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Lifetime warranty on flooring
Has anyone bought flooring for a rental that had a lifetime warranty? I've noticed some companies (Armstrong, Mohawk) offer lifetime warranties against tears or stains, but was wondering what the catch was.
If you have a warranty issue they have a list of ways to get out.
Claim is moisture was out of there specs at installation depending on the issue.
Claim the routine cleaning was not done according to the warranty instructions.
Most companies have a foot note that says “lifetime” = 50 years.
You will also see “under normal house hold use”.
Sounds like they could easily void the warranty in a rental property.
I would bet that once they find that the house is a rental, they would deny any claim made.
These warranties are not worth a penny in my opinion. And it doesn't matter if it's lifetime or 3 lifetimes, or five years or ten years.
I've never had a claim, at least I've never tried. And I've never read the brochures you could get after the first paragraph. "Could get" because they are not offered voluntarily, and once I found one by accident in the store (Lowes), I read a but about the stain warranty, and there is always a loophole for them (even with cut pile carpet.... :)
Stain warranty for example, you have to professionally clean it (not renting, but getting Stanley etc. in ) once a year AND once the stain occurs. And then they only replace the value of the life left I think (of 7 years or so).
All that cleaning and the miniscule value of replacement makes it pretty useless in my eyes.
I only use those numbers to gauge the "wearabiilty". Longer warranty, it may last a bit longer. But then we're talking about renters, and all the common sense is thrown out.
A quick search into Mohawk and Armstrong and I see they only offer residential lifetime guarantees. In a rental, it looks like they only warranty it for 5 years.
I'm trying to come up with a durable flooring that will last longer than carpet. I thought maybe if the product has a lifetime warranty than it must be very durable and I'd pay the extra costs for it.
Unless it's your own home, don't bother. cat pee and baby poop stains beats any type warranty.
I remember a recent thread maybe a week or two ago where flooring was discussed here. Have to run and BP search isn't working again, let me know if you don't find it. General trend was towards hardwood and laminate, as a quick summary.
Uwe K. - see the "Related Discussions" at the bottom of this page to find the thread you were thinking about.
Here is the thread I meant. Contains actually some other items, too:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/77534-rehabbing-for-rental-properties
Steve, I always forget about the the "related" section. But in this case it wasn't included anyway. It's a little bit like the Google video suggestions: You start out watching how to change your brake pads, three "related" videos later you watch an Airbus landing in a strong cross wind... :)
I'm fixing up my rental now and I've been doing alot of reading on flooring. Im going to end up going with Vinyl plank flooring. They can get it wet or whatever they want and it's durable and easy to clean.
The warranties are as worthless as the Home Warranties pitched for SFRs. Many people get into the Home warranty only because it was pushed by the real estate agent who gets a kickback for each policy sold. Quite a conflict of interest that you do not have with the flooring.
Originally posted by Dale Osborn:
The warranties are as worthless as the Home Warranties pitched for SFRs. Many people get into the Home warranty only because it was pushed by the real estate agent who gets a kickback for each policy sold. Quite a conflict of interest that you do not have with the flooring.
There's a long warranty on the laminate @ Costco, I can't remember exactly how long even, but quite long for a product that sells @ under $2 sq/ft. I kinda figured I'd "win" on that warranty, because Costco usually steps in & helps in the event you need a warranty, but so far I haven't needed it - it's been down for over three years with no scratches or scuffs - even with a large dog in the house.
Shanequa J.
The most successful landlord I know uses and endlessly swears by Allure flooring. It's at Home Depot and sells for $1.60 a foot and up. The install is pretty easy and quick. The durability everyone swears by. Also, you can replace a damaged section without wasting the whole floor. It's at least worth checking it out. The people I know that have used it, swear by it. They sell it in tile pattern and in a simulated hardwood look and maybe more patterns..
This is a hard decision to make. Today, I went to the store and keyed some laminate flooring samples to see how it would hold up. The Mohawk and Prestige held up the best; no scratches. I'll try the vinyl planks next. In the end it will come down to price and durability. The laminates had 15-25 year warranties and is cheaper per sq ft than the vinyl planks.
Shanequa J. - in my area, the local WalMart uses vinyl plank - that is what convinced me that it is durable. Go to your nearest WalMart and see if they use it too. With vinyl plank, the color goes all the way through (at least the ones I have bought had this), so even if you gouge it with a key, it still doesn't show like other flooring with just a surface color.
Steve Babiak What brand do you use because I think the Allure has a wear layer?