7 easy steps to prevent a flooring installation nightmare

It may seem like a no-brainer but it happens more often than you think. The wrong flooring is installed in your home.  It could be the wrong color.  It could be the wrong style.  It could be the wrong product. (you ordered carpet and they installed hardwood) Perhaps you have flooring installed (most often the installation is supervised by someone other than the person who selected the floor) while you are out and when you get home you realize the flooring is not what you selected.

How could this happen?

For clarity's sake we are going to say the product selected was carpet (but it could happen with any product)

Real quickly; all flooring products have a style name and style number, a color name and color number.  Example: Woodside II (style name) 52Y17 (style number) Cadet (color name) 00402 (color number)

Let's say you want Woodside II, color Uniform #404 and they installed something else

What could go wrong:

1. The sample board was labeled wrong (The color Uniform was labeled with the color #402 which is Cadet)
2. The salesperson wrote down the wrong color/SKU #

• They wrote Uniform, #402 (wrong #)
• Cadet, #404 (wrong name)
• or even Cadet, #402 (both wrong)

3. The mill sent the wrong color (Cadet #402) , yet labeled it with the correct information (Uniform #404)
4. The mill sent the wrong color (Cadet #402), labeled it correctly yet the receiving warehouse did not catch the wrong color and it was given to the installer.
5. The warehouse gave a completely different carpet (both style and color) to the installer.
6. The installer removed carpet for another job from their van and installed it in your house.
7. Your husband/wife told the installer to put the carpet in the wrong room.

Below is what a sample board usually looks like.  The style name is at the top (Woodside II) and the color information is typically written above, beneath or behind (if the sample is removable) each color.  Easy to confuse with color information all over the place, right?

I've put two examples of the same style but different colors below.  The colors are positioned one on top of the other on the board.  If the colors are labeled just above or just below, this mistake can happen quite easily.

Prevention tactics:

1. If the board you selected from was labeled incorrectly, there isn't anything you can do.  The carpet manufacturer should, without hesitation, replace your carpet.  Sometimes they will offer a financial incentive to keep the carpet but don't let them pressure you into accepting something you didn't want.


2. If the salesperson wrote down the wrong color or style#, there IS something you can do.  Confirm before you sign.  Any reputable flooring retailer will 'write up' your order and ask you to sign off on it.  This is the copy that goes to the purchasing department.  In other words, this the information they use to place your order.  Before you sign, make sure the information is correct.  Not only correct, make sure it is neat.  You can always blame it on your eyesight if you don't want to tell your salesperson your first-grader has better handwriting.  Sometimes a sloppily written order can result in the wrong product being purchased from the manufacturer. DO NOT SIGN until you confirm ALL the SKU/style/color numbers and names match the sample from which you selected.  If the sample is wrong, it's on the manufacturer.  If the order is wrong, it's on...you?  Maybe -especially if you signed off on it.

3. Number three seems like something you couldn't avoid because it is the manufacturer's fault.  There is, however, a way to keep this incorrect product from being installed.  Ask your salesperson for a sample of your product.  Keep it until the installation date.  When the installers arrive, check your sample against the material they are about to install.  If they don't match, stop the installation. It is ALWAYS easier to handle an issue BEFORE it is installed.

4. As a customer, you can't control what happens in the warehouse before the install.  Prevention tactic #3 will keep the product from being installed and enable the problem to be quickly solved.

5. See prevention tactic #4

6. Make sure you match up your sample to the product the installer is bringing into your home as soon as possible.  If possible, don't let them take it out of their van.  Walk your sample out and confirm it in your driveway if you can.  If it is a simple matter of grabbing the wrong product, this will be quickly remedied.

7. Give the sample you've gotten from your salesperson to whoever is overseeing the project and make sure they compare it to the product the installers bring into your home.  If they don't do this, shame on them.  This entitles you to at least six months of 'I told you sos', a shopping spree or even a vacation. 

Take-away's:

• Confirm what your salesperson has written on your order matches the sample.
• Make sure it is neat.
• Always get a sample of the product you've ordered to keep on hand for the installation.  If the salesperson says you can't have one, go somewhere else.  A reputable flooring retailer will be able to get you a sample if they don't want to part with the sample on their showroom floor.  It may take a few days but the mill will send samples of products for free if an order is on the line. 

Want more like this?


What's wrong with my carpet?  A little knowledge can avoid a lot of aggravation.

The secret to preventing your wood floors from failing.

7 ways to make your carpet last longer.

What's wrong with my carpet? A little knowledge can avoid a lot of aggravation.

bad seam, good seam

 Have you recently had carpet installed and the seam stands out?  Perhaps there is even a color difference at the seam?  If you can't locate your seams, it probably means you've had a great installation. 

where is the seam?

Fact: the majority of seam related issues are installation related -meaning the installer made a mistake.  Today I'm going to discuss just one reason why your carpet may may not look quite right.  It may look like it is two completely different colors or the seam may be very obvious and you're not sure why.  Oftentimes it is a result of the carpet direction.  Specifically, the direction of the fibers (known as pile direction in the industry).

Carpet fibers naturally lay in one direction. When you brush your foot across the fibers they look like they darken but it is simply the fibers laying another direction and refracting light differently. When you vacuum, you can make your carpet look striped by letting the beater bar turn up the fibers every-other pass.

Vacuum lines

It is because the fibers lay in the same direction that an installer must pay attention to this direction when putting in your carpet. When there are two adjoining rooms or rooms that require seams (the room size is wider than the width of the carpet, the direction of the carpet is paramount.

When carpet is cut to room size and the balance is being used to complete the room or cover an adjoining room or space, noting direction is essential.

If the direction is reversed, the color of the adjoining carpets may look completely different (because of that light refracting thing) and the seam will stand out like a sore thumb.
 

If the direction is turned 45 degrees, not only do you have the fiber direction issue but you also now need to fill on both sides adding two seams that don't need to be there.  When it comes to carpet, the fewer seams, the better.

Below is an example of a proper installation.  The direction is the same, the seam is not visible.

There are times when the carpet is installed correctly and there is a color difference from one side of the seam to the other.  This is a manufacturing defect that I will touch on later.  Now that you know about fiber direction, keep an eye on your carpet install and make sure it lays correctly.

The secret to choosing a wood floor that's right for you

Are you considering purchasing a wood floor?
Do you have a wood floor and wonder why it scratches so easily?
Did you know there is a universal hardness rating scale for wood floors?

It’s called the Janka rating. (See below for a Janka rating scale) The Janka rating assigns a numeric value to wood species based on the Janka Hardness Test.
The test measures the force required to embed a .444” steel ball into a sample of wood half of its diameter.

The industry benchmark is Red Oak, which has a rating of 1290. The relative hardness of all other wood species are compared to this benchmark.

Red Oak -1290

Okay, what does that mean?

We all know the harder the wood, the more durable, more resistant to scratches, longer life, etc. So the question is, how hard is your floor? To know that you first have to determine the species.

Red oak makes up roughly 37% of all wood floors installed in the United States. Why? Red oak is a domestic product and, compared to nearly every other domestic, it is more common (cheaper) and has a higher Janka rating (1290).

A few examples of other domestic species with higher Janka ratings are:

White Oak -1360

Maple -1450

Hickory -1820

Each of these has a different look than Red Oak, which factors into its popularity along with, obviously, cost (all are less common compared to Red Oak).

A very common domestic hardwood seen in many older homes is Yellow Pine -690-870 (depending on what part of the tree the wood was taken from). Yellow pine is extremely soft. A dog’s nails will scratch grooves into Yellow Pine very easily.

Yellow Pine -690-870

An increasingly popular choice for wood flooring is bamboo, which is a grass, not a wood. Bamboo is very hard -1650 because of how it is manufactured. We have an entire blog post about bamboo manufacturing. I’ll put the link at the bottom. I’ve seen staples bend during the installation of strand woven bamboo flooring.

Bamboo -1650

Other popular imported high Janka rating species are:

Santos Mahogany -2200

Brazilian Cherry -2820

Brazilian Teak -3450

Hardness should play a large part when considering what type of wood floor you are going to purchase. Questions you should ask yourself:

• What kind of traffic will my floor get? (Kids, dogs, commercial etc.)
• Am I willing to live with scratches in the floor (sometimes they can add to the character)
• What can I afford?
• How long do I want my new floor to last?

Finally, the beauty of wood floors (and even bamboo in some instances) is they can be sanded and refinished giving your floor a completely new or different look. A quality wood floor should last as long as the house around it.

A very cool time-lapse video of a floor sanding and refinishing:

The Janka Rating scale

Learn more about how bamboo floors are made.

Where does cork flooring come from and how is it made?

This magnificent tree is called the cork oak tree (Quercus suber).  It typically grows in Northern Africa and Western Europe (namely Portugal and Spain).  This is where cork flooring (and all other cork) comes from.


Every nine years, the outer bark of the trunk and major branches is carefully stripped by hand using a specialized cork axe to remove the outer bark from the tree. Removal of the bark is always done by hand due to the sensitive nature of the removal. Below is a photo of a stripped cork tree.

A cork oak must be 15-25 years old (depending on who you ask) before the first harvest and typically sees 12-13 harvestings in its lifetime.  The bark is harvested in the summer months because the heat and humidity make the cork more pliable.  

Here are two great videos of the harvesting process. (I couldn't choose between the two -they're both very good.)







Once the bark is harvested, it is laid out to dry for several months. 

The cork is then boiled to clean and soften the planks.  The rough outer layer is removed.The best material in the slabs are used for bottle stopper corks (wine corks).

What is left over (the 'scraps') are ground up, mixed with a non-toxic resin binder and molded into large blocks.  The size of the granules and the shape of the grain both play a role in the look and function of the cork.

cork scraps

The blocks are baked in ovens which increases cork's durability as well as changes the color of the cork depending on the length of the bake. The longer the bake, the darker the cork.  The blocks can then be cut to size depending on the end use.

Flooring can be left naturally colored or it can be stained just like a hardwood floor.

The great thing about the cork granules is each one takes up stain differently, just like hardwood floor graining, resulting in some beautiful color patterns.

One feature of cork flooring most people don't know is it can be screened and re-coated many times (just like a solid hardwood floor).  This means once you install your cork floor, you don't have to live with the color forever.  Simply contact a floor refinishing company and they will come screen (remove the top layer, including the stain), stain and re-seal your floor.

Other cool benefits of cork flooring:

• Can be used over radiant heat systems
• Can be installed on uneven surfaces
• Can be installed over existing flooring systems such as wood or linoleum
• Excellent material to be used on retrofitted buildings
• Natural insulation material
• Great performance under heavy furnishings
• Can be used as underlayment layer for ceramic, wood or stone
• Superior sound attenuation characteristics
• Warm, soft underfoot yet durable

So, cork truly is a green product.

• It is harvested from trees without killing them.  
• It is sustainable -can harvest numerous times from a single tree.  
• The flooring recycled from the wine cork scraps.  
• It can be resurfaced several times.

Below is one last video that does a great job of explaining the flooring manufacturing process from post-harvest to end product.  Worth a look for sure!




 If you have any questions about cork flooring, which types of cork floors Bob Wagner's carries, feel free to contact us. 



References:

Cork institute of America

Real Cork Floors
Wineanorak (a super-cool online wine magazine)
MDPI (peer-reviewed, open access journals)

7 ways to make your carpet last longer

Everyone wants to get more for their money -this includes their flooring.  Flooring can be expensive to replace so taking steps to keep it looking its best for as long as possible can be a big money saver.  It will also add to the beauty of the room.    Shawn McCully, owner of Dedicated Cleaning Systems, LLC, has been in the carpet cleaning business since 2007 and knows his stuff when it comes to keeping them looking their best.  Here are 7 great tips for extending the life of your carpet from a true expert.

1. Vacuum...often 


  How often?  There are varying schools of thought on this.  Some say once a week, some say once a week but hit the high-traffic areas twice.  Some say once per week per adult and dog (2 adults, 2 dogs =4 times/week)
The answer: 

• No kids, no pets: once a week.  
• Kids, no pets: twice a week. 
• Pets, no kids, 2-3 times per week. 
• Kids and pets, 3-4 times per week.

2. Check your shoes at the door(s)

Everyone drags in loads of dirt from the outside on their feet.  It is unavoidable.  The best way to stop it; take off your shoes.  There are tons of super cool ways to store you and your guest's shoes.  Check out this pallet shoe rack bench constructed from an old shipping pallet.  Have you visited Etsy.com?  You'll find loads of storage products all hand-made by artisans.  If you have more than one entry, you'll want more than one place to store those shoes.  You may even consider a witty 'take off your shoes at the door' sign. (lots of them on Etsy also)

3. Get a door mat(s)

It may seem like an obvious suggestion, however the type of door mat plays a very important role.  Don't go cheap when it comes to door mats.  The cheap ones will eventually add to the dirt in the house because they only wipe off what's on the surface of your shoes and leave it there for the next person to track in.  Amazon has a decent selection of these. 


A quality door mat is usually made of some type of rubber material, has several layers of looped fibers and can be cleaned using a garden hose.  They 'trap' dirt within the looped fibers rather than leaving it on the surface.
If you're particularly neurotic when it comes to keeping your flooring clean, have two mats per door.  Use the rubber, dirt trapping mat outside and a softer, absorbent mat inside.  The one thing the rubber mat will not remove from your shoes is water so, on a rainy or snowy day, you can wipe the dirt off your shoes outside then wipe the water off inside...the one-two punch.



4. Have your carpets professionally cleaned at least once per year


A professional carpet cleaning using a truck-mounted hot water extraction system every year (sometimes more depending on...kids, pets, etc.) will extend the life and luster of your carpet more than any single suggestion on the list (except for the vacuuming).
Why specifically truck-mounted hot water extraction? Heat and suction! Portable cleaning units don't come close to generating the amount of heat required to get a good cleaning and once that solution has done its work, you need lots of suction to extract the water otherwise your carpets will be wet for days.
Tips: Ask your cleaning professional to pre-spray any stains and apply Scotchguard (or other spray-on protector) after the cleaning.  The cleaning itself will remove the protector that was most likely applied to your carpet at the mill.  Last thing: Make sure they rake the protector into your carpet otherwise it will only cling to the top of the fibers.

Yes, they make such a thing as a carpet rake.

5. Make sure you are vacuuming properly

Vacuuming technique

Yes, there is a right way to vacuum and a wrong way to vacuum and it makes a BIG difference. (Great instructional video below.)
There is a technique to getting up as much dirt as possible when vacuuming.  For each up and back stroke, one should overlap that stroke by about 50% -essentially vacuuming that area twice.  As you move from left to right (or right to left) you would take your first stroke twice then shift away from the edge by about 50% each stroke.

Also, don't be afraid to use the handheld extension.  This is a very important part of vacuuming.  Make sure to get the edges and anywhere a vacuum cannot reach with the extension bar.

Stairs:
Stairs are a different animal altogether.  To properly vacuum your stairs you need to make two passes.  First with the vacuum (if if is light enough to manage) and second with the extension bar.  Just pass over the tread (the flat part of the steps) with the vacuum.  This is important because you want the beater-bars to work up the fibers.  The second pass, use the extension bar and a flat headed attachment if you have one. Vacuum the edges, the riser and the lip of the stairs, then run the attachment over the lip a few times working up these fibers.
Why all the fuss with the stairs?  Stairs are typically the first area of carpet to wear because of the high traffic. (see the nasty stairs photo above if you don't believe me)  The center of a set of stairs fall victim to the most abuse because that's where people walk so extra attention is required.  Running the attachment over the lip several times will lift the fibers and help prevent premature wear.

6. Clean up stains right away

This one is kind of a no-brainer but still needs to be said.  As soon as you see a stain, clean it.  If you don't know how you should clean whatever it is that has stained your carpet, check online or call your local professional.  There are tons of stain removing resources online.  Scotchguard has a handy stain removal guide right HERE. The faster you address a stain, the more likely it is to come out.


7. Booties

If you can't get them to take off their shoes, make them wear booties.  This solution is handy for contractors and other folks who come into your home and aren't used to removing their shoes.  The booties will contain the dirt and keep your carpets looking newer longer.

 



Other suggestions...

These suggestions didn't make the top seven (some for obvious reasons) but or worthy of a mention if only for a chuckle.

• Put booties on your dog
• Send your kids to boarding school
• Send the pets with your kids to boarding school
• Set up an elaborate system of zip-lines so you don't ever have to set foot on your carpet

 And for the future...

Don't buy light carpet.  Regardless of how neurotic you are about keeping it clean IT WILL get dirty faster than a darker color.

What's under my flooring and why it matters when you are replacing it.

Cracked cement can cause issues if not treated properly.

When you're replacing your flooring a professional measurer/estimator will want to know what is under the existing flooring.  When the flooring professionals you hire send someone to measure your floor, be sure to ask what's under the existing floor.  This will force them to take a look (If they're good, they will have already looked) and save you potentially major issues on the actual installation day.

Which room and floor of your home (basement, first, etc.) you are replacing your flooring can impact what may be lurking beneath the existing flooring. In the picture above, the poured concrete basement was cracked.  Chances are if the floor was covered (by an existing floor or something else) an estimator would easily miss something like this.  Estimators typically pull up a small section of existing flooring to see what's underneath, which means there could be issue-causing problems where they didn't look.

Something is missing here...

In this photo, there was an existing vinyl floor.  The estimator pulled back the vinyl and saw a sound looking subfloor.  On the day of the installation, they removed the vanity only to discover the original builder did not put any subfloor over the plumbing beneath the vanity.  Making this floor installable isn't a huge undertaking but if the installers aren't planning on patching subfloor, they most likely don't have the right materials to do so which will delay your installation.  Could this have been avoided?  Probably not.  Estimators don't pull out cabinets when checking the subfloor.

Other issues that could be hiding under your existing floor:

Not good...water damage from a leaky ice maker line

Water damage -this is usually found beneath or around the refrigerator, sink, washer or other water-using appliance.  This photo shows what water damage looks like. You can see the damage goes through the existing floor, the underlayment and the subfloor.  A repair will require tearing this floor down to the joists and building it back up level to the existing, undamaged subfloor.  This will not be an inexpensive repair and will push back the installation by days.

Something just isn't right....

Un-level subfloor.  Check out this photo.  See how much the floor drops?  Installing many products over this would be a nightmare.  Repairing the floor so you can install flooring over it can vary depending on the size of the area needing leveled.  It could range from a few bags of self-leveler to a cement truck and an entire re-pour.  

Nails cause issues!

Nails!  Yes, a nail that isn't hammered completely into the subfloor can be a nightmare.  Not only does it make a squeaky floor a good possibility but even if it is up a millimeter above the surface of the floor, it can cause the replacement floor major issues.  When the installers are prepping the floor, they should be sure all nails are hammered in.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  In the end it is best to make sure your estimator/measurer looks beneath the existing floor when they are measuring the room in order to allow for repairs if need be.  Nobody has x-ray vision but most issues can be caught before the day of installation. 

At Bob Wagner's, we send our best measurers and estimators to insure your installation goes off without a hitch.