Regardless of how hard we try, most of us will end up in a legal dispute with a customer, whether a homeowner or a builder, over one of our wood floors at some point. When it comes to that, you can’t afford to make any mistakes in representing your company as well as you possibly can. Hiring the right wood flooring inspector and ensuring that inspector can stand up in court as an expert witness is a critical step in that defense. But what exactly does that imply? How do you decide which one to pick?
Hiring a flooring inspector provides you with the opportunity to work with someone who is trained in troubleshooting material issues, climate control issues, and manufacturer defects that may be preventing your floors from looking their best. For all types of floors, they provide inspections, consultations, and testing. Manufacturers, distributors, retailers, installation professionals, attorneys, architects, designers, insurance companies, general contractors, cleaners, and consumers are all served by flooring inspection and consulting services.
Insurance claims, carpet, hardwood floors, ceramic tile, luxury vinyl, laminate, engineered wood, and slip and fall incidents are all addressed by flooring experts. On-site inspections, reports, and legal testimony are all available from flooring experts.
Home Owners
If you are a home-owner who has recently had a flooring incident, you have just found one of the longest running flooring inspection businesses in the country.
We understand that flooring inspectors are something that most people are not even aware exist as a profession .. until a person needs one. Floors are omnipresent in life, consequently, there are times when we need to deal with matters having to do with what we have underfoot. If there has been a problem of some kind, a broken water line, a fire, or perhaps the floor has failed on its own, there can be considerable damage done to a floor. Since this always involves an expense and maybe a claim to someone, you will need a professional flooring inspector.
- Prior to Installation: Consulting, Identify Specifications of Product, Site Inspection, Concrete Moisture and pH Testing.
- During Installation: Monitoring to insure installation procedures meet manufacturers specifications.
- After Installation: Inspection of flooring failures and Manufacturer warranty inspections
The primary manufacturers of flooring materials each have their own unique characteristics that come into play in any replacement situation. With our extensive experience in the flooring industry we know these unique characteristics, and can issue a knowledgeable report based on the condition, and the particular quirks of the flooring material. So, if you have any of the major name brands, Armstrong, Mannington, Pergo, Shaw, Mohawk, or any other nationally recognized brand, we have dealt with it before.
Inspections/Failure Analysis:
- Laminate Flooring
- Solid & Engineered Hardwood
- Cork Tile and Planks
- Exotic Hardwood Flooring
- Residential Carpet
- Commercial Carpet
- Resilient Flooring
- Ceramic Tile and Stone
- Carpet Tile
- Wool & Woven Broadloom
Lawyers
If you are a lawyer looking for an expert witness for a flooring settlement case, you just found your expert witness.
We have one of the longest standing careers in the industry, and have logged hundreds of hours from the stand as a recognized flooring expert.
Flooring Inspection: The Investigative Process
1. Perform an on site investigative evaluation to:
- Define the problem
- Obtain a chronological history of the flooring installation and material
- List detailed observations of the problem area(s)
- Perform Field tests and record the results
2. Write comprehensive inspection report containing:
- Statement of problem(s)
- Site description
- Product description
- Claim History
- Detailed physical description of problem(s)
- Field test results
- Applicable industry and manufacturer standards
- Conclusion based on collected data and field tests
- Identification of responsible party
- Recommendations to resolve, rectify or repair the problem
What is a Certified Inspector?
A Certified Inspector is trained to inspect flooring problems and render an opinion as to what party is responsible for the flooring failure. Certified Inspectors are trained to give independent opinions, based on observations and tests. The areas of responsibility may be one of five:
- The Manufacturer: is responsible for defects in the floor that are either visible or latent
- The Installer: is responsible for any installation that is not to industry standards or manufacturer specifications.
- The Consumer Is responsible for any problems that relate to poor maintenance or damage.
- The Specifier: is responsible for any product which is installed or placed in a use for which it is not designed.
- Acts of Nature: are defined as situations and/or conditions beyond the control of man.
WARNING: It is advisable to ask questions of an inspector prior to commissioning his or her services. Some questions to ask:
- How many years of industry experience? (15 years minimum is best)
- How many years of experience as an independent inspector? (minimum of 3 years is best)
- Background: Any installation experience? Sales experience? Manufacturing Experience? (Installation and Sales are helpful, if not the best combination)
Flooring expert witnesses
Flooring expert witnesses provide forensic investigations, consulting services and testimony in litigation matters, such as slip and fall, flooring defects, improper installation, moisture and friction issues, failed flooring, and standards of care. Flooring experts may, for example, provide forensic Coefficient of Friction Testing, moisture vapor emission testing, gas emission testing, concrete in-situ relative humidity testing and floor covering system failure analysis.