My wife and I went to Home Depot in Redding, CA and purchased and ordered laminate flooring and underlayment for a new home we had just purchased. Several weeks later, Home Depot called to tell us our materials had arrived. We went to pick up the laminate flooring and underlayment. I loaded each of the cases of laminate into my car with the help of Greg from flooring and another employee.
I noticed that each of the cases was wet or damp. Greg said not to worry about it. He said to stack the cases no more than four high, that they would dry out, and that the laminate would not be affected. We also found out that the wrong underlayment had been ordered. We had to reorder the correct underlayment at an additional cost of $600.00.
We went to check on the underlayment we had ordered. An employee told us he did not know if it would be in before the install date, and he offered no assistance except to say to keep checking back. We spoke to the store manager, who said he would ensure the underlayment was available by the installation date.
2/7 - We were at home when the installers arrived. Dave arrived with his son and his son's friend (he said they were college students) to complete the installation.
No floor prep was done, as provided for in the contract. No attempt was made to check the sub-floor for proper level. Each of them took one bedroom and immediately began installing the laminate.
When they were over halfway done with the bedrooms, Dave mentioned that there was going to be a raised lip between the kitchen floor and the living room, essentially right down the middle of the two rooms and very visible. I told him that was not what we had wanted. He said I needed to take that up with Home Depot, and that eliminating the raised flooring in the kitchen would be an additional cost. Dave said the raised kitchen floor would have been readily apparent to the person who originally measured for the flooring and should have been addressed.
2/7 - We went to Home Depot to discuss the raised flooring problem. I told them this should have been identified during the measuring for the flooring, and that my disabled mother, who uses a walker, was staying with us and the lip could cause difficulties for her.
We spoke to several employees and assistant managers, who told us it would cost an additional $450.00 to correct the problem. I told them this was unacceptable. It was their mistake, and we should not have to pay to correct their error.
I asked to speak to a manager. Tim Braun came out and unknowingly began discussing the problem with the other employees in front of us. He initially said, well, if they don't like it, we'll take our materials, leave their carpet or whatever on the front lawn, refund them their money, and they can pay to have their old flooring put back in. Tim Braun finally agreed to take care of the problem at Home Depot's expense.
2/7 - We returned to the house and spoke to Dave. They were essentially done with the bedrooms and had begun installing the glue-down laminate at the north end of the hallway.
When we walked into the bedrooms, we noticed a crackling sound as we walked across the laminate. Initially I thought the situation would resolve itself once the entire installation was completed.
2/8 - The installation continued with the rest of the glue-down laminate being installed in the remainder of the hallway, living room, kitchen and dining room.
At about 4:00 P.M. we received a telephone call from Kelly, who was the lead installer (?). He said they had discovered that some of the cases of laminate had been exposed to moisture. He said the flooring was no good and more would have to be ordered.
When we asked to see the problem, my wife was told that they would only be at the house for 10 more minutes and would not wait beyond that (the drive alone would take at least 20 minutes).
We also received a call from Home Depot. We were told 5 cases of laminate were damaged by moisture and would have to be replaced at our expense. The five cases were going to cost us an additional $450.00.
We went to Home Depot and spoke to Greg and an assistant manager. I explained that the moisture was present when we picked up the laminate, and Greg had said it would be fine. Greg agreed, and Home Depot said they would pay for the new laminate.
It should be noted that we were told 5 cases of laminate would be needed and were given an estimate of what we needed to pay based on that number. However, only 2 were needed, and 2 were all that Home Depot ordered. No one could tell me how the figure of 5 cases was arrived at initially. The installers blamed Home Depot, and Home Depot blamed the installers for the mistake.
During our inspection of the flooring, we again noted a crackling sound as we walked across the laminate in the bedrooms. There were also noises as we walked down the hallway.
The installers did not leave behind any of the excess laminate flooring from the bedrooms or any of the excess underlayment. We were told Dave had 2 cases of the glue-down laminate in his van when we tried to account for the reason 5 cases were needed to complete the job when there were only 3 cases left at our house.
Our job was left incomplete, with a section of the kitchen floor (near where the refrigerator was supposed to go, and along the cabinets in front of the sink) not installed. The underlayment was left exposed, and we could not put our refrigerator in the house because of the lack of sufficient flooring in that area.
No one could give us an estimate of how long we could expect to wait for the replacement laminate. We were told that was completely up to the manufacturer.
When the replacement laminate arrived and was installed by Kelly and another worker, Kelly told us the wrong moldings and transitions had been ordered. The floor was completed, but we had to wait for the moldings and transitions to come in for the job to be completed.
I brought the crackling floors in the bedrooms and the creaking floor in the hallway to Kelly's attention. He said to give it 30 days, and if the sounds did not go away by then, they would take a look at it.
Kelly and the other employee returned to put the moldings down. He also had to nail down several of the transitions in the bedrooms to get them to stay down.
I again talked to Kelly about the noises. I showed him how the flooring moved and crackled in the bedrooms, especially in the bedroom in the northwest corner of the house. Kelly said, "Oh yeah, Dave told me there was an uneven floor joist in that room." I asked Kelly why nothing was said to us about this before the installation was started. Kelly said, "Oh, I thought Dave said he'd spoken to you guys about it." I told Kelly this was the first we had heard about an uneven floor joist, and asked why they would install the floor over an uneven sub-floor. Kelly said if the problem continued, they would take care of it.
Kelly used pieces of cardboard from boxes in my garage to make homemade shims to place under the wall in a small section of the hallway to try to reduce the creaking noises there.
We complained to Home Depot about the problems with the laminate flooring. We were told they would have an inspector come out to see if there were any problems.
4/16 - Jim A. Betts from Betts Flooring Service arrived to inspect the laminate flooring installed in our home. Mr. Betts was a representative for Pergo, the manufacturer of the laminate flooring.
5/2 - We called Home Depot to ask about the status of the inspection, and we spoke to Matt Bashaw. He told us in no uncertain terms that the report Home Depot received from Betts Flooring Service indicated no problem with the laminate flooring installed in our home, and that nothing further would be done. I asked if we could obtain a copy of the report, and after some discussion with his supervisor(s), Matt Bashaw said we could.
5/5 - We went to Home Depot to obtain a copy of the report and got one from an employee named Gavin. After briefly scanning it, I told Gavin it was my opinion that the report did not indicate there was no problem with the flooring. The report clearly reflected that there were no manufacturer defects with the Pergo laminate flooring. However, it stated that the problem was caused by an uneven sub-floor and the fact that some of the planks were incorrectly staggered. I told Gavin that we paid Home Depot for a professional installation and that it appeared the problem was installation related. Gavin said he would have to talk to his supervisor(s) about the report. He asked me to return a day or two later.
5/12 - We returned to Home Depot and spoke to Gavin. He said the matter was referred to Tim Braun. After waiting to speak to Tim Braun, Gavin returned and said he was not available. Gavin said that Tim Braun had authorized an additional inspection by a company of their choosing. Gavin then said Tim Braun was offering us $600.00 to take care of the problem, and that if we refused the $600.00 and the inspection then found no problems, we would not get anything. We refused the $600.00 offer, telling Gavin the problems would cost more than $600.00 to fix. Gavin said an inspection would be ordered.
5/19 - Due to Home Depot's inactivity, we had Pam Truscott come out to do an inspection. Pam Truscott told us verbally that the flooring problem was Home Depot's responsibility. However, she was very busy and would not be able to complete a written report for several weeks or more. She said she could complete a written report for us later if it became necessary.
5/21 - We called Home Depot to ask about the status of the inspection. John told us they were still trying to get an inspection scheduled.
6/2 - Ed Gamble of Ed Gamble Carpet and Laminate Flooring Inspections arrived to complete an inspection for Home Depot of the laminate flooring they installed in our home.
7/7 - We called Home Depot about the status of the inspection by Ed Gamble. We spoke to Rick, who said the report was completed and had been received by Home Depot. I asked if we could obtain a copy, and after some discussion with his supervisor(s), Rick said we could. The report stated that the installation of the laminate flooring was defective and that this was the cause of the problems we had experienced.
7/8 - We contacted Home Depot to find out their response to Ed Gamble's report. We were told we would have to discuss the matter with Tim Braun, but he was not available. I asked why we seemed to be getting the runaround. I said they knew the report had been received, yet no one called to let us know. They knew the results of the inspection report, yet no one was ready or willing to discuss the remedy Home Depot proposed to correct the problem.
7/28 - We called Home Depot to try to speak with Tim Braun. Diana said he was on vacation.
8/13 - We called Home Depot to try to speak with Tim Braun. He asked what it would take to make us happy and resolve the matter. I told him that, due to the way this matter had been handled so far, I had no confidence in Home Depot or the installers who completed the installation in our home. I told him I would like a full refund and that they could come and get their product. Tim Braun offered to have the installers come out and remove the flooring and, once we had the sub-floor repaired, reinstall the snap-together laminate originally used in the bedroom and put new glue-down laminate in the rest of the house.
I told Tim Braun that I did not trust that the installers were capable of doing a competent job, based on all of the identified problems to date. He told me he did not have any other installers available to complete the job. Tim Braun said he had signed affidavits from Kelly and Dave that they had notified us before installing the floor that the sub-floor was uneven and that installing it without first repairing the problem would result in problems with the laminate flooring.
I told Tim Braun that Home Depot's ability to respond appropriately to any problems had been less than adequate so far. I told him that, based on our dealings with Home Depot in this matter, I did not believe any potential future problem could or would be resolved in an acceptable manner, and that I had no confidence in Home Depot or its ability to competently take care of any problems. Tim Braun said he would check with the District Manager to see what could be done. He said he would call me back on or about 8/20.
8/20 - No contact from Tim Braun.
9/22 - I called Home Depot and spoke to Tim Braun. Still no definitive answer to my request for a refund. He said he was traveling to Sacramento, CA on 9/23 and would speak to the District Manager about the problem.
9/29 - I spoke to Cathriana at Home Depot to see what, if anything, Tim Braun had heard. He was unavailable.
10/2 - Tim Braun called and left a message saying we needed to contact (800) 553-3199 and speak to them to continue working on resolving the problem. I spoke to Phyllis D., who did not know why I was told to contact a Customer Service Representative, but she filed a complaint for me, Complaint #724629. I was told a Customer Service Rep would contact me within a couple of days.
10/16 - We called Customer Service to see what, if anything, was being done. I was told that Linda Bowden was working on it and was supposed to be contacting Tim Braun that day.
10/21 - Called Customer Service. Left a message for Linda Bowden.
10/22 - Called Customer Service. Left a message to speak to Linda Bowden and her supervisor. Melissa said Kay was Linda's supervisor but she was unavailable. But Kay would have Linda call me.
10/23 - Called Customer Service. Linda tried to call three times within an hour, but I was on the internet and did not receive the calls.
10/24 - Linda Bowden called. I explained the situation to her. I told her I did not think it was fair that I had to pay extra money, which I presently do not have, to repair the sub-floor when, if the installers had identified the problem before installing the flooring, I could have stopped the installation and obtained a refund. Linda said she would check on it and keep me informed, even if nothing was occurring.
10/28 - Linda left a message saying she still did not have any additional information.
11/6 - Tried to contact Linda at 9:30 A.M. and again at 1:11 P.M. to find out what, if anything, had been done.
11/10 - Tried to contact Linda or Kay at 11:00 A.M. Messages left for both.
11/11 - Tried to speak to Kay or Linda. Kay said she has no control over the situation. I asked Kay to have Linda give me a written explanation of what, if anything, Home Depot was offering to do to correct the problem. I also asked for the contractor licenses for Kelly and Dave, both of their full legal names, and any contractor licenses being used by Home Depot.
11/12 - Linda called and said she would mail Home Depot's final offer for the resolution of this matter and would obtain the requested information.
11/26 - Received a letter from Linda with a written proposal from Home Depot. No contractor licenses were included. She referred me to Tim Braun for any other questions.
To date, Home Depot has refused to correct the problems caused by the improper installation of the laminate flooring in our home, despite two separate reports from inspectors they hired that showed the installation was defective.
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