Ok. Maybe we’ve been a bit strong there. But, unlike many other purchases, with flooring, whether you buy through us, or any other retailer, terms and conditions matter. We spend a great deal of time convincing people to read them. But every now and then somebody doesn’t. And then it has an effect on their dream home.
Buying a floor is not like from ordering from ASOS.
Why? because once a floor is fitted, it’s fitted. You can’t pop into your local Post office and send it back. The consequences of installing the wrong or faulty floor are dramatic, and stressful.
It is not like ordering your new iPhone?
Why? because it’s a natural product. This means you get faulty planks in good batches and this applies to all our floors, whether they are premium floors from France, or products made in Asia.
On the fitting side, we’re often reliant on our clients to project manage. We love our clients dearly, and we try to help them as much as possible, but the reality is many of them haven’t managed building sites before.
We never, ever want to fall out with people, but flooring projects always come at the end of a long building journey, which means stress levels can be off the scale.
To help you reach flooring Nirvana, we’ve put together a list of some of our key terms and conditions. A full list is available on our website – Terms And Conditions.
1. The Installers Responsibility (Supply only)
Every flooring retailer in the world will have a policy that states the installer is to be responsible for fitting the correct floor.
Our wording is as follows –
“It is the installer’s responsibility to carry out a final inspection of the floor prior to installation to ensure the colour, grade, quality, manufacture and finish are acceptable. On average, 1% to 2% of our boards may have a defect on them. This can vary from a crack, to a slightly raised knot. Please, please, make sure the product is checked with the end user, before it is fitted.”
Our wording goes on, but the bottom line is that once the floor is fitted, you can’t change it or make a claim. This all sounds very dramatic. And in truth, it is
Check the floor before it is fitted!
We recently had a client who installed the wrong floor after a batch of flooring was delivered with too many knots, and it was heartbreaking for everyone.
As a small business, you have to stop the liability somewhere, as the costs of replacing floors can get scary.
So, the simple strategy is to make sure you or your installer check the floors before they’re fitted. If we’re fitting the floor, we have more control, but we ask our clients to be onsite the first day of installation. If this is not possible, please ask us to send pictures.
If you’re on holiday, and this is actually when we have most problems, please make sure your installer has clear instructions on the type of finish you are expecting.
2. The rip out into the unknown…(Supply and fit)
At Kite, we’re passionate about fitting floors. This doesn’t make for an easy life, especially in old houses. In fact, the majority of flooring businesses simply supply floors. But fitting floors is in our DNA; we don’t feel you can give great advice without knowing how to fit.
At Kite, we work with a lot of old properties, and if we’re removing old floors, such as carpet, tiles, laminates, solid floors, or even skirting, there is always an unknown lurking beneath.
This is really tricky for customers to get their heads around, because they want an exact price before we start work. But that’s not possible. These additional costs, can include extra subfloor work, such as securing floor boards, filling in holes, or levelling work. The worst case, is when we discover a floor so uneven that structural work has to be done. Damp can also be discovered, especially in basement flats. We always try to talk through the different scenarios with clients prior to removing floors, but sometimes, even we are surprised.
So, if you have a rip out on your project, please prepare for the unexpected.
3. You can’t fight chemistry! Dry times and humidity.
Wood is a natural product that picks up moisture, so site conditions have to be stable for fitting. This means no excess humidity or excessive temperatures; a Relative Humidity (RH) between 40% and 65% and a temperature of between 18 and 22 degrees are ideal conditions. If we are laying on a concrete screed, the moisture content must be less than 4% (if we are using our Tramex moisture tests).
We have a survey team that inspects properties prior to installation, and it’s binary. The site will either pass or fail. And if the site fails, we have to delay, which is never fun when kitchens and decorators are booked to come in afterwards.
Factors that cause high RH readings, are windows not being fitted, heating not being on, and plastering being done late. Moisture content in screed will be affected by humidity, the type of screed, airflow in the property, the depth of screed, and whether the underfloor heating system has been commissioned (it must be turned on and off gradually before we fit a floor). We have had scenarios where the heating is off, the windows aren’t in, and the screed simply does not dry.
“We’ve used a special type of screed” is a comment we often get from builders, but, if the drying conditions aren’t right, the product will not dry.
4. “Our builders will sort the subfloor”
This is another phrase we hear often. There are very strict guidelines within the British Standards 8201 around what is allowable in subfloors (which is the structural surface we fit our floor to). As we’re the ones fitting the floor we’re inevitably strict on these conditions (and if you’re builder isn’t fitting he can be slightly…..lassaiz faire…).
Whilst we’ve already covered that the floor must be dry, it also needs to be;
-Solid, so no movement or squeaking. It’s very common for contractors to use particle board or OSB panels for the subfloor instead of plywood. For glue down flooring, such as Herringbone, this is a no no; it does not have the same stability. Structural Plywood securely screwed down, must be used, or a levelling compound if the floor is concrete.
Please don’t use this for your subfloor!
-Flat, with no dips. The golden rule is that there must be less than 3mm deviation across a 2m rule. It doesn’t necessarily have to be completely level, as long as you know that’s how the floor will be after your new flooring is installed.
-Clean and clear; no leftover tile adhesive, dust, or debris. Also, heavy items, such as furniture or tools removed.
There can sometimes be a little wiggle room in these rules, if we’re told in advance, but one of the messiest conversations we have to have is when a client has paid a builder to prepare the subfloor, and it then fails our test.
If in doubt, get Kite to do the subfloor.
5. Other trades on site
We get it. Your project is delayed. Costs have overrun. You’re paying for rental accommodation elsewhere. The kitchen company is booked for a certain date. Other trades are always pushing to get things completed so they can move onto the next job. Ahhhhhhhh………….
Flooring always comes at the end, so stress levels are at their highest. But you cannot fit a floor if people are walking on it. This may sound obvious, but when you are gluing a parquet, especially Herringbone, the slightest movement will throw the whole thing out, and you have to redo it.
And then who pays for that?
At Kite, we try and be as flexible as possible, and there are scenarios where we can work around other trades if we have prior notice, but the default position is we need a clear site. If our fitters turn up, and that’s not the case, we have to charge cancellation fees.
6. And finally, Transition or Door Bars
Where you have a floor running into another surface, you almost always have to leave an expansion gap; the wood will expand when it picks up moisture in humid months, and shrink when you turn on your heating. At Kite, we try to keep door bar use to an absolute minimum, and our profiles are the thinnest on the market, but we still have to use them.
We do get clients who request “flush finishes,” where the timber is fitted tight to a surface. We also get clients who request metal door bars or metal inlays. Common scenarios where this is requested is where the wood runs into patio doors, full length windows in modern apartments, or transitions into tiles in open spaces.
These transitions are possible, but any special requests must be flagged with us well in advance of the installation, and ideally for a second time on the first day of installation.
Miscommunication is so easy on our projects, especially as we often confirm them months in advance. Once a standard expansion gap is left, and the floor is fitted, it’s very hard to rectify.
So there you have it, our six most common terms and conditions, that if you read and action them, you’ll have a smooth installation. Don’t read them, and we may fall out. And we really, really don’t want to do that.
If you want to read our full terms and conditions, these are listed here – Full Terms and Conditions
Happy Project Planning.
For more key reading, here are some of our other blogs –
