WARRANTY
Warranty Overview
You can purchase DBNS Hardwood products exclusively through your local DBNS Hardwood Certified Retailer, and not anywhere online. For products purchased online from non-authorized websites and sellers, we are unable to honor any warranty claims, returns or exchanges.
READ THIS CAREFULLY: The primary cause of problems with any hardwood floor is moisture, either too much or too little. It is the contractor’s / homeowner’s responsibility to ensure that the conditions prior to install, as well as for the life of the hardwood floor, meet certain criteria.
Wood Subfloors: The wood sub-floor to which you are nailing or gluing your hardwood floor must have moisture content (MC) of 12% or less when measured with a properly calibrated pin-type moisture meter, and should be within 3% of the measured MC of the hardwood flooring prior to installation. The sub-floor must remain at 12% or less MC throughout the life of the hardwood floor. It is the contractor’s / homeowner’s responsibility to verify those measurements, and to ensure that the environment, including the crawl-space, is and will remain dry.
Concrete Subfloors: Adequate moisture testing, in the form of a calcium chloride test according to ASTM F-1869 (The moisture emissions from the concrete floor shall not exceed 4 lbs./1000 sq-ft/ 24 hours) or probe testing in accordance with ASTM F-2170 must be performed, and the results used to choose the proper adhesive system as per our Installation Instructions. The relative humidity (RH) of the slab must not exceed 75%. If the relative humidity in the slab exceeds 75%, DO NOT INSTALL any DBNS Hardwood’s Hardwood Flooring until the above parameters are met. Failure to perform and document the specified test will void this warranty. Failure to use the correct adhesive, as indicated by the moisture test results, may void this warranty.
Environment: Other factors which can affect the MC of the floor, and cause problems, are uncontrolled environmental relative humidity (RH). It is the homeowner’s responsibility to install, operate and monitor such systems as necessary to maintain a RH of between 35% and 55%, and a temperature range of between 60º and 80 º F at all times. Failure to ensure a maintain a dry sub-floor and/or crawl-space or failure to regulate environmental RH or temperature as required can lead to excessive cupping, splitting, checking and gapping. Such occurrences will not be covered by any DBNS Hardwood warranty. DBNS Hardwood Floors are not recommended for applications such as areas of intense or extremely heavy foot or vehicular traffic, (e.g. department store aisles or airport terminals or industrial floors) and such applications are not covered under this warranty.
• Structural Warranty
Lifetime Limited Structural Warranty for Residential Applications (applicable to Engineered Floors only)
10-Year Limited Structural Warranty for Light Commercial Applications (applicable to Engineered Floors only)
Every DBNS Hardwood Engineered Hardwood Floor is manufactured using our best 100% Select Hardwood core veneers. This process permanently locks the plies together to deliver more dimensional stability and split resistance than ordinary solid flooring. In the event that the plies should separate due to glue bond failure, DBNS Hardwood will, at our option, either: (1) repair the defective plank(s); (2) replace the defective plank(s); or (3) refund the purchase price if we are unable to provide a replacement and repair is not commercially practical or cannot be timely made. For Light Commercial Applications this warranty is limited to 10 years, and begins on the date of purchase. Only adhesives approved by DBNS Hardwood may be used for glue-down applications. Glue-down installation using a non-approved adhesive will void this structural warranty.
• Finish Wear Limited Warranty
35-Year Finish Wear Limited Warranty for Residential Installations (applicable to Engineered and Solid Floors)
5-Year Finish Wear Limited Warranty for Light Commercial Installations (applicable to Engineered and Solid Floors)
DBNS Hardwood will warrant under normal residential conditions and uses, and providing that DBNS Hardwood’s maintenance guidelines are strictly followed, that the finish will not wear through or peel off of the hardwood flooring for a period of 25 years. DBNS Hardwood will warrant under normal Light Commercial conditions and uses, and providing that DBNS Hardwood’s maintenance guidelines are strictly followed, that the finish will not wear through or peel off of the hardwood flooring for a period of 5 years. In the event that the finish wears through or peels off of the hardwood flooring, DBNS Hardwood will, at our option, either: (1) replace the affected plank(s); (2) recoat the affected area; or (3) refund the purchase price, for the affected area only, prorated over the remaining life of this limited warranty. This limited warranty extends only for defects that cover at least 10% of the surface area of the installed flooring. Gloss Reduction and Scratches in the finish are not considered surface wear and are not covered under this warranty. The Limited Warranties for Finish Wear begin from date of purchase.
• Floating Floor Installations
Only ½” thick or thicker Engineered Hardwood Floors are warranted for floating installations provided installation is done in strict accordance with the DBNS Hardwood Engineered Hardwood Flooring Floating Installation Instructions. All DBNS Hardwood Solid Hardwood Floors are not warranted for floating installation.
• Radiant Heat Installations
These warranties are extended to all ½” thick DBNS Hardwood Engineered Hardwood Floors when installed over radiant heat systems, provided installation is done in strict accordance with the DBNS Hardwood Engineered Hardwood Flooring Installation Instructions and ongoing operating floor temperature and room humidity is controlled as detailed therein. Even when these guidelines are followed it is still possible that your flooring may experience some cracks (seasonal checking) on the surface, gapping between boards, or delamination of boards. These symptoms are NOT covered by this warranty. DBNS Hardwood Solid Hardwood Floors are not warranted for installation over radiant heat systems. DBNS Hardwood Flooring is not warranted for installation over radiant heat systems in commercial applications.
• Who is covered under These Limited Warranties?
These limited warranties apply to you only if you: (1) are the original consumer purchaser of the DBNS Hardwood floor; (2) have paid in full for your hardwood floor, and (3) have purchased the hardwood floor for your own personal residential use and not for resale. These warranties are not transferable or assignable.
• Warranty Exclusions
DBNS Hardwood Floors are not recommended for applications such as areas of intense or extremely heavy foot or vehicular traffic, (e.g. department store aisles or airport terminals or industrial floors) and such applications are not covered under this warranty. DBNS HardwoodFlooring is not warranted against indentations, scratches or damages which are caused by neglect, water, wet mopping, erosion, pebbles, sand, other abrasive, misuse, abuse, insufficient protection, insects, pets, and spiked shoes. Failure to follow DBNS Hardwood’s written installation or maintenance instructions, not maintaining proper humidity conditions, or any improper alterations of the DBNS Hardwood Flooring voids applicable warranties. Surface checking and/or occasional cracks in the surface due to changes in humidity or dryness as the floor ages are common in natural wood products and are not covered by these warranties. Damage due to water saturation such as leaky plumbing, broken pipes and wet mopping is excluded from the Lifetime Limited Structural Warranty. Maintaining proper humidity is necessary (please refer to installation instructions for suggested range). Minor separations due to seasonal humidity changes are not covered by this warranty. DBNS Hardwood reserves the right to determine, with sole discretion whether any item hereunder is defective or subject to exclusion noted hereby. Exposure to the sun and its UV rays accelerates the oxidation and aging of wood. This can cause the stain and/or wood to fade and/or to change color. We recommend that you rearrange rugs and furniture periodically so the floor ages evenly. DBNS Hardwood takes every reasonable precaution to ensure our solid hardwood flooring is free of wood-boring pests. However, it is not possible to guarantee that solid hardwood flooring is free of wood-boring pests, and DBNS Hardwood does not warrant our solid hardwood floors against infestation by Powder Post Beetles or similar wood-boring pests. Some species such as Black Cherry and Walnut are more susceptible to color change during the aging process. These warranties do not cover damage from the sun and its UV rays. Wood is a natural product containing natural variations in color, tone, and graining. DBNS Hardwood cannot warrant against natural variations in color or any other variations, such as mineral streaks, small knots, and grain variations from plank to plank. Any sample or model shown or used by your seller is for demonstrative purposes only, and such sample or model DOES NOT create a warranty of any kind that the goods you purchased shall conform thereto. Any warranties based on any such sample or models are specifically disclaimed. If you or your installers are not satisfied with our floor prior to installation, simply return the carton(s) to your dealer for a full replacement (Accepting or rejecting the shipment must be done on full shipment quantities only, not carton-by-carton or plank-by-plank).
Responsibility for final inspection and approval falls to the customer and installer prior to permanent installation. DBNS Hardwood is not responsible for any costs associated with repairing or replacing planks with apparent defects after the floor is installed.
The above warranties are the complete and exclusive statement of DBNS Hardwood Flooring Residential Limited Warranty, and are expressly offered in lieu of all other express and/or statutory warranties including the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. DBNS Hardwood assumes no liability for incidental or consequential damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion of limitations for incidental or consequential damages. In that case these exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you legal rights that vary from state to state. DBNS Hardwood may repair or replace any defective product at its sole discretion. Any attempt to repair, replace or refinish prior to DBNS Hardwood optional inspection will void this warranty. No installer, retailer, agent or employee of DBNS Hardwood (other than claims department) has the authority to increase or alter the obligations of this warranty.