floor covering and design...with a fuzzy side

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Flooring nightmares and how to avoid them


flooring installers, flooring installations, flooring

Prevention is the best medicine

Tips to avoid losing time and money

1. Purchase your flooring from a reputable dealer.  As tempting as it may be to buy that amazing hardwood floor from your sister’s boyfriend’s neighbor, Jed, chances are, if an issue comes up with the flooring, good ol’ Jed isn’t going to stand by his product.  A reputable dealer will have a system in place in the event a manufacturing or installation problem comes up.

2. Avoid the Big Box store bait and switch.  Let’s face it.  Many of the Big Box stores haven’t been around as long as your local floor covering businesses. (Bob Wagner's has been in business in our local community for 39 years)  Most of these multi-generational local businesses have had the same installation crews for years (sometimes decades). Big Box stores also have a tendency to have high turnover among their installation crews.  Many Big Box stores sell the product, ‘recommend’ an installation crew and wipe their hands as they leave you at the mercy of their installers. It doesn’t hurt to ask your salesperson who they, among their installation crews, would have in their home.




3. Background check, please! As a consumer, you have every right to ask that anyone entering your home undergo a criminal background check.  Tip: Make sure that not only the lead installer is background checked but all of his helpers as well.  You want to be certain that every person who steps foot in your house undergoes the same level of  scrutiny when it comes to criminal background checks.



A nice looking outside corner baseboard joint.
4. If something doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.  Most of us like to keep an eye on projects as they progress -especially when we’re talking about projects in our own home.  If you spot something a little off. For example, the carpet doesn’t look the same color as the sample you selected. Tell the installers to stop immediately and get it checked out.  It is much easier to fix a problem BEFORE it is installed in your home and all of your valuables have been put back into that room. Keep an eye out for corner-cutting as well.  Speak up! Poor workmanship should never be accepted.  You should never be able to see the edge of your hardwood flooring peeking out from beneath your baseboard.  All your doors should easily close.  The inside and outside corners where the baseboards come together should be clean and sharp. 

5. OVER communicate.  Know the process.  Ask your salesperson how it will go down.  How long it will take, how many people it will take, what you need to do in your home to prepare.  If it is a dusty job, make sure the installers will put up plastic to avoid covering the entire house with dust.  When the installers get there, go over it again.  Make sure their process matches what the salesperson described.  Verify no steps are missing.  If you're buying hardwood, ask what you should expect with seasonal temperature changes with regard to expansion and contraction.  If anything doesn't seem right, contact your salesperson immediately.

Friday, January 3, 2014

A Room with an Eww! Ugly view photo contest. Win $1000.00 toward window treatments!


We all have them.  Windows with unsightly views.  Be it the side of your neighbor's house, the local Home Depot or a tree house built in the 1970's out of hubcaps, Slinkies and Rubik's Cubes.


Bob Wagner's is happy to announce that the end of your misery may be at hand. Our 'A Room with an Eww' photo contest will provide one lucky winner with a $1000.00 gift certificate for any Hunter Douglas window fashions offered at Bob Wagner's.

Hunter Douglas

Here is how it works:

Send pictures of the view out your naked window(s) to media@bobwagner.com (along with your name and address).   The pictures will be uploaded to our A Room with an Eww Pinterest board. Once you see your photo on our Pinterest board, tell you friends and family to like it.  The three pictures with the most likes will be in the final voting round.  The winner will be chosen from the three pictures in the final voting round.

Click HERE to see our Pinterest board.

When:

We will accept submissions beginning January 10th through March 10th
Winners will be selected notified within 5 business days of March 10th.

Eligibility: 

You must reside within our service area to be eligible for the prize.





Our service areas:

 Questions about whether you reside in our service area?  Visit our website or call the store closest to you.

Middletown, DE
938 Middletown Warwick Road
302-451-9733

West Chester, PA
1330 West Chester Pike
484-319-4976

Downingtown, PA
4531 West Lincoln Highway 
484-653-5285
 
Founder, Bob Wagner and current owner, Matt Wagner
 



Scroll down for official contest rules 
 
 
 
Contest Rules
 
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
 
 1.        Eligibility
            Bob Wagner's Room with an Eww Photo Contest (the Contest) is open to legal residents currently residing within the service area of participating locations who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. Employees of Bob Wagner's Flooring America and other companies associated with the promotion of the Contest, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates and advertising and promotion agencies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
 
 2.        Sponsor
            The Sweepstakes is sponsored by Bob Wagner's Flooring America, located at 4531 W. Lincoln Hwy, Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335.
 
 3.        Agreement to Official Rules
            Participation in the Sweepstakes constitutes entrants full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein.
 
 4.        Contest Period
            The Contest begins on January 10, 2014 at 12:01 EST and ends on March 10, 2014 at 11:59 EST (the Contest Period). Entries that are submitted before or after the Contest Period will be disqualified. Submissions will be accepted for the duration of the Contest using any of the following methods: Online .
 
 5.        How to Enter
Online: This method of entry will be available by visiting our website (http://fuzzysideupblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-room-with-eww-ugly-view-photo-contest.html) and following the directions provided to fill out the entry information, and submit.
 
            Limit one (1) entry per person, per email address, and per household for the duration of the Sweepstakes Period, regardless of method of entry. Entries received from any person, e-mail address, or household in excess of the stated limitation will be void. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.
 
 6.        Prize Drawing
            On or about March 14, 2014, the Sponsor will select potential winners in a random drawing from among all eligible entries received. The odds of being selected depend on the number of entries received. The Sponsor will attempt to notify the potential winner via telephone or email on or about March 14, 2014. If the potential winner cannot be contacted within five (5) days after the date of the first attempt to contact him/her, the Sponsor may select an alternate potential winner in his/her place at random from the remaining non-winning, eligible entries.
 
 7.        Winner Notification
 
            The potential winners will be notified by email, mail or phone. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor will award the applicable prize to an alternate winner by random drawing from among all remaining eligible entries. Only three (3) alternate drawings will be held, after which the prize will remain un-awarded. Prizes will be fulfilled approximately 1-2 weeks after the conclusion of the Sweepstakes.
 
 8.        Prizes
 
            $1000.00 gift card to be used toward Hunter Douglas window fashions available at Bob Wagner's Flooring America.
 
9.         General Conditions
            In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, bug, worm, unauthorized human intervention or other technical problem, or in the event the Contest is unable to run as planned for any other reason, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Sweepstakes in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules or (b) terminate the Sweepstakes and, in the event of termination, award the prize at random from among the eligible, non-suspect entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to damage the website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages (including attorneys fees) and any other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
 
 10.      Release and Limitations of Liability
            By participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, other companies associated with the Sweepstakes, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, representatives, and agents (the Released Parties) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto), including, but not limited to: (a) any technical errors associated with the Contest, including lost, interrupted or unavailable Internet Service Provider (ISP), network, server, wireless service provider, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone, cellular tower or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (b) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (c) mechanical, network, electronic, computer, human, printing or typographical errors; (d)application downloads, (e) any other errors or problems in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors that may occur in the administration of the Contest, the announcement of the winner, the cancellation or postponement of the event and/or the flyover, if applicable, the incorrect downloading of the application the processing of entries application downloadsor in any Contest-related materials; or (f) injury, death, losses or damages of any kind, to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrants participation in the Sweepstakes or acceptance, receipt or misuse of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto). Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the entrant be entitled to receive attorneys fees. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.
 
 11.      Disputes
            Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Sweepstakes or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Pennsylvania. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrants rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with the Sweepstakes, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Pennsylvania, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Pennsylvania.
 
 12.      Privacy
            Information collected from entrants is subject to sponsors privacy policy.
 
 13.      Winner List
            To request the name of the winner send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to 'Room with an eww photo contest' C/O Bob Wagner's 4531 W. Lincoln Hwy. Downingtown PA 19335 Winner List requests will only be accepted after the promotion end date (listed above). For the Winner List, you can also send an email.