I cannot think of any company that warrantees wear material. Like brake parts for a vehicle, sandpaper, shoe sole material, carpets, and so on.

What those companies should guarantee is their product is in optimum condition upon purchase and correct installation. After that, the company cannot control the use of their product.

The warranty is basically a guarantee they will stand behind their product at purchase. Would you buy a product without even that short assurance?

We spent yesterday reading the "lifetime" warranties of the different LVT products we are considering. Most of them seemed like a joke to me too. But, some did seem better than others in some ways. Also, does this warranty cover any labor costs? That seems to differ between manufacturers too.

handymac - I wouldn't expect them to guarantee against wear. But what if the after ten years the wood starts to display latent defects that are not due to regular wear. I would expect that covered but literally EVERYTHING is excluded. If they are only going to warranty the condition of the wood right out of the box then what use is the 25 year warranty? Why not call it a 100 year warranty if you have no intention of actually covering anything with the warranty.

needinfo1 - Would you please send me a link to a floor warranty where labor is explicitly covered?

D&M's warranty sort of covers labor costs. I quoted that section above: "D&M’s sole liability on any claim shall be limited to the repair or replacement of the visible defective products or refund of the purchase price only, at our option." So the reserve the right to repair or replace the floor. If they repair it they would cover the labor cost. But I can imagine no situation where they wouldn't just replace it. Or just refund me, which is listed as an option well.

Regardless, since nothing appears to be covered by this warranty after installation, the rest of the terms are moot.

But once the floor is installed I can't think of a single thing that is covered by this 25 year warranty other than spontaneous combustion.

LOL, but I'll bet even that isn't covered. They would likely say, "What floor? I don't seen any floor ... "

I gather from other threads that warranty coverage is something that you have to fight for and can't expect to get. Check out THIS recent thread regarding all the steps you need to take before your flooring is even installed if you want even a chance in the future of being protected by a "warranty."

IMO, factory defects "out of the box" are something that should be eliminated at the packaging point, not the responsibility of the consumer.

"So they reserve the right to repair or replace the floor."

It sounds to me like they reserve the right to repair or replace the defective boards. Who's to say if they will match the rest of the floor. As far as a refund, it sounds like that would only cover defective boards, not the entire floor.

jellytoast - Yes, I'm very familiar with that thread since I started it. And it was the posts by Carpet One that got me to read the warranty in the first place. And he is right, all the things he recommends doing (and more!) before installation are spelled out by the warranty.

And you're right, they will only (theoretically) replace the damaged pieces, not the entire floor. I think if you have a problem your odds are better to play the lotto then get a flooring company to cover their product after it has been installed.

needinfo1 mentioned that some warranties for flooring will cover the labor as well as material if there is a claim. However, if the company has no intention of ever actually covering the product they can promise you the world.

Lesson to all that you should actually read the warranty. Most of the time you are not getting the coverage you think you are getting.

Yes, I'm very familiar with that thread since I started it

LOL, I missed that ... sorry! :-)

They're all like that. Essentially they're guaranteeing that the finish isn't defective from the factory, an issue I have seen maybe once or twice in my 30 year career. The only time I could have legitimately filed a claim,the company that produced the floor was going into bankruptcy so I refinished the floor for free. Everyday wear won't wear through the finish if it's been maintained properly. To me the finish warranty only indicates the quality level of products within a particular brand.

The construction warranties are the same. They're warrantying things that just don't happen.

I tell customers that it would be like Ford offering meteorite insurance on every new car they sell.

Long story short - Don't get mesmerized by long warranty promises made by flooring companies.

So if all flooring warranties are a sham, is it worth going through all the trouble to record all the data and take all the measurements that they require you to have in order to make a warranty claim? I mean it seems like a lot of effort if nothing is actually covered after installation.

I don't know what kind of floor you are looking at. We are looking at LVT planks.

This is the Coretec Plus warranty.

Terms of Lifetime Limited Warranties:

• Within One Year: Claims on defects of this product as covered by this warranty that are reported in writing within one year of

purchase, USFloors will arrange a credit based on the original purchase of the product or replace the product. Reasonable

labor costs are included.

• Between Year One - Five: Claims on defects of this product, as covered by this warranty, that are reported in writing after one

year but within five years of purchase, USFloors will arrange a credit based on the original purchase of the product or replace

the product. USFloors will pay 50% of reasonable labor costs.

• Between Year Five - Ten: Claims on defects of this product, as covered by this warranty, that are reported in writing after five

years but within ten years of purchase, USFloors will arrange a credit based on the original purchase of the product or replace

the product. Labor costs are not included.

• After Ten years: Claims on defects of this product, as covered by this warranty, that are reported in writing after ten years of

purchase, USFloors will provide the sufficient replacement amount of the product to repair the defective area of floor. Labor

costs are not included.

Mannington

If your Mannington floor fails to perform as stated in the applicable Limited Warranty, Mannington will, at its option, (i) repair without charge the affected area to conform to the warranty; or (ii) replace the floor without charge with another floor of equal value and/or quality. If your floor was installed by a professional flooring contractor hired by you, Mannington will also pay for the professional labor cost to install your replacement floor. If Mannington repairs or replaces a panel as a result of a warranty claim, you will be required to clear at your expense any items placed over the affected area subsequent to the original installation. Warranty coverage for a replacement floor will be limited to the remaining time of the original warranty.

Yes, Handymac I do believe all of the responsibility is on the consumer because sales people often know less than the consumer who had done his or her homework.

Most warranties now are written in the manufacture's favor by the manufacturer. The bottom line is that the manufacture uses the warranty to protect their floors from improper installation and maintenance. By protecting themselves from these potential pitfalls they also protect the consumer from a project gone wrong. The finish warranty states the finish will not separate from the wood. This is highly uncommon from any mill that knows what they are doing and have the right finishing line which is why they are willing to make this promise. Structure warranty is more important for engineered hardwood with the use of bonding the layers together with adhesives. This warrants your product from delamination within the correct environment. You can read more about The Truth About Wood Flooring Warranty. Hope this offers a bit of insight into our industry.

Okay - I checked out the warranty and it is pretty standard, a little on the lean side, and makes no mention about finish adhesion, which is the top manufacturing related issue that I have had the pleasure of dealing with. Regarding going through the trouble - I would suggest not skipping that - at least verify all of the conditions - this is the best thing you can do so you do not have problems down the road. Warranties are only as good as the vendor you are dealing with. Every time I have had an issue and they start asking the "questions of doom", I simply pull out my pics, readings, documents, etc..., and the next question from them is asking me what my recommendation is and then they fund it - end of story. They pay for material and labor. On the flip side, before I did this, they would start asking the "questions of doom", I could not answer or back the answers up with proof (I used to be like the 85% of vendors- no testing, it was a hassle, "it don't matter" camp - and I paid for a ton of jobs with lots of zeros on the end of the replacement costs). They, rightfully so, turned me down, or if they felt sorry for me gave me a discount for the wood or give me a box or two at no charge. Since I have began doing things as correctly as possible, hardwood floor claims are basically nil. In my mind, Claims fall into four basic areas: Manufacturing Related, Installation Related, Site Related, and Maintenance Related. By performing the pre-installation testing, using qualified mechanics, & maintaining your floor correctly, you have just eliminated 95% of everything that ruins a natural hardwood floor (Actual Industry numbers puts Manufacturing related problems at <1%, but I think it is really higher than that because they get off the hook so often because of the lack of documentation of pre-install conditions). The warranty covers the delamination of the plies and walking through the finish from normal household use. The testing does more than keep a warranty intact, it gives you the best chance that there is never a problem with your natural floor product - if the installer knows how to do this testing and documentation - they probably know how to install the floor correctly too. It really does not take a huge amount of time to do this stuff, and if the installer/vendor doesn't have enough time to do it, do you think they will take the extra time to install your floor right? I would have my doubts.

I have seen all of the major companies step up and take care of issues (delamination, finish peeling) when this information is presented to them - they actually are impressed and say they wished everyone would do this. You should never have to deal with the manufacturer directly - your vendor should do all of that for you.

They are all a SHam! especially Naturally Aged Flooring. the WORST

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3901809/problems-with-engineered-flooring-splintering-and-more#n=29 They wont stand behind any of there floors. They need a class action lawsuit filed

We installed D & M Royal Oak flooring and the finish failed within a year. We only wear socks in the house and there are only two of us--no pets and no kids. And, we only used the Bona products that were recommended. This finish failure particularly unfortunate, because it had a whitewash in the grain, which then came out. D & M was of no help whatsoever and didn't offer any solution other than suggesting I apply white paint to the floors and then wipe it off. We ended up spending thousands to have people come in and restore the whitewash and apply a finish that would last. Doesn't really matter what the warranty is if they don't stand behind it. I am so sorry we bought the D & M flooring.

Ridiculous that they suggested putting paint on your wood floor. WTH!?

My D&M floor is holding up fine so far but if I have a problem I don't expect much more help than what you got. Their warranty is a joke and that is by design.