Amtico Form - defective planks / quality control issues?

Hi all, first timer here planning to have LVT installed next week. Purchased a dozen packs of Amtico Form (https://www.amtico.com/flooring/products/product-search/FS7W8590/) from an approved Amtico retailer last week; got delivered yesterday. We opened the first pack to take a look at the pattern / print, and spread them across the floor for good measure.

Noticed this horrible mark / defect / misprint across at least 12 of the stripwood planks in the pack; I'd say 70% of the planks have this mark, or this type of mark running across the grain up to 3 times on the defective planks. See attached pics

Is this normal? Really disappointed with the purchase and I'm reluctant to open any of the other packs until Amtico / the retailer have got back to us. I was told today that Amtico will decide if they are defective or not, and based on that we'll be able to do something or not. We've spent almost £2000 on this flooring, and the fitters were due to start end of this week, with the flooring going down next week.

Little worried what to expect, and we're not happy or willing to put the flooring down if they all have this misprint across them. Can someone confirm is this is normal or a common issue on Amtico flooring?

Thanks!!

 

Really?? Those random embossments that go against the main pattern of the plank is considered normal? Is that part of the design, or is that considered a defect within tolerance in the manufacturing process?

[Not aiming to be patronising / a smartass here, so don't take it the wrong way!!] - but can you see the marks I'm talking about? Not sure how those pics look on your phone / laptop / screen device - maybe they don't show up as much as they do on my screen?

Thanks again for the help!

 

FWIW, I asked one of the fitters what they thought about it, and they said it looked to them like the sheet may have passed through the press 90 degrees the wrong way for one of the print passes, which can happen, and can lead to the grain being printed the wrong way.

 

Fitted loads of form. That’s the design to look like real textured wood. Looks more realistic that way.

 

Dear oh dear; well this is rather embarrassing.

 

I think years ago they were all tick / smooth finish so we all love the textured feel and look now. Did you see samples before you picked ?

 

Yep, we searched far and wide. Started with Tapi in Homebase, then shrieked when we heard how they bonded their LVT to the 'floating vinyl on the subfloor', so went to several local independents and requested a good 20 samples online. Also had a look at a dozen samples in some home visits, before settling on Cowrie Oak.

The bit on the print that threw me off was the embosses that goes sideways / across the grain. Just looked really odd.

I looked at another pack again this evening, but this time I placed it all out and put it together before looking for the so called "defects"... and funnily I could barely spot them. If anything, they added an element of consistency to the overall look when they were placed together.

Looking at the planks one by one was the issue I think, as I would spot these irregularities in the embossing... whereas when they're all together on the floor the irregularities suddenly add an element of consistency.

I do like the product now I understand it...

 

The samples, being as small as they are, didn't show any signs of the patterns that ran across the grain... so we thought we were getting a more uniform textured finish. It's obviously sophisticated and decent product, so much so that my simple mind couldn't tell great design apart from defective design.

 

Did you not go a showroom to look at a large sample board. We get every customer to look at our stands before they decide.

 

I did, I had a look at a few of them but honestly did not spot the sideways grain. Maybe I wasn't look at it in enough detail, as we were more concerned at that stage with the colour rather than the spec. Once we'd decided on a colour palette we decided on the finish (based on smaller samples). By that point, we'd narrowed it down to Amtico Form, rules out Spacia, Karndean, and a few other products.

Rookie mistake I guess. I will go back and have a look at the large board, just for my own sanity, to see if they have these cross-grain patterns.

I had a look at every Form floor on Amcito's website today, only TWO of the photos showing the Form product installed show the cross-graining, but in all fairness, it's on their website and that's how they market the product. e.g. https://www.amtico.com/media/1514177/fs7w5970allfeatureimage2.jpg - if you look at 3oclock and 6oclock from the chairleg, you'll see the cross-grain pattern. And it looks nice, in that guise.

 

Actually, more like 2oclock and 6oclock from the chairleg, but you get my point...

 

Ok, so amtico form doesn't just hav e a single texture.

I've looked into it for an upcoming job and have really gone through it, to compare against Karndean Van Gogh.

Form has a texture which is very realistic on some boards (the barrel oak range) where the grain markings are exactly mirrored in the texture. These are extremely convincing, although the colour tone variation isnt as good as Van Gogh warm brushed oak.

Others in the form range also have a texture, but it's not as realistic as barrel oak, as the variation in grain markings are not mirrored in the texture. The textured surface of these is a little more random. On none of the samples I've looked at, where there clear indentations like on the images posted, so I'd assume from that, that your packs have defects. Personally, theres not an effin chance I'd wear it after spending £2k buying the stuff.

Get it exchanged or refused. Simple

 

Sorry for the moronic typos, stupid auto correct

 

Amtico came back to us. I went to the retailer first, then the Amtico technical team, and then finally to the QA team at the factory. They confirmed it was correct, as per the intended print. They also sent some photos they'd taken of products coming off the line with the same kind of indentation on it. Now - I know that doesn't mean it's not a defect, I mean, what if they're all defective? I know for sure I don't have seconds, as these were manufactured on 24/01, and we ordered on 31/01, so it pretty much came off the printing press, got packed, and was sold to us a week later.

Here's the interesting thing though - before I'd even got a reply from Amtico, I went and looked at their marketing photos on their website for every single floor in the Amtico range. Lo and behold; Not every Form floor has marketing photos, and the ones that do only have 1 or 2 photos from afar or up close. Anyway, I found only 2 photos after looking at the 24 types of Form floor in the range, but they also had a very very similar mark to the ones mine had.

It put my mind at ease; and when I went and had a look at the floor again, this time opening a 2nd pack, It was a similar indentation. When the flooring is assembled and looked at from afar, it makes a lot of sense. This inconsistency I pointed out ends up adding an element of consistency across the flooring in a certain sheen type of lighting. It's quite well thought out; in fact, it's genius.

 

Check these out; you'll see these lines going across the grain on some of the planks on the left half of the photo: https://www.amtico.com/media/2469616/22933-fs7w5940-cottage-limed-wood-6x36-stripwood-cameo_1600.jpg

On this one, look an inch or so south from the chair leg, and an inch to the right of the chair leg as you look at the photo: https://www.amtico.com/media/1514177/fs7w5970allfeatureimage2.jpg

Pretty mad, that's some serious attention to detail.

 

Muppet

 

Dislike all you want, I had another muppet customer a few years ago who had gone for art select…left me to it all day…came back and told me I’d fitted it too tight because the top was wrinkled, another fucking weapon

 

Alright Adam - sort out your anger issues in private. I know a good doctor if you're interested

 

Good advice, I’ll get straight on it