor isn't really an option.

Posting a couple of the photos if Google Photos doesn't work :-)
T B
Original Author
3 years ago
T B
Original Author
3 years ago
Sarah U-S
3 years ago
Hi TB. I can’t quite make out the photos - are the boards scratched, or is there something on top of them? (On my phone, it doesn’t look scratched - it almost looks like there are splashes of adhesive and other debris on top of the board).
T B
Original Author
3 years ago
It looks (and feels) like the polyurethane/stain has been pulled off by the tape and the naked wood is exposed.
Sarah U-S
3 years ago
The good thing with wood is that it can be sanded and refinished. You could maybe get a price and then go back to the company that you are unhappy with and see if you can get them to pay? I’ve had floors refinished and it wasn’t as much as I thought it would be.
T B
Original Author
3 years ago
Well - I had all of the floors refinished a few years ago and I was told these original pre-war NYC apartment floors probably couldn't be sanded more (too thin after several refinishes). And the whole apartment is the same floor, so we'd probably have to do everything. That's about $4k, but it's really not an option for us to move all of our furniture out and find a place to stay with cat :-(

I emailed the company that did the floors last time, and they quoted me at $1200 (discounted since I'm a return customer) for 'spot repair' but said it wouldn't be perfect..

The GC is coming tomorrow - but I wanted to be armed with what other folks think since I'm a renovation novice!

Wood floor damage during kitchen renovation

Comments (10)

rookie1986

Daisy England

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Wood floor damage during kitchen renovation

Comments (10)

rookie1986

Daisy England

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