Floor care and warranty

The first few weeks

If your floor was glued down, give the adhesive time to cure before heavy furniture goes back on. Your installer will tell you how long for your product. Please put felt pads on every chair and table leg before anything goes back into the room. We also suggest waiting a little while before laying rugs. Some rug backings react with fresh finishes, and a rug over a new floor can leave a lighter patch where the sun didn’t reach.

Everyday cleaning for every floor type

Grit is the main cause of wear. Sand and dirt under shoes act like sandpaper on the finish, so the basic routine is the same for every floor we sell:

• Sweep, dust mop or vacuum regularly. Use a vacuum with a hard-floor head, not a beater bar.
• Put doormats at outside doors, and consider a no-shoes rule.
• Mop with a damp, well-wrung mop and a cleaner made for your floor’s finish. Please avoid leaving water sitting on the floor.
• Avoid steam mops, bleach, ammonia, oil soaps and wax unless your product’s care guide says they are suitable.

Engineered oak

Our engineered oak has a 4 mm oak wear layer with a matte brushed finish. The brushing opens the grain slightly, which gives texture and helps hide small scratches, but it also means dirt can settle into the grain. A soft brush attachment on the vacuum picks it up. Use a cleaner suited to the finish on your boards. If the floor is ever worn, the wear layer gives some room for sanding and refinishing. Please talk to us before anyone sands it, as the process depends on the finish.

Australian hardwood

Our hardwood range, Blackbutt, Spotted Gum and Victorian Ash, comes in a smooth finish with a 10% gloss level or a matte brushed finish. Spotted Gum and Blackbutt are hard species that stand up well to everyday wear. Victorian Ash is softer and marks more easily. Smooth finishes show scratches and dust more than brushed ones. Care is the same as for oak: dry clean often, damp mop only, felt pads everywhere.

Laminate

Laminate has a hard-wearing surface that resists scratches and fading well. Its vulnerable point is the joints. If water gets into them, the core can swell, and swollen laminate can’t be repaired and has to be replaced. Mop with a barely damp mop, wipe up spills promptly and avoid steam mops. Our laminate has a textured surface, so a soft brush or microfibre mop works better than a flat cloth.

Hybrid

Our hybrid boards have a waterproof SPC core, a 0.5 mm wear layer and an acoustic underlay attached underneath. The boards are highly water resistant and can go in bathrooms and laundries, though not in a shower base. Water that gets through the joins can still reach the subfloor, so please wipe up any standing water. Clean with a damp mop and a mild, low-pH cleaner, and avoid steam mops. Hybrid moves with heat, so use blinds on big west-facing windows, and avoid fixing kitchen islands or heavy joinery on top of the floor. Scratches can’t be sanded out, so we recommend keeping a few spare boards from your order.

Protecting the floor

Furniture and felt pads

Felt pads on every chair, table and couch leg do more to protect a floor than anything else. Check them every few months, because they pick up grit and wear through. Please lift furniture when moving it rather than dragging it. Office chairs on castors need a chair mat.

Spills and water

Please wipe up spills promptly, including pet water bowls, pot plant saucers and wet umbrellas. A mat under the dog’s bowl and at the kitchen sink is a simple, inexpensive precaution. Water left sitting is the most common cause of damage we see.

Sun

All timber changes colour with light. Oak usually warms and ambers over time, and some hardwoods darken or mellow. It is normal and it evens out across open floor. Rugs and furniture that never move can leave lighter patches. Blinds or UV film on strong-sun windows slow the change, and moving rugs around now and then keeps it even.

Humidity and heating

Timber shrinks slightly in dry air and swells in humid air. In Melbourne that often means small gaps between boards in winter, when the heating is on, which close up again in the warmer months. That is normal. Keep indoor conditions steady where you can. Try not to direct strong heating onto one part of the floor, and use a humidifier if the air gets very dry. Engineered boards move less than solid boards, but they still move.

Pets and heels

Trim pets’ claws regularly. Stiletto heels and furniture with bare metal feet put a lot of pressure on a small point and can dent any timber floor.

How our warranty works

Every floor we supply comes with a written warranty for that range. We fill it in for your job: the product, colour, batch and board size, how it was installed and when, and the exact warranty terms for that range.

Warranty periods by floor type

These are the manufacturers' published warranty periods for the ranges we sell. Where several ranges sit under one floor type, the period depends on the range, so the table gives the spread. The exact term for your floor is confirmed on your quote and on the warranty document you get with the job.

A few things to know when reading these numbers:

• Wear, coating and structural cover are different things. Wear or surface cover is about the top layer wearing through under normal use. Coating cover is about the factory finish. Structural cover is about the board itself, such as delamination or a failed joint. A long structural period doesn't mean the surface is covered for as long.
• "Limited" and "light commercial" matter. Commercial cover usually excludes heavy-traffic areas such as entries and commercial kitchens, and every warranty depends on installation and care following the product instructions.
• Our installation work is separate. Where we lay the floor, we are responsible for our own workmanship, regardless of what the product warranty says.
• Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are separate too. A product warranty adds to them; it doesn't replace them, and they can continue after a warranty period ends.

What is covered

• Manufacturing defects. If a board has a confirmed manufacturing defect covered by the product warranty for your range, we assess the claim and arrange the remedy that warranty provides. Depending on the range, that can include structural problems such as delamination, splitting or a failed click joint, and wear through of the finish or decor layer within the stated use.
• Our installation work. Where we installed the floor, we assess and fix installation work that doesn't meet what we agreed to do or what the law requires.
• Your rights under law. The Australian Consumer Law guarantees apply on top of the written warranty and can continue after it ends. Goods must be of acceptable quality and fit for purpose, and installation must be done with due care and skill. Where the job is domestic building work in Victoria, the implied warranties in the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 can also apply. A product warranty can't take these rights away, and you are welcome to contact us about them directly.

What is not covered

The written product warranty doesn't cover damage that turns out to come from:

• misuse, accidents and impact, such as dropped objects, dragged furniture or pet claws
• flooding, leaks, standing water or moisture from outside the floor
• unsuitable subfloor or site conditions, or installation or care that goes against the product's instructions
• using the floor somewhere it isn't suited to, such as hybrid in a shower base, laminate in a wet area without written approval, or any floor other than engineered European oak over underfloor heating

Scratches, dents, sheen changes and ordinary wear are not the same as “wear through”. Natural timber also varies in grain, knots and colour, moves a little with the seasons and changes colour with light. A variation is checked against the grade, sample and specification you were sold, not treated as a defect by default. None of these points is applied automatically: each claim is assessed on its facts, and none of them removes a remedy you have under law.

Where each floor type can go

Underfloor heating: our engineered European oak is the approved floor. Laminate and hybrid are not approved for it. For other wet areas or heating questions, we confirm the exact product in writing before we quote it.

Care the warranty expects

• Sweep or vacuum with a soft head, and mop with a lightly damp, well-wrung mop and a cleaner approved for your floor.
• No steam mops, standing water, abrasive cleaners or harsh chemicals. Laminate and vinyl also rule out wax and polish.
• Use entrance mats, felt pads and suitable chair castors. Lift heavy furniture instead of dragging it.
• Keep indoor temperature and humidity reasonably steady, wipe up spills promptly, and shade the floor from long hours of direct sun.
• Protect a new floor while other trades are still working in the house.

Professional installation to the product's instructions is part of what keeps a warranty valid, which is one reason we recommend it even for boards that can be DIY-installed. See subfloor preparation for why the work under the floor matters.

Making a claim

Please contact us as soon as you notice a problem, so further damage can be limited. Send your invoice or other proof of purchase, the product and installation details, a description of the problem, dated photos, and any moisture or maintenance records you have. If you have lost the original receipt, other reasonable proof of purchase is fine. We will arrange an inspection if it is needed and explain what we propose to do.

For an accepted claim, we cover the reasonable assessment and remedy costs we have authorised, including replacement labour where the remedy needs it. Please get our written approval before paying for an inspection, removal, freight or repairs yourself, and keep the receipts. This process doesn't limit any costs or remedies you are entitled to under law. You can call us on 1300 690 160 or send us a message.

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