In the second part of his guide to flooring inspections, Richard Renouf explains why evidence, standards and manufacturer guidance matter more than opinions when assessing complaints and identifying genuine faults
ONE of the most controversial phrases in the world of business is ‘The customer is always right’. No-one is sure who first used it, and there are several possible candidates going back to the very early 20th century, and no-one can agree what the phrase is, with variations ranging from ‘assume that the customer is right until it’s plain beyond all question that he’s not’ to ‘the customer is always right in matters of taste’, or there’s a French version ‘Le client n’a jamais tort’ – the customer is never wrong.
Whether or not this makes a good business policy is open for debate, but it cannot be the mantra of someone going to look at a flooring complaint. The most common circumstances where a third-party inspector is used to assess a complaint are:
- When the contractor doesn’t know whether the complaint is valid or not.
- The contractor knows it’s okay but wants a third party to say this to avoid conflict with the client.
- The client won’t accept the contractor’s opinion and so a third party is called in.
Imagine the outcome in each case if it was assumed ‘The customer is always right’!
So how do we assess any job? We need something we can compare it with, or something we can point to that shows what’s acceptable and what isn’t.
The most helpful benchmarks for this are the manufacturer’s instructions for each of the products used, British Standards and any other applicable Standards, and industry guidelines. Let’s take a look at each of these.
Almost all flooring products come with instructions. Adhesives and compounds usually have a summary printed on the bag, tub or container and flooring products may have a summary on the packaging.
Further detailed information is available online in the form of technical and safety data sheets, fitting instructions and other references specific to the particular product. It’s very common, when complaints arise, to find these have been ignored.
Manufacturer’s instructions often refer to British Standards and so the two are the same, but where instructions differ from British Standards, it’s the instructions that matter. If they have stricter requirements than the Standard these must be complied with, and where the manufacturer believes their product doesn’t need one or more of the British Standard requirements, the manufacturer’s requirements are the ones to follow.
So what are British Standards? These are guidelines and codes of practice drawn up by the industry and kept under review and they cover products and processes such as installation.
They’re not drawn up by people with no knowledge of our industry, the BSI committees for flooring Standards are made up of experienced people from the industry who have good understanding of their subject area and each Standard has its own committee so guidelines aren’t being drawn up by people who only have partial knowledge and experience.
Trade bodies, like the Contract Flooring Association, are also represented on relevant Standards so they can get the views of their members when new drafts are circulated for comment (a good reason to belong, there are many more).
Manufacturers use British Standards when designing their products and when carrying out testing for quality assurance. Flooring contractors should be aware of the Codes of Practice for installation.
The main ones to be aware of are: - BS 5325: 2021 Installation of textile floorcoverings – Code of practice
This covers the installation of carpets, carpet tiles and other textile flooring products. - BS 8201: 2011 Code of practice for installation of flooring of wood and wood-based panels
This covers the installation of solid and engineered wood flooring - BS 8203: 2017 Installation of resilient floorcoverings – Code of practice
This covers the installation of sheet and tile vinyl flooring, linoleum, stone-polymer composites, rubber, cork and other resilient floorcoverings - BS 8204: 2003 + A1: 2009 Screeds,bases and in-situ floorings
This is a seven-part Standard, although part 2 has been withdrawn. Part 1 covers concrete bases and cementitious levelling screeds, Part 3 covers polymer-modified cementitious screeds, Part 4 covers terrazzo floors, Part 5 covers Mastic asphalt, Part 6 covers synthetic resins and Part 7 covers pumpable self-smoothing screeds
These Standards can be purchased from the BSI’s online shop: (www.knowledge.bsigroup.com) or through trade associations such as the Contract Flooring Association who can pass on a discount to its members.
In addition to these Standards, there are several industry guidelines which are helpful references. The CFA publishes the Guide to Contract Flooring which is regularly updated and is now on its eight edition, and the NICF publishes the Guide to domestic flooring, now in its second edition and both available from the relevant websites.
The CFA also has guidance notes and among the most recent that concern flooring installation are guidance notes covering the installation of laminate flooring (the former British Standard was withdrawn) and the use of the sleeve method for moisture testing.
I haven’t come across a flooring issue where one or more of these documents didn’t prove helpful.
www.richard-renouf.com
Richard Renouf is an independent flooring consultant
