Complaint Review: Floor Specalist - Orlando Florida

In all fairness to the company in question, did you have a written contract as to what labor would be performed?

Was this company being paid to level the floor in advance?  Many companies advertise very low labor rates, which probably don't include leveling the slab.  I have stressed numerous times to many other customers to make sure the labor rate they are quoted includes floor preparation, otherwise the old motto, "you get what you pay for" becomes a reality.  

I have had clients say to me, "I'll be honest with you, your quote is a lot higher than others I have received".  I explain the reason vehemently that my quote will include the extra necessary work to ensure a stable solid finished floor, and we spend a day cleaning up and touching up with caulk, paint, etc, if necessary.

Our company charges $2 per square foot to install laminate with prep work included, or if it is not needed, $1.25-$1.50/SF, and we take our time.  It takes our company almost a week to install laminate that would take many other companies a day or two at most, which brings to mind another question: Was your flooring properly acclimated or delivered and installed same day?   Aside from the leveling issue, this could potentially be the root and cause of many issues.  A rushed and hurried job at a cheap labor rate is always going to end horribly.

This is why a written contract is essential when installing laminate or wood flooring.  Especially over a concrete substrate.  Make sure your installer is aware of all the work you want performed, and has included that in their written estimate.  IF this was the case with your installation, you should consider filing a small claims court suit in civil court, that's the only way to resolve this issue properly, before a judge who can mediate the situation and possible order the installer back out to fix it.

As far as going as far as calling Mark Langlois a "fraud", I would beg to differ, as I know he has been installing floors for a number of years, his expertise is in wood flooring, particularly gluing with urethane.  I have never known him to steal or commit any kind of "fraudulent" activity.  He may have just had a bad day with your laminate job.  In all fairness I have seen many jobs he has done and many of them have turned out just fine, some not so fine.  We're not perfect in this business, that's for certain, NO ONE is...  Not all flooring goes as expected either, and sometimes this is due to the type of material chosen.  Did you have him install inexpensive 6MM laminate over a minimal underlay or did you pay top dollar for 12MM goods with a thick quiet-walk type padding?  I always try to avoid any of the thin laminates unless they're going over a wood sub-floor.

A lot of leveling issues are avoided with a glue-down installation, as the urethane glue itself can act as a leveler if it is high quality and tacks up well.  Floating floor systems will always require leveling if the slab is not within a specific variance, especially if the material in question is razor thin by comparison to some of the more expensive products.

I hope my comments are worth while here, as I try to speak from a non-bias standpoint, knowing that we all fall short of perfection, the key is to always speak about another human being with as much kindness as is possible in life.  Otherwise as a society we are never going to awaken.

Sincerely,

Andrew C Szewczak
ACS Floor Covering LLC
(407)595-4232