Video: Protecting Yourself from Bad Inspections

Apr 20, 2015

Have you ever been burned by a bad wood floor inspection? There are a lot of bad inspectors out there. Here are a few tips about how you can protect yourself:

Two of the common complaints I see when I do LVP inspections: coming apart at the seams (above at left) and cupping (at right).

What I’ve Learned as an Inspector for ‘Luxury Vinyl’ Flooring

September 15, 2023

These are two wire-brushed floors I inspected: The one on the left is 8 months old; the one on the right was installed 6 months ago in a multi-million-dollar home. All of the traffic areas in these floors look like the floors are 20 years old: worn, dirty and splintering.

Why the White Wire-Brushed Trend Is Good for My Inspection Business

Two of the common complaints I see when I do LVP inspections: coming apart at the seams (above at left) and cupping (at right).

What I’ve Learned as an Inspector for ‘Luxury Vinyl’ Flooring

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What To Know When You End Up In An Inspection

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One Way to Make Customers Happy and Avoid Inspections

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Why the White Wire-Brushed Trend Is Good for My Inspection Business

"These floors do look great … for a while. The problem is that we walk on our floors, so they get dirty and must be cleaned..." Lifelong wood floor pro Bob Goldstein's has concerns regarding the white wire-brushed floors trend.

These are two wire-brushed floors I inspected: The one on the left is 8 months old; the one on the right was installed 6 months ago in a multi-million-dollar home. All of the traffic areas in these floors look like the floors are 20 years old: worn, dirty and splintering.

What I’ve Learned as an Inspector for ‘Luxury Vinyl’ Flooring

Lifelong wood floor pro Bob Goldstein discusses some of the facts he learned when he started doing inspections on "luxury vinyl" floors.

Two of the common complaints I see when I do LVP inspections: coming apart at the seams (above at left) and cupping (at right).

What To Know When You End Up In An Inspection

Here are some essential things to know in case you end up embroiled in a wood flooring inspection.

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One Way to Make Customers Happy and Avoid Inspections

I looked at a newly installed wood floor where the homeowner was upset with the color of the filled knots (the rest of the install/sanding was well within standards). The customer loved the look and grade of the No. 2 common solid strip birch. But, the floor had some open knots up to the size of a dime, and the customer thought the filled knots looked like a cheap floor from a discount center.

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When It Comes to Installation Inspections, Many Times It’s the Little Things

Wood flooring inspections don't always happen because of huge issues ... sometimes relatively small missed details can turn into expensive ordeals.

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Inspectors: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

What makes a good inspector? How do you know if it's a good or a bad one? Wood floor pro Jason Cantin shares what he thinks.

A bad inspection on this solid hickory floor installed over plywood on a slab could have cost my friend $30,000.

My Wood Floor Inspection Tools

Wood flooring pro Stephen Diggins of Wood Pro explains the tools he needs when he does one of his many wood flooring inspections.

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Inspection Issues: Where Wood Flooring Inspectors Go Wrong

The National Wood Flooring Association's Brett Miller discusses some of the most common problems that happen with wood flooring inspections.

Bad grammar casts doubt on an inspector's competence.

Assigning Blame: How Wood Floor Inspectors Can Get It Wrong

Wood flooring inspector and installer Jason Cantin examines the perception that inspectors always blame the wood flooring inspector when a floor fails.

It’s all too easy for inspectors to cite an installation problem that really has nothing to do with the cause of a problem, such as this buckling wood floor.

Q&As: Inspectors/Contractors, OSB Squeaks & Slab Prep

Can an NWFACP-certified wood floor inspector repair a job he or she inspected?It is extremely important that you make the determination prior to accepting the job which hat you will be wearing.

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Clear Communication: A Surprising Lesson From Inspection School

I recently attended the NWFA Certified Professionals Inspection School, and I have to say it opened my eyes to a bigger side of this business. Love or hate inspectors, they have a job to do, just like contractors. The technical information about job sites was mostly review if you are familiar with the NWFA Guidelines and have taken the certifications for installation or sand and finish. The part of the school that was very eye-opening for me centered on technical report writing, which can have legal ramifications for involved parties.

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Will Your Wood Flooring Inspector Hold Up in Court?

As much as we try to avoid it, at some point most of us will end up in a legal dispute with a customer, whether a homeowner or a builder, over one of our wood floors. When it gets to that point, you can't afford to make any mistakes in representing your company the best you can. A crucial step in that defense is hiring the right wood flooring inspector and making sure that inspector is one who will hold up in court as an expert witness. But what does that mean? How do you know which one to choose? This article will attempt to explain some of the legal facts involved.

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