I have a customer who considers “perfection” to be the industry standard. We’ve had several run-ins already where she expects more than the industry standard but won’t pay for the extra attenetion needed to boost the quality.
We’ve re-doing her hardwood finish to keep her happy, but I am wondering if anyone has a list or website with the accepted industry standards I can print out and give to her…
If not I’ll probably go broke(er) trying to make her happy(er)
Thanks
Replies
When it comes to the flooring itself, I'm OK with imperfections....it is a natural product.
When it comes to the finish however, my standard is quite close to perfection.
What kind of imperfections are you talking about?
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
according to the rep for the flooring supplier, the walnut we put down doesn't take the stain my customer chose as well as some woods. The finish has almost an "orange peel" look if you get right down on it and shine a light across iit. Not noticable when you walk on it, but you can see that it's a bit different than the smooth look on oak. She was told about it but still wants them redone. She also complained about the stain not laying down evenly and doesn't like the answer of it being a "natural product". I'm hoping that if there is something I can show her from an impartial source, she'll realize that she's being ridiculous.
Thanks!
Ah....one of those.
I understand the desire to please the customer.....just make sure you don't get burned trying to prove her right.
Best of luck.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
Welcome to BreaktimeWhen my hardwood sub does a job for me, he does a sample (on the floor itself) and has the customer sign off. Was the walnut steamed?live, work, build, ...better with wood
Not sure... I wasn't running the job at the time of the flooring. I took over afterward. I was told that it was wet down and the grain raised prior to the stain. What do you mean be steaming?
Bill
Generally I'll make the hard statement that it is unreasonable for a customer to expect a wood floor to look like a piece of fine furniture unless the contract allows for specifics such as 5 (or more) finish coats although it sounds like the problem is the staining, not the finish coats.
I have a booklet at work from the National Association of Home Builder's called Performance Guidelines (or similar). It describes standards of performance for a number of standard materials and finish surfaces. I can't remember if hardwood finishing is covered (and I'm certain walnut is not) but let me say that generally it states that finished surface will be viewed in normal lighting conditions and at a respectable distance - say 6'. If I remember I'll look and see if it addresses finishing of hardwoods floors.
I carry the booklet during walkthroughs with customer's that I have found to be difficult to deal with. I never have actually had to reference the book in this venue, but have on occasions just laid the book on the kitchen counter with the rest of my material I carny for these occasions. I think just the sight of the booklet has helped.
The booklet is kind of written in a prescriptive format along the lines of: Problem, Performance Standard, Solution.
sounds like it could be a big help in a lot of situations. Where did you get it?
Thanks for the input!
Steaming is done in the dry kiln at the mill. Here is a google link.
It evens out the color.Steaming Walnut
If you do it properly, steaming walnut brings color to the sapwood without destroying the figure in the heartwood. May 11, 2005.
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Steaming_Walnut.html - 35klive, work, build, ...better with wood
A co-worker gave it to me. Again, I don't know if it will help you in this situation. Wait till Monday night and I'll tell ya. I googled this:
http://store.builderbooks.com/cgi-bin/builderbooks/620
Which looks different than mine - mine is probably outdated - sounds like it has a lot more pages than mine too.
Here is another book I have (given to me by the same co-worker):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0867183497/ref=dp_olp_2/104-7410992-4063908?ie=UTF8
Definitely outdated, however it is more focused on handling customers than "technical specifics". This is related to your situation in only a general sense, and definitely is geared toward new home builders.
While I was googling I ran across this:
http://www.alibris.com/books/isbns/14689