041516 A Picture Story of Poor Workmanship
We recently (07-Apr-16) concluded a Laminate Flooring installation agreement with End of the Roll (EOR). We paid a total of CAD$ 3,675.94 for the materials and installation of Merit Mystic Grey Laminate for an area calculated by the contractor (EC Contracting) as 530 SQF. The as-built floor area is actually less than 500 SQF. Breakdown is CAD$1,929.69 laminate material and CAD$1,746.25 labor. Here is our experience: 1) Quoted price was less compared to the estimate made by Home Depot (where we thought can offer a better deal) despite the following: * ~6% to 10% waste allowance was used all area-tied material take off versus the actual floor area, the underlay PAD LAM Grey take off was more than 20% allowance from what was required, and baseboard measurement was about 5%+ longer than as-built. Still EOR was preferable than competitors. 2) EOR gave us a local contractor called EC Contracting. Workmanship not at its best. Why? * Very poor housekeeping: the group of four left the condo without properly cleaning the dust and dirt they produced. They said, it is not their job and that I could do it myself. This is a mortal sin in the construction industry specially come turnover time. * They placed their materials on top of the kitchen granite counter top without putting any surface cloth protection against scratches. I have not cleaned the surface entirely yet so I am not sure if any damage on the granite exists. * The baseboards they removed were not returned to their original state and were cracked, skewed on several spots. No refinishing done to cover the nail spots with putty/paint and no resealing done on baseboard edges. We thought it was part of the work. They said it is not and that I should hire a painter and offered another colleague of theirs. Suggestion to would be client of EOR contractor: make sure this is clarified up front. * It took the four people two days to complete the 530 SQF area. Not sure why. Suggestion to other would be client of any EOR contractor: Make sure your contractor is dedicating his time to your unit and not spreading themselves thin. * Heater cover were skewed. I have to realign the cover myself. I was expecting more from this contractor. * The installed laminate flooring on the other hand looks good. Suggestion: End of the Roll should prequalify their flooring contractor (contractors of choice) such that they understand that good housekeeping is best practice before turnover. Make that floor clean and free of dust. Use a good size, clean heavy duty vacuum cleaner, not a small, light duty, dirty one.
