What does an inspector do?Despite
all the happy people on TV and in sales brochures, every so
often, someone is unhappy or worried about the floorcovering
he or she has purchased. The store doesn’t want it back. It
isn’t simple to return and who knows if it was properly
installed or maintained. The manufacturer, the retailer and
the installer are usually certain that they did nothing
wrong and put perfect product into the consumer’s home. What
to do? The most effective solution is to hire an inspector
to look at the flooring and determine what the problem is
and who is responsible for it.
Inspectors are recognized as experts throughout the flooring
industry. We must understand maintenance and the effects of
maintenance failures. We must be able to determine whether
the carpet or other flooring was properly installed, mostly
by looking at the face of the flooring. We must understand
manufacturing and be able to recognize whether a problem is
due to some kind of mill error. We must know fibers,
backings, treatments, warranties, lab and on-site tests and
be able to put it all together in a simple to read report.
No one does it alone. It
sounds kind of hard when you put it all together but no one
has to learn it all on his or her own. That is why we have
classes and certifications. People with experience in any
part of the flooring industry make great inspectors. No one
knows it all at the beginning, but everyone has already
accumulated a lot of knowledge in some particular area (or
areas, if you wandered around the industry and changed
jobs.)
The carpet inspection class (and the
wood and laminate inspection class and the substrate
inspection class) present all that is needed in each area in
a systematic way. Then we practice putting it together in a
report format. Report writing help on CD includes a wide
spectrum of report sections for cutting and pasting into
your own reports. In addition, one on one report writing
help is available as long as desired.
How to become an inspector?
-
Carpet inspectors must pass Repair and
Reinstallation, Carpet Cleaning and the Senior Carpet
Inspection course. After passing, the student must
submit 10 reports to IICRC. Once those reports are
approved, the student is a certified senior carpet
inspector.
-
A wood and laminate inspector must pass the
substrate class and the wood and laminate inspection
class.
Most inspectors begin with carpet as it
is the biggest part of the flooring industry, then add
certifications in other floorcoverings.
The real life of an inspector...There are many ways
to do this job. Some work on retainer for builders,
retailers or mills. Some remain independent and work mostly
for manufacturers or retailers. Some work only for
consumers.
In general, we set our own hours and select the jobs we do.
We go and look at different floors then return to the office
to write our reports. Some travel a lot and work long hours;
others choose to work near to home and quit by 3PM.
In the midst of
a big conflict, the inspector is the happy one. He really
doesn’t have a side. As long as he can back up his opinion
with observations, tests, industry standards or warranties,
he is smiling.
It is good to be the happy one.
