Page 2 - CFR Volume 105 - Update - What to Include in a Flooring Specification - June 2017

Installation firms bidding on jobs don’t always have the skills to work The experts at LGM

with the products specified. They have not been exposed to the new specialize in consultation, correction
technologies and worst yet bid jobs without knowing what flooring prod- and resolution for flooring complaints,

ucts are to be installed, or what the site and substrate conditions are. claims, installation and performance
They also may not know how to deal with them or even not understand issues.

when a failure occurs due to something they should have known to do. No issue is too big, too small or too far
Myriads of issues that populate each project with unique challenges are away for us to handle.

not taken into consideration. What should be a clearly defined progres- All ads are interactive. Just click on
sion of information is often misconstrued, misunderstood and contested. the ad to enter their website.

Worst of all, mid-stream in a project or not long after its completion or,
in some cases, just before the flooring is to be installed, a problem pre-

sents itself that no one seems to have the answers to. And, worst of
all, everyone is an expert and thinks they know what to do when in reali-

ty no one does, which only exacerbates an already bad situation. For
these reasons a very

specific specification
needs to be written and

provided. There is no
reason the spec cannot

be definitive and pre-
cise. To be less than

that only allows for in-
terpretation and com-

promises that can jeop-
ardize the finished prod-

uct and project. Argu-
ments should not be

started with the words,
“what does the spec

say?” The spec may be

wrong!

The following example is how we write a flooring spec and depending
on the project, the spec would fit the demands of that project; it would
be unique to it. We take into consideration all that is required; the
jobsite conditions, the work and project conditions, staging and logistics,
picking the appropriate product and testing it before it’s installed, com-

pared to other flooring offerings and just after manufacture but before
installation, to insure it is what it is supposed to be. And because we
know the industry so well, we build in safeguards that prevent the client
from getting bad flooring from otherwise very good, reputable and con-
scientious manufacturers which also serves to keep the manufacturer
out of trouble. A properly written flooring specification should prevent

trouble. A very important factor to understand is that there are those
who make promises their products can’t keep, distort science to fit their

agenda and speak words that are not supported by the law of physics.

Page Layout By: Anita S. Drennon

2 Commercial Flooring Report June 2017