cran·ber·ry
1. A mat-forming, evergreen shrub (Vaccinium macrocarpum) of eastern North America, having pink flowers and tart, red, edible berries.
2. The berries of this plant, used in sauces, jellies, relishes, and beverages.
cot·tage
1. A small, single-storied house, especially in the country.
2. A small vacation house.
cran·ber·ry cot·tage
1. A tiny house in the woods in the north of Holland.
2. Peace, quiet, paradise.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

A woeful tale with a (thankfully) happy ending.....

Our move three years ago was jinxed with many problems. Unfortunately, it was partly due to our hiring two companies who were not very good at what they do. This is something you never know for sure until the people are in your home working. We hired a small business floor company in Ede which had almost perfect reviews. This man seemed to know what he was doing while he was talking to us about the work. If you recall this blog post on my old blog, he said the floor in our home could not be renovated after all and arranged a new floor to be delivered.

Three years and a legal battle later, we now know that the man conned us into buying a new floor. More about that in a minute. We have had to become schooled in wood floors over the period of this dispute with this man. From days within the floor being laid, things started going wrong. Here is a sample of what we have had to deal with.

Floor laid too tightly in spaces even after he cut it out many times over to reduce the floor and he caught power cords between the floor and baseboard causing a fire hazard...


Floor shifting and causing pressure on heating pipes putting them as a risk of breaking and flooding the room...


Floor movement so bad that furniture could not be set straight and things like lamps would shake as you walked by...


Floor boards in the length were not sawed at correct lengths causing them to push into the walls...


Floorboards repeatedly springing up from the surface. It was sometimes impossible to walk in areas...


The solid oak floorboards had been nailed down but all the nails were coming up between the boards...


Floor not laid with proper lengths apart and movement causing a ladder-like shifts kept occurring in various spots on the floor...


Some gaps were so large, you could stick a finger in between...


We had to attend a hearing after our floor was inspected twice by independent experts. We won the case against the man. He has been very rude with us since we started to complain about the floor. Since then, he has refused to pay us leaving it up to the organization (CBW) he was associated with at the time we had the floor laid to give us the guarantee that they would pay out the funds he owed us when we had our floor redone. Due to their rules, the results of this case are kept private which means we are unable to get out there and warn others about this man. 

After the legal dispute was settled we found a one man company called Montfrans Parket in Nijkerk to install a completely new floor. 

We hated the idea of having to move all our furniture out again. We also had a major worry about removing the baseboards. In the end, Peter said the baseboards did not even have to be removed as the floorboards came away in most areas and could be sawed from areas that were not free enough to lift them from under. We were left with a gap though once the new floor would be put in. Jos painted some wooden beading which were fitted along the bottom of the old baseboards. 

As you see, the old floor exposed here looks fine...



But we had the new floor delivered and ready to be installed...


And when Peter sanded the beech flooring to be able to put in the new floor, he told us he could have even made this floor look like new again desspite the mess that the old floor guy made of it. It was obvious that the story that the floor was not good and could not be renovated was a lie.


In looking for colors of stain, I found a photo of a floor called Hungarian Point. It is the chevron pattern. Well, I just loved it and kept coming back to that photo. In the end, Jos fell in love with it too and this is our new floor...


It was laid through into our entrance hall and bedroom. We find our hall far too small compared to the overall size of our house but this has made it feel bigger...


The floor is solid oak and has been smoked. It then had a white oil applied to give it an aged grey look...


As you can see, the beading looks like it was there from the beginning.  And we love the old feeling it gives...our own castle. *grins*


We are a little over two months further and the floor is just beautiful. It is perfectly laid with not a single problem occurring. This proves there are also some really good craftsmen out there who are experienced in their work. I just wish we had found Peter Montfrans three years ago when we moved in.

Heidi

17 comments:

  1. What an ordeal, Heidi. I am glad you have your house back to normal for Christmas!

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  2. I love your new floor Heidi, both the chevron design and the colour. What a shame you had such a problem with the first one. There are so many cowboy builders out there, but as you say you don't know until it's too late. It was also nice to have a little peek into your home, which looks so very comfortable and welcoming.
    Patricia x

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  3. I will never understand how bad "craftsmen" can be mad at you for hurting your house......I am so glad it is fixed now and so beautiful. Sorry you had to go through a lawsuit to get it repaired.

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  4. Nothing is more depressing than having to redo work, especially with nasty tradesmen. Your new floor looks just perfect, Heidi.

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  5. I remember you posting about this several years ago. I am sorry you and Jos have gone through so much trouble....what will you do with all that extra time now? It is beautiful and I love the chevron. Your home is just lovely Heidi.
    blessings, jill

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  6. Thank goodness all that is over and now you have a beautiful new floor that you love!

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  7. I know you're happy to have this chapter closed and behind you. What a weight off your shoulders! They're beautiful but better yet, installed correctly!

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  8. Oh my gosh ~ I am in love with your floors! And even though you can not talk of the man who clearly was lacking in skills, what you can do is rave about the man who clearly knew what he was doing!! Enjoy and have a Merry Christmas!

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  9. Wow. It turned out unique and beautiful. What a ways to go through though.

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  10. My goodness Heidi, I am no carpenter but I think I could of laid that first floor better than that contractor did. That was awful and what a horrible time it must of been to go through.
    The new floor is beautiful and not anything I have seen before. I know you will enjoy it.

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  11. How wonderful to have it finally done right! Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas this year! The flooring seems to be a good early Christmas gift to you!

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  12. Boy that is the truth. What you went through with this floor was a real pain in the neck. It looks great and glad you are happy with it now.
    Love Mom

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  13. It's beautiful! Let's not dwell on the long and twisty path to get to your gorgeous new floor, and just enjoy that you have arrived to the conclusion. I'm so happy for you!

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  14. What a nightmare! It looks fabulous now but I know it was heartbreaking while you were going through it.
    Hugs

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  15. It's been a long ordeal for you, hasn't it? It's good to hear that you love your new floor. When we had new flooring put in our kitchen and eating area, they did the same thing with the quarter round so that we didn't have to pull up the baseboard. Yours looks better than ours, though!

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  16. I am sooo happy to hear all this hassle has a happy ending!

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