Let’s face it, claims are one of the most difficult parts of selling flooring.
There is no such thing as an easy and cheap flooring job. If something goes really wrong, it sometimes means an expensive repair or a lot of headache, at the minimum.
With so many variables that can occur “from forest to floor,” it can take a lot of effort to make sure the salespeople, product, installer, and homeowner are all on the same page and have healthy expectations.
We put a lot of effort in sourcing products that we are confident in and believe are good fits for our customers showrooms.
We also believe that education and proper training are the best ways to prevent claims from happening.
It’s one of the reasons why we are committed to developing resources and holding training workshops to help our partnered retailers and sand and finish professionals know as much as they can about wood flooring, and how each job should be handled to deliver a great result to the homeowner.
If something does go wrong, we have a clear process for you to go through to request a claim or warranty service:
How to make a claim request
We have created a digital form to fill out to initiate making a claim request on flooring that you purchased from us.
We have chosen to ask for this completed form before we visit the jobsite, so we can all be equipped with the facts and agree on what the problem is. We ask for a lot of specific information on this form.
By filling out the form completely (or as best as you can with all relevant information), we commit to following up with you within five business days with our proposed resolution, or by scheduling a time for us or a certified inspector to take a look at the floor in person.
Important things to remember
Document moisture readings
By and large, most claims we see are usually caused by moisture issues inside the home. We ask for moisture readings (taken with a professional moisture meter) of the home, the product, and the subfloor prior to and after the installation. We consider this basic documentation that all professional flooring installers should be recording at every job.
Take pictures
We allow you to upload up to five pictures of the problem areas on our claim request form. Just about everyone has a smartphone with a decent camera, and with good lighting these things take really good pictures. Please take good pictures and include them with your request by uploading them when filling out the form.
Prevention
Commit to learning wood flooring inside and out, and sending your installers to get professional training from organizations like the National Wood Flooring Association. Develop good procedures for each job, and document everything before, during, and after the job. Buy a quality moisture meter and learn how to use it. Have all the manufacturers guidelines for installation and maintenance on file, and review them with your installers regularly.
We’re here to help
We want to be your trusted wood flooring partner and advisor. We are always happy to talk when you run into a problem, or have questions on installation.
We aren’t just order takers, and we have people at each of our branches that offer great expertise on how to install and use the products we sell. Don’t ever hesitate to call us – we’ll be ready to help!
By following our steps, we commit to supporting you through the process. We will represent your concerns to the manufacturer, and offer helpful explanations to you and the homeowner. If the result turns out to be a product defect that we or the manufacturer should have caught, then we will stand behind it completely and help make it right. If it turns out to be something that the installer should have caught, or done differently, or some other reason that we or the manufacturer could not control, we’ll be clear and helpful in explaining what went wrong.