# engineered flooring complaint from customer.. help!



## Floormasta78 (Apr 6, 2011)

This job was 1,300 sft. the bad area was about 550 , the floor was uneven by almost 1/2 .. HO rented a grinder , and we kicked its butt.. The end result ... Money and 0 complaints..


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## Floormasta78 (Apr 6, 2011)

As far as I know 980 will be discontinued.. It sucks thats why .. Lol.. I was big on EFA , but since Sika came along , I'm on their team. .. Pay $89.00 plus tax on a 4 gallon bucket..


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## jamestrd (Oct 26, 2008)

the inspector will just report everything he finds wrong. i dont believe he will offer rectifications..then it wold go back to him if it fails..

I wouldn't have responded until you have the report to review.

You just signed your death warrant with that letter.

this guy is obviously looking to hang you.

you can tell..in his voice and the very fact this guy is video taping means only one thing..if it isnt his way,he will take you to the cleaners..or try anyway.he isnt paying you and will probably sure as well.

the guy is a jerk off


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## Tech Dawg (Dec 13, 2010)

The fact that the HO is posting this on youtube before the contractor has a chance to fix or replace the issue is pretty low and I would consider him a jerk off for that, however it is pretty clear that the floor has many errors in the install including prep. So who is the BIGGER jerk off?


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## Floormasta78 (Apr 6, 2011)

Great point Todd..


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## BKM Resilient (May 2, 2009)

PrecisionFloors said:


> Agree 99%. A complete replacement is not necessary. A competent installer doing the repair is however. I know I could repair it and the homeowner wouldn't be able to see it or even know where the repair stopped or started. It would probably be just as expensive labor wise as it was to have it installed in the first place :whistling
> 
> 800ft of product is a lot to eat in addition to the displacing of the client for several days. A repair could be done in less time and with less aggravation to the homeowner for sure. Just my .02:thumbsup:


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I wouldn't be so confident in my own ability to make those repairs and then stand behind them them for the life of the floor. I'd be even less confident were I a typical home owner expected to pay in full for this installation assuming the limited trade knowledge of the average home owner. 

So the solution I'd still recommend to the original poster who is apparently the one who hires out the labor is to rip it all out, find a better crew, replace the entire job and apologize profusely for the gross inconvenience to the family.


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## EthanB (Sep 28, 2011)

You seem to have two problems here on1sony, the first is the improper install of the floor(which has been addressed by greater minds than mine) and then his handling of the situation. I'm curious how the process all started. Was the email with the video the first contact? If your customer doesn't call YOU as soon as there's a problem then you probably haven't impressed them with your professionalism or availability.:blink:

Your response was the second nail in the coffin. Not only didn't it reassure the customer and show them that you were in control of the situation, it added a couple of more things for them to worry about. Making the floor right is going to cost what it costs but you should at least get a happy customer out of the bargain.

PS - I don't think the customer is being a dick by uploading the vid to Youtube because he didn't add a nasty title and description. A lot of people just use it as a free way to host and share video.


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## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

BKM Resilient said:


> ***************************
> *I wouldn't be so confident in my own ability to make those repairs and then stand behind them them for the life of the floor.* I'd be even less confident were I a typical home owner expected to pay in full for this installation assuming the limited trade knowledge of the average home owner.
> 
> So the solution I'd still recommend to the original poster who is apparently the one who hires out the labor is to rip it all out, find a better crew, replace the entire job and apologize profusely for the gross inconvenience to the family.


I would. Wood is what I do though. I have done countless repairs of this nature due to incompetent installers the first go round  

I would only be willing to stand behind the repaired areas though, not the entire floor - so I do get what you're saying. It is a tough call either way for sure. Something tells me no matter what he does this customer will not be satisfied :whistling


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## astor (Dec 19, 2008)

I have repaired some jobs like done by others that before,as PF stated,highly skilled flooring guy able to fix it without any repair trace. 
But, first he has to show and convince the HO that is possible and he is capable of doing it. Sometimes, I got the trust after 10 min conversation, other times, I suggested to repair a section and let them be the judge and should I repair the rest. They got nothing to loose at that point anyway.
It takes time and patience,comes with high price, but better than replacing it for everybody.After all, the wood is not buckling, cupping, just adhesion problem.


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## BKM Resilient (May 2, 2009)

astor said:


> I have repaired some jobs like done by others that before,as PF stated,highly skilled flooring guy able to fix it without any repair trace.
> But, first he has to show and convince the HO that is possible and he is capable of doing it. Sometimes, I got the trust after 10 min conversation, other times, I suggested to repair a section and let them be the judge and should I repair the rest. They got nothing to loose at that point anyway.
> It takes time and patience,comes with high price, but better than replacing it for everybody.After all, the wood is not buckling, cupping, just adhesion problem.


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There's simply too many adhesion issues for the customer to accept that the rest of the floor will hold up after you run through and make a bunch of repairs. We know the installers made some critical errors where the hollow sounds are today. Based on that I would have no expectation for the rest of the floor to be of sound quality. 

The customer would be foolish to accept repairs and I'm fairly certain that his purchasing of an inspection report by a qualified expert indicates he wants a full replacement.


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## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

If a quality urethane was in fact used (whick Sika more than qualifies) the thing is, once cured its either stuck or it ain't. There's either a holoow spot or there's not. This isn't resilient glue we're talking about here. Once its cured you can put the floor under three feet of water and it ain't gonna make one iota of difference to the adhesive. On the flip side the op will have a helluva time convincing the homeowner of that I'm sure. It doesn't make it less true. There is not an adhesion issue in this floor there is a prep issue. A repair can be made and would last the life of the floor. Getting the customer to accept it is another thing entirely. That doesn't mean he shouldn't try. Again we pretty much agree - I just don't hink he should volunteer a full replacement unless he has to. I could repair that and sleep sound at night no problem.


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## Metro M & L (Jun 3, 2009)

jamestrd said:


> the inspector will just report everything he finds wrong. i dont believe he will offer rectifications..then it wold go back to him if it fails..
> 
> I wouldn't have responded until you have the report to review.
> 
> ...



That is EXACTLY what I was thinking last night. You don't need to worry about the floor you need to get the customer back at the negotiating table.


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## Floormasta78 (Apr 6, 2011)

At this point the only negotiating that I would recommend to avoid seeing a judge is paying for material , that should cost you less than what you charged and call it even..


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