John's Custom Floors Company Profile

n Redwood City, California, John Paulazzo grew up helping out in his dad's hardwood flooring business, Sig's Custom Floors. As early as age seven, John was learning the subtle ins and outs of the flooring business. Working side by side with his dad, John absorbed the skills-the art-of installing the most beautiful floors possible. Upon graduation from high school he was already a full-fledged journeyman on his way to earning his own contractor's license.

John took the reins of the business from his father when he was still in his early twenties. His father, Sig, with over 50 years experience in the trade, stayed on as an estimator and creator of stunning custom woodwork projects.

Customer Service is First Priority
"This is a small business, and I'm a hands-on guy, like my dad," said John. "I learned the trade from him but probably the most important thing I learned about this business from him was how to treat customers. Our customer service is the best in the industry. When a client calls, we call back right away. We're respectful of our customers' time and their homes."

Dust Abatement Systems
Part of the extra care that John and his employees bring their customers is in keeping the mess to a minimum. Installing and sanding a new hardwood floor can create a large amount of dust that can permeate every nook and cranny in a home. By using special equipment designed to minimize dust, hanging plastic barriers to isolate work areas, cleaning air ducts and vacuuming the walls, John Paulazzo and his crew leave homes as clean as when they started, or cleaner.

Currently John's Custom Floors has a crew of four, all highly trained and experienced in the flooring business. "We have a crew of gentlemen," said John Paulazzo. "They're all clean-cut guys who have been with me a long time, some as long as sixteen years."

Customizing Each Job to Fit Each Situation
Since John knows that every home is unique and every job is different, he doesn't use a cookie-cutter approach. Instead, he carefully listens to each client and learns exactly what they envision and then educates them on the options, often pointing out things they hadn't considered and saving them money.

"I educate my clients about hardwood," said John. "There are so many variables and so many choices of wood, colors and stains to use. Knowing how they plan to use the floor-how much traffic the room will have, for example-makes a big difference. I want my floors to last at least twenty years."

A Wide Range of Expertise
John Paulazzo offer his customers all manner of hardwoods, pre-finished floors and laminates. He is also a specialist in radiant heating systems, in which the room is heated from beneath the floor using copper tubing carrying heated water, or electrical elements. In addition, John has training and experience in mold-related issues.

Some of John's most beautiful floors have been featured in industry publications, and the quality of his work is known far and wide. The overwhelming majority of John's Custom Floors' business comes from word-of-mouth and referrals from extremely satisfied customers.

"Our goal is to go into a home, complete the job in a timely, professional manner with no complaints, and leave it looking like we were never there, except for the beautiful new floor we leave behind," says John.


                                                                ---Jim Brumm
                                                                    Staff Writer
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