The one-stop-shopping idea for remodeling sounds good but it often doesn't work out too well. Besides the complaints below, we have a warehouseful of complaints about:
Anthony of Englewood NJ (10/25/02): We purchased and paid for a floor installation from Home Depot Expo, and paid an additional sum to have the floor levelled. After installation we realized it was not level, and to rectify the problem now means removing the entire floor. This dispute has been going on for some time, and not once has anyone from Expo contacted me, I had to call time and again to the store, and even corporate office.
The total monetary cost was about $8500.00, but we also have not been able to use the room, as we haven't completed the rest of the decoration etc in the room, as we want to see what happens in regards to the floor
Catherine of Washington, DC (10/19/02): Timeline:
4/5/02 Floor purchased with $1.00 per sq. ft. subfloor installation fee recommended by sales associate because wood floor was to be installed over concrete Total cost $4,813
5/21/02 Floor installed by International Floor Services contractor of Home Depot Expo Center without preparation to the subfloor
6/17/02 Floor buckled in hallway and main room. Buckle was length of hallway and 8 ft in length in main room. Other small raised areas in main room.
6/26/02 Customer contacts International Floor Services and IFS attempts to repair buckles by removing hallway wood and 1ft into main area. No wood was left from the initial installation and several pieces of the wood were damaged during removal. These pieces were used to reinstall the hallway with excessive use of wood putty. No thresholds or T-molding was used between the hallway and bathroom adjacent to hallway. Instead International Floor Services places wood putty between floor and marble threshold of the bathroom.
7/5/02 Floor buckles in same locations as 6/17/02. Customer contact International Floor Services to report floor is buckling for second time.
7/20/02 Customer returns from vacation to find water damage from condo air conditioning condensate pipe. Floor damaged areas are bedroom carpet and hallway. 7/23/02 Customers insurance company comes to condo and assesses damage. Insurance sets up 2 fans and 2 dehumidifiers. Insurance tells customer to report damage to installer. Customer reports flood damage to International Floor Services
7/25/02 International Floor Services inspects damage to floor. At this time IFS does not inform customer that he no longer works for the Home Depot Expo Center. IFS does not inform customer that warranty is voided after water damage unless the entire floor is replaced. IFS tell customer that floor should be removed in hallway area and 5ft from hallway in the main area. IFS says they will order materials and set up install date at a later time when the concrete subfloor is dry.
7/26/02 International Floor Services contacts customer and tells customer to order 10cases of floor and 60 ft. of molding. Customer orders these items. Order Number 177217. Total cost $1240
8/2/02 International Floor Services removes wood from hallway and 3 ft from hallway in main living area. Customer pays IFS $600 for removal of damaged wood. IFS does not inform customer that by paying IFS directly customer no longer has a warranty from Home Depot Expo Center.
9/11/02 International Floor Services installs floor. Customer pays IFS $850.
9/20/02 Floor buckles in same locations as 7/5/02 and 6/17/02.
9/25/02 Select Floors, a contractor of Home Depot Merrifield, inspects floor. Tells customer that floor needs to be completely reinstalled with preparation to subfloor. Select Floor tells customer that there are various flaws in the installation which include not leaving space under shoe molding for expansion and contraction of the wood and no preparation of the subfloor. Select Floors estimated cost of repair and reinstallation. Total cost estimated by Select Floors $1350 to level subfloor, $1611 to install wood, $192 to install base moldings, and $ 1533 to take up existing wood. Total cost estimated by select floor $4686 not including cost of new materials.
9/28/02 International Floor Services inspects buckles. Asks customer if any wood is left over from installation. Customer tells IFS that no materials are left. IFS tells customer that wood does not need to be pull up. IFS tells customer to run a dehumidifier.
10/1/02 Customer contacts Home Depot Expo Center and is notified that the warranty of the floor was invalidated by paying International Floor Services directly and by not removing all of the wood after water damage. Problems: No preparation of subfloor prior to initial installation Deception of International Floor Services to customer after water damage
Total cost of repair $7000 emotional damage and stress at least another $7000!
Keith of Wheaton IL (7/6/02): My wife and I wanted to put slate tile in our kids' bedrooms of new house we bought. We went to Expo center in Downers Grove and picked out 2 different styles of slate for the 2 rooms. We were informed that a contractor would contact us in a couple of days to take measurements. I informed them that we were on a tight scheadule and was told not a problem. Two weeks passed and not a word, I called the Expo center and after many trasnfers I got ahold of the manager who told me that they appearently had the wrong phone number for the contractor and have been unable to reach them. Nobody thought to call me.
The contractor was contacted and he came out within two days to take measurements. When he was done I was told that the measurments I gave Expo center were "right-on" and that he would be able to get to work in the first week of July (barely making my time schedule). Again another two weeks pass and I recived a call from Expo center saying they just got the measurements in and that the order had to be increased by 28% due to my mismeasurements (the same ones that the contractor said were "right-on") and that it wouldn't be until the end of July before they could even get the tile. Now luckely Expo hadn't ordered the tile yet so I was able to back out of the the deal, but they dropped the ball twice and raised the price of the job from $5800 to $6400.
Report Your Experience If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.
Terms of Use Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use
Advertisements on this site are placed and controlled by outside advertising networks. ConsumerAffairs.com does not evaluate or endorse the products and services advertised. See the FAQ for more information.
Company Response Welcome If complaints about your company appear on our site, we welcome your response. Please see the Response Form for more information.
For more information, see the FAQ and privacy policy. The information on this Web site is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice. ConsumerAffairs.com Inc. makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information herein provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from the use thereof.
