The 10 costliest mistakes people make when buying a new floor By John Gayan, Grandview Flooring - Vernon BC 1.- Shopping on price alone is not enough It takes time to manufacture a quality hardwood floor, it takes both people and resources, there are no short cuts. So than why are there so many "discount" floors in the big box stores or some flooring outlet stores. They claim to bypass the middle man, or to buy in a large quantities, this may be true, but it would still only account to be less than 5%. So the question is; why are there prices that are even 30% less than comparable flooring from a reputable hardwood flooring distributor. There is only one answer, inferior quality and no matter what other claims those retailers might make, that is indeed the bottom line. Look at the next point, why "cheap might just be too expensive" 2.- Hardwood flooring is a permanent installation Hardwood flooring is not disposable or short term floor covering, such as carpeting or sheet vinyl. Good quality hardwood, if properly maintained, will outlast several generations of occupants and continue increasing in value, as the market value of the home goes up. It is called intrinsic value, and only materials like granite or marble are said to fall into that category. So there is some serious flaw, with the logic of installing inferior, cheap product, that is to be in that house for a long long time. It will not be just, that the milling, drying and the grade of the wood will be poor, but most importantly the finish on the surface is most likely poor as well. And to have a brand new floor refinished after only a few months (yes a few months, we have seen it), will add an additional $4.5 - $5.5 a square foot, so where are your savings then. 3.- The surface coating on top of the hardwood is your floor In most cases, the wood is not your floor (with the exception of oiled finished floors), the wood is just what you look at and it is what holds up, supports your floor. The real flooring, the surface that is subjected to wear and abrasions is the coating that is on top of the hardwood floor. Either the site applied, as in custom sanded floors, or more commonly now, factory prefinished hardwood flooring. This is something, I can not emphasize enough to my clients; "fall in love with your wood, but buy your finish." If the surface coating fails to live up to normal wear and use, it matters not how hard the wood is, your floor is gone and it must be refinished. We had a case of a costumer buying an Ipe (ironwood) flooring from another retail store and they called us because the finish was flaking and wearing off, all over, after only a few months after install. We were asked to refinish it, we refused, the finish was heavy metal contaminated (25 -30 ppm Lead). Refinishing it would have created a toxic work environment and spread contaminates throughout the house. - 4.- Hardwood from unregulated sources, heavy metal contamination Unfortunately there is no global watch dog, to prevent some countries and manufacturers to bring unto the market, not just poor quality, but down right dangerous products. It wasn't just the toy industry that suffered with lead contaminated products, the hardwood flooring is if anything even worse. The simple fact is, that the technology overseas, in the myriad of small unregulated mills is very primitive and behind what is available in the western developed countries...sometimes as much as 30 or even more years behind ours. As there was lead and even arsenic used in the manufacture of varnishes and paints 30 years ago in North America, so it is used in much of the overseas market today. The cost of setting up a modern manufacturing plant, with high end finishing equipment is far beyond the capacity of an average mill, be it in China or other hardwood flooring producing nation. Also they do not have such stringent government regulations (if any), such as EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), as we have here in North America. But they do flood the western markets with a ton of "cheap" flooring. The price tag to decontaminate a house from heavy metal dust (as a result of somebody unknowingly sanding such a floor), starts at $60,000. 5.- Lower grades, shorts, mixed species in one batch Another problem with unregulated industry is that there is no quality or grading standards, such as we have here in North America. So just because it may say Maple on the box, it doesn't mean that it would be the rock hard North American Maple (Acer Saccharum), in fact it might not be Maple at all, but some other totally unrelated and much softer species. Another thing is, quality hardwood floors should have random length boards, where some of them are longer to structurally bridge and tie in the shorter lengths, to create a sound, tight field. But some manufacturers will box up and sell "trim outs", short pieces, that the mill trimmed out because of flaws, during the manufacturing process of a real graded floor. Unfortunately some retailers will sell you this kind of the floor, assuring you it is quality Canadian made, without disclosing the whole truth. 6.- Warranty, The real "goods". If you actually read the warranty disclaimers from some of the manufacturers, the warranty becomes void if you take the product out of their box, no I am not making this up. And another favorite trick some of these "cheap" flooring manufacturers or distributors use is they will change their company name, periodically, so they are no longer available to deal with any outstanding claims against them. But a good reputable company will stand behind their product and will do everything possible to satisfy the customer. And one more thing, any retail store that will offer only a 30 day warranty, or even a one year warranty on their installation, something that is to be a permanent floor is sending a very loud message that they care more about the sale than the satisfaction of their customers. - 7.- Site preparation and installation I have been repeatedly called out to the hardwood flooring installs, where there we problems with site preparation. Be it either, inadequate or none at all, sub floor leveling, so the wood crunches and rocks over dirt or uneven plywood seams. Poor nailing practices, compressor pressure too high or too low, too few fasteners. Insufficient use of adhesive, to reinforce the perimeters, borders or transitions. Not starting in the middle of the room and reversing the run in both directions. Inadequate undercutting of the door jambs, or none at all. Installing the boards to run parallel to the joists, without additionally sub floor reinforcing and the list goes on. But by far the biggest installation problems are the ones that have to deal with moisture. 8.- Most of the problems are moisture related problems The wood is in it's most stable state at around 38% moisture content (that of a living, growing tree). Obviously, that is far too wet for any indoor use, be it structural or finishing lumber. In the Okanagan, the stabilized moisture content of any hardwood flooring will be at around 6% -8% (in Vancouver it would be about 1.5% - 2% higher). This will fluctuate with seasonal changes, especially if the people do not have a humidifier installed on their furnace. It is absolutely critical that the person installing the flooring does all the necessary moisture readings, prior to starting the job. The readings should include, not just testing the hardwood and the sub-floor, but also the relative humidity at the time when the wood was delivered to the job site, as well as when it was being installed. Moisture of the basement and the concrete slab, as well as any anomalies noted. There should be a 30 point check list, filled out and verified, by the installer. Some companies will not even consider looking at any warranty claims, unless such check lists are available. The kiln drying process of hardwood is highly critical to the over all performance of the floor, if done incorrectly there could be many hidden flaws, such as cell honey-combing (the wood was blown apart), or uneven drying. We have come across an imported flooring where the moisture reading fluctuated from 6% to as much as 22% in the same box (maximum allowable fluctuation is 3%). 9.- Cleaning and maintenance problems Hardwood floors, depending on the type, all have different cleaning methods and cleaning products, no you can't use your tile or vinyl cleaner on hardwood, nor water and vinegar. Improper maintenance may make your finish in time turn too yellow, or cloudy (opaque), or worst, fracture the surface ( your real floor) and cause deep fiber damage. 10.- Indifference of the salesman to the client's needs It is difficult to learn all there is to know about hardwood, it is unlike any other floor covering. Hardwood is a dynamic, constantly reacting material and to treated as if it were an inert object, will lead to problems down the road. We encourage you to buy your permanent hardwood flooring only from qualified experts, specialists that have been trained and certified to guide you in making that investment. We are such professionals and have the years of experience and training, and most of all integrity.