Flooring installers impact the longevity and design integrity of projects more than you might think. In fact, no one has greater influence over the success of your design than the flooring installer. No matter how good the product quality, if it isn’t installed properly, no product will perform the way you intend.
And if a flooring design is installed incorrectly, it can result in costly and time-consuming callbacks, wasted materials that end up in landfills and can even damage your reputation.
Given the amount of time and research you put into choosing the right products and flooring systems, it is important to safeguard your projects from faulty installations. To accomplish this, you must go beyond concept and design. Thinking ahead to how the project will be installed and who will complete the installation is key to its overall success.
Learning the differences between flooring installations completed by certified installers versus non-certified installers is a crucial step in understanding how your design is affected by the installation team. Two key differences between certified and non-certified installers are centered on training and whether they can guarantee their work.
Industry and Manufacturer-backed Training
Organizations like INSTALL leverage long-standing manufacturer partnerships to bring together field know-how and in-depth product expertise. They seek input from all stakeholders in the floorcovering industry to make sure training is unrivaled.
The INSTALL training program features an ever-evolving curriculum designed to teach foundational basics and keep flooring installers up to date with cutting-edge trends, technologies and techniques. This produces certified installers who are able to tackle any installation challenges head on. Non-certified installers often go through sub-par training, if at all.
By partnering with more than 100 mills and manufacturers, INSTALL installers are trained in a variety of flooring types using manufacturer-directed curriculum, giving them the upper hand over non-certified installers.
Certified Installers Backed by Warranty on Labor
Organizations such as INSTALL are so confident in the work of its contractors and installers that it stands behind them with an extended, third-party warranty on labor. It goes above and beyond the manufacturer’s warranty and is absolutely free.
For a contractor to be able to offer the INSTALL warranty on labor they have proven financial reliability, good payment history, an impressive performance history and all of their installers must carry INSTALL Certification in carpet, resilient or hardwood.
That means you are getting the very best for your project. Non-certified installers aren’t able to offer this level of warranty. Even worse, when the flooring fails, everyone involved looks bad, from the manufacturer to the installer to you.
Take Care in Specifying the Right Flooring Professionals
A growing number of specifiers are adding INSTALL standards in their specs. By specifying that all installation be completed by INSTALL Warranty Contractors and INSTALL certified floorcovering professionals, you ensure the flooring on your project will perform to its full potential and live up to the expectations of the owner.
Requiring INSTALL standards means the contractor is reliable with a proven track record and the installers on your project will be highly trained and carefully tested to perform the work you need. As a result, they are knowledgeable product experts who can safeguard the integrity of your next project.