Common sense is a commodity which is sorely lacking in people today and the floor covering industry is no exception. Every day we field questions on issues, concerns, problems and products from retailers, commercial flooring dealers, architects, general contractors and others that you would think, since they sell and work with the product, they would know the answers to. Questions on the installation of a product, its performance, appearance, filing of a claim or getting a manufacturer to honor a claim. An issue about the environment a flooring material is going to be installed in or how to cheaply put a bandage on a problem that’s actually a hemorrhage or how to easily fix a failure is also often asked about. Granted some of the issues, especially when it comes to moisture and substrate conditions are more technically involved and beyond the scope of the mentioned parties. But you’d think that if you sell a product you’d know all there is to know about it. Instead we hear, “why didn’t they tell us about this?” I’ll let you in on a not so secret reason; most manufacturers don’t understand their own products. As unbelievable as it may seem, few manufacturers have the technical savvy to fully understand the product, it’s installation of even how it may perform in the field. You may wonder how this could be so. Well, if you’ve been in the industry any length of time you may recall when it was bristling with technical people, especially among the fiber producers. The recessions of the last four decades have decimated their ranks. So this is one of the reasons we don’t have the knowledge about the products we should have. Having said that, the experience of selling the product should give you insight into how they will perform.
Another issue is people believing words change the laws of physics or science. Statements made by flooring dealers, installers, manufacturers or accessory providers might have you believe that black is white because they say so. We’ve seen and regularly deal with problems and issues of epidemic proportions knowing what the causes are only to have them denied by the very people who caused the problem. Or, as the earlier statement made about putting a bandage on a hemorrhage, someone thinking they can just put some inexpensive potion on the floor that will prevent a catastrophic failure. Put in a common sense term that you can hopefully understand relative to your health, if you’re overweight, smoke, drink to excess, move only to go from one place to another and do little to take care of yourself and don’t regularly see a doctor just to make sure you’re going in the right direction, the chances of living a fulfilled, healthy and extended life are severely compromised. There are no magic pills or potions to easily fix a flooring problem. No miracle applications that defy the laws of physics and no flooring products that can’t be compromised by some condition or situation. There is common sense, if you use it, to keep you from being involved in problem that will result in pain, suffering and financial loss.
To help clarify what’s been said let’s look at some specifics. Wood flooring is nothing more than a tree on the floor, it will expand, contract, dent, scratch or cup on the floor. To think that this won’t happen because it has a hard finish on it is delusional. Stain resist carpet and soil retardants don’t mean carpet won’t stain or get dirty; it will just resist the influences. Vinyl flooring will indent, scratch and scuff when subjected to damaging causes or abuse. Just remember there’s no substitute for common sense. If you think you may have a problem, you most likely will. Trust your gut and ask questions before you get in trouble.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts