OMG - the flooring guy dropped a can of stain on my carpet!

16 years ago

I know that everyone has a flooring nightmare . . . but I have no idea how to remedy this. We have old red oak under the carpet throughout the house. We have been doing a room by room DIY renovation and the den was more than we could do ourselves because it required some tiling and walls being torn out. We went ahead and ripped up the carpet in just that room. We got flooring quote for the den only and then the whole house. Due to costs we decided to do the den only for now. I come back to the house after being gone for two days and the finish is all hazy in spots. It is supposed to be semi-gloss, but it is very satiny is spots all over the room . . . and then there is the hair all in the finish. Then I notice that there is a very large square patch in my dining room. They guy dropped a can of stain in there and it went everywhere! Walls, on my brand new futon, chair and all over the carpet. He cut up the carpet and tried to patch it but it is so obvious! He says that he will recarpet that room but that will look messed up because it is an open space and it will look patched where it transitions to the living room. He acts like it is not a big deal because we are going to pull up the carpet . . . eventually! We have to live with it for now. I could get him to cut me a deal on doing those floors but if I don't liek the job he did in the den . . . why would I use him in the rest of the house. I am about to pull my hair out.

And . . . I am out of money! (I haven't paid him yet)

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Comments (4)

ccoombs1
16 years ago
he needs to pay for the damage he caused, period. He should have insurance and he can file a claim for his mistake. Don't accept any less.
andrelaplume2
16 years ago
please let us know what happens!

What did he say about the satin/hair finish...a new trend perhaps?
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lillyg73
16 years ago
1. Get the upholstered peices professionally cleaned asap.

2. Ask him to redo the finish in the one room first before you pay him anything or discuss the other issue...that's a new problem, but you are correct about contracting him for more work when he's already done a lousy job.

I wouldn't want him in my house with that kind of attitude; if I were in his shoes, I would be falling all over myself apologizing and proposing a solution.

3. As ugly as it may get, you have to itemize your damages and present it to him in writing and ask him "how do you think we can work this out?" Nicely put the ball in his court before any money changes hands. After you know whether or not the peices can be cleaned, you can decide if you want him to replace them or come up with a number that you can live with to compensate you for the decrease in the value of the furniture.

4. Hopefully you can get some money out of him...enough to buy a temporary area rug for the dining room.
KH 888
Original Author
16 years ago
Well - here is the update:
I found out that the GC had already paid him - however, she (the GC) said that she would take the hit if he wouldn't fix the problem. He recoated the paint on the walls where the stain splashed. The splatters on the futon were minimal - even though I told him "I can spill stuff on my furniture, YOU CAN'T." The main issue was the finish in the den and the carpet. Here is the resolution - He said that he would rebuff, put down another coat of poly and repeat until I was happy. He offered to recarpet the foyer and dining room and the office so the carpet patch would not look so obvious. My husband and I decided that we would just bite the bullet and get the floors in rest of the house except the bedrooms (dining room, office, foyer and hall). We will be eating alot of mac and cheese for a while, but it is worth it to get it done before we start moving furniture in. He offered a pretty good discount to do the rest of the floors with the understanding that he would not get paid for the rest of the job unless I was supremely happy. We will see. He sanded Tue and Wed and is staining today. I have had to stay on his @ss. I will keep you guys updated and post pictures when he is done.

OMG - the flooring guy dropped a can of stain on my carpet!

Comments (4)

ccoombs1

andrelaplume2

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OMG - the flooring guy dropped a can of stain on my carpet!

Comments (4)

ccoombs1

andrelaplume2

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lillyg73

KH 888Original Author

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