Procedure Review by Olivia B. of Shorewood, IL

"We had a solid oak floor installed in our dining room, main hall and foyer, approximately 450 sf. by Trilogy Kitchens and Remodeling of Schaumburg, IL. We were getting what seemed like a great deal, but kept running into what Trilogy referred to as "unexpected expenses." The expenses of course popped up when the job was already so far underway that there was no choice but to have it completed by Trilogy or wait with our house in shambles until we could find someone else to complete those aspects of the project for a reasonable rate.

One example is that after our existing floor was torn out almost entirely we were told that we would need to have a new layer of plywood installed. At this point, the slate tile was removed, the sub floor was gone and the exposed planks of wood made it so we could see through to our basement, and our kitchen and living room were filled with the re-located furniture and we couldn't really even walk through our house.

With our house in this condition, I was told that to lay 15 sheets of plywood would add on an extra $1200 in materials and labor. I called Menards and the cost for a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood is $15. That means I was going to be charged almost $1000 by Trilogy Kitchens and Remodeling to lay plywood (It took 2 carpenters approximately 3 hours to put down the plywood). I was told that this was an unexpected cost and since the tile and subfloor were already gone, I couldn't really change my mind either. I was pressured to pay for the additional charges that day--I was told that the carpenters would not return the next day and my house would be left in shambles until I could find someone else to come in and lay the plywood, but if I gave him a check for cash, he would purchase and lay the plywood for 1000 instead of 1200. In addition, as the floor was being installed, one of the installers turned on the gas in the fireplace and as my house filled up with CO2, my children and I were upstairs. The installers left me alone with the house filled with gas claiming that it was too strong for them to stay. They broke glass shelves in the cabinet that they were contracted to move out of the room and put back after, and scratched up the concrete hearth with their tools, the carpet was not tacked back under the new threshold, the cap wasn't replaced around the gas valve for the fireplace, the trim was not replaced around the stairs. Trilogy went ahead and charged the remainder of the job to the credit card we used to make the initial deposit and never finished the job. In June, we noticed some cupping of the flooring. We had in a flooring inspector and it was determined that there wasn't a proper gap left around the perimeter of the room to allow for the flooring to expand and contract (as wood naturally does). Because of the tension of the wood expanding without the gap, almost ¼ of the boards have cracks. The are also several gaps between the laid flooring. Trilogy refuses to refund our money or fix our floor and is passing the buck to the man they fired. Use another company!" - Submitted by Olivia B. of Shorewood, IL

Cost: $4,200.00

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