A couple of installation situations that have come up recently regarding who you should listen to when you ask how a product is to be installed or if you can install a particular product using a specific system. I’ll explain.

In one case the carpet was a polyurethane backed product. The polyurethane was not a cushion backing, per se, but coated up on the precoat, in other words a thin, dense, very sound backing. This also means that the backing, because it is dense and very stable, is not as pliable as a woven polypropylene backing would be. This very structurally sound type of product, is designed to deliver very high performance in a commercial application. Carpet with this type of backing is also meant to be glued directly to the substrate. Though it is different you have to think of this type of product like you would a unitary backed carpet, it should not be installed over a pad. In the case we are referring to here, that is precisely the problem. The dealer who sold the carpet, who did not install it but supplied it to the end user who had it installed themselves, was told by the manufacturers rep that the carpet could be installed using the double stick or laminated method of installation. That is, the pad glued to the substrate and the carpet glued to the pad. After a period of time, the dealer stated, the carpet started to “delaminate.” Understand here that delamination in this case does not mean the carpet itself was coming apart. Delamination means the secondary backing of the carpet is coming off. With this type of backing that cannot happen, the polyurethane is basically welded to the carpet backing and will not come off. Delamination, in this case, means the entire carpet is delaminating (separating) from the pad. Since this method is a laminating process - pad glued to the floor and carpet glued to the pad - delamination would mean the carpet was separating from the pad.

Because the dealer who sold the carpet told the end user they could install the carpet this way, which is what they wanted to do, and the rep told him it could be installed this way, he assumed, with the assurance of the rep, that this carpet could be installed using the installation system - laminated - desired. The rep wrote a letter saying this installation process would not void any manufacturing warranties, and he was correct, it wouldn’t. The problem is that this type of carpet cannot be installed this way and the manufacturer, in their literature says it can’t. Now that there is a problem and the end user is coming back to the dealer who sold the carpet, he’s caught between a rock and a hard place. Current installation instructions clearly state, “...these backing systems are manufactured for direct glue down only and cannot be stretched over pad.” Additionally, this type of backing is not designed to be installed with the double stick method, doing so will compromise the installation, this type of product is not condusive to a laminated installation, it is meant to be a stand alone product.

Now the question is, who is to blame for the failing installation?. The rep told the dealer he could install the product this way, the instructions, which no one ever saw, say you can’t. We acquired the manufacturers installation instructions with a phone call and in the first paragraph it clearly states the only way to install the product - you read the quote just a moment ago. Further, the manufacturers installation instructions for “laminated” method of installation state that carpets with attached cushion backings, which this would be considered even though it is not a real cushion, it is a polyurethane “cushiony type” backing, should not be installed with the laminated method of installation. Now, to argue this case, which the dealer has to do because he is facing a claim with high liability, he has to say he asked the rep and the rep told him it was OK. However, neither of them, obviously, ever got the installation instructions nor called to find out for sure what could and could not be done. Even a quick call to us would have given him an answer. The point is when in doubt, call the mill and ask them for printed instructions. We called for this case and the instructions were faxed to us within minutes - we had confirmation on what could and could not be done. To use a double stick method the same carpet product could have been ordered with a different backing, eliminating this entire fiasco.

To avoid problems like this, ask and confirm, ask and confirm...... The document overules the rep. Reps are not technical people nor installation experts. When in doubt call us, if we don’t have the answer, we can get it, always.