Residential Installation Agreement Terms

This agreement is between Fathom Flooring, LLC ("Fathom," "we," "us") and the homeowner or authorized party who signs the estimate ("you"). "Agreement" means the signed estimate together with these terms, any signed change order, and the warranty documents referenced here.

"Scope" means the rooms, materials, quantities, and line items written on the signed estimate. "Change order" means a written document signed by both parties that adds to, removes from, or alters the scope.

We perform the work listed on the signed estimate in the rooms listed on the signed estimate. Work not written there is not part of the agreement.

When the estimate says a line item is included, it means there is no separate charge for it: measuring, eligible furniture moving, removal and disposal of the existing floor, standard subfloor preparation as described below, transitions and trim listed on the estimate, installation, and daily cleanup.

Flooring is a manufactured product. Plank, tile, and carpet vary in shade, pattern, and texture between production runs, and samples and showroom displays are representations rather than exact matches.

We order from a single dye lot or run where the manufacturer allows it. Where a later run is required, for example for warranty work or added rooms, a visible difference is possible and is not a defect.

The total on the signed estimate is fixed for the scope listed on it. We do not add charges after the fact for work that appears on that estimate.

The price changes only through a change order you approve in writing. If added work is needed, we stop, show you the condition, price it in writing, and wait for your approval before continuing.

An estimate is valid for one year from its date, subject to material availability. The price is held for 60 days from the estimate date. After 60 days the price may be updated to current material costs before signing.

A change order describes the added or removed work, the price effect, and any schedule effect. It takes effect when both parties sign it, including by electronic signature.

Work described in an unsigned change order is not authorized and will not be performed or invoiced.

A deposit of 50% of the total is due at signing. The balance is due at the completion walk-through, the same day, before the crew departs.

Customers using financing must have lender approval before installation is scheduled. Amounts financed through a third-party lender are governed by your agreement with that lender.

No materials are ordered and no work is scheduled until the three business day cancellation period has ended.

We accept the payment methods listed on your signed estimate. Fees, if any, charged by a payment processor are disclosed before you pay.

Balances unpaid 10 days after completion incur a late fee of 5% of the overdue balance and interest at 8% per year, to the extent permitted by Ohio law.

In any action to collect or enforce this agreement, the prevailing party recovers reasonable attorney fees and costs.

Before work begins you receive a written start date and an estimated duration. Those dates are estimates, and we say so plainly rather than presenting them as guarantees.

When a date moves, you hear it from us along with the new date.

Neither party is responsible for delay caused by events outside reasonable control, including weather, material availability or manufacturer backorder, illness, loss of utilities, access problems at the home, or government action.

A delay of this kind extends the schedule by a reasonable period. It is not a breach of the agreement.

Before the crew arrives, please clear work areas of small items: countertops, closets, shelving, and the tops of furniture; take down items hanging on walls in the work area; and empty waterbeds, aquariums, and similar items.

Please remove or secure cash, jewelry, medications, firearms, artwork, heirlooms, electronics, and fragile items before install day. Items left in the work area are at the homeowner's risk.

Please also keep pets and children out of the work area for the duration of the work, provide reasonable parking and a clear path from the vehicle to the work area, and keep water, power, and HVAC on so material can acclimate and equipment can run.

We move eligible furniture out of the work area and back when the floor is finished at no separate charge. Eligible items include beds, dressers, couches, chairs, tables, and similar household furnishings that two crew members can move safely.

We do not move items over 150 pounds, pianos, safes, gun safes, aquariums, pool tables, electronics, slate furniture, appliances requiring plumbing or gas disconnection, or anything the crew reasonably judges unsafe to move.

Please disconnect and move electronics, computers, televisions, and fragile or sentimental items yourself. We are not responsible for data loss or for damage to items left in place against this section.

We remove the existing floor covering in the work area and haul it away as part of the scope, unless the signed estimate says otherwise.

Removal can disturb adjoining paint, baseboard, drywall, or trim. Repainting and drywall repair are not included unless written on the estimate.

Standard preparation is included: cleaning the subfloor, fastening loose areas, and minor leveling as written on the estimate.

Conditions that cannot be seen until the old floor is removed, including moisture, rot, structural damage, pet contamination, severe unevenness, or suspected asbestos-containing material in older flooring or adhesive, are not part of the original scope.

If we find one, we stop, show you the condition, and price the remedy in writing. Work resumes when you approve the change order. Testing or abatement of suspected asbestos-containing material is performed by a licensed third party at your direction and cost.

Where the manufacturer requires it, material acclimates in the home before installation for the period the manufacturer specifies. The home must be at normal living temperature and humidity during acclimation and installation.

We are not responsible for failures caused by moisture originating in the structure, the slab, plumbing, or the exterior of the home.

Transitions and trim included in the work are listed on the estimate. A new floor can change finished floor height, and interior doors may need trimming to clear it. Door trimming is included only when written on the estimate.

You provide access to the work area on the scheduled days. Our crews are background-checked. They work without smoking or vaping inside the home, keep walkways clear, and are expected to treat the home and the people in it with respect.

Tell us at once if that standard is not met. Call the office at (216) 245-2341.

Before starting, the crew photographs walls, trim, doors, stairs, and furniture in the work area, and you acknowledge those photos electronically. After the old floor is removed we record subfloor moisture readings and photograph subfloor conditions. Condition documentation photos are never published.

We clean up at the end of every working day and leave the home livable. At completion we walk the finished work with you.

Items identified at the walk-through are written down. Remaining items must be submitted in writing within 3 days of completion so we can address them under this agreement. Verbal requests are not punch list items.

The project is substantially complete when the flooring in the scope has been installed and the work area is usable for its intended purpose, even if punch list items remain open.

You may cancel within the three business day window described in Your Right to Cancel. See that document for how to cancel.

If you cancel after that window, you forfeit the lesser of the deposit or a 25% restocking fee on special-order materials. Deposits on materials that are not special order are refunded minus costs already incurred. Special-order material may be non-returnable.

Usable full boxes or rolls of material you paid for are yours, and we leave them with you on request at completion. Cut scrap, packaging, and waste are removed and disposed of by us.

Fathom may photograph completed work for its portfolio without identifying the homeowner or the address. Photographs show the floor and the room, not people or identifying details, unless you sign a separate Photo and Testimonial Release.

You may opt out in writing at any time by emailing Engage@fathomflooring.com. Condition documentation photos are never published.

Installation workmanship is covered by the Lifetime Installation Warranty published in this Legal Center and provided with your agreement. Flooring products are covered by the manufacturer's warranty, not by Fathom.

To the fullest extent permitted by Ohio law, Fathom is not liable for consequential, incidental, indirect, or lost-use damages, including lost income and lodging.

Fathom's total liability for any claim is capped at the total amount paid under the agreement. Fathom makes no representation about home value, appraisal value, resale value, or return on investment.

Fathom is responsible for damage caused by the negligence of its crews and carries general liability insurance for that purpose. Fathom is not responsible for pre-existing conditions, conditions you did not disclose, minor scuffs to baseboards and paint that are normal to flooring work, or items you declined to have moved.

Damage claims must be submitted in writing within 3 days of completion. Fathom has the first right to repair. You maintain homeowner's insurance during the project.

Fathom carries general liability coverage and, where required, workers' compensation coverage. Certificates are available on request at Engage@fathomflooring.com.

Before filing a lawsuit over alleged defective work, you must give Fathom written notice of the defect and the opportunity to inspect and offer to repair, following the procedures and deadlines of Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1312.

"Ohio law contains important requirements you must follow before you may file a lawsuit for defective construction against the residential contractor who performed work on your home. Before you file a lawsuit, you must deliver to the contractor a written notice of any conditions you allege are defective and provide your contractor with the opportunity to make an offer to repair or pay for the defects. You are not obligated to accept any offer made by the contractor. There are strict deadlines and procedures under Ohio law, and failure to meet those deadlines or follow those procedures may affect your ability to file a lawsuit."

Fathom may file a mechanic's lien on the property under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1311 for amounts that go unpaid under the agreement.

The agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Ohio. Venue for any action lies in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Before any formal proceeding, the parties exchange written notice and spend 30 days in good-faith negotiation. Please contact us at Engage@fathomflooring.com or (216) 245-2341 so we have the chance to make it right.

After that, the exclusive venue is the courts of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Ohio law governs. Both parties waive the right to a jury trial to the extent permitted by law. There is no arbitration requirement.

If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest of the agreement remains in effect.

The signed estimate, these terms, signed change orders, and the referenced warranty documents are the entire agreement. Website summaries are informational; where they differ from the signed agreement, the signed agreement controls.

Electronic signatures and electronically delivered copies have the same effect as ink signatures and paper originals.

You may not assign the agreement without our written consent. Fathom may use qualified crew partners to perform the work and remains responsible to you for it under these terms.

Notices to Fathom go to Engage@fathomflooring.com or the mailing address on your agreement. Notices to you go to the email or address on your signed estimate.