Floors with color variation

It is certainly frustrating to be disappointed in the appearance of your new floor.

Natural wood floors stickers — These stickers are placed on our display boards to help customers understand that wood is a natural product.

Wood flooring is a natural product that has many variations in grain, color and appearance. Stains, finishes, and other products that are applied to wood floors may bring out further natural variations in the product.

Because no two trees, and therefore, no two flooring boards will ever be exactly alike, we require as part of our Installation Guide that all flooring be inspected and approved prior to installation.

We understand that job-sites and installation schedules are often hectic. However, because wood floors represent a significant purchase for most homeowners and are the focal point of many homes, we believe homeowners must visually inspect and approve their floor prior to installation.

This involves opening a reasonable number of flooring boxes (based on the job size) and showing the homeowner the lot of flooring that will be installed in their home prior to installation.

Is approving the floor based on a showroom sample good enough?

We do not recommend a final approval based on a showroom sample.

While showroom samples are helpful to compare different floors and help make buying decisions, they are similar to paint swatches. You are not likely to choose the paint for your walls based on a small paint swatch in a store. You would want to see that paint on your wall before painting your whole house.

Wood flooring samples are the same. Over time they can change due to sunlight, air, cleaning, and other factors. Flooring color and appearance is also affected by interior lighting.

A final approval should always be done in the home with the lot of flooring to be installed.

One Of A Kind Wood Floors

In addition to the normal variations of a natural wood floor, some of the methods that manufacturers use to stain their floors involve special color processes that react with chemicals and other components within the wood.

These methods can create beautiful, unique results that are very popular.

It’s important to remember that these reactive stains and other color process are difficult to sample because each lot may vary significantly. Samples of these wood floors should be considered as a “color concept”, and by choosing one of these floors you will have a truly unique wood floor.

This is another reason to always ensure that the homeowner makes a final approval in their home based on the lot of flooring to be installed.

Are color and appearance issues covered by warranty?

If an unsatisfactory color or appearance issue is noticed prior to installation, wood flooring should be returned. Flooring must be returned in excellent, like new condition to permit resale.

For any flooring that has been installed, manufacturers cannot warranty or be responsible for color or appearance issues. Installation is considered acceptance.

Our Installation Guide included in every box states:

“Owner/Installer should carefully inspect material prior to installation. Wood is a natural product and as such will contain variations in grain, color and individual characteristics from board to board. Materials installed with visible defects are not covered by warranty. Any unacceptable material should not be installed. Rejection of material must be done on the full shipment of product, not box-by-box or piece-by-piece. Our flooring is manufactured within accepted industry standards, which allow grading deficiencies not to exceed 5%. It is recommended to add 5% – 10% to order quantities to allow for grading deficiencies and installation waste.”

Before filing a claim request…

These instructions will ensure the long-term success of your solid wood floor.

These instructions will ensure the long-term success of your engineered wood floor.

Every box of solid wood flooring has important instructions on the seam side that must be followed.

We include important STOP labels on every pallet we ship out, as well as on the seam side of each box of our prefinished wood flooring. These instructions must be followed to ensure the long-term success of your flooring. Following these instructions will help ensure that your floor’s warranty is not voided.

Important things to consider when filing a claim

Installation is considered acceptance for all wood floors, and most issues that could have been caught or prevented prior to installation are not covered by warranty.
Prefinished floors include special labels and instructions on every box to indicate the importance of inspecting and approving the floor prior to installation, what environmental conditions to keep the floor within, and how to properly acclimate before installing.
Our Installation Guide (included in every box of prefinished flooring) and Warranty explain the proper way to install our flooring and what is and is not covered by warranty.

Filing a claim request

If you believe your issue is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, you may begin the claim process by filling out our claim request form.

Continue to Claim Request Form

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