I am pleased to provide this review for Kustom Floors, LLC, which hopefully conveys the very positive experience I had working with them. Kustom Floors, with brothers Rudy and Jimmy and their team, installed hardwood flooring throughout my entire one-bedroom apartment (except for kitchen, bath, and enclosed balconies) at a luxury hi-rise condominium in Arlington, Va. Their work is absolutely stunning. When I walk in the front door, I am struck each time by the incredible beauty of my new floors. Not only is the wood we selected beautiful, but the installation was done to perfection.
I interviewed at least five firms that install hardwood. It was very clear to me that Kustom Floors was the only firm that had the vision, the competence, and the professionalism to do the job to the highest level of customer satisfaction. From the beginning, Rudy pointed out issues that needed to be addressed in my unit. For instance, he was the only floor installer that discussed how we should handle installing the wood in the foyer closet. The sliding glass doors to the closet run on tracks, and removing the old track and installing the wood and then replacing with a new track over newly installed wood, he said, would yield a very different result than installing the wood on either side of the old track. No other floor company ever even raised that issue. Rudy’s recommendation was perfect. Yes, it involved extra work, but the result is a beautiful installation that is seamless in the front foyer. The alternative would have yielded a messy, unsatisfactory but quicker result.
Next, a big issue in my installation was how to handle the transition between the kitchen and the living room/dining room area. The kitchen floor had already been tiled when the kitchen was redone. Every other wood installer, except Kustom Floors, planned on doing the transition between the kitchen and living room/dining room in the quick and easy way, which meant installing a wood piece over the tile onto the wood in the living room/dining room. This approach would have left a bump at the transition. Not only would that method have created a safety hazard (someone could easily trip), but it would be visually unappealing. What Rudy recommended was removing and redoing a couple of the kitchen tiles so that metal edging could be installed to define the edge of the tiles (and the tiles could be made straighter to fit perfectly against the wood). He would then raise the floor slightly on the other side of the tiles so that the floor would be perfectly even as it flows from the kitchen to the dining room. Because of Rudy’s creativity and willingness not to leave things “as is” just because it was already done, he came up with a great solution, and the transition between the kitchen and living room/dining room is absolutely perfect. I emphasize he was the only floor contractor out of five different companies that came up with this idea. Not one other floor store recommended removing the tiles to make the transition perfect. They all planned to leave it “as is” and then “do the best they could.” That attitude would not have produced the beautiful result that Kustom Floors achieved. Given that hardwood floors are expensive and not easily changed, I much preferred to correct a problem now so I would be happy with the end result. In retrospect it sounds easy, but the point I am making is that nobody else cared enough to analyze the flooring job in such detail and to think out-of-the-box when crafting a solution. These are just two examples of instances where Rudy had ideas that no other floor contractor thought about but that produced exceptional results in the installation of my floors. When it comes to renovation, the details do matter. Kustom floors cares about the details.
Of course, planning is very important (which we did a lot of), but the care taken in doing the actual installation is equally important. Jimmy (Rudy’s brother) and his crew put heart and soul into installing my hardwood in order to achieve the most beautiful result possible. The results of their effort is nothing less than stunning. The finishing at every corner and between every room is beautiful. They take great care in doing each detail of the job for which there is no substitute. You can throw down a floor to “get out” and get to the next job or be patient and do the work meticulously. Kustom Floors is patient, and the care they take shows in the final work product.
In addition, my project was unusual in terms of its complexity and the required attention to detail. I ordered very high quality wood from Mirage, but because of the color, we needed to order a lot of extra wood and then select the pieces by hand to install in order to achieve a consistent look. Jimmy and his team spent a lot of time reviewing each piece of wood in order to select the ones they would use. Then, my designer and I approved the layout and gave suggestions where we had them. Rudy, Jimmy and their team worked well with both my designer and me. No egos, just one team with a common goal.
This last point is critical. Rudy, Jimmy, and their team were very respectful of my designer. Most of the floor stores I talked to just wanted to “get the job done as fast as possible” and were not interested in having the many meetings we ultimately had. Rudy and Jimmy’s openness to my designer made all the difference. They are experts in their field, but they listen to other viewpoints. To me, that is a key quality for any contractor. If a contractor does not have great listening skills and the ability to work with other professionals, you cannot expect the highest quality job. I had a general contractor at the beginning of my renovation who I had to fire, in part, because he was very insecure and was unwilling to work with my designer and to take feedback. As a result, I lost a lot of time and money, and he made many mistakes. I had experienced that type of contractor, which is why I so appreciate Rudy’s and Jimmy’s receptivity to our input. Their approach is collaborative, and that makes all the difference in terms of both the actual results and how I felt during the construction process.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a floor company that truly cares about their craft, will look at your space, and comes up with workable solutions to inevitable problems that arise, will willingly work with your designer, and then will execute the plan with the requisite care, I strongly recommend Kustom Floors. For all of the reasons I have discussed, Rudy, Jimmy, and their crew have earned my highest recommendation, as well as my respect and gratitude. I truly hope you consider them for any and all flooring needs,
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