David Wilson Homes vs Contract Flooring vs Amtico

SteveVy

Hi Folks,

I could do with some advice, I purchased a house a few months ago that was just under "2 years old", I understood that most of the property would not be covered by warranty as I was the second owner however, the house has "Amitco" flooring which comes with a 20 year guarantee.

The flooring has begun to lift in one or two areas, so I decided to contact David Wilson Homes, they immediately told me as the 2nd owner I had no warranty it doesnt matter if the house is 1 year old or 1 month old, as a second owner your not entitled to any warranty. I then told them the flooring has 20 years warranty they immediately said "it's nothing to do with us you need to contract the installer".

I then rang Contract Flooring who eventually told me, "it's nothing to do with us you need to speak to David Wilson Homes and ask them to send a defect", so I went back to DWH who again told me "it's nothing to do with us speak to the manufacturer" ( you can see where this is going ).

I spoke to Amtico who confirmed the floor has 20 years guarantee, and this guarantee is with the house *NOT* with the owner. They also then said "it's nothing to do with us all warranty claims go through the installer" I found the relevant documents Terms and Conditions which in fact confirmed clearly in black and white "The guarantee is with the property and not with the owner, if the original owner moves out the warranty remains with the property"

I then went back to Contract Flooring and told them I am fed up being passed in between both companies, I presented them with my evidence and DWH have come back to me stating "we only provide a 2 year warranty as this has now expired and you are the second owner we are unable to help, Please speak to Amtico".

I went back to Amtico who now have said "it could possibly be an issue with the install of the flooring, we don't cover this...we only cover manufacturing issues, so you wont be covered by the warranty"

Does this sound right?  If I do have to pay to get it repaired does anyone know how much it would cost to replace 3 Amitco Tiles?

tacpot12

Unfortunately this does sound right, in as much as the manufacture's guarantee is on the materials, not how they are installed. If the contract with the installer limits the time that they warrant the installation for or who they provide the warranty to, e.g. only to their customer not any subsequent owner of the building the floor is laid in, then you are stuck with this. 
As you have found out, Amtico isn't worth a lot after it is laid. 

Your best bet is to use the fact that the floor has lifted to negotiate a better price for the remediation from "Contract Flooring". You might ask them what warranty they give on remediation work, but I expect that it will be relatively short and constrained to the areas that they have actually worked on. On the plus side, I think a small quantity of Amtico is not going to be that expensive, even with fitting, and the issue has occurred relatively quickly so Contract Flooring should still have a record of what they fitted and Amtico will probably still make it.

The_Rainmaker

The question is why is it lifting?  You want to ascertain that. 

You could just try getting some glue and sticking them back down again or just buy three tiles from Amtico.

SteveVy

Amtico have said in their experience "installers rush jobs and its likely not enough glue was used"

visidigi

We have Amtico fitted by a company. During the fitter warranty period they came and re-glued a few areas, left a few planks if there was any issues (through damage) and basically said you will need to re glue in places, but you shouldn't need to replace the planks through normal use.

Its not a warranty issue, its glue failing, which means you will need to re glue - either by heating, lifting, re gluing and relaying or through replacement. Videos on youtube on how - would get used to it is our experience - it shouldn't lift on solid planks, but may where the planks have been cut to fit trim and shapes.

eddddy

SteveVy said:

The flooring has begun to lift in one or two areas, so I decided to contact David Wilson Homes, they immediately told me as the 2nd owner I had no warranty it doesnt matter if the house is 1 year old or 1 month old, as a second owner your not entitled to any warranty. 

I believe David Wilson Homes offer NHBC Buildmark warranties - those warranties transfer to the new owners of the homes - so you were given incorrect information.

When you contacted the builder, was it still within the 2 year warranty period? If so, you might want to persue that with the builder.

NHBC update their policies periodically, so you need to read your specific policy, but here's some extracts from the version from April 2018.

builder warranty period: The two years from the completion date...

What the builder must do
If you tell the builder during the builder warranty period that they have failed to meet the NHBC requirements, they must put this right within a reasonable time. This includes:
• repairing physical damage to your home resulting from their failure 

Selling your home
Each owner automatically has the benefit of the protection provided by Buildmark, under the terms and conditions in this document. You should pass on all Buildmark documents to any future owners of your home.

Link to policy documents: http://www.nhbc.co.uk/Homeowners/Findyourpolicydocument/

And here are the NHBC technical requirements for "Flexible Sheet Floor Coverings": https://nhbc-standards.co.uk/9-finishes/9-3-floor-finishes/9-3-7-flexible-sheet-and-tile-finishes/

SteveVy

eddddy said:

SteveVy said:

The flooring has begun to lift in one or two areas, so I decided to contact David Wilson Homes, they immediately told me as the 2nd owner I had no warranty it doesnt matter if the house is 1 year old or 1 month old, as a second owner your not entitled to any warranty. 

I believe David Wilson Homes offer NHBC Buildmark warranties - those warranties transfer to the new owners of the homes - so you were given incorrect information.

When you contacted the builder, was it still within the 2 year warranty period? If so, you might want to persue that with the builder.

NHBC update their policies periodically, so you need to read your specific policy, but here's some extracts from the version from April 2018.

builder warranty period: The two years from the completion date...

What the builder must do
If you tell the builder during the builder warranty period that they have failed to meet the NHBC requirements, they must put this right within a reasonable time. This includes:
• repairing physical damage to your home resulting from their failure 

Selling your home
Each owner automatically has the benefit of the protection provided by Buildmark, under the terms and conditions in this document. You should pass on all Buildmark documents to any future owners of your home.

Link to policy documents: http://www.nhbc.co.uk/Homeowners/Findyourpolicydocument/

And here are the NHBC technical requirements for "Flexible Sheet Floor Coverings": https://nhbc-standards.co.uk/9-finishes/9-3-floor-finishes/9-3-7-flexible-sheet-and-tile-finishes/

Thanks for this I was aware of the NHBC guarantee, and  I can confirm this was transferred across to me during the purchase of the house.

I thought the NHBC guarantee only covered things like the structure of the building etc but very interesting to read that flooring is covered. I shall investigate thanks