Hardwood Flooring Installation Guideline | Introduction
We are very happy to introduce our Hardwood Flooring Information and Installation Guidelines. Following our recommendations will greatly reduce your call backs, and lessen the number of unhappy customers.
Walking the tight rope on every job is not necessary. Simply following our guidelines and passing on the valuable information to your new homeowner will greatly reduce your risk of falling.
Greg and I are certified NWFA Floor Inspectors. When people have an issue with their hardwood flooring (not purchased from Gaylord) they visit www.nwfa.org and contact an inspector in their area. They will contact Greg or myself, and want us to perform an inspection. Being busy running our business, we usually listen to the concerns and explain to them that their issue is normal. We tell them how to correct the situation; and the people thank us. However, occasionally people want a full report; in which case we charge between $700 and $1000. We create a report, compiling all of the contributing scientific facts relating to the issue. If the customer escalates the situation and it turns into legal action, we become the “Expert Witness” and our report is very important.
However, when we have an issue with one of our own floors and explain the same information to builders and homeowners, it is not accepted with the same credibility as the independent inspections we do, which is not fair to us. How can we go from the “Expert Witness” status, to the person that isn’t trusted because it is their product? My point is: the advice we give is very professional and doesn’t change, whether it is or isn’t our hardwood flooring.
We take what we do very seriously and are always upgrading our knowledge base. It is basic simple science. The information is very clear and we are very willing to answer any questions that arise. If you are a builder who is switching to laminate because you are having too many issues with hardwood, it is very likely that you are not following our recommendations. NWFA statistics show that 78% of problems are in newly constructed homes in which 95% are moisture related. The simple solution is to follow our recommendations to get through the new home stage. Laminate is a very short term solution while hardwood will last over 100 years.
Unfortunately, most people selling hardwood flooring are unable to give the necessary professional advice and whenever there is an issue, they pass the problems back to the distributor, who passes them back to the manufacturer and nobody takes the responsibility; you are left with the problem.
Our goal is to produce the best possible product, manufactured within very strict tolerances; above and beyond industry and Tarion standards. At Gaylord, there is a great feeling of pride putting our name on a product that was manufactured and installed by your team. This manual will demonstrate how committed we are in what we do. Please look at us as a partner and professional flooring consultants who will make your job easier and more profitable.
Thank you,
Lewis Gaylord