Hardwood Installer Recommendations in the GTA

July 13, 2008 4:13 PM

I'm looking for recommendations for a hardwood floor retailer/installer in the Greater Toronto Area.

We're closing on a house August 8, and the first thing we want to do after we close and before we move in is replace the existing laminate floors with hardwoods. About a month and a half ago we contacted a highly-recommended retailer (Darmaga Hardwoods in Richmond Hill) and they came and gave us an estimate, we left a deposit, etc. Fast forward to this week and they've lost my estimate, file and deposit and won't do the job. (I could happily go on and on about that but it's not really relevant.) We're closing in less than a month and now that Darmaga has screwed us I've got to line up another hardwood installer in a jiffy. Any first-hand recommendations? I'd also love suggestions for installers to avoid.

This won't be a terribly high-end job -- just getting oak floors, upstairs and down (no stairs, though, they'll remain carpeted). The house in on the west side of Toronto.

posted by kate blank to home & garden (7 comments total)

No advice for you, but thanks for the info about Darmaga. We're also looking at installing hardwood floors.
posted by Badmichelle at 5:21 PM on July 13, 2008

Not *exactly* greater Toronto, unless you count your Lake Ontario neighbors to the south.... Rochester, NY.

I simply cannot recommend Harman Hardwood Flooring Company enough. They gave our kitchen a beautiful, affordable, new floor.
posted by fvox13 at 7:30 PM on July 13, 2008

I am going to have to draw the line at Hardwood Installers outside of the country and yeah, probably at anyone who is 3+ hours drive in any direction.
posted by kate blank at 5:09 AM on July 14, 2008

Decor Floors is awesome - both my sister's family and I have used them for laminate installation - they were prompt, gave a good price for the material and work, and brought two very quick and knowledgeable workers to do the actual installation. I refer all my friends who are looking for hardwood/laminates to them - they seriously rock! They have locations in Mississauga and Brampton, but work all through the GTA.
posted by grippycat at 8:00 AM on July 14, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Called Decor Floors and arranged an estimate and so far, so good! Thanks, grippycat.
posted by kate blank at 9:56 AM on July 14, 2008

Gigpark.com has a recommendation: http://www.gigpark.com/recommendations/s0700208
posted by 3rdparty at 10:36 AM on July 21, 2008

Unfortunately for kate blank, the job was not completed, but due to reasons she is not listing.

Losing an estimate & apologizing is not a common occurrence for a company w/ over 65 years experience & on our 4th generation.

Unfortunately, we were extremely busy & human error does occur, again, we apologized & were ready to continue with the job on the set date, asking that all that was required was kate blank fax or email back a copy of the quote in her possession as well as a Visa receipt / record or cheque # in regards to the deposit she claimed was made as all records were searched & no indication of the deposit ever being made was found. In fact, the deposit she claimed was made fluctuated in value during conversations.

kate blank then demanded more than a 20% discount off of the entire job for "inconvenience" including having to fax back the quote & unless her condition was met, she would blacken the Darmaga Hardwood name through the use of the company she works for as well as on a personal level.

When kate blank contacted the Better Business Bureau still demanding that Darmaga Hardwood accept her conditions & still do the job on the set date, the claim was instantly dropped.

To this day no record of kate blank’s deposit has been found, supplied by herself, nor has any credit card or financial institution contacted us in regards to a refund.

The hardwood industry in Ontario has operated like a small micro-cosm since, well, the Darmaga's have been involved. It has always been very competitive & "cut-throat". Single digit margins are the norm & decreasing yearly. Needless to say, being able to run the co. through good times & bad for the last 65+ years has taught us that customer service is top priority.

However, there are times when we cannot satisfy everyone's expectations, this is 1 of them.

We do however wish that the hardwood industry operated as kate blank sees it - w/ contractors being able to make more than 20% profit margins so that discounts in excess of these amounts could be made to satisfy an unhappy customer if need be. That is not the case.

Finally, & again, no record of kate blank’s deposit has been found & we are happy that another hardwood contractor was able to satisfy kate blank.

If required, anyone can contact us toll free @ 1-800-387-5790.

Thank you!
posted by Rod D at 5:47 AM on March 30 [21 favorites has favorites]