STM Co So MD: Laminate floor installer, need

‘Lo, all!

Looking to help my daughter-in-law find a dependable and trustworthy laminate floor installer to lay 900 sf +/- of laminate she is in process of selecting.

Wife and I rolled into town this evening and she showed me the quote she received from the guys “LOWEs sent over.” Standing in the area in question while looking at the quote and seeing a sf of 958 struck me as odd so I grabbed a Stanley tape and I measured 888, being generous. So, wth, we decide, “Let’s give ‘em the benefit of the doubt (maybe they were in a hurry,” etc.)

Then I see the stuff that starts screaming these guys rolled up, saw a young single mom on her own and the bs just started getting heavier and heavier. Examples: the line item of $155 to “unfasten and reseat a toilet” and $50 “to move a refrigerator.” (To my d-i-l’s credit she scratched that last one out and told the guys, “Hell, I WILL MOVE THE FRIDGE, MYSELF!”

At this point I told her about the Jobs Board here on MDS.com and we agreed there is nothing to lose by trying.

So, how ‘bout it? Anyone recommended highly in a 30-40 mile radius of California, MD?

Thanks in advance!

I have had good work from Griffin Flooring america in Lexington park and excellent work from Ultimate Carpet in La Plata.

+1 for Ultimate flooring in LaPlata. Robert has been good to us. May need to talk him down/haggle, but always easy to work with and his installers are top notch.

I was very happy with floor systems in Huntingtown. They have done several jobs for me and my family.

I will never use griffins again! They worked up an installed out the door quote for me on a rush job. The quote was reasonable. They showed up to do the job and handed me the invoice. It was for almost double the quote and they basically told me if you want the job done pay the new price. I told them to pound sand and called floor systems.
Floor systems did not have the exact same carpet in stock but had something comparable in stock, cheaper than griffins original quote, and were able to get it installed the next day.

i do hardwood/laminate for a living, honestly from the info you provided it doesnt sound that off. Did you use a project estimating calculator? is the work area a literal square with no doorways/closets? Buy a box of laminate/hardwood, go to any other place, and depending on how accurate your measurement is you need a minimum 5% additional of actual sq ft to do the job right for a square single room. there is alot that goes into how you lay boards in relation to each other to maintain the warranty of the material such as minimal space between adjacent ends, no stairstepping, no Hs. You would need to find out how much sq ft a box contains, then divide the total minimum sq ft (5%). you will most likely run into problems if its a hair shy of a box, so you have to add another box. (anywhere from 15-25 sq ft per box). as for the additional costs of toilet and refrigerator, you need to clarify if they are removing and replacing, or simply removing. From a non general contractors perspective, especially a flooring specialist, you are expecting the guy who puts floors down to have the same tools extra supplies a plumber does. removing a toilet is quick, but there are very big risks in touching any plumbing, since the condition of connections/ if plumbing was not already breaking or on the brink of breaking is impossible to forsee until something happens. There are too many DIYers who incorrectly assemble/set a toilet to where they stripped the flange bolt, or tank bolt, and will stay in place as long as no one moves it. The biggest problem I come across is when a customer wants the kitchen done, and has an oversized refrigerator that was put into a nook before they decided to put an island 3 feet away from it. Not only that, but even if the fridge can slide out, the ice maker line (copper) was kinked because whoever pulled the refrigerator and slid it in place was not visually checking if the hose was kinking. Once the copper line kinks, it snaps off the moment it extends (and has to uncoil to get it out). Again, removing the refrigerator is not the issue, setting it back is. If there is an island in the way the refrigerator has to slide perpendicular to the direction the wheels can roll which causes scratching on the floor without painstakingly careful cover and moving. Most people will not empty their freezer/fridge so getting anything under the fridge is no easy feat. The additional costs are 1/4 of what the installer would have to pay to get a new fridge/toilet, 1/2 the cost of the actual tradesmen. You should get a plumber to reseat the toilet either way, or be clear on what the additional costs include. A refrigerator being removed and replaced (if there is an island in the way). I dont know what the material is and what they charged per square foot, but charges for furniture/appliances are common. They are mainly a way to try to get the homeowner to get the jobsite ready for a flooring installation, since it takes a flooring guy alot longer than movers/plumbers, and for less money. An exaggerated analogy would be if someone asked a computer fixer to fix their computer, but then the computer is in a storage facility behind a bunch of boxes. The time it takes to get to the computer has to be taken into account for the amount of work being done.

I have 27+ yrs installing floors and guarantee to beat Griffin and Floor Max prices. Plenty of references if needed PM sent. Give me a call any time today.

Good morning, all!

First off, I want to thank everyone VERY MUCH! (My d-I-l doesn’t shoot (yet, he-he) and my wife (who DOES shoot!) was laughing as my dil was like “Wow!” as I described the MDS community, etc.
And, I’ll quickly admit, my first impressions of the quote may be “off” so, I also appreciate all candid feedback. Iceman, I’ll call you in between when I shoot skeet and my g’sons bball game this afternoon!
Thanks everyone, again!

I try not to be one of those forum members who post questions, etc. and then “disappear” so,

- this is just a followup to say a HUGE THANK YOU to those of you who responded to my request for assistance to my d-i-l.

(She wound up going with an outfit someone else in the family recommended (The Right Touch? (or, Right Touch? I think she said out of Huntingtown.)


Gotta hand it to the girl, she rented a hammer chisel of some sort and got the entire span of boards (which had been GLUED DOWN (!) AND the upstairs level carpeting, herself!!!!!

Lol, the Right Touch is my wife's uncle.

Iceman

LOL, what a small world (good thing)! Your uncle did the oak flooring in our house in CRE back in '05 or '06 and to this day, the realtor credits those floors (and my wife's elbow grease on the windows) as why the place sold in 5 days!!!

Well, I learned one thing out of all this; as much as I LOVE my d-i-l, I need to set some "boundaries" as far as trying to help her, in some respects. I quickly found myself in the position of "middleman" with a couple member vendors here cuz she is not as "split second" a communicator I have evolved into.

But, I am so very proud of her!!!

Thanks again, 1ceman!