Our attorney needs an inspector in Colorado regarding flooring issue.

[Nick Gromicko]

Nick:

I just agreed to write a letter for a client who claims he purchased a defective floor covering product from an outfit in Canada.

I won't bore you with the details, but the seller sent a man who is an "FCITS Certified Floor Covering Inspector" to view the product, and he blamed it on poor installation rather than the product. The trouble is a lot of the product is still sitting in boxes and has not been installed, but those products are defective too, so it is not just a question of poor installation.

Have ever heard of FCITS? Here is a link: http://www.inspectors-expertscom/

Second, do you know anyone locally who might be qualified to take a look at my client's floor and the boxes of product and write me a one page letter giving an opinion that the product is defective?

Thanks,




Mark S. Cohen, P.C.
Cohen Horner, LLP
P.O. Box 617
110 Snyder Street, 2nd Floor
Nederland, CO 80466
Phone (303) 258-0561
Fax (303) 258-7893

Boulder Office:
1942 Broadway, Ste. 314
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 541-0055
www.cohenhorner.com

[tneumann]

What part of colorado...and what kind of flooring...?

[James Eubank]

My questions are like Tony's:
1. Where in Colorado? Since Mark is the attorney, it's probably in the Boulder-Denver area? I can take a look at the flooring on Saturday, Feb.24, or late in the day on Friday, Feb.23.
2. What kind of flooring? Maybe laminate or solid hardwood, since it's in boxes. If it's laminate flooring, I have experience with standard and with problem installations. There are different types of locking designs, different expansion-contraction needs, and honestly some brands are good, some are inferior. Almost all are made in Europe, maybe some in Canada. Subflooring can be an issue, too.
I checked out the FCITS website. I'm not a member, and now I wonder if it was an FCITS member who inspected some flooring for me several years ago? Unfortunately, that inspector was hard to make contact with, hard to schedule, and not helpful at all when he finally did arrive. A good reminder that our service needs to be top quality, no matter who we are working for.

[Frank M. Carrio, CMI]

Originally Posted by gromicko

Nick:

I just agreed to write a letter for a client who claims he purchased a defective floor covering product from an outfit in Canada.

I won't bore you with the details, but the seller sent a man who is an "FCITS Certified Floor Covering Inspector" to view the product, and he blamed it on poor installation rather than the product. The trouble is a lot of the product is still sitting in boxes and has not been installed, but those products are defective too, so it is not just a question of poor installation.

Have ever heard of FCITS? Here is a link: http://www.inspectors-expertscom/

Second, do you know anyone locally who might be qualified to take a look at my client's floor and the boxes of product and write me a one page letter giving an opinion that the product is defective?

Thanks,




Mark S. Cohen, P.C.
Cohen Horner, LLP
P.O. Box 617
110 Snyder Street, 2nd Floor
Nederland, CO 80466
Phone (303) 258-0561
Fax (303) 258-7893

Boulder Office:
1942 Broadway, Ste. 314
Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 541-0055
www.cohenhorner.com

Nick,
I am VERY familiar with FCITS. I personally know the owner and over the last 15-plus years attended two of their schools in Georgia and one of their certifying seminars in Ohio.
>I will no longer do any inspections for them.<

• As a former committee member for ASTM I am one of the people who wrote the standards on laminate flooring.
• I attended the 1st Pergo school for Inspectors and demonstrated my methods for inspecting laminate floors. The instructors were so impressed that they brought out the "Guys in Ties" and had me demonstrate my methods, and explain the equipment that I used.
• Based on my demonstration at Pergo, I set a national standard for their training program.

I have conducted more than a thousand Laminate Flooring inspections for; Pergo, Bruce Floors, Armstrong, 41-Home Depot Stores, Lowe's, etc. etc.

I will be in Colorado for the Commercial course and while I am there I will be able to inspect their product, and methods of installation.

Have this client contact me, and I will see what I can do for them.

[James Eubank]

Frank - You say you will no longer do any inspections for FCITS. Why is that? Not wanting to criticize them, but I had been wondering about getting my name on their list. I will admit that when the inspector (FCITS??) came for a flooring inspection a few years ago, he acted like he was being paid by the manufacturer, and his conclusions were no different than what the manufacturer would probably say: "installation error." Not very helpful.

[Frank M. Carrio, CMI]

Originally Posted by jeubank

Frank - You say you will no longer do any inspections for FCITS. Why is that? Not wanting to criticize them, but I had been wondering about getting my name on their list. I will admit that when the inspector (FCITS??) came for a flooring inspection a few years ago, he acted like he was being paid by the manufacturer, and his conclusions were no different than what the manufacturer would probably say: "installation error." Not very helpful.

You answered your own question.
My Inspections are based on facts and technical data. Not on who is paying me.