When a commercial flooring installation fails — adhesive disbonds, floor covering buckles, luxury vinyl plank gaps at the joints — the downstream fallout is expensive. General contractors, flooring installers, building owners, and product manufacturers frequently end up in formal disputes. At the center of those disputes is a deceptively simple question: who is responsible, and why did the floor fail?
IFTI’s expert witnesses and forensic investigators answer that question with evidence, not speculation.
Why Flooring Failures End Up in Dispute
Commercial flooring failures almost always involve multiple parties: the concrete subcontractor, the general contractor, the flooring installer, the product manufacturer, and the building owner. Each party has its own documentation, its own narrative, and often its own expert.
Moisture is the most common culprit. The concrete slab releases residual moisture vapor as it cures — a process that can take months or years depending on slab thickness, mix design, and environmental conditions. If the moisture vapor emission rate (MVER) or relative humidity (RH) exceeds product tolerances at time of installation, failure is predictable. The question in litigation is whether that threshold was exceeded, whether it was tested correctly, and whether anyone failed to act on what the tests showed.
The Role of IFTI in Flooring Dispute Resolution
IFTI provides forensic investigation services for flooring failures and delivers expert witness testimony in arbitration, mediation, and litigation. Our process is systematic and defensible:
1. Site Investigation
IFTI investigators visit the failure site and document conditions firsthand. We conduct in-situ relative humidity testing per ASTM F2170, calcium chloride testing per ASTM F1869 where specified, and pH testing at the slab surface. We collect samples of failed adhesive, flooring materials, and — where accessible — concrete cores for lab analysis.
2. Records Review
We review project specifications, concrete mix designs, curing records, moisture test logs, installation submittals, and any communications between parties. The gap between what was specified and what was actually tested is frequently where liability is established or dismissed.
3. Root Cause Analysis
A flooring failure has a root cause and often several contributing factors. IFTI distinguishes between: a slab that was genuinely too wet at time of installation; a product installed outside its rated conditions; a vapor retarder that was improperly placed or omitted; and testing that was conducted incorrectly or at the wrong location.
4. Expert Report and Testimony
IFTI produces written expert reports that meet the standards required for dispute proceedings. Our experts have testified before arbitration panels, in depositions, and in courtroom settings. Opinions are formed from physical evidence and established ASTM testing standards — not estimations or industry anecdote.
What Parties Need to Know Before a Dispute
If you are involved in a flooring failure claim — as an owner, contractor, insurer, or attorney — the most important step is preserving evidence. Do not remove failed flooring before an expert has documented conditions. Do not allow parties to conduct their own testing without witness access for the opposing party.
IFTI can be engaged early in a dispute to conduct a neutral investigation, or retained by a specific party to evaluate the evidence and form an opinion. In both cases, the process starts with a call to discuss the specifics of the failure and what documentation already exists.
Contact IFTI
IFTI provides expert flooring forensic services across the United States. To discuss a current flooring failure or dispute, contact our team to schedule an initial consultation.
