Ward Carleton Williams

Ward did a super job. New oak floors for our kitchen and family room expertly installed — look great and holding up well despite my sons best effort to dent/​scratch/​abuse them. Used low VOC finish that seems to be hard as nails! Also refinished our original oak floors and softwood in bedrooms upstairs and a tricky staircase — those floors shine like new — we get compliments from everyone who sees them — thanks Ward. Also thought his crew was great in terms of working around our contractor and scheduling all the bits and pieces. Highly recommend!

I have used Ward 4 times in the last 12 years and I can not recommend him highly enough. He has done the following for me:
1. Pac Heights Condo — repair, sand, stain, refinish existing hardwood floors
2. Pac Heights Condo — install hardwood floors in new nursery (matched wood and stain to balance of condo)
3. Richmond House — sand, stain, refinish existing hardwood floors, replace all stair treads
4. Richmond House — install new hardwood floors in kitchen (matched wood and stain to balance of 1^st floor)
His follow up and communication is excellent. His prices are extremely fair for the quality of work but certainly not the cheapest (you get what you pay for).

No job too small, unless of course, your job is too small. Ward canceled on me the night before showing up to give me an estimate then finally came out two days later, told me he’d get back to me, and never did. I’ve followed up twice and haven’t gotten a response.
I contacted Ward because of the glowing reviews below, but coming back now I realized that at least 3 of them are bogus reviews from people who have reviewed Ward and only Ward, and suspiciously all are females with a last name that starts with «M».
I wish I hadn’t wasted my time and had instead started this process with someone reputable.

Our hardwood floors were badly gouged by movers. We had a tricky job — to patch up the gouges and have the patches blend as much as possible into the rest of the floor. (The gouges were in two halls and a stair landing — so multiple spots.)
Ward had installed floors in our house years ago, and we tracked him down. Ward did a great job. He genuinely cared about the quality of his work; he matched the finishes and top coats well; he worked fast and got the job done. Plus, he’s a nice guy.
I called 3 other hardwood floor «specialists». 1 never returned my calls (Greg’s Hardwood Floors); 1 came by to inspect the damage and I never heard from him again (Billy’s Hardwood Floors); 1 inspected the damage and gave me a bid that was high and had so many exclusions that it was impossible to figure out exactly what the price was (Tree Lovers — not a favorite with Unilocalers).
Thanks goodness we found Ward again.

Ward did a great job for us. We live in an old Victorian home where the floors had been carpeted over. When we pulled up the carpets, Ward was able to use almost all of the wood that was there. This saved us a lot of money and he was very upfront about what costs were to replace the bad wood we had in spots. His craftmanship and attention to detail was very impressive. Our floors look brand new, and are beautiful. Ward was thorough, trustworthy, professional and took great pride in his work. I have worked with A LOT of contractors and subs over the years and Ward is among the top that I have used. I would recommend him for any hard wood refinishing.

My studio needed refinishing after ten years of personal and rental usage. I searched Unilocal for several contractors to provide estimates. I went with WCW even though his quote was $ 100-​$ 200 higher than the others. He may not come at the lowest quote but there’s a reason you pay more, in this case, for what you get.
The +‘s:
+ Provided a target date of completion which he met. I was on a tight schedule and he did not delay.
+ Received progress reports via email. I like to be involved or updated in case there are unexpected discoveries while the work is being done. For example, the wood was not a uniform color and WCW pointed this out and resolved it
+ He seeks feedback and is concerned with his workmanship. During the project I had stopped in and he wanted to ensure we had the same expectations of output.
+ After the project was done he addressed any issues I had raised and resolved them in a timely fashion. I experienced no delays throughout this project.
+ He was very proactive about ensuring that I was 100% satisfied before calling the job done. It’s probably best to outline all your concerns in an email and before the project begins so that there are no misunderstandings of what needs to be done.
+ He pointed out details that I had not noticed and addressed them during this project.
+ Whenever we had to meet he was punctual. My time was respected.
+ He left the studio not in a mess like some contractors I’ve had in the past. All debris from his project was not left behind.
The -‘s:
I can’t point out any issues or concerns that I had for having my hardwood refinished. The new floors are spectacular and I wish I did not have to rent it out. WCW gave me a good suggestion to include a hardwood addendum to my rental contract to help protect my new investment in the floors.
I have WCW as my contact for hardwood floor projects. I would hire him again without hesitation.