Porter Barn Wood

We wanted to support a local business and were so excited when we placed an order for a custom dining room table from Porter Barn Wood. We read the reviews and they were pretty positive, so we thought we were in good hands. What seemed to start out so promising has turned into a massive upset on so many levels. As disappointing as the table ended up being, the customer service is even worse. To start the process, we went to great lengths to pick particular pieces of walnut that were to become our table. We selected two pieces from the same tree such that when seamed down the middle we would have a beautiful bookend tabletop. We were told the process to completely dry the wood and process it would take a few months. They took our money and months passed. More months passed and I kept calling asking when we could expect our table. I finally went to the shop and was told they had some machinery issues. More time passed and when I inquired about the table, I was told they had some people quit and others were sick so it would take a while longer. Our two-month timeline was now three-months overdue and still no table. I had a very specific way I wanted the table cut with a partial live edge. I gave them pictures and dimensions showing this. During the initial few months and the months that followed, no fewer than 4 times they verified they would call me before they cut the slab so the live edge would be cut exactly as I wanted it to be cut. Then, out of the blue, I got a call that the table was done. I said it could not be finished because I had not come to lay out the cut on the live edge. We agreed we would go to the shop and take a look at it. As one would expect, the size was not correct, and neither was the live edge aspect we were trying to maintain. Yet again, we were very dismayed by what was happening. Porter Barn Wood (and we spoke to the owner, Thomas) clearly realized they had not followed the agreed directions so they said they would remake the table. We were told to come in a pick some new wood. When we arrived to pick out the wood, as we had initially done, we were told the larger slabs were no longer available. In fact, Thomas was not sure why we had come in, someone at Porter Barn Wood had picked 3 smaller pieces of wood (not two nice bookend pieces) that they would glue together. The fun of picking out the wood to build the table for our house was gone, the beautiful look of a bookend slab was also gone. This is not what we wanted but the process had already taken such a long time and we were without a dining room table I agreed to let them build it. I told him in which order I wanted the 3 pieces assembled since the widths were not equal. No surprise, when the table arrived it was not done as I had asked, rather than one large piece, the smaller piece in the middle and the other large piece on the other side (to add some symmetry) it ended up being the small piece, one large and one large. Strike Three? Two other fun facts, when they delivered the table, they dinged it. They said someone would come out and fix it. That did happen, but only after I called several times did they finally send someone out to fix it. Now to the current issue. I had multiple discussions with David before we agreed to have the table built. Prior to purchasing this table, we had been looking at other tables and some had elaborate systems to allow for expansion and contraction. The purpose of those is to assure the tabletops did not have any warping or cracking. When I discussed this with David, he assured me the way this tabletop constructed and mounted on a heavy metal base, all this had been taken into consideration and we would have nothing to worry about. Turns out, like so many things I was told at Porter Barn Wood, this was not the case. You can see from the pictures we have both significant warping and the joints where the wood is glued together are moving. This has created a top that is both warped and uneven. What do I do? I email David and I get no response. I email him again and he says he is forwarding my concerns to Thomas Porter for his thoughts. I email again and ask for a status update. To date, nothing. Sad table, sad customer service, sad customers. Perhaps they will read this and decide to reach out to us.