Our experience with Blowing Rock Woodworks was stunningly terrible. It began well enough - we loved the live edge wood tables we saw online and when we traveled to the show room in Blowing Rock. We had no issues ordering the custom dining room table and felt very optimistic as we saw pictures throughout the process.
Things seemed fine until the delivery Sept. 4 when they delivered a defective product - the top of the table wasn't flat and was cupping in places by up to 1/2" and the entire table was tilted because the metal legs were bent (either during transport or a flaw in the leg manufacturing). The legs were also attached incorrectly by the "white glove" delivery service (the distance between the legs differed between the sides of the table). We didn't realize the extent of issues until the delivery company left. We let the company know Sept 5 and spent the next ELEVEN weeks doing our best to get them to fix the situation. Please note that the company was aware that this table was going to serve as our everyday dining table and it was not usable because of the defects. There was zero urgency on their part to resolve the issue and at times their response was downright dismissive.
After much contact on our part to make sure they were working towards a resolution, a new frame was delivered the weekend before Thanksgiving. When the delivery service arrived, the order was only to deliver the new frame, but not install it. We had to remove the bent legs ourselves and when we placed the table on top of the new frame, the table *did not touch the frame in all four spots*. I emailed Madison that evening with an urgent request for guidance. That was almost three weeks ago and I still have not heard back.
Ultimately, we had to hire a local master carpenter in Chapel Hill to evaluate the table and whether it could be fixed. The cupping was beyond the range of normal for live edge tables and we had to have 3 metal battens installed to pull the table flat before we could install the new frame. We opted to fix it ourselves rather than spend another 10-12 weeks trying to get Blowing Rock Woodworks to fix it. The table appears to be ok now but the entire experience was incredibly disappointing. I have never encountered such awful customer service, especially for a custom piece that we paid several thousand dollars. (And on top of that, we've never seen the cutting board they supposedly made with the excess walnut.)
For lovers of custom wood working, we must rely on the wood makers for guidance and to complete the product we've conceived of and paid for. Ultimately, we did not get what we paid for from Blowing Rock Wood Works. If you're thinking about using them for a custom product, please know that you're taking a substantial risk. If there's something wrong with the product, you're on your own. Don't expect any corrective action from them. As other reviews have noted, they do not stand by their work at all. In case they try to deny what happened, I have all the emails between us that lay out exactly what happened. They may say that their website lays out what they'll do and not do in the case of a problem, but to not stand by their product shows a tremendous lack of integrity. They are not a trustworthy company. read more