C&S Flooring, Woolwich ME

My wife and I purchased American Beech hardwood flooring from C&S Flooring of Woolwich ME in August 2004. We were not informed by the salesman that this wood is highly unsuitable for use in Mid-coast Maine's damp climate. (In fact, the National Wood Flooring Association places American Beech at the bottom of its list of 23 selected wood species in terms of relative stability, meaning it shrinks or swells the most in response to changes in moisture.)

The flooring was installed in our new home in September 2004 and we moved in two months later, at which time we noticed moderate "cupping" of the floor boards. This was the apparent result of the wood not being properly acclimatized before installation. In addition, it was laid down before interior painting was completed, resulting in additional moisture absorption.

As summer approached -- and humidity increased -- in 2005, the flooring began to buckle severely, popping floor boards and wall moldings throughout the house. C&S Flooring was contacted and repairs were made in accordance with the warranty. However, we provided more than $100 in materials for which we were never reimbursed.

The flooring buckled again the following year. The damage was now more widespread, to include sliding closet doors that were pushed up out of their tracks and eventually could not be opened, or closed, at all. We contacted C&S Flooring numerous times to effect follow-up repairs, including several letters and a formal complaint submitted through the Better Business Bureau (Case #129859). None of these received a response.

In February 2007, we wrote the State of Maine Consumer Protection Division, only to be informed that this particular type of complaint cannot be successfully resolved through its mediation program.

Customer service is definitely not at the top of this company's agenda. Mid-coast Maine homeowners in the market for flooring will be best served if they avoid C&S Flooring at all costs.

Gary C Gerard

Wiscasset ME