Fire Department Entered Home While Finish Was Still Wet

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jasonb

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We recently had the wood floors refinished in a house we bought but haven't moved into yet. The contractor finished applying the oil-based polyurethane around 10 o'clock. At around 11 our neighbor (adjoining townhouse) called - apparently- 911 to complain about the smell. The fire department came and let themselves into our house through an upstairs window, and trampled all over the house leaving bootmarks in the finish.

I asked the contractor for an immediate estimate on reparing the damage. We are moving in in 2 days, with 3 dogs, and would like to have it all squared away.

Questions:

1. How difficult will this be to repair? Can I rent a buffing machine and slap on some polyurethane myself and expect a half-decent result? Or would bootmarks likely require resanding, etc.? I don't need it to be perfect, just presentable.

2. What responsibility does the contractor have? Clearly the neighbor overreacted, and the FD overstepped, but they should have ventilated the house during/after the job. Right?

Thanks for any help!
 
The contractor had care and control of the house and should have let the other tennents no what was going on and what to expect, he is the guy putting down a smelly product. I little common curtisy goes a long way.
 
You need to file for a claim against the city or county for the damages by the fire department. It is the same as we dealt with when we (law enforcement) had to boot down a front door due to bad information provided by neighbors. They will automatically deny the claim, but opens the way to a small claims settlement if necessary.
 
Your homeowners insurance may cover it. I doubt you'll get any joy from the fire department / city insurance.

The floor refinishing contractor bears a lot of the responsibility IMHO, though I'm not a lawyer and don't play one on TV. It would be easier for him to make it right before you move in than after.
 
The contractor isn't admitting any fault, but offered to repair it for a nominal fee. I spoke to a fire fighter who gave me the number to call, and basically said I could file a claim which would be rejected on the grounds that they are required to investigate complaints. For what it's going to cost to fix, not worth getting a mark on my insurance record.

Thanks for the responses.
 
If he can come in a do a light sanding and recoat it it would probably be less than my deductible on the insurance. I would get it done before I moved in even if it meant paying the moving company to store my belongings and spending a night or two in a hotel.

I had my hardwood floors refinished and expanded the area they covered a few years ago. We left town for Christmas when they did the work. It is a very dusty operation and you need to move everything out to have it done. Even with a strong vacuum on the sander dust goes everywhere. My furnace filters were toast after the job was done. He shouldn't need to go to wood, just a light sanding should get the boot marks out.
 
jasonb said:
We recently had the wood floors refinished in a house we bought but haven't moved into yet. The contractor finished applying the oil-based polyurethane around 10 o'clock. At around 11 our neighbor (adjoining townhouse) called - apparently- 911 to complain about the smell. The fire department came and let themselves into our house through an upstairs window, and trampled all over the house leaving bootmarks in the finish.

I asked the contractor for an immediate estimate on reparing the damage. We are moving in in 2 days, with 3 dogs, and would like to have it all squared away.

Questions:

1. How difficult will this be to repair? Can I rent a buffing machine and slap on some polyurethane myself and expect a half-decent result? Or would bootmarks likely require resanding, etc.? I don't need it to be perfect, just presentable.

2. What responsibility does the contractor have? Clearly the neighbor overreacted, and the FD overstepped, but they should have ventilated the house during/after the job. Right?

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

Its NOT the flooring guys responsibility. He finished the job proper and got it done. Whens he complete and out of the area its no longer his responsibility.

Did the contractor call the fire department?

Did the contractor step on the floor with boots?

No, he didn't.

therefore its not his fault. Honestly, it was a DUMB move on your neighbors part because polyurethane smells nothing like fire or burning.


In the end, it becomes the home owners responsibility to watch the property.
 
paint-tastic said:
Its NOT the flooring guys responsibility. He finished the job proper and got it done. Whens he complete and out of the area its no longer his responsibility.

Did the contractor call the fire department?

Did the contractor step on the floor with boots?

No, he didn't.

therefore its not his fault. Honestly, it was a DUMB move on your neighbors part because polyurethane smells nothing like fire or burning.


In the end, it becomes the home owners responsibility to watch the property.
Click to expand...

If there is no one living in the house and I have a key, I am responsible to much extent to the safety of that house and the people in the area until I turn over the key someone else.
Most painters who paint in puplic areas put up wet paint signs. In the future I would bet this guy will have a sign in every window about his smelly product.
Anything worth learning is worth paying for. He wouldn't learn a lesson if he didn't pay for the mistake.

The smell was not recognized by the 911 caller or the fireman, what if someone had got hurt on this call, this would be a lot more of a problem.
:confused:
 
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