Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In 2015 my contractor purchased flooring that I had picked out from ************************************. The flooring is Trend brand flooring, a product from Jaeckle Distributing. The flooring has warped very bad all around the edges of the 12" x 24" tiles. The flooring is installed as a floating floor. The rep from Jaeckle claims my floor is not flat but they cannot prove that at the time it was installed that it was not flat. Their installation says it only allows 1/16" in 4 ft. for it to be under warranty. Not many new homes over the years meet that criterion. Basically, their warranty is not worth the paper it is written on. I have been fighting this issue for several years to no avail. I have to have my floor replaced because it is warped so bad. The rep has determined that he will not bring in an impartial flooring person to look at the flooring because it can cost Jaeckle $500 to $800 to have him come out. He is the one who determines whether to call in this person or not. Of course, he isn't going to spend the money because it may prove him wrong. ************************* will not help with this issue either even though the flooring was bought from them. Even after I requested that they give me, in writing, why they will not warranty the flooring, they still have yet to give me the answer in writing.

  Business response

  04/11/2022

  Hi ****, please see the response to Complaint ID ********:

   

  The reason that this isnt covered under warranty is that the floor over which the product was installed is far outside the deflection (levelness) tolerances for a floating *** product. We were not involved in the installation, but we did go to the customers home to inspect the issue. The results of the floor deflection measurement showed a half-inch variance over a six-foot length which is far outside of the tolerances for performance for any *** floor. The customer is correct in saying that it cant be proved that there was a half-inch deflection at the time of installation because we werent involved in the installation and werent there. Nor can it be proved that the deflection didnt exist at the time of installation. But when the deflection occurred isnt relevant. The fact that there is a half-inch deflection, no matter when it occurred, is the main reason for these issues. Further, there was a carpet transition nailed into one side of the floor (over the top of the ***** A floating floor like this will certainly handle minor deflection because the nature of being a floating floor allows it to move with normal house settling. The fact that one side of it had been nailed removes the qualities of it being a floating floor which means that the floor no longer was able to move as intended. This will absolutely cause a warping problem, especially when combined with significant deflection. While the nailing likely made the problem worse, with or without the nailing, a half-inch deflection isnt minor and isnt going to allow the floor to perform as intended over time.

   

  Ive attached a picture of the deflection measurement straight-edge that shows the half-inch deflection (for reference, there are four 1/8 thick measuring pieces that fit underneath the straight-edge, showing the half-inch deflection). The warping of the *** floor is due to this significant deflection over a short-length (and certainly made worse by the nailing down of one area). This is not a manufacturing issue, rather its a site-conditions issue (deflection) and an installation issue (nailing through a part of the installed ***, thereby no longer allowing it to float).

  Customer response

  04/11/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Please type your response here.]

  Their warranty is of no value since most houses will settle some over the years and a floating floor should move with the house settling.  The couple of short areas that are nailed should not affect the entire floor even in rooms where it is not nailed.  Also the picture of the straight edge only shows one end and not what it was resting on the far right end of the straight edge. I feel that their warranty is of no use as written and they will find any excuse they can to not warranty the flooring.  I think it comes down to false statements as the warranty is useless that at some point in time the floor will fail according to the way the warranty is written and they will never cover the flooring under warranty.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  04/14/2022

  Houses do certainly settle and this product performs exceptionally with normal settling. But a half inch depression "bowl" in the floor isn't normal settling. Regarding the nailing, the installation of the product was contiguous so any nailing of any part of it is likely to cause problems throughout the full area, not just near the nailed part. The specific manufacturing run of this material was tens of thousands of feet with zero failures except for this one where the floor dipped a half an inch over a span of 6-8 feet. That's too significant of unevenness for any floating LVT to handle (especially when part of it was nailed down). This is a site-conditions and installation issue, not a manufacturing defect.

  Customer response

  04/14/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Please type your response here.]

  They are saying that nailing some areas of the floor also caused the problem.  Heavy pieces of furniture also would cause the same effect not allowing the floor to move.  They are still looking at every excuse not to warranty the floor.  The floor is designed to move with the fluctuations in the floor but this flooring failed.  We have several other rooms with floating floor and do not have the problem that we are having with their flooring.  Did they give proof that they have not had any other problems with the flooring?  Also rooms with the same flooring, away from the main area of problem are also warping.  What is their excuse for that?
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩