We bought a prefinished engineered Homerwood product from one of the big box stores, since they were running a special. It was a special order that we completed in October and we have FINALLY gotten them installed with the installation being complete last week. We have noticed small spots that are visible that almost look like smudges, we also have parts of the floor that appear matte and parts that appear somewhat shiny. It is definitely inconsistent. We had the manager from the installation company come over and look at it, he seems to think we have a "finishing issue" with the floor and is going to contact the manufacturer to see what they will do. We spent a lot of money on these floors. I did my research and I went with a thick wear tread (5mm) opted to have it professionally installed, since we were gluing it to the slab. I stayed away from the "outlet" to avoid milling problems that I have read about on this site. I thought I was doing everything right. Anyway if someone would be so kind to advise me on what may happen next. What do I need to know, what are my options, what do I need to look for? As I mentioned we started this whole process in Oct 2007, and here it is Feb and I fear I'm looking at starting all over again.
Thankfully we have a 1 year installation guarantee and the floors came with a 25 year finish guarantee.

Thanks
Melissa

It may require a re-coat. If so, choose a very high quality floor finish like BONA Traffic. It could be a good idea to get an independent assessment of the floor from an experienced inspector.

Here is where it all started.

HardwoodInstaller.com, would have made sure you were not getting multiple production runs.

Weird they'd be running a special (i.e - sale) on a special-order product that took 3-4 months to get. I don't get that at all, but anyway.

Did you have it installed thru the BigBox store, or did you just buy the material from them and hire your own installer? When the buck gets passed it will make a differene whose lap this ultimately ends up in.

You said it was a glue-down floor. Could the smudges be glue residue, or the after-effect of cleaning up glue spots? Same with the matte spots - perhaps attempts to clean up glue dulled the finish?



When a problem looks like it could cost a lot of time & money, the blame IS going to get passed 'cause noones wants to eat that expense. (That's why I wanted to know the "chain of command" on who installed this floor.)
Even if it does turn out to be a manufacturer issue, they will say the product should not have been installed to pass the buck back to the installer.

Quote from one manufacturer's installation guide:


and



and



If it's not a glue problem, the installer's going to say it was a defective product, and the manufacturer is going to say if it was defective, installer should not have installed it.
If it was installed thru the BB store, that adds a middle-man to the mix (two actually for the BB store I'm thinking of) which'll further complicate and delay things.

Everything was done through big box store. They contract out their own installer. The rep from the installer attempted to clean the spots that he thought could possibly be glue residue, but it was not.

I wondered if it was them using mineral spirits to clean the glue residue on the floor during the installation but I was told by them that it is what the manufacturer recommends. Actually the manufacturer refers everyone to the national organization of floor installers for installation procedures and to just follow theirs.

Utimatley it may have been a bad decision to use the big box store, but I have more confidence that they will get the problem resolved than if this was a mom and pop organization that could not afford to take a loss this big.

Someone asked why it took so long on a sale item. Here's the deal: they ran a grand opnening special because they were a brand new store. The problem was they had the floor, but the vendor said they couldn't sell them the trim. (This should have been my first clue.) Who would buy a floor with no trim? So that took several weeks of arguing to resolve. The vendor told the store they had plenty in stock and to go ahead and place the order. But of course when our order was received, seems their stock disappeared and they had to mill some, which explains the delay.

We thought about buying online, but then read Homerwood's internet disclaimer voiding their guarantee on their webpage and decided against it.

Homerwoods disclaimer, holds no water. If it leaves their mill, a warranty must be placed on it, no matter who resales it.

That goes for any company with internet sales disclaimers. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. Meaning you sell to a wholesaler and then tell them no warranty.... LOL, Ya right, tell that to a judge and see how far you get!!!!!!

Customer hires BB store.
BB store hires Install Co.
Install Co. Hires Installer Sub.

Customer pays $3.50 psf for labor.
Installer gets $1.50 of that. The other $2 is divied up between BB and Install Co. On a 500sf install, customer shells out $1,750 for labor, but installer only gets $750 of that, out of which they must pay for their own insurance, taxes, and misc. materials. Meanwhile, the other $1,000 that the customer thinks is going to pay a good installer for their hard work and skill is going to the BB store and Install Co instead. (Actual numbers from my area.)

When a customer has a complaint, they contact BB store. BB store in turn contacts install Co. Install Co then contacts the installer. (That right there ends up in alot of phone tag being played and third-party info being passed around.

In this situation, the installer has no choice in what decisions are made to appease the customer. If the BB store - who has the direct contract with the end customer - decides to say, replace the floor in your case, here's what happens.
It goes thru the Install Co, who places the full burden on the installer. Installer is told they _have_ to provide the free labor of ripping out your glued down floor and installing a new one, and the installer eats the cost of the material as well. If the installer does not want to do the repair, or if the customer doesn't want that installer back, the installer is also backcharged for the labor cost of the Install Co sending out a different installer to do the ripout/replacement. In the end, the orignal installer who only made peanuts on the deal to begin with is on the hook for thousands of dollars, while the BB store and Install CO lose nothing, even though it is their final decision on how to rectify the situation with the customer.
I'm sure you can see how you can end up with a very angry installer in this situation, especially if he believes he did nothing wrong. (And often, he hasn't. )

Anyway, none of that helps with your problem, but I wanted you to understand that it is not going to be the BB store "who can afford to take the big loss" taking the loss here, it will be the installer, the little guy who, as I said, made the least on the deal to begin with.
Many people go thru BB stores for this very reason, thinking they have the deep pockets, not understanding that it all gets passed back to the installer when the dust settles.

In your case it's not clear yet who is actually to blame, but I would bet the ranch that even if the Manufacturer agrees it was a defective batch, the original installer is going to lose big here while the BB loses nothing.

I called two today. Thanks for the advice, Gary.

Installer called and said that either a mill inspector or a CFI would be sent out. I pulled some of the extra wood out of what was leftover and you can see the spots, also you can feel with your hand a completely different texture on the planks. This leads me to believe it is a manufacturing defect.

My opinion is that the manufacturer should be the one to fix this situation or make it right whatever that may be. I am very upset and nervous about this whole situation and I just want the whole thing resolved and my house back to normal again. I can't believe this whole process has taken so long. Thanks for everyone's input.

DC

AMEN! that all just happens too often

DC. That is why I have never subbed to any retail flooring chain, whether a BB or your mom and pop. They typically all work the same. Charge a lot for install but pay the installer very little and make him completely liable. So bogus. But I will say I'm glad the BB stores around here charge a lot for installs. It helps me justify my pricing!

I called two certified installers in my area. One has yet to return my phone calls. The other advised me to let the store handle it. He actually told me from my perspective I am in a good position by buying from the BB store, even though it is his competitor. He said the reason is they will take care of the problem. He told me that he would come out if I really wanted him to, but thought it was a waste of my money at this time. I explained the situation over the phone and he said based on what I was telling him, it sounded like a finish issue, but whatever the issue, since I went through the BB I can rest assured they will take care of me. He has never known a case where they didn't. He told me if I got my money back, to call him and he'd come out and do it right the next time. I really appreciate his honesty as he could have easily taken my money and done an inspection and I appreciate him giving me peace of mind and advising me to be patient.


BB store is sending CFI out today. I'll keep you posted as to how this all works out. I can't believe I ordered the floors in Oct and here it is practically March and I'm not done with the process. I am so ready to get my life back. We haven't unpacked boxes and moved things back into the furniture as we have no clue if they are going to decide to come back and redo them. I don't want to have to pack things up twice. I'm ready for this to be DONE!!!!!

It are planning for you to be done with it to, and give up. Believe me, you are going to wait, for any resolution.