Page 1 - 2019-01-CFR Volume 124 - Truth or Consequences - Words Don't Make It So - January 2019
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Sometimes I think we’re living in the land of make believe in the flooring industry
because you hear so much noise about things that supposedly are; that really
aren’t. Beliefs that have no basis in fact, things that want to be believed because
someone thinks they’re so or there’s no explanation for, or an explanation was
given that has no basis in fact. Or the truth being given to explain why a prob-
lem exists that no one wants to believe. Or a failure that’s occurred that should-
n’t have because, “we tested the substrate and the numbers said it was ok to
proceed and the manufacturer told us so”.
We deal in flooring failures, from concrete to carpet and everything in between. We work on the biggest
of the big projects. We consult with clients to ensure that they won’t have a flooring failure and that the
flooring will do what they expect it to and be installed as it should be. Conversely, we look at failures that
have occurred to determine what went wrong and why, who’s at fault and how to fix and resolve the is-
sue. We dissect every bit of information in a case with a team of experts unequaled in the industry who
can pick out a discrepancy like a pig looking for truffles. Our job is to explain the unexplainable. To un-
ravel the knots binding the confusion of a situation. To dispense the truth about a product, situation or
concern so that all the parties involved hear the facts, the absolute facts, about everything that occurred
based on irrefutable factual evidence, exhibited at the point of failure and the history of what transpired
on the project from its inception. To expose the obvious to the oblivious so that, like it or not, they know
the reason they’re in the predicament they are and how to resolve it. More important, how to keep a
painful situation from occurring again. No one does this better and with more passion, determination,
persistence, perseverance and patience. As one large flooring manufacturer said years ago, “LGM are
not the guys you want sitting on the other side of the table.” In many cases we know more about the
products than the people making them. We’re often the ones they come to when they have a problem
that they need help with.
Why am I telling you this? Something that seems self-serving and boastful; almost arrogant? Well for
one, after almost 48 years in an industry that taught me the industry, in the town that is the flooring capi-
tal of the world, where we are privy to information that no one else is and, where we work with products
and test them to understand every aspect of them, we know quite a bit about flooring. Our associates
are also the best of the best at what they do, from concrete to carpet tile to the chemistries used in them,
to the science behind the products and the substrates they’re installed on. Add to this the hundreds of
flooring contractors, general contractors, architects and attorneys we work with on a daily basis. That
constant contact allows us to have a feeling on the pulse of what’s going on that no one else has. Most
importantly we’re honest, trustworthy, totally independent, objective and professional. The truth is not
always what the market hears. We also don’t like seeing the industry suffering from those who have little
relationship to it making statements their products can’t keep such as adhesives, additives for moisture
mitigation, underlayment’s that compromise the product and others. Also, by warranties that aren’t
1 Commercial Flooring Report January 2019