It's natural for home and building owners to receive occasional deliveries, and some of these may be significant in nature and require a bit of simple preparation or action. A good example here is the world of stone veneer products, which are significant in both size and weight in many cases -- what should you be expecting when stone veneer products are being delivered to your home?
At Harristone, we're here to not only provide clients with a huge range of stone veneer products for all their needs, but also to provide installation tips and many other simple services to help prepare you for any stone veneer you're installing. What should you be thinking about and preparing for when it comes to delivery of your stone veneer products? Here's a basic primer.
Residential or Commercial Delivery?
A key differentiator when it comes to stone veneer product delivery is whether the delivery address is a commercial or residential one. In short, most Harristone stone veneer products are delivered via truck to either type of destination, but there are some key differences.
For starters, many commercial buildings have loading docks or other similar features that allow for easy offloading of stone veneer products and other deliveries. This is obviously not the case with most residential destinations, so it's important to take this into account when making your product selection. If you're having trouble picturing how this works, just give our team a call and we'll be happy to provide some advice and guidance.
The next key difference has to do with timeframes. In short, many commercial deliveries are made during regular business hours (9am - 5pm), while residential deliveries may be made outside of these hours depending on the carrier. This is important to think about because it may impact your ability to be present for the delivery itself.
If you're not able to be present for the delivery, we recommend making arrangements with the carrier in advance so that they can leave the stone veneer products in a safe and secure location on your property. If this is not possible, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can make alternate arrangements.
Value of a Liftgate
If you'll be personally involved in the offloading process of your stone veneer products, it's important to have a plan in place for how this will take place. One part of this plan speaks to the tools or equipment you'll be using to transport the materials, and a liftgate is a common and important tool in this equation.
A liftgate is a platform that lowers from the back of a delivery truck, and it's designed to make it much easier (and safer) to load and unload heavy items like stone veneer products. Many carriers will have a liftgate available as part of their service, but there may be an additional fee for this so it's important to ask in advance.
If you're not able to secure a liftgate for your delivery, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can make alternate arrangements.
Advanced Planning
You should receive a call well in advance of your stone veneer product delivery to confirm all the details and ensure that everything is still on track. This is your opportunity to ask any final questions and make sure that you're prepared for the delivery itself.
Assuming everything is still on schedule, you should receive a call on the day of delivery with a more specific timeframe for when to expect the truck. This timeframe will be dependent on a number of factors including traffic, weather, and the carrier's schedule, so please make sure to have some flexibility built into your day.
Once the stone veneer products arrive, you'll need to sign a delivery receipt to confirm that everything has arrived as expected. We recommend doing a quick inspection of the materials at this time to ensure that there's no visible damage, but please keep in mind that any concealed damage will need to be reported within 5 days so that we can begin the claims process.
Space for Truck
An important preparation to make ahead of time is ensuring that there's enough space for the delivery truck to comfortably and safely unload your stone veneer products. This means having a clear path from the street to the delivery location, and it may also mean taking measures to protect your lawn or landscaping.
If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team and we'll be happy to provide some guidance.
Have Your Receipts Handy
Just to avoid any potential confusion, please make sure to have your purchase receipts available when the stone veneer products are delivered. In most cases, the delivery driver will need to see these in order to confirm that you're the intended recipient of the materials.
There may also be a situation where you're not the original purchaser of the stone veneer products, but you'll still need to have some documentation available to confirm that you have the right to receive the delivery. In this case, please reach out to us in advance so that we can provide the necessary paperwork.
Receiving a delivery of stone veneer products doesn't need to be a complicated process, but there are a few things you should know in advance to ensure that everything goes smoothly. We hope this information has been helpful, but please don't hesitate to reach out to our team at Harristone if you have any further questions -- not just about this area, but about any of our stone veneer products or services.