A large part of my job is dealing with claims and warranty situations.
To add to what Chris (
@C.J.) said there are some common aspects to warranties today.
There's a "manufacturing defect warranty". This one always makes me laugh because consumers get all torqued up about the number of years on this part of the warranty. The reality is, if you have a manufacturing defect 99.999% of the time you're going to know it immediately. Manufacturing defects don't show up 6 months, 2 years, 10 year, even 20 years down the road. If it's made wrong you'll know. A visual defect, the plank or tile won't lock together correctly (although that one can be tricky as it can be due to improper installation technique), the product isn't dimensioned correctly, it's out of square, it's cupped, it's bowed. To give you some idea of how often this occurs it's, based on the data I've been privy to it's typically less than .2% (there's a decimal point in front of that two just in case you can't see it). So two tenths of 1% which means that 99.8% of the product output meets specifications and has no defects. It happens, but it's not very often.
The more important one to me is if the product offers a "wear warranty". Wear warranties are real and measurable things. This is where most people get confused. Unless there is a specific section on wear warranty in your documentation then you don't have a wear warranty. Most people think this is covered under "defect" - that's absolutely incorrect. However, while these are real warranties that can be measured and enforced the reality is the manufacturer is not going to go beyond what there testing data shows the floor will handle so the chanced of needing to actually use a wear warranty are pretty much zero. In my 25+ year career I've never even been asked to look at a wear problem and I put floors in some of the most horrible places known to our industry.
The newer warranties in the market are the "water" or "waterproof warranties". There are a couple of confusing things with those - they cover the product itself from being damaged by water damage but just because you put a product that's waterproof over a substrate doesn't mean the substrate is also waterproof. If water gets to the subfloor via the expansion space around the perimeter of the room or through the locking mechanism - the damage to your subfloor is not covered. Frankly if you have a water situation bad enough that you would need a product to be waterproof I can pretty much guarantee that over a wood substrate it's going to most likely damage the subfloor. That's where your insurance comes into play. In other words these "waterproof" warranties are really a marketing thing to give the consumer a "warm fuzzy" that the floor is protecting them. It's not.
All that being said, there is something in buying locally and having a retailer to go back to if you have a problem. There's also a lot in the manufacturer that you choose. Right now because of the explosive growth in the LVT, SPC, WPC flooring segment there are hundreds of "manufacturers" selling product here in the U.S. who aren't really making the product. There are companies throughout Asia (not just China) who are manufacturing these products and working with an importer or even an actual manufacturer here in the U.S. who "private label" the product. That importer could be at any level. For example Shaw, Mohawk, Armstrong, & Mannington all have products that are sourced from China, Vietnam, South Korea, or Malaysia. It could be a retailer who's made a connection with one of these producers and has the financing to private label and market a line under their own brand, it could be a wholesaler who does the same thing. The bottom line as to whether they will respond comes down to two things. How deep are their pockets, and how are they set up with infrastructure - in other words is their a local or regional rep or do they have one or two people who cover the entire country.
I read through the warranty documentation on this product and I can just about promise you're already on your own. I think you're going to be just fine with your floor. Take your time. Get things prepped correctly and follow the instructions as closely as you can. If there's a problem don't call the manufacturer. Follow-up with the retailer you bought from and let them use their leverage with the manufacturer to get the problem resolved.
All the best!
