In my FCN article in the May 15/22 issue I mentioned some wood flooring issues. I got a response from a reader saying that many pre-finished wood samples mention shade variation up front, suggesting that shade variation in the wood boards is natural because of the way wood takes stain, this is true. If this information is mentioned in any of the manufacturers’ materials it should be brought to the customers’ attention to avoid any problems.
Our respondent also offers some great tips for preventing highly contrasted shaded boards from being a problem; solutions if you will, to head off a claim. First they say that any good installer, who has a working knowledge of wood floors, will cull the wood, removing atypical boards before installing them. One installer stated he works from five different boxes of wood at a time, mixing and matching as he goes so that he ends up with a blend of shading. He adds that this is also necessary with the heathered looks in many of today’s ceramic tiles. It was further offered that, when circumstances dictate with a product you know will be of concern, to buy a box or two extra so you have the opportunity to mix and match, without running short, and limit the potential for a complaint. A caveat on this is to not bring a lot of extra material into the home so the customer won’t think you’re overcharging them. And, the truth is, because all wood flooring material can be damaged by water, pets, toys, high heels, etc, the customer may welcome some extra material so repairs can be made. If you sell wood flooring correctly and honestly, this information will not sound foreign to you and it will make you more knowledgeable and professional in the customers’ eyes – one certain way to stay ahead of your competitors.
This next question has to do with carpet and whether or not there is an industry standard that states if a concern is not visible from the standing position, it is not considered an issue? There is no such standard. In this case the complaint was that the installed carpet had ripples in it. The inspector who looked at the carpet could not find the ripples causing the complaint by any means. Only when the carpet is viewed from a distance down a corridor and the light source from glass doors shines on it could what appeared to be ripples be seen. He did not say that actual ripples could be seen only that what appeared to be ripples could be seen. They could not be accurately measured to find a repeat or any consistency in the carpet. They are not visible from any other vantage point but one and it cannot be determined if these “ripples” are even part of the carpet. There were several suggestions as to what the cause could be but, as we explained to the person asking the question, none of them are plausible because they would manifest themselves differently and be exhibited visibly as definite evidence of their existence and could be determined.
The questioner adds that you can find fault with almost any piece of carpet and he’s right to an extent, in that carpet is a textile product and it is not perfect. There will always be some little idiosyncrasy one could question about the product. In this case however, the concern is not glaring, blatant or starkly evident and if you have to look this hard from a single particular angle or vantage point, in my opinion, it cannot be considered a defect. It may be that the way the light hits the carpet in this isolated location, the construction of the carpet, the color and texturing of the material may create an optical illusion or appearance that is being interpreted as a problem with the carpet. Simply put, if you have to look that hard, in a certain way, it’s not a defect in the material. You can look at the paint on your car the same way and find something that doesn’t look just right to you in certain light from a certain angle but it doesn’t mean the paint is defective.
Situations like this are not uncommon for any product, much less carpet or floor covering. For 35 years I’ve been looking at this stuff and there are times when you can’t see what someone has a concern about and other times when you have to view it the same way they do, from a special angle and it can only be seen that way. If you cannot attribute what you’re seeing to an actual manufacturing function that will cause this type of problem, and the problem is only in one small area, chances are it is not manufacturing related. Generally a manufacturing defect will be very specific even if it is small, like a stop mark or a low line, but a physical variation in one small area most likely will not be. Since all the equipment employed to make carpet encompasses the entire front or back of the material, it is unlikely one small area would be affected. If the manufacturing process “messes up” it will be a bigger mess up, not one small area. And then again, it could be that an inherent characteristic of the carpet, caused by the manufacturing process, is only subtly visible in certain light from a certain angle. That would be something that is part of the product naturally that may be interpreted as a flaw.
If you have any questions, need an answer to a floor covering concern, complaint or claim, contact us, we can help and if we can’t no one can – but that’s unlikely. Call, we’ll be happy to talk with you.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts