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...and nobody is
going to start telling me how to do it."
When
Hardwoodinstaller.com sold product over
the internet we had our occasional
product problem inquiries, but not as
many as I actually thought we would.
Perhaps it had something to do with the
amount of information provided
throughout our site that had customers
becoming the watchdog when their
floors were being installed.
Anyway, it was
late October 2006 and we had a product
problem called in from a customer in
Maryland. He had purchased 1,800 square
feet of BR111 Amendoim 5 1/2" solid
plank, a large quantity by any measure.
Considering I don't fly I made the trip
up I-95 to visit with the customer.
Sure there are
manufacturing problems, everyone goes
through it. Upon my arrival it was
obvious there was
a problem with some boards having an out
of tolerance milling problem on the
ends. But the installer, who claimed to
have forty years experience in the
business installed part the floor anyway
because the builder wanted the kitchen
area done first so they could install
the kitchen cabinets.
Sorry for the
picture quality, but anyone would get
the idea as I did. This is the first
thing I saw when walking into the home.
The job was stopped for two reasons. The
kitchen area was done and now there was
a problem. Who in their right mind
installs a floor like this? It had been
stopped 10 days before I arrived. It was
also obvious nobody cared about
protecting the floor. Fortunately there
was very little traffic in the kitchen
and the cabinet installers did a good
job of not scratching or dinging the
floor.
Adding more problems to a possible
solution, the floor was stapled and
glued because it was a wide plank
and the home was on the banks of the
Chesapeake Bay. Wider planks have a
tendency to show cupping more than
smaller widths in this type of
environment. Upon arrival I asked that
we get together with the installer. Two
days a later meeting with the so called
experienced installer was a total joke
that did not last for more than two
minutes.
Material that had
already been laid were bunched in areas
with smaller pieces, end joints were
inches from one another. His reply was
"they were straighter." Then I pointed
out other pieces that were obviously
defective yet installed anyway and out
it came..."I've been installing floors
for 40 years and nobody is going to
start teaching me how to do it. And if
you keep it up I'm walking off this
job..."
That's all I needed. I was not going any
further. What was the outcome? I called
in the help of Rick Scott (floormedic.com)
who was a great source when I had an
installer/referral referral program on
the site back in earlier days. Two of
his guys and myself spent two days going
through
 every
single piece of uninstalled hardwood
checking measurements on every board.
Finally we had what we felt was
satisfactory material and removed the
defective from the job site.
Folks Read the
Directions
On every single
box of hardwood delivered to this job,
BR111 and all major manufacturers has an
insert providing installation specs that
include what is not acceptable and how
to go about handling it. From BR111:
DO NOT install
defective flooring. You will be the
final judge of acceptable quality.
Flooring that has been installed is
deemed to be acceptable. BR-111™ shall
not be responsible for costs associated
with installing, finishing, and/or
replacing of flooring installed with
obvious defects.
In conclusion, the manufacturer, BR111
went above and beyond helping in taking
care of this problem. It solidified my
opinion of a very sound and
professionally run company. In addition,
they checked all material in inventory
on the same product and pulled it from
distribution so others would not go
though the problems I did. I'm only
saddened my best contact with BR111 has
since retired and moved back to
Australia.
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