ComplaintsforGarage Revival, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hired this company to apply epoxy flooring to a finished basement in December 2021. . First, the owner sanded the concrete flooring but never taped off the area and dust traveled throughout the entire house to the top floor. Second, he never thoroughly cleaned and swept the area, as the entire finished floor has pin holes all over as a result of dust and dirt. Also, there are several larger pieces of debris in which he just applied the epoxy over which can be easily seen and felt as you walk over. Next, he didn't apply the top **** color close enough to the wall, so when the trim is put back on, it does not hide the base black color. His recommended fix - paint a trim around the entire floor perimeter to hide it. In addition, he never removed the closet doors so he applied the epoxy around the doors and edges, so there are "blocks" of the base black color around doors and closets. As he applied each layer, we were unable to walk on it so our view was limited from the stairs so at first it looked fine. Nowhere in his contract did he state that he doesn't apply the epoxy close enough to the wall and it has to be hid by a paint border. We have to hire another company just to cosmetically fix his mistakes as much as possible. Job was unprofessional and looks terrible. Paid a total of $5500. A couch/loveseat was moved to the small storage bc we could not fit through the doors. He agreed to lay the epoxy in 2 different sections so the furniture could be moved to the other side. He refused to come back and finish that area after my husband told him it was terrible and when he stopped returning our calls. We would like a portion of the $5500 returned for his incomplete job and for the extra cost of having it redone/corrected. We asked for the remaining supplies that we paid for so that someone else fould correct it and it he never returned our call. He did not provide me a copy of the signed contract but attached is an unsigned copy.

  Business response

  02/07/2022

  Linda Willison reached out to me personally as she was interested in getting a metallic epoxy floor
  installed in her basement. I met with her husband Paul to give them their estimate for the total cost of
  the job. Metallic epoxy floors are a unique one-off design and no two floors are alike. I explained to
  Linda and Paul that it can be comparable to an artist trying to match another artists work. Regardless of
  similar techniques and colors, no two paintings will be identical. Once they both decided they wished to
  receive this installation of flooring, we coordinated a time to meet and go over their final invoice and my
  sales contract. There is an entire paragraph dedicated to these specific types of flooring. Linda Willison
  read through this contract and signed. She also paid the 50% deposit required for myself to start the job.
  In the paragraph regarding metallic flooring, it states that the final finish of the floor may not closely
  match the samples or references provided by the customer. It also states that it is possible airborne
  particles may settle on top during. In addition, since no decorative flake or chip is applied to the floor,
  some imperfections present in the concrete below may show through. Metallic floors are a multi-step
  process, requiring multiple coats to end up with the final product. As in my experience with these floors,
  it’s always best to communicate with the customer after each coat as been applied. I make sure they like
  what is installed before moving on to the next step. This insures happy customers, and requires less
  work if a customer decides they don’t like certain aspects of the floor (color, shine, etc). I followed this
  practice with both Linda and Paul throughout the installation of their new floor. They approved of the
  prep work, the moisture blocking primer that was installed, the black base coat, as well the metallic
  pigment coating and the final topcoat. Throughout the process, Linda and Paul both expressed how
  much of an upgrade this flooring was. They loved seeing the steps involved, and thought that it was
  exceptional floor. On the final day I arrived which was one day after the metallic epoxy was installed, I
  spoke with Linda Willison. She told myself and my employee that she “really loved” the floor. She
  pointed out how much it had changed over night while drying. This is a normal occurrence, and it’s due
  to the epoxy flowing out before finally curing. After Linda expressing approval and telling both myself
  and my employee she couldn’t be happier with the new floor, I asked if I could continue with the final
  step in the process which is the clear topcoat. After giving us permission to continue, my employee and I
  finished up in their basement and started to clean up our working area. Paul came out shortly after
  finishing and told us both that he went downstairs to look over the floor the night before. The epoxy had
  yet to flow out and settle, and he thought it would stay like that. After we finished top-coating the floor,
  he said the floor looked completely different. He was extremely happy with the way it had turned out.
  He told my employee and I that it was an amazing job. Linda and Paul were all smiles that day upon
  finishing. Five days later, I receive a text message from Paul stating he had some issues with the floor.
  We scheduled a meeting the next day at his house so he could walk me around the floor and show me
  what he had issues with. He pointed out airborne particles that had settled on top during drying, which
  is covered in the contract that his wife signed. He pointed out a few areas where drywall bits had settled
  as well. He also showed me imperfections that were present in the final finish from the existing concrete
  below. This is also covered in my contract. Paul said he was not a fan of the edges of the floor, and asked
  if we could come to a resolution to fix these issues. Although I was not obligated to fix any issues he
  pointed out, I offered to do so for absolutely no money out of his pocket. I wanted to do anything in my
  power to make these two happy. I offered to take care of the airborne particles and drywall bits that had
  settled on top, and I offered a solution to the edges. These options of solutions I offered Paul are
  common with metallic floors, as there is nothing protecting the floor itself without decorative flake
  being installed. I asked Paul if I was to fix these issues he had with the floor if it would make him happy
  to which he replied yes. The next day I ordered all the product necessary to return to the Willison’s in an
  effort to make them pleased with my work. I was waiting on a firm delivery date from my supplier so I
  could coordinate with Linda and Paul the best time to come back and continue my work. Two days after
  I placed the order I was contacted by Paul around 11pm. He called me 10+ times, texted me 7 times, and
  left two voicemails. He seemed he had been drinking, and threatened myself and my family. Paul
  threatened to ruin my business reputation unless I gave him a full refund on the floor. I was asleep
  during all these verbal threats he said towards me & my family. It seemed to further his aggression I
  wasn’t responding around midnight to his slandering texts. I awoke the next day to read his messages
  and listen to the voicemails he left me. I explained to Paul that his behavior and threats were absolutely
  unacceptable. I told Paul that I would not be returning to their home to continue any work due to the
  safety of my own life. I did not feel safe returning to his home for any reason. I attempted to do
  everything in my will to make sure the Willison’s were happy customers, unfortunately Paul made it
  impossible to do so.

  Customer response

  02/22/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  We completely understand that all epoxy floors will not be identical. Mr. Rumsey did not apply both epoxy colors close enough to the wall and it has large “blocks” of black base color in which floor trim will not hide. This is true of the entire perimeter of the basement floor. This error cannot be corrected. We have spoke with three floor companies who stated that they cannot fix the floor, it has to be entirely removed so that they can apply it correctly. In fact, one company stated that the job was done so poorly that Garage Revival LLC should not be in business. Mr. Rumsey’s solution to the error was to paint a border to hide the black paint. Never in his contract did he state that he would not apply the epoxy close enough to the wall and a border would have to be applied.  In fact, I felt we were misled as he texted us a video of one of his past jobs and there was no painted border around that edge. The multi-steps of epoxy that Mr. Rumsey discussed in fact we believe that he did not use enough product. Another company stated that it appeared that he didn’t use enough to obtain the professional look that epoxy should have.

   

  Mr. Rumsey also charged us extra for the storage area. He did not return to complete this work. There is a storage area that is half-done as we had to store furniture in that area that could not fit through the door. We were completely fine with it not matching due to the fact that he would have to apply the other half of epoxy at another time. But he refused to finish the job or return the extra charge that we paid for to complete that area.

   

  We were told by another company that they allow their customers to view the entire floor after each step – before they apply the next step. Mr. Rumsey never offered that to us and we were told not to walk on the floor until the job was done and over. We had a limited view of the basement as you can see from the picture. We could not see the entire job and the limited view the stairs. My husband right away expressed his concern from what he could see from the stairs, which was the way the other colors were applied and he informed Mr. Rumsey that it did not look like natural marble and was blocky. Mr. Rumsey’s response was that the lighting was too bright and it would settle more as it began to cure over the next couple of days. I told Mr. Rumsey that it looked fine from what I could see from the stairs. Never did I inform him that I couldn’t be happier and never told him it was an amazing job. Again – we could only see from the stairs and could not  walk around to see the entire floor. We waited at least 24 hours as Mr. Rumsey recommended before walking on the floor as which point we could see the entire floor.

   

  Any conversations that occurred with Mr. Ramey after the floor was completed does not diminish his poor, unprofessional work. It does not change the fact that he did not apply epoxy close enough to the wall, it does not change the fact he didn’t remove the closet or bathroom doors and there are “blocks” of black base color around the doors and closets that cannot be hidden by floor trim, nor does it change the fact that he applied epoxy on debris and did not sand it down as it should because it was walking surface, nor does it change the fact that he misled us with a video in which there are no blocks of paint around the perimeter.

   

   

  
  

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