Wood flooring, carpet and your other floors is one of the largest investments that a home or property owner makes. At times we find that our carpet, laminate, hardwood or other floor covering is not performing as we expect or were led to believe that it would. In times like this a good floor covering inspector can be one important person who can help protect that investment. Now the truth is that few people even realize that there are companies such as The Weinheimer Group that specialize in inspecting floor coverings such as carpet, hardwood, bamboo, laminate, linoleum, vinyl and specialty floors to determine if a product and installation is or is not performing as it should and if not why?

Generally the flooring inspection process includes the visual examination of the floor covering along with specialized onsite testing. Depending upon the type of floor and the concern the inspection may also include the inspection of the sub floor and other structural components and crawl space or testing of a concrete slab.

When a floor covering or its installation is not performing as it should, knowledgeable inspectors such as Terry Weinheimer and Kevin Weinheimer of The Weinheimer Group LLC are able to determine why. Is the failure manufacturing, site related, installation related or other cause? By pinpointing the cause the property owner will know if their expectations are perhaps too great for the type of product and use, the failure is due to something that they have done, or if the manufacturer, installer or dealer should be held responsible.

In preparing for an inspection it is wise to gather information in advance that pertains to the floor covering in question. This includes product and installation invoices, cleaning records and receipts, warranty information and any materials that were left over from the job should the inspector need these for additional testing. It is understandable that some of this may not be available to you but the more of it you have will usually save research time for the inspector and money for you.

When you have your flooring or floor covering inspected by a certified inspector such as The Weinheimer Group the written report for that inspection is only provided to the commissioning party.  If you are the person to order and pay for the inspection the floor inspection report will only be submitted and discussed with you without your authorization to discuss it with others. At times your dealer or manufacturer may use a nonbiased certified independent inspection company such as the Weinheimer Group. In that situation the inspector will only be able to provide the floor report and discuss the findings with the party that commissioned the inspection.

When you have your flooring inspected point out your concerns to the inspector and allow the inspector to take their time in inspecting the floor covering, as well as avoid asking too many questions regarding the floor while in the process of the examination.

Do not argue with the inspector about comments or remarks you only get to overhear, or the apparent results of the inspection, take note that they have been tasked to help you identify problems that may need your immediate attention and thus save you the trouble of complaints that may arise later on.

Especially with wood and laminate floors other areas of the home should be made accessible including access to the basement and crawl space.

As much as possible, make sure to be aware of the things to consider to prepare for your flooring inspection to make it a pleasant and professional experience.

The bottom line for this floor inspection process is primarily to focus on not just consumer protection, but for the investment of the client as well, since investing in a homes floor is a big investment.

So try to think of it this way, floor covering inspectors are not there to terrorize, but a flooring inspector can be a good investment protector.

Additional Information

• Carpet and Flooring Onsite Testing & Inspection