Carpet tile use is growing dramatically but at the expense of broadloom carpet. There is no question carpet tile is the fastest growing textile floor covering material on the market but its growth is coming at the expense of broadloom. The ease of installation, design capabilities, structural integrity, performance characteristics and versatility of carpet tile, along with new innovative backing systems, many of them the result of recycling efforts, make carpet tile the hot property that it is. The fact that it is cannibalizing broadloom is not all bad for manufacturers as carpet tile is generally sold for more and can bring higher margins. One consideration is that all of the new innovations and recycling efforts, primarily having to do with the backings have created some challenges in the market place with the stability of the product. This is new territory for manufacturers and everyone wants to be in the game but be wary of the ramifications of having a problem with the product as it could be very costly. Fortunately, most manufacturers who are having challenges with the product are aware of them and will step up to the plate to take care of a compromised situation. Not that this makes having to replace these products any more fun or less costly for the end user.
The commercial market shows some signs of slowing from what we’ve heard from some of the largest commercial flooring contractors in the country. However, a flooring contractor in a major market may be so busy they’re having a hard time keeping up with the work and another in the same market might be off significantly. Things are spotty.
We all know the housing market is off but large flooring contractors who have addressed the multi-family housing market are seeing things pick up. The apartment market therefore is showing signs of life. This is not a high margin high profit market segment but it is one that will help keep the lifeblood of flooring contractors who understand this market doing well.
Condos and commercial buildings are a bargain right now for oversees investors and potential occupants because of the value of the dollar and exchange rates. As a result there will be demand for high end product, not only for the common areas of these buildings but for the flooring materials going into the individual units. The same holds true of commercial property especially in plum locations such as Miami and New York City, among many others.
The market for US flooring products oversees should also be increasing in demand because of the exchange rates, construction projects and, something not given much thought, ships dead-heading back with empty containers. No transportation medium wants to travel empty so rates are more favorable going abroad than they are coming to theUS. Also, the US has the capacity for making flooring materials, the know-how, and the ability to provide technical services. The same can’t be said for products coming from abroad. In fact we at LGM look at this as an opportunity because we have the ability to provide technical services and product expertise abroad and on products coming into theUS. Without the technical back up some flooring materials, especially carpet can be a very scary investment regardless of the cost. There is no check for any inconsistencies and once massive installations of the product are down there may be no recourse for resolving a problem. Labor is not a factor particularly in making carpet in theUS. Labor is about 5% the cost of the product which is not far out of line with countries that produce flooring material inexpensively.
The biggest problems we’re seeing in the field are still keeping the flooring material on the floor. The last two large claims we had come in at the end of 2007, one a health care facility and the other a commercial office space, were both caused by the carpet releasing from the substrate. One was a carpet tile that, aside from the fact the tile had its own set of defective issues, was installed on a slab that literally had water on it when the tiles were lifted.
The other was a broadloom installation under which the adhesive was failing and the substrate also had moisture problems. With the incidences of failing installations due to moisture issues in concrete anyone who is having anything to do with installing flooring materials that does not address this issue better be ready for some hefty losses. Whatever it costs to test for moisture and correct for it pales in comparison to what it will cost to remediate this condition. We’re talking millions of dollars in losses to the industry and all associated with it here folks, not tens of thousands. In these situations you have to consider business interruption, displacement of personnel and patients, tear down and rebuild of furnishings and systems, specialized personnel to conduct the testing and correction of the substrate and new flooring material – which will be the least expensive item on the list. I cannot emphasize enough how much you should avoid having one of these problems and how greatly it will impact your business in dollars and reputation. This issue is going to take some people down with it and at the very least it will drain profits away from any number of involved parties faster than a ruptured dam. The responsibility for a flooring failure due to moisture actually starts with the Architect and General Contractor, a subject we can discuss in more detail in a future issue. We have a seminar that addresses this issue that everyone should make and effort to attend.
There is unfortunately a lack of knowledge about flooring materials and issues related to them including installation, maintenance and a lack of technical services, which will unfortunately continue. Architects and designers have been polled in surveys and responded that flooring manufacturer’s reps are relied upon for technical information. This, in my opinion, presents a false sense of security. History tells us that reps know their product but that’s about all. They are not technical experts and they are not trained to be. It’s better to trust a reputable flooring contractor, such as a StarNet member or a firm like LGM.
Wood is one flooring material where information about it and its performance is sorely lacking and there are very few people who are well versed in this product. Another area that is not well understood has to do, again, with moisture, and that is treatments available that are supposed to suppress moisture which sometimes work and sometimes don’t.
The same problem areas will continue to exist as we see it into 2008. Fast track construction projects which result in concrete issues and thus installation failures and no time to do flooring installations at the end of the project while installers work over, around and through other trades occupying the same space. This is the “Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead” mindset – this is a major cause of installation failures and damaged and soiled floor covering. If you’re thinking green just take a moment to consider the vast amount of floor covering material that will be prematurely pulled up scrapped and replaced as a result of this thinking and maybe it will sink in that we have to think green on the end of the project as well as in the beginning. This type of situation is wasteful environmentally and economically and all it will take to remedy it is a change in attitude but only if you’re really environmentally conscientious.
We will also continue to see more exotic types of flooring of all kinds used in commercial applications, more patterned carpet and more expensive materials. In the realm of things, no matter what you think, carpet is still king of the hill in floor coverings.
Author – Lewis G. Migliore – The Commercial Flooring Report
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts