We underwent a whole house renovation last year and after talking to a few different hardwood retailers/installers we chose to go with Oakland. The service and pricing we received upfront was exceptional and we thought we were in good hands.
Problems started when the hardwood was delivered to our house. We had ordered 1000 sq/ft of Appalachian natural maple, but what showed up was Continental Designs honey maple. We were assured that this was not a problem since Continental Designs is just a brand name that Appalachian uses. I took his word for it, but did some more research the night before installation was to begin. Turns out Continental Designs (CD) has nothing to do with Appalachian, and he had clearly misrepresented the truth to us. From my research I concluded that CD is inferior quality and most certainly cheaper than Appalachian.
When I told Oakland about this he said that we had agreed on natural maple and if we wanted to do an exchange we would have to pay a 10% fee (around $500). Only when I pointed out to him that in our contract it specifically states that we ordered Appalachian did he agree to do the exchange free of charge.
The installation then got underway, but the whole job was done by one man only. From other contractors I've heard that hardwood installation is definitely a two-man job. The installer told us that his partner was sick but that he would be fine on his own.
At the end of the day the quality of the installation is OK at best and certainly not what I would expect from someone who tells us that he works with a number of custom house builders. There were several glue stains left on the hardwood that were very hard to remove. The nosing on the top of the stairs was varnished with just one coat using the cheapest varnish you can get at Wal-Mart. It looks absolutely terrible. And, you can certainly question how the planks were sorted prior to installation as many pieces with highly visible flaws were installed in high-visibility areas (should have been used inside closets, in corners, etc.)
We thought we had found the perfect company, but the whole experience with Oakland was horrible in the end. I would discourage anyone from using Oakland as there are certainly many other companies out there that will do a much better job.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $9,000.00