Have you ever had some type of floor covering installed in your home, only to have to pay a contractor to come back to repair your floor after a year? Whether it be a hollow spot in your wood floor, a wrinkle in your carpet, or a loose tile, warranty work can be costly. Well it shouldn't be. It is common practice in this industry for contractors to give the consumer a one year labor warranty, on all floor covering materials after installation. All too often installers in this industry like to shirk their responsibility and charge the customer for mistakes that were made during the original installation. If more consumers knew a little bit about business law, they would find that there are statutes that protects them from these deceptive practices.
In Florida there is a statute called the statute of repose. This statute was enacted to protect consumers from designers and contractors who make improvements to real property. Many states in the union have adopted similar laws, so make sure you review your state laws in case you come across this problem. Here is a brief definition as to what this statute means. Whether it is carpet or any other type of floor covering it is understood that it will have an expected useful life. For instance, if your new carpet has a 10 year 10% fiber warranty, then it is expected that the carpet should last approximately 10 years.
Let me give you an example of how this works: A carpet installer comes into your home and installs your 65 ounce carpet and decides to use nothing more than a knee kicker to put it in, instead of a power stretcher, which is what should have been used. A year passes by and your carpet starts to wrinkle, causing the backing to delaminate and the loss of fiber content in your floor. you try to contact the installer but are not able to get in contact with him. you decide to call the flooring retailer for help and are told there is a minimum charge to fix this problem, possibly more. What the retailer and the contractor do not realize, is that statute I just spoke about can hold them liable for up to 10 years after the installation, in most states. Another example is when a contractor installs ceramic tile in your home and the grout begins to crack and the tiles break, due to a poor bond to the sub-floor. This is normally caused from setting the tile into mortar that is too dry. Most mortars for ceramic tile have a 10 year warranty, so it is expected that the tile should stay bonded to the sub-floor for that period of time.
There are a few ways to avoid these situations, but I will only name a few. First off, check references on your local retailer and the installer they plan on using. Next, get as much information as you possibly can about proper installation methods for your particular floor covering and make sure the contractor has the appropriate license and insurance to work in your home. You may even consider doing a background check.
If you follow these few guidelines you are less likely to have these problems. If you do have a situation where the contractor refuses to fix something that wasn't done right in the first place and tries to charge you for it, don't let him. Tell him you know the law, because most likely he doesn't and he may just decide to fix the problem without trying to wrongfully charge you. Don't be deceived by their one year warranties, because in reality it is more than that.
Thanks
The Floor Man
In Florida there is a statute called the statute of repose. This statute was enacted to protect consumers from designers and contractors who make improvements to real property. Many states in the union have adopted similar laws, so make sure you review your state laws in case you come across this problem. Here is a brief definition as to what this statute means. Whether it is carpet or any other type of floor covering it is understood that it will have an expected useful life. For instance, if your new carpet has a 10 year 10% fiber warranty, then it is expected that the carpet should last approximately 10 years.
Let me give you an example of how this works: A carpet installer comes into your home and installs your 65 ounce carpet and decides to use nothing more than a knee kicker to put it in, instead of a power stretcher, which is what should have been used. A year passes by and your carpet starts to wrinkle, causing the backing to delaminate and the loss of fiber content in your floor. you try to contact the installer but are not able to get in contact with him. you decide to call the flooring retailer for help and are told there is a minimum charge to fix this problem, possibly more. What the retailer and the contractor do not realize, is that statute I just spoke about can hold them liable for up to 10 years after the installation, in most states. Another example is when a contractor installs ceramic tile in your home and the grout begins to crack and the tiles break, due to a poor bond to the sub-floor. This is normally caused from setting the tile into mortar that is too dry. Most mortars for ceramic tile have a 10 year warranty, so it is expected that the tile should stay bonded to the sub-floor for that period of time.
There are a few ways to avoid these situations, but I will only name a few. First off, check references on your local retailer and the installer they plan on using. Next, get as much information as you possibly can about proper installation methods for your particular floor covering and make sure the contractor has the appropriate license and insurance to work in your home. You may even consider doing a background check.
If you follow these few guidelines you are less likely to have these problems. If you do have a situation where the contractor refuses to fix something that wasn't done right in the first place and tries to charge you for it, don't let him. Tell him you know the law, because most likely he doesn't and he may just decide to fix the problem without trying to wrongfully charge you. Don't be deceived by their one year warranties, because in reality it is more than that.
Thanks
The Floor Man
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