For Owners
When flooring fails, the neutral evidentiary record shows whether requirements were followed — resolving warranty disputes and establishing accountability with facts instead of arguments.
Background
Industry Recognition
In 2014, the ASHRAE Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee Building Performance Alliance published The Strategic Guide to Commissioning, presented to the ASHRAE Board of Directors on June 24, 2014.
The guide identifies the types of commissioning it addresses. That list includes Interior Systems, naming architectural walls, ceilings, floors, interior doors, windows, and openings.
Flooring is named, by ASHRAE, as a system within the scope of commissioning. Flooring Commissioning applies established commissioning practice to that system.
Source: ASHRAE. 2014. The Strategic Guide to Commissioning. Report from the ASHRAE Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee Building Performance Alliance on Commissioning. Presented to the ASHRAE Board of Directors, June 24, 2014.
Independence
ASHRAE's Strategic Guide to Commissioning states that the commissioning authority is an objective and independent advocate for the owner and should work directly for the owner. It further states that a conflict of interest may exist if the commissioning authority's firm has other project responsibilities or is not under direct contract to the owner.
This is why Flooring Commissioning is contracted by the owner, not by the contractor or the construction manager.
What the Flooring CxA Does
- Reviews project specifications and manufacturer requirements before work begins
- Verifies that required substrate testing was performed and results meet requirements
- Monitors and documents environmental conditions during acclimation and installation
- Observes installation practices against manufacturer requirements
- Delivers comprehensive commissioning documentation at turnover
What the Flooring CxA Does NOT Do
- Perform any testing (testing is the contractor's responsibility under the project specifications and manufacturer requirements)
- Install flooring
- Perform inspection
- Approve or reject work
- Direct contractor means and methods
- Stop the work
- Prescribe installation methods
The Flooring CxA verifies compliance against the manufacturer requirements and the project specifications. It does not prescribe, direct, or approve installation methods.
The Flooring CxA verifies and documents. Contractors install. Owners approve. These boundaries preserve clear accountability.
Who Benefits
For Architects and Specifiers
When flooring fails on your project, the owner's attorney contacts you too. If Flooring Commissioning was specified and the neutral record shows the contractor deviated from your specifications, that record protects you. Flooring Commissioning verifies that your design intent was followed. It documents the answer.
For the Project
Problems caught during installation are corrected while correction is still possible. The same problem found after occupancy means remediation in an operating building, at two to three times the original flooring cost.
Flooring Commissioning creates the verification that reduces the risk of failure and the documentation that resolves disputes.