whos responsible

[bwill121984]

my brother had ceramic laid at his house over the weekend. when the installers were done. we looked over the job and noticed there was a hump going across the floor. the installers and the store they worked for said that they were not responsible for the high joist. but they said if my bro bought new tile and sub floor that they would do the labor for no charge. I cant find anything about any laws about this so I came here for answers. any help would be appreciated

 

[Ken]

This is tough. Its hard to say what side I would take. On one hand as a consumer I want something to look great after I pay for it and it's not my responsibilty to forsee obstacles that an installer should know how to deal with. On the other hand as an installer I cant rebuild your house and quite honestly if I did the initial estimate I would have pointed it out to you so you could have a qualified contractor trim down that joist if that is whats required to flatten the floor. I would also think there would be other ways to flatten the floor but its difficult to say without seeing it in person.

 

[FloorMaven]

I cant find anything about any laws about this so I came here for answers. any help would be appreciated

Where are you located? When an installer installs a finished floor covering he accepts the subfloor as adequate. That means it is clean, smooth and flat enough to produce a finished product that meets manufacturer's and industry standards, not to mention state and local jurisdiction workmanship standards. Replacement costs would be on them but the cost of additional prep would be your responsibility.

 

[happyhours]

We try to point out things like this during the measurement so appropiate steps can be taken to correct subfloor conditions that are less than desirable for a proper installation. As a rule the conditions you describe should be corrected by a contractor before we arrive on the job .

 

[rugaddict]

the installer is at fault---it gives me no joy to say so-----but the crown was there before they started---time to eat it

 

[Incognito]

the installer is at fault---it gives me no joy to say so-----but the crown was there before they started---time to eat it

I'd say without a doubt in most jurisdictions the law points blame/responsibility to the installer. Now proving that in a court of law and then collecting or getting the repair done for free............that's a tough nut in every state regardless of what the law says.

I wonder if this customer got a tail light warranty with this install?

 

[DennisT]

The installer should tell the homeowner before install of any issues such as unlevel floors, inadequate substrate,etc. If the homeowner chooses to cheap out and not have it fixed then it's the homeowner's fault/problem. Most homeowners have no clue as to what needs to be done to a floor/subfloor, that's why they hire a pro. Sadly many companies that sell/install flooring don't have good people doing the actual install.

In the OP's case my view is that the homeowner is responsible for the costs of fixing the subfloor issues. The installer is responsible for removing the installed material, and replacing it once the subfloor is fixed.