This work is exacting because the courts want a window into the truth. I have testified in many trials, and been deposed a great many times. My goal is to present an unbiased roadmap to how floors work. I get really miffed when an expert makes up statements that lack documented corroboration other then their own self-serving view as a fact.

I have been involved with an opposing expert whose focus is on one side of the isle. He makes statements as facts, but changes the result of those facts. In one deposition he states that if you burnish a floor coating it will make the floor sticky, in another deposition he states that if you burnish a floor coating it will make the floor slippery. He has stated that if you tap a piece of stone with a piece of metal it will sound the same as tapping that stone with a piece of rubber.

Are these the opinions of an expert? Evidence must be more that “I think it’s so”. Please forgive me for venting

The post Expert Witness Testimony appeared first on 4 Floors.

In 2005 ASTM withdrew its sanctification for the use of Tribometers. In 2010 then United States Government withdrew its recommendation for the use of Tribometers in the Americans With Disabilities Act. Also, in 2010, each state in the US and each city building code, by way of the International Building Code, requires the use of a different system than Tribometry.

There is extensive research that casts a shadow on the credibility of Tribometry. Does that not smack of Snake Oil?

The post Is Tribometry akin to Snake Oil? appeared first on 4 Floors.

Many agencies responsible for setting floor safety standards are recommending ASTM C1028 only.  To understand why go to www.jurispro.com/uploadArticles/Newson-Daubert-revised.pdf

The post Slip & Fall standards change appeared first on 4 Floors.

In each of these instances, the courts found our expertise of great value, in one case the judge asked us, to explain to him and the jury exactly why the floor failed, because other experts had not been clear.

The post Floor Expert Needed appeared first on 4 Floors.

We have developed a new demographic in our client pool. Floor covering contractors have ask us to look significant installations prior to the beginning of work on carpet, wood flooring, rubber flooring dimensional stone, linoleum, cork, sheet vinyl, vinyl tile, ceramic tile and other flooring treatment installations. We have been asked to interface with the construction management team and present explanations for anomalous site conditions and prepare installation protocols that are not covered by boilerplate.

The post Unique Floor Conditions appeared first on 4 Floors.

The post The Contractor’s Responsible appeared first on 4 Floors.

Moisture vapor emissions have been the primary cause of failure in , wood flooring, rubber flooring, linoleum, sheet vinyl, vinyl tile, cork flooring, and all other materials.

As an expert in the floors, I have been asked to identify and test for moisture in sub-floors of all types. This new standard will bring a new awareness to the potential damage caused moisture. The construction industry cannot take short-cuts, a technician schooled in the performance of F-2170 must be used. The installation contractor must be present when these test probes are read.

It will be interesting to see how the new standard is implemented by of the other materials manufacturers, such as vapor barriers, and adhesives, and vinyl.

The post New Moisture Testing Standard appeared first on 4 Floors.

The post Craftsmanship appeared first on 4 Floors.

You think it’s easy to choose a floor expert, well it’s not! There are no college degrees in Flooring. The expertise is garnered over years. Niles Bore said, “An expert is someone who has made every conceivable mistake in a given field”

Designers, Specifiers, Contractors, and Lawyers make the mistake of accepting a person as an expert without fully understanding the breath of knowledge and experience needed to fully “know” floors. The expert in the Forensic Science of floors most not only know how the materials work, and acceptable industry standards for “Tradecraft”, that person must also be trained in the gathering and organizing evidence for a court. In most cases, being a flooring contractor or a materials sales representative does not qualify a person as an expert. I have sat in several depositions where a contractor or materials technician was asked a question and the objection is “the answer calls for an expert opinion”.

When looking at the qualifications of an expert in vinyl flooring, rubber flooring, wood flooring, ceramic tile, dimensional stone, slip resistance, you must also look at the experts experience in working with hotel flooring, restaurant flooring, hospital flooring, retail store flooring, institutional flooring, and transportation flooring.

The best step is to look at the individuals client list, look case involvement list. Seek referrals. Look at industry associations, and involvements in the science of floors.

The post Choose a Floor Expert appeared first on 4 Floors.

The standard for safe slip resistance, whether it be for vinyl flooring, rubber flooring, wood flooring, ceramic tile or dimensional stone, are published by OSHA, ANSII, ASTMI, and The American With Disabilities Act.

As a floor safety expert (Member ASTM F-13 Committee, passageway safety), we focus on the materials used for flooring, and how they provide a safe environment for public use. Flooring used in, Hotels, Restaurants, Hospitals, Retail Stores, and Schools, have special requirements.

The post appeared first on 4 Floors.