My Poor Review
6' Wide x 12' Long Rustic Table top for a client's existing table base. The client requested a 'staggered plank' pine table top built in sections for their existing metal table base that was 4' wide and 11' long. He wanted a multi-colored 'reclaimed patchwork' appearance and asked me to use 3/4" pine. I suggested that for a table that large, it should be built on frames to give it additional stability and a 1.5" thick edge. The client agreed. I then sent him images of a panel with the multi color look he had requested, which frankly, I didn't like the looks of. He then decided to have me finish the panels in an aged gray stain, which I did. As a result, I had unused paints and stains and also had to buy the new gray stain which he had requested. I re-sanded and refinished the original panel and finished the other panels all at no additional cost to the client.
When it was time to install, the client whom I had dealt with was out of town and it was clear from the moment we arrived that his wife had no interest in either the existing table base, nor the top that had been built for it. As we were finishing the install, she complained that food crumbs would get in the gaps of the boards. Even though the staggered plank design had been requested, the joints were extremely tight and the small gaps between some of the panels were filled and stained (see close up images). She complained about the smell of the stain and when I spoke to her husband on the phone he suggested that 'for my trouble' I take the entire table including the large base that would never have fit in my vehicle and sell it. At that point, I realized that any additional effort to please this client would be wasting additional time and money, so I packed up my tools as my assistant thoroughly cleaned the hardwood floor of the sawdust and metal shavings from drilling out the table base for the installation. By the way, did I mention that this was a 'rush' job, 500 miles away and that to accommodate this client, I delivered on a weekend? I suggest that you examine the photos, read my other reviews and judge for yourself.