Tree Lovers Floors

I had a Tree Lovers bid on my floors and they came in a bit high so I went with another company. Big mistake! I knew it was going to be a tricky job because I had yellow oak floors that I wanted to stain a light gray. I ended up with purple floors! I called Christopher and he did not bat an eye. Came to my house the next day and turned my purple floors into the most beautiful gray! I will never let any company but Tree Lovers touch my wood floors again!

One of the best hardwood flooring installers and refinishing companies in San Francisco. I have worked with Tree Lovers for 15 years as a general contractor and they have been a pleasure to work with every time.

I had to replace carpeted flooring throughout my house and wanted hardwood floors. I got several estimates and used Tree Lovers. Christopher Hildreth came out and had great design ideas. He created 3 different styles and colors for 3 different areas, and it all came out Fantastic! The company was always on time, cleaned up at the end of every day, and accomodated some changes I decided on to the original plans as the job went along. The workers were all courteous and professiional. Great job Chris!

My hardwood floors were in terrible condition and a yucky orange shade.
Christopher created a special color mix for me based upon some pictures I showed him on pinterest.
I was away for vacation and arrived home to the most beautiful wood floors I have ever seen.
Could not be any happier!

We’ve used Tree Lovers several times. They are thoroughly professional and do great work. Our floors were badly scratched and they came out beautiful and like new. We recommend them highly!!!

A few years ago we dropped an appliance onto the hardwood floor in our kitchen, damaging three strips of quarter-​sawn oak. «Brand X» came and replaced the wood but didn’t come close to matching the stain. Then Tree Lovers came, quoted a fair price and did a superb job of floor repair and of stain-​matching. There is way anyone could tell there was a repair. Then at the end of last year we noticed that the (last!) December rains had somehow leaked into the living room floor near a window, warping several strips. Chris came and gave a fair estimate; he also noted that with time the subfloor might dry and the strips could straighten out on their own. In the event, it took us four-​plus months to find and fix the leak, and in the meantime the floor has returned to near normal. Call Tree Lovers — no one else.

I procured several bids before hiring Tree Lovers, all from industry professional referrals. I decided upon Tree Lovers because of Christopher Hildreth’s knowledge, expertise and open-​mindedness (in terms of design). He literally transformed our historic home by bringing out the rich, natural beauty of the hardwood floors and border-​trim that had been bleached (!) by the previous occupant. He has since installed wood flooring in my husband’s law firm and continues to be available for consult on other projects as they arise. Frankly, I wouldn’t consider hiring anyone else for wood flooring. I must add that I adore his warm and friendly personality. Tree Lover’s Floors rocks!

I’m a general contractor in San Francisco. Tree Lovers Floors has done work for me. Great work, on time start, on time finish. Outstanding quality.

THIS PLACE IS THE WORST! I had them refinish my floors for the second time. The cost was three times as much as what they had charged me for the first time. And the work was horrible. I really don’t think they put even one coat of finish on the floors. And they didn’t refinish the floors in my den at all. When I called to tell them that the floors are worse than what they were before they did the refinish, they claimed that the varnish isn’t what it used to be because of some type of regulations. Yeah, when you don’t put the varnish on at all, the floors aren’t protected at all. There are little nicks all through the floor from my shoes. It is totally unacceptable. I have never ever had that problem before. They also claim they will paint the baseboards once they are done, since they sand some of the paint off during the refinishing. They never painted anything the first time the work was done or this time either. I will never have them do any work for me again. These floors are an embarrassment to say the least. A lot of money for nothing… And a lot more money I will have to spend to have the floors fixed. It will be interesting to see what the next contractor says about their shoddy, substandard work.
UPDATE on 07/​12/​2012:
You know exactly who I am, so that is inaccurate information right there. I complained several times to you about the poor workmanship. I complained about the nicks (that I never had a problem with before), the den floors not being refinished, etc. You stated that there were so many regulations with the varnish now and that was the problem. You never offered once to fix anything. There were only excuses offered… Did you know that making false accusations against someone and calling them a liar is slanderous? Anyone that comes to look at the floors will know that this is NOT a lie. They will see everything that I have posted in this review is based on facts — from the nicks all over the floors to the den floors not being refinished to the baseboards not being painted. You charged me around $ 3K for floors that I will have to have redone by someone else. And this was around three times as much as the first time they had been refinished by you. However, the first time that you had refinished the floors, it was a much better job. I didn’t have the nicks I do now and you finished all of the floors — including the den floors. You, however, did not paint the baseboards like you had stated in the contract. I had my place painted in 2005 and the baseboards were painted at that time. After your work this last time, the baseboards need to be painted again! Go ahead with your threats and your false accusations. Please do. The truth should come out. Also, it looks like Monica S., Paula V. etc. weren’t satisfied with your work either. Are they all liars? I doubt it.
What is so disturbing is the floors would have looked better if I hadn’t had them refinished by you the second time. There were no little nicks all over the place. There were no nicks with the original floor, so the floors are even softer than the original ones. Also, when you can’t even refinish the den that is really bad. I know you didn’t, because the marks that were there prior to the refinishing are STILL THERE. I am not sure if you did as little as possible to make the floors appear well finished at first glance or what. I did notice the den wasn’t refinished. I should have demanded that you refinish them immediately. However, I was in the process of moving back and had a lot going on. It is really sad that I can’t even look at my floors without getting a sick feeling in my stomach. But, you live and learn and know better the next time. To think I had recommended you guys to people after the first refinishing and even got you more work. That won’t happen again. And I will make sure Kevin S., the building manager here, who recommended you guys to me a very long time ago knows what I experienced this time. Hopefully, no one else in this complex will make the same mistake as me!
A few questions please… How many coats of varnish/​polyurethane did you apply to my floors? Maybe one? Why are the floors softer than the original floors? What did you do in the den? Did you just wipe the floors clean thinking that I wouldn’t notice all the little pit marks (and there are a lot) that were there before? You didn’t even sand the floors in the den. You did a real number on me. You should really be ashamed of yourselves. I was a good customer and supported you even though you could have burned down my place the first time you refinished my floors. Remember that? I supported you and even gave you more business. I trusted you and now I know I shouldn’t have at all. And no, this is not the competition out to get you! Unilocal isn’t going to remove a valid review. If all of your work was good quality work, you wouldn’t have to worry about your competition. Right?

Outstanding all around — Chris, Janet, and Varnett did a great job in getting the work done as described, on time and on budget. Most importantly, the quality of the work was perfect. Our floors are over 100 years old (Victorian in SF), and had been repaired and re-​stained by another company 5 years ago per the prior owners. The problem was that the prior company had cut corners and made some quick fixes that failed within a few years… that left us w/​uneven floors that had separation cracks, deteriorating filler/​putty, and springy boards and moved beneath our feet in a number of high-​traffic areas. Upon the initial consultation, Chris quickly assessed and identifying the root causes of all of our floor’s issues. Since we needed to have 6 – 7 days worth of work done, we scheduled w/​Tree Lovers Floors many months in advance for a time that we would be traveling on vacation. Bottom line is that they did the work as promised, on time and on budget, w/​great results. I was ecstatic when I returned home and saw the quality of the work… a perfect fix and a perfect match to the existing stain (and the rest of the house was clean and tidy, as we left it, despite the fact that the team had to move carpets, furniture, and re-​sand a number of areas). Overall extremely happy with the results, and would use Tree Lovers Floors again in a heartbeat.

I would be very careful using these guys. The guy with the clipboard comes over and the first thing he does is criticize the existing flooring by saying that he «doesn’t use those short pieces» Sure enough, when they start to lay the floor, they are only using short pieces. Had to alert the general contractor who spoke to them, further delaying the job.

I have had two experiences with Tree Lovers and they are both so different that three stars is the average.
3 years ago they repaired and refinished hardwood floors in the two bedrooms, which involved pulling out a lot of damaged wood and recreating a border where a wall had been removed. The work is superb but very pricey.
Based on this experience, I called them to get an estimate on refinishing the kitchen floor. Firstly, the estimate was too high: approx. $ 3,000 for approx. 240 Sq. Ft. Secondly, the written bid included a number of things, such as repairing damage, which Chris had said in person was covered under the total price, but in the bid it was ominously listed as «extra» to be assessed when the job was actually done.
I was not put off by this, but only asked that Chris come back to take a look at the damage that needed repair and create a bid that reflected what we had discussed. Chris then began a long diatribe on how he didn’t keep his workers sleeping in a shed and that he was offended that I had doubted his word. I didn’t doubt his word; I just wanted the written bid to match.
We made an appointment for 9am, at 9:45am I called and he lectured me that the appointment was really for 11am. Just a mixup, but I am certain that I made the appointment for 9am because I am at work by 11am so it would have been absurd for me to choose that time. In the end, all he said is «I’m not going to lower the price so there is no point in coming over.»
Is the economy really that good that Chris can afford to be overpriced and rude?

From Christopher, Janet, Varnett, and their many hard workers, Tree Lovers did an amazing job sanding and staining my new floors.
They even encouraged me to choose my own custom staining… it looks just great.
They were on time, neat, flexible with scheduling.
They are worth every penny. After re-​doing my entire home, these guys were perfect.
I’d recommend them as the best in what they do.

An extra word of caution when using this company. They admit to not having «budget» pricing, but with that admission comes a responsiblity since they say they are experts. Since I am not a general contractor, their responsiblity is to fully communicate.
Christopher will come out to quote the job, tell you how much of an expert he is and how long he has been doing flooring…40 years. Given all this, it would be fair to hold them to a higher standard of service for the higher price you will be paying. Think again.
Once the contract is signed and you have paid a 20% of the total estimate, a very nice hispanic man with limited English skills, comes to your home and proceeds to do the work. Everything is upcharged including color consultations.
For 700 sq. ft. my estimate was $ 5900.00+$ 350 per hr. for the color consultation, and an additional $ 1,000 for baseboards.) I fired him and was charged $ 450.00 for 3 hrs of work which was completed by the young hispanic man who most likely earned between $ 10 (likely) — $ 15 (not likely) per hr. I know I was ripped off, but was glad to see the end of them. Varnett in the office was the best part of the entire transaction. Janet was testy over the phone (I never met her), and Christopher was patronizing.

I was not impressed by this company and would never hire them. They can’t communicate, nor can they show up when they say they are going to. Total disappointment! Sloppy job – ask me for someone who can do the job right the first time!