My contractor recommended Universal Floors and I was very pleased with the quality of the work and the prompt service and timetable. The workmen were very knowledgeable and helpful in assisting me choose the stain I am very pleased with. My house is a 1920's Sears kit house and the floors are white oak. They had not been refinished in over 50 years. While the cost was significant, it was well worth it for this level of excellent work. read more

Great people to work with who have extensive expertise and truly care about the quality of work they deliver to their customers.

I had a truly terrible experience with Universal Floors. They will nickel and dime you, their markup is extraordinary, and their salespeople are pushy and pompous. What's worse, the difference between what they promised and what they delivered in my primary bedroom borders on malpractice. In fact, since they refused repair their shoddy work (despite numerous pleas), I had to hire second flooring firm. And guess what? The guy who fixed Universal's mass was not surprised; he was very familiar with the way that Universal's owner does business. read more

A big shoutout to the manager, Mr. Sprigg. He is incredibly honest and knowledgeable, which made the whole experience smooth and stress-free. Whenever I had questions, he was always available to talk and took the time to provide clear, straightforward advice based on his expertise. That level of communication really sets this company apart. What stood out the most is how willing he was to answer all my questions without any pressure. It's not often you come across someone who offers such genuine, expert guidance so openly. From what I've seen and discussed, the projects he manages appear to be very detail-oriented and professionally handled. If the actual workmanship reflects the same level of care and knowledge he provides, I'm confident the results are excellent. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone looking for reliable, honest, and high-quality flooring work. read more

NOT a fan. Had them measure a job (house) in Georgetown.... and then never heard a word from them. I called to ask for samples, Mr. Sprig, and Guy both seemed confused. After the phone call, I thought we MIGHT be back on track, as I was assured there would flooring samples waiting for me to pick-up with my name on them. Great! - so I thought... Called today as a courtesy to inform them I'd be stopping by to pick-up the samples and zero clue of what I was talking about. I was put on hold, and disconnected. I called back and explained AGAIN, supposed to receive a call back, nope... so, I am giving up on this place. Went to the a competitor on 14th St NW and left with samples, they are measuring the job tomorrow morning. Thanks to Universal for the big waste of time and a lot of frustration. If you can't handle getting me a sample or two, no way that I would trust you to do a job. Very disappointing. read more

Immediately after the manager, Mr. Sprigg Len, responded to my month-old Yelp post, I called him with additional information, including the make and model of the Ford F150 and a license plate. At that point he acknowledged that this was his company and employee. As I started to give specific descriptions of the perpetrator and a second employee who was present, Mr. Len was immediately combative, and admitted he had not reviewed any video as he had claimed. He said "I don't know if you are an investigator," as if my status was affecting how he wanted to talk to me. I ended the call because it was clear he just wanted to interrupt me. There were two guys present on the afternoon of the assault. Only one of them was a perpetrator. There was a white guy in his 20s, with a crew cut and a football player build who was clearly uncomfortable with the conduct of the perpetrator. The perp is a white burly guy in his 40s or early 50s and although I did not look directly at him, I believe from a quick glance that he had a beard. Mr. Len clearly would know who these employees are, but he had not spoken to them, instead offering the defense on Yelp that maybe I didn't know which business it was or the even more absurd defense that because I don't wear a bodycam when walking in the neighborhood, then there is simply no evidence. I have been in the neighborhood for almost 60 years and walk in that alley weekly, and I know exactly which business is which. Now that Mr. Len acknowledges that his employees and the F150 were there at that time, then why does he not post the video he claims exists which, if he is to be believed, will show no altercation occurring? He asks me to post neighborhood videos, but yet he won't post his. He claims to have a video of the exact time so let's see the guys peacefully leaving the site as I walk by without the perp menacing me in the F150 and then exiting the driver seat to attempt to engage me in a fight. Mr. Len can offer any rational other explanation why the driver would choose to exit the vehicle as he came up behind me when we got close to the TD Bank at Ellicott Street. Perhaps we will hear that he was jumping out of the vehicle to rescue a kitten or something, rather than to try to start a fight with me. Mr. Len called me back later and apologized for the conduct of his employee although he has not actually seen the video nor talked to the employee. He told me that I now have his permission to use the public alley. Of course I told him that he doesn't get to decide who uses the alley. At that point he pivoted to victim-blaming, interrupting me and continuing to insist that I must have done something to make his employee follow me in the truck and then stop the truck, put it in park, exit the vehicle and walk behind me calling me "little boy" and demanding that I turn and fight. Finally Mr. Len adopted the defensive posture of a delicate flower, unhappy with my direct talk and firm language, and unsympathetic to what it is like to be victimized. He started spouting a theory about who he thinks I might be, despite having zero evidence to support this new defense. That is a delusion. I am not whomever he is describing. I stand by my review and I would not want Mr. Len nor this angry employee in my home. read more

Universal Floors did a fabulous job refinishing the heart of pine floors in our vintage co-op apartment. Mike and his team could not have been more efficient, professional or responsive. They finished in less time than predicted to our amazement and joy, and the floors look beautiful. Could not recommend them more highly. read more

I was sent to Universal Floors by a competitor because they could not find a solution to my problem: I had to replace the dining room floor and wanted it to match the rest of the flooring on my main level. Kevin scheduled a site visit just a few days after I called and was a delight to work with from the beginning to end of process, responsive to all of my questions, and very knowledgeable in finding the right solution. He stopped by most days to check in and the workmen were all professional and meticulous in their craft. Over the years, we have had several floor companies work on our house -- none came close to matching the quality Universal Floors delivered. This family business treats you like family --can't recommend them highly enough. read more

I heard recommendations about this company from several people (including a competitor!). Sure enough, Mike went above and beyond with his expertise, getting us to the perfect flooring solution for our older home. read more

Mike and the team were wonderful to work with. We recently purchased a condo with original 100+ year old original pine floors, which needed some TLC. After an assessment and estimate, we chose to have the floors deep cleaned and buff waxed. They look fantastic. The work was done on budget, and on time. We look forward to using Universal Floors for our next flooring project. They really know their stuff and we appreciate their approach to providing us with options. An excellent experience all the way around. Thank you! read more

The best. Don't look for anyone else. They are meticulous , fair and the best in the business. I have used them multiple times and continue to use them in the future. read more

We most certainly DO NOT recommend! AVOID at all costs. Screwed up our job & then ghosted us. We're going to have to find somebody else to fix the mess they made. STAY AWAY! read more

Universal floors know what they are doing when it comes to flooring. They re-did 4 levels of our floors in our 1892 house. 2 floors of original hardwood repair and refinishing, one floor of new hardwood installation, and new synthetic flooring in our English basement. Not cheep but you get what you pay for. Tim has been outstanding all along and a pleasure to work with. read more

Universal Floors - Restored original antique hardwood floors - Flooring Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

I didn't have much time to get the floors done before moving into my new condo. Found Universal Floors, who were close by, and decided to go with them after reviewing their established clientele and long track record. Theodore was wonderful to work with from developing the initial workplan through the coordination of the work. And his crew chief, Howard, was extremely courteous about our building's guidelines for contractors. It's no surprise that, midway through the we discovered that Universal had done the floors at a friend's place, which definitely met expectations. I was thus not surprised to see the beautiful job they did. I would work with these guys again in a heartbeat. They're easily the most reputable floorers in town - foe good reason. read more

I highly recommend universal floors. My husband and I are developers and definitely know the difference between a good contractor and a bad one. Sprig Lynn from universal floors is one of the best contractors in the business. His prices are fair and his work is excellent. We have done two larger homes and 16 years later on one and four years later on the other, our floors have it moved to centimeters. You can't do better than universal floors for all your flooring needs. Candy read more

I had a small window of time in which to refinish the floors of the new place I bought before I moved in. Universal Floors was totally responsive and flexible enough to fit into my schedule. Furthermore, they did an amazing job and really refreshed and renewed my floors completely while understanding the effect that I wanted to achieve. Great customer interface and attentive service throughout the process. Highly recommend!!! read more

We needed the oak floors in our entire house refinished. Tim quoted us a fair price, which they never sought to raise. They did the work on schedule and it is beautiful. I highly recommend them. read more

I love my floors. Universal floors did a great job. There were some snafus here and there but they were always resolved. The installers were hard-working, knowledgeable, and efficient. Kudos to Kevin, who was always accommodating, professional, and kind. He gave me options, discussed the layout, and brought in samples. Since I wanted my floors in a herringbone pattern he brought in the specialist from the company to check out the layout. Hire Universal and buy the floors from Kevin. I'm not in San Francisco. I'm in Washington, DC read more

Contacted Universal Floors for a high end new build residential project in Washington, DC. Over 1300 SF of hardwood floor installation and finish (I already have the hardwood from a manufacturer directly). The owner Sprigg Lynn gave me a back of the envelope estimate over email and said they need to see the work to price out the details (staircase, glue assist, moisture barrier etc). Once the timeline gets close, I gave them a call for a site visit. He returned my call after 2 phone calls ad 3 days. He says he rather sees the hardwood during the site visit to measure moisture. Ok that`s reasonable. When I told him time is an essence, I reached out to three companies and gathering bids, he interrupts me to tell me he declines to bid if I reached out to other companies. Not having worked with these folks before, I can tell you the level of professionalism leaves something to be desired. Universal Floors: If you expect your prospective clients to give you a $20k job without collecting any other offers you either live in LaLa land or having difficult time digesting your ego. I build two high end homes a year and needless to say, I will staying as far away from this company as possible. UPDATE: Within 5 minutes of writing the initial review, the owner Sprigg Lynn gives me two calls to "explain" and throw lies. He claims that we have spoken multiple times for over 30 min each time (not true), and he claims he sent me numerous emails with detailed information (not true either). All I received from Universal Floors was "one sentence email responses" after literally DIGGING information out of them. To summarize: I consider myself lucky not to work with Sprigg Lynn and Universal Floors and I still recommend staying as far away as possible from this company. read more

The estimator missed the first meeting with no real excuse. Fine, stuff happens. Then he leaves me waiting what would have been 40 minutes for the rescheduled meeting, after first calling to say he would be a few minutes late. If a company can't even figure out how to get somebody in front of a client in time for an estimate, I wouldn't trust them with your floors. read more

I had a very nice experience with Universal Floors. My upstairs bedrooms had some ugly carpeting in them and they did a great job taking it out and putting down gorgeous (solid maple) hardwood floors. They even clued me into the fact that I could donate my carpeting (because it was in pristine condition) to charity! AND, they went a step further by rolling it neatly for the charity folks to come pick it all up. Sure, the prices here are a little higher than Lumber Liquidators & Empire Today, but the quality you're getting is much better. A lot of those places sell really poor quality wood, so buyer beware. Plus, buying local and supporting a neighborhood business will give you that warm, fuzzy feeling once you see what a great job they do! I'll be hiring them for future flooring needs, hands down! read more

I am leaving a 5-star review for Universal Floors, not for work done, but for work that was not done. Kevin of Universal came by today to give me an estimate for the replacement of original floorboards in my 108-year old home. After inspecting the floor, he assured me that what I thought was a problem was not a problem at all, and told me that no work needed to be done. He did, however, offer to drop off a small amount of material, free of charge, for me to take care of an unrelated problem with another floorboard. How is that for customer service?! read more

The work looked fine at first, but started crumbling (literally) a year later. I called with concerns. The salesman who was sent to my home inspected the problem areas and told me there was nothing wrong with the work. He was rude, unhelpful, and accusatory. He said he would have the manager call, but I received no call. I called myself and was told the manager would of course call back right away. No return call. I called back, received an apology that no one had called, was told he would call right away... no call. And another time. And another time after that. Poor work, terrible service. I very much regret giving them my business. read more

They did a great job refinishing and staining our bedroom floors. We'll use them again!

I just had my floors done by them, and they were absolutely incredible. A year ago, I pulled up my carpet to reveal almost mint condition parquet floors, but had a few scratches and damaged tiles. I decided to inquire about work, and these folks were highly recommended by friends in the building. Teddy and Efrain were fast, fair, and knowledgeable. They led me to make a the right decision for my place, and it's turned out looking very good. They had to replace a few tiles, and you can barely tell the difference. The only thing I'd recommend- which is totally a me problem- is to get a hotel or something while they work if you live in a small place like me. They work fast and efficient, but the stuff takes some time to dry (which my ding dong self didn't realize). Great work men! read more

Because Universal has a reputation for knowing how to fix old floors, I wish I could use them, but having used them already, I know better. The problem is ethics more than expertise, though what they did wrong should embarrass them. They splashed floor finish/polyurethane on my white walls -- in several places. It took forever to get them to take a look at it, and then it took them forever to do something about it. When they finally did, they didn't fix it, as easy as that would have been, but they just paid for some paint. I think if all goes well, you don't see this kind of flaw, but if they do a bad job, you don't have any leverage and they don't have any ethics. read more

I have had a great experience with Universal Floors. South is extremely knowledgeable, professional and responsive. The team did a great job on our floors and were very efficient. South always has good advice and a wealth o experience. I highly recommend them and I would definitely use their services again in the future. read more

Working with Universal has been an absolute NIGHTMARE!! I hired them to do a simple refinishing job in a very small kitchen...SIX WEEKS and countless repairs later in which they came back time and time again to "fix" what they kept messing up, the job's "complete." Sadly, the floor's in worse shape now than before they ever started. Plus, they messed up my ceiling (don't ask) and came back twice to "fix" it, but it's left with a highly visible patch, so at the end of the day, I'll need to repaint the ceiling myself. They were nice enough to give me a small discount, so I basically paid them to damage my home. The huge inconvenience and stress of having the kitchen cleared during this long process was indescribable, as the contents of that room were spread into other rooms. The whole experience and countless interactions were like being in the twilight zone, like some altered universe. In my 10+ years of home ownership, this tops the list of HORRIFIC experiences. NEVER AGAIN!! The one somewhat redeeming part was the foreman Shawn who tried his best to manage the process; too bad the workers did a crappy job and over-rode all that. read more

Came out right away to do measurements. Very nice. Despite promising the quote three different times, it took nearly two weeks to get the quote, and multiple phone calls and requests. Nice enough guy, promising he'd get right on it. When I did get the quote, it was approximately twice the amount I'd received from three other contractors. read more

We were very happy with the work done years ago (a big job in an old house). They have a lot of expertise in historic interiors. But recently we returned with a smaller job and could not have felt less valued. Waited forever for return calls, every conversation felt like the bum's rush, and follow-up happened maybe half the time. If you're not a VIP with a big job, they just don't seem to want to give you the time of day. Very disappointed this time. read more

After speaking directly with the manager by phone twice about a followup call from an estimator, I never received any calls -- not even from the manager to ask if things were OK. Also, in both cases my contact info was confirmed on their end to be correct. I'd go elsewhere if you value your time and want people who follow-through on promises. read more

these guys must have phd's in floors!!! could not be happier with my floor , our salesman kevin was super duper helpful and our workers jorge and carlos felt like family by the end of the job!!!!! we spent all covid at home looking at our dingy floors and now they are shiny! we even had a special kind of old pine that no longer grows and kevin found some to match the old floors! other companies said we needed to replace it all but kevin saved us thousands by finding it! can you beleive this guy??? also shout out to the secretary guy for making payment easy and smooth!! read more

I was extremely pleased with my experience with Universal Floors. I have an old house with the original wood floors, but they've endured years of neglect. I asked Universal Floors to come refinish the floors in two rooms that had carpet glued directly to the heart pine. The wood looked terrible. I was worried that nothing could make these floors look good. However, Tim came out and told me that they would be able to restore them to a state with which I would be pleased. I was impressed with Tim's knowledge of old floors and the portfolio and client list on their website is really impressive. I figured if any company would be able to do it, they would. I could not be happier with the product of their work. They replaced a few boards, sanded all of the glue and many of the stains, gouges, and scratches out, and sealed it with a polyurethane. My floors look great. Too many contractors either lack knowledge of their trade or are too arrogant to truly accomplish what is being asked of them by the client (or both). I found Universal to be the exact opposite; they are experts and they go out of their way to accommodate your preferences and taste. That said, you have to make sure to communicate with them clearly because what they think you want may not be what you want. That is the only place we ran into problems, but I found that they were eager to go back and change things that I didnt like and took pride in their work. I wasn't just another paying customer - they wanted to be able to be proud of the work they did and took the time necessary to do a good job. To me thats the most important thing. read more

Universal Floors installed Ambient strand-woven click-lock floating bamboo floors in my living/dining area and the hallways of my home. It looks absolutely gorgeous and I could not love it more. I price-checked with several companies and Universal's pricing was slightly below the other companies I got estimates from, and their knowledge of wood/bamboo flooring was far far higher. When a couple of minor details needed fixing, they came back to my home (twice) and didn't charge me the balance due until I was completely satisfied with every detail. In sum, it was a very pleasant experience which left my home vastly improved... I highly highly recommend them. (Not to mention that they managed to install my floors the weekend after the back-to-back blizzards that crippled everyone else in DC.) read more

The team at Universal floors do an exceptional job. I've been using them since 1988 and will not use anyone else for my hardwood floors. They have completed numerous projects for me and I am always satisfied with the results. If an issue comes up, they always step up and offer suggestions on how to resolve it. They are also one of the few flooring contractors who have the skills to work with reclaimed wood as well as patching damaged areas. Giving them a 5 star review is a no brainer! read more

Very pleased with the work done by Tim Allen and his crew. They were quick, gave a fair price and did quality work. They were also accessible for questions and accommodating when I vacillated on choices of stain and when they ran into issues bringing their equipment into my building. Not more one could ask for! (For reference, I had Universal floors sand and stain 100 year old parquet floors.) read more

Kevin and the two Universal floor technicians did an amazing job sanding then refinishing the worn out and dull oak floors with two separate coats of polyurethane in our large two bedroom condo that was going to be listed for sale. And the price for the work was very, very good too, under what I expected. Our real estate agent needed the floors to look like new and Universal delivered with care a beautiful and welcoming refinished golden oak finish floor, which was critical to the sale, which went under contract in 1-day in no small part due to Universal's outstanding work. Thank you Kevin and Universal for your treating us like family and ensuring the job was of the highest quality. We will go straight to Universal with any future flooring work. Thanks again! read more

I had Tim from Universal come and look at restoring the old wood floors in my rowhouse. After looking at them, he helpfully suggested that we install new hardwood on top of what we had -- the damage was too great to restore in a cost effective way. We ended up going with another company to do the work, but had a good experience in our interactions with Universal. They were a bit slow in providing quotes, but otherwise were very responsive and helpful. They are also more high-end than other companies we talked to -- they're probably the best in the area, but the work was a bit out of our price range. read more

Very happy with the outcome of our floors being that they are super old but after a sand, refinish and stain my floors look brand new. The crew was great to work with, very professional and completed the job in three days. A very quick turnaround, excellent communication and seamless transition. read more

We were doing a renovation which included a small amount of floor that needed to be replaced / repaired. We were originally planning on using the flooring expert who typically works with the contractor, but he ducked out. Universal Floors was able to step in and help us on short notice (a little over a week). We had two larger floor patches that needed to be installed, and wanted to replace a few planks of a bamboo wood floor that had been damaged a long time ago. Universal Floors was very easy to work with--they came when they said that they would and did the work they were contracted to do quickly and cleanly. Our contractor also seemed quite pleased. The only downside is that I don't think I would have replaced the individual planks had I known that they wouldn't be perfectly even with the rest of the floor--apparently a common problem with glue-down floors. Aside from that, everything went well and I'd be very happy to work with them again in the future. read more