BarryDawson said...

the gibbo said...

Bamboo has its place

Hi Gibbo

I am not a builder nor profess to be one but where is the place for Bamboo? I just can't imagine there is one??? Surely cork due to it's softness would be in the same boat in relation to flooring unless you are wanting a severely distressed look.

In our situation with a wife with high heels, two teenage kids the dog and two cats it sure doesn't have it's place here!

Sure it does - at the zoo in the Panda enclosure.

Seriously though I'm an Architect and all to often see lay people getting screwed by dodgy sub-contractors left right and centre. I actually feel for the majority of Contractors who have to deal with a lack of capable subbies. You get what you pay for and only if you know what you are actually paying for.

Ultimately you as a consumer have rights, king of those is that you have the right to recieve a product that meets the level of service it was represented to when you purchased it.

It sounds to me as though certain representations were made about the product and the final product did not match those representations. You therefore have a right to claim either warranty or replacement.

The issue is not about whether cork was suitable it is about what the sales people told you/showed you the product would be. If dialogue has broken down then VCAT is a good option. Have your facts and present a good case on what was sold to you (expectations promoted by the service provider) v what you received. hopefully you have evidence of the finish that the sample showed compared to what you have.

Despite comments to the contrary here in your case your beef is with the supplier/installer. The manufacturere is not your concern.

Just a note on VCAT - if it is the same as QCat then your first session will be a sit down arbitration. This is good and clears out a large proportion of cases that should never go to court. But just remember that an arbitrators sole purpose is to have you strike a deal and walk away, generally it is a compromise that tries to make everyone happy or equally unhappy. They will say a lot of things to get you to do this. This is a good thing as court is an expensive path, but also forces some with solid cases to settle for a lot less.

Have you gone to the BSA? Generally they will a good first stop, although in my experience a BSA inspection will also walk a middling path and accept work that structurally/code is OK, but finish/appearance is questionable.

Good luck - and a word of advice for others treading the same path. Always ask for references from suppliers/tradies who are doing finishing work on your house. If they have none, give them a miss. A poor finish (tiles/painting/bathroom/kitchen/render etc) can really bring down the rest of the house.

Good tradies will have a long history of good quality jobs behind them and more than likely a long list of stoked clients more than happy to let the odd new punter quickly drop in and check the quality. I always make the offer to tradies that have done a top shelf job. Some even take it up.