I just posted about my experience with Paradigm flooring in another discussion this morning. It is beautiful, and we found the Perfect color for our home, but have not had good luck with it and are in the process of choosing a replacement. Dealers and installers both seem to rave about the product, and we really may have the unicorn experience. We have been assured that the product will be inspected before being shipped and again upon being received by our flooring outfit and their installer as well, should we choose to replace what we have with the same product from a different production date. Because we haven’t yet found a replacement, it’s tempting to get the same flooring, believing ou our situation really was a fluke—however, the sample we received yesterday from the same line, different color, seems to have the same adhesive overspray/ narrow pad that we think was the problem with our floor. ”Fool me once, shame in you Fool me twice, shame on me.”

”Shannon M Hicks

Today

We had 1,800 sf of Paradigm Waterproof EWC 20MIL (Guava) installed in March. We have experienced a problem that I'm curious if anyone else has had, because we have been told by everyone up the food chain that they have never seen this before including the installer, contractor, flooring sales person, flooring rep, flooring distributor inspector, and an independent inspector hired by Elite Flooring (that makes Paradigm). We have had a dark gray, tacky, adhesive-type substance coming up between the seams in several areas on our flooring. I can get it to move around with a damp microfiber cloth, but it doesn't really come up. I could get it off better using my fingernail, and a contractor helper was going to take GooGone to it! I'm not saying it wouldn't work, but I KNOW that would void any possible warranty if they did that. The flooring was installed the end of March, after having been stored in our 66° house. We discovered the problem in June after we returned to the house, which was still had ram board over part of the flooring in the main pathways the contractors were using. The problem was occurring under the area protected by the ram board as well. Each inspection reported that it was a failure of the product, yet each time we got kicked up another level before anvone would tell us what would be done about it. When Elite's own distributer's inspector determined it was a product failure, they initially told us that we would be refunded our money so that we could choose a product outside of their lines, but then they came back requiring an independent inspector of their choice, which took another 3 weeks. It has taken over 3 months, and while we now have been approved for a refund for materials, who will pay for labor to remove and install the new flooring is still being disputed. IF YOU HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM, please report it. They need to know. We believe the problem was that the pad applied was narrower than the adhesive, which resulted in overspray that continues to work up between the seams. Yet everyone that looked at it that should have recognized it, didn't. We just happened to see a piece (Off of the sample board) that did not have this extra gray stuff, that we assumed was part of the waterproofing material, with the pad covering the entire bottom of the board.