The Floor Geek

Be wary of Flooring Affiliates...

One of the great things about the internet is the ability to find nearly anything for sale, without even having to leave your house. However, shopping online also comes with risks. Just like you wouldn’t buy a Rolex off the street in New York City, you should be careful not to buy your flooring from an unauthorized dealer.

Nowadays, there are affiliate programs for nearly every product imaginable. Someone can simply setup a website, then put links to someone else’s site, and get paid for any visitor they send over, or they simply sell someone else’s products.

The problem there is the lack of communication between the person selling you the flooring and the manufacturer of it. If something goes wrong with your flooring, say there’s streaks all throughout the middle section of the roll of carpet you buy, how do you know that the manufacturer’s warranty will be enforced? Most of the time, flooring manufacturers will not honor a warranty if the product is not purchased through an authorized dealer.

So, how do you know if you are buying at an authorized dealer? The easiest way to check would be to visit the manufacturers website. There will be a find-a-dealer, or a dealer-locator section of their site, where you can punch in the zip code of the store you’re buying at, and find out whether or not they are listed. This is an easy way to make sure your salesperson (or the website you’re on) is not simply a scam artist.

We blogged the other day about our new floorcovering directory, mentioning that you could add as many links as you wish for both retailers and installers. But did we mention that it was free?!

Finding ways of getting new customers and new business can be overwhelming. Well we’d like to offer you the chance to reach out to our site’s visitors, with this free directory listing.

If you’re interested, just navigate to the proper section (installer or retailer) and then select your home state. Once you’re there, you’ll see the green “submitting your site” link appear. Just fill out the form, and voila! You just gained a link to your site, and more visibility to consumers looking to purchase and install new flooring.

If you have any questions, or would like to speak to us about other forms of advertising, feel free to contact us at webmaster@thefloorgeek.com. We’d love to hear from you!

When purchasing a new floor, many times a retail salesperson will neglect to mention the warranty information on the floor you are interested in buying. More often than not, it is something that has to be asked before the information is given.

Always be sure that you ask for this crucial information before buying. You may be unaware that the floor you’re buying doesn’t even carry a warranty at all. This is common with mill trials, promotional goods, and some cabin and tavern grade wood floors. These floors are known to have few manufacturer defects, and therefore will not be replaced when they fail.

This can leave you, the homeowner, in a state of distress. You’ve just paid $3000 for a brand new wood floor, and come to find out the tongues are almost all broken off. Installing it is an utter nightmare, and you can’t return it!

Avoid this scenario at all costs. If you don’t, it can cost you much, much more money in the long run. A $1000 installation job could turn into $3500. A brand new carpet could delaminate and fall apart right under your feet, and the mill won’t do anything about it – all because the retailer you went to failed to tell you the product didn’t carry a warranty.

Now take all this with a pinch of salt, as lack of a warranty does not always imply a lack of quality. Sometimes, a product is dropped at the mill, so that they no longer carry it. In some cases, they will drop the warranty from a first quality product and sell it at a cheaper price just to clear space in their warehouse. Many second quality, or cabin and tavern grade woods are sold without warranty, or with limited warranties. These products can still look great and perform to your expectations the same as first quality.

But knowing when you have options is a great feeling. Don’t get caught in the dark. Ask about the warranty, and enjoy your new floors!

Shaw's Fall Flooring Event

Just wanted to drop a note and let all of you know that Shaw Industries is in the middle of its Fall Flooring Event. Drop by their website and enter for a chance to win $5,000 in flooring, plus get a $200 coupon just for playing.

It’s a very simple game, you just pick three leaves, and if they match, you win. You can return to the site every day for another chance to win. Remember, even if you don’t win, you can still print off the coupon worth $200 off your purchase at participating retailers.

You’ll notice the new page link at the top of the page, “Floorcovering Directory”. It’s just starting out, and we need some help adding companies and installers to our database. If you or someone you know runs a floorcovering business, you can easily add a listing to the directory by browsing into the right category, and then the state where the business is located.

Add as many businesses as you like!

If you’ve ever looked through the mid-high range carpet racks at any carpet retailer, most likely you’ve come across Mohawk’s Wunda Weve collection. The collection features a large number of carpet styles, predominantly patterned carpets. There’s three different levels of quality within Wunda Weve, including Elite, Premier, and Preferred, and broad price range across the entire line. All the styles feature Stainmaster nylon fiber, so you know they’ll resist stains and spills, and last longer than polyester.

We’d like to get some reviews going on this site, so if you’ve had any experience with Wunda Weve carpet, post your comments here. If it’s another style you’d like to comment on, feel free to do so.

Domotex Asia, the largest floorcovering trade show in Asia, will be held March 24-26, 2009. The show boasts an average of over 40,000 visitors each year, and over 1,000 manufacturers. Since many flooring companies are looking to Asia for cheaper overhead and lower costs overall in the manufacturing process, it only makes sense that the second largest flooring trade show would be located in Asia.

This is a wonderful opportunity for both buyers and sellers to locate international suppliers and/or clients. If you’re interested in attending this year’s show, discounted tickets are availabe for pre-registering.

Click here for the Domotex Asia/Chinafloor website.

Armstrong recently introduced five new colors to the already magnificent line, Grand Illusions. This premium laminate comes 12 mils thick, which is thicker than your average laminate piece. It also features Armstrong’s patented Lock & Fold system, allowing for a very simple installation. It’s great for those Do-It-Yourselfers.

If you’re looking for a high-class laminate flooring, Grand Illusions is still the way to go. Just be sure you shop around, particularly for in-stock specials. This can often save you up to 50 cents per square foot. Most retailers, however, will pick and choose from the color line, allowing them to offer the most popular colors at an even lower price. If color isn’t that important, call around for the best deal, and then find out which colors are offered.

If you don’t like what a retailer has to offer color wise, there is still a way to get around this. If you are buying 620 square feet, you will qualify for pallet pricing. This should save quite a bit, also. If you’re buying in increments of 620, you will stay at pallet pricing. If you need an odd amount, though, such as 700 square feet, you would be able to purchase 620 sf at the pallet price, but the remaining 80 sf would be regular price. Keep this in mind as you decide on how much of your floor you would like to cover.

Here’s the color line:

Grand Illusions Color Line

• Some floor installation systems are more labor or material intensive than others, and will cost a bit more. Your retailer should explain the method of floor installation and whether or not you will be incurring additional cost.
• The condition of the existing flooring may also mean additional expense. If the subfloor needs to be prepared with patch or leveling products, or removal of an existing floor covering is required, or your floor installation professional recommends putting down new wood underlayment, you will incur added expense. However, you will also dramatically increase the life and performance of your new flooring. As with painting and other projects, preparation of the surface is key to a successful outcome.
• Be sure to discuss appliance and fixture removal and replacement arrangements with your floor installation professional. If you can remove the stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, toilet and/or pedestal sink yourself, you will save some money. The installer may be able to do it, or he’ll subcontract someone who can. If that’s the case, you will spend a little more money, but you’ll also have the peace of mind that comes with having professionals handling the labor. If you do remove and replace your own appliances and fixtures, be sure to slide them over plywood panels, so as not to damage your new flooring.
• There are some incidentals involved with new flooring installation. As long as you keep these things in mind, you won’t be caught off guard:
• Moldings, wall base and toe kick guards will need to be removed and then replaced after installation. You can do this yourself, or your floor installation professional can do it. It will add a bit of expense to the labor bill if your installer does it. This may be a good time to replace your molding or wall base and update it by coordinating with your new flooring. Armstrong sells self-stick vinyl wall base for residential use, and offers a complete line of moldings and transition strips for use with our laminate and hardwood flooring.
• New flooring may add some height to your existing floor. Be prepared to shave the bottoms of doors, so they’ll swing freely over your new flooring. Take into consideration pocket and French doors as well. You may do these adjustments yourself or ask your floor installation professional to handle it or subcontract it out.

Our industry’s annual convention, Surfaces, will be held February 3 thru February 5, 2009 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a terrific show for anyone in the floor covering industry. Surfaces brings together manufacturers, distributors, and dealers from around the United States and from around the world. Even through Shaw and Mohawk don’t treat this as a major convention showcase for their carpet, many of their hard surface divisions will be showing.

Armstrong and Mannington will be showing just outside the convention center in large private rooms just off the hallway between the Venetian hotel and the convention center. Mannington has always been a strong supporter of Surfaces, and Armstrong is making their largest presence in several years. The last couple of years Armstrong has shown in other hotels around town, and only seen invited guests. This year they will be open to the public for most of the show. Armstrong has been one of the real bright spots in the floor covering industry since emerging from chapter 11 bankruptcy a while back. Their imported piano finished laminate, Grand Illusions, and their loose lay vinyl, Stratamax, continue to grow in popularity.

The Chinese and, to a lesser extent, the Indian contingents will have a large presence at this year’s show. The Chinese showed up in force last year, so I’m sure there will be even more this year. More and more of all types of carpet and flooring are being imported from China, but, from my perspective,  laminate seems to be having the most impact. Everything from $.60 laminate that a wet paper towel will swell, to 12 mil laminate that retails at $4.99 a foot is available. I wonder where it will stop.

These are tough times, and being proactive is the best solution. So don’t stay home. Surfaces is always exciting, and always gives me creative ideas of how to make a buck. you should definitely consider going to the first ever General Session, Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., in the Palazza Ballroom, located in the Venetian Hotel. Keith Campbell, Chairman of Mannington Mills, Frank Ready, Executive VP of Armstrong, Randy Merritt, President of Shaw Industries, Tom Lape, President of Mohawk Residential, Tom Davis, President and CEO of Mannington Mills, Ralph Boe, CEO of Beaulieu of America, and Rainer Blair, CEO of MAPEI of Americas, will all speak on “Prevailing Through the Current Crisis – An Industry Wake-Up Call.”

I hope to see you there!