Shipping Policy

Shipping Rates

Unless otherwise stated (i.e. Free Shipping), Shipping Rates are not included in the Product Pricing. Shipping Rates are calculated in the Cart of the website after Products have been added to the Cart.

While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, Tilton Coffered Ceilings, Inc. reserves the right to refuse any order for which the website calculates an inaccurate Shipping Rate for which we would incur a loss. If you feel that the Shipping Rate calculated for the Products in your Cart is somehow incorrect (i.e. too high or too low), please be sure to use the 'Save & Share Cart' button at the bottom of the Cart Page to share your Cart with us so that we can verify the best current Shipping Rate and provide you with an updated Cart link to reflect it.

Shipping Notifications

Please check the specific Product Pages for the current availability and/or estimated manufacturing lead times for the product(s) you are ordering.

FOR INVENTORIED PRODUCTS THAT ARE IN STOCK:
You will receive a “Your Order Has Shipped” email notification with the carrier’s name and tracking/PRO number once your order ships. This information will allow you to see the estimated delivery date of your order and to trace it while in transit.

FOR MADE-TO ORDER PRODUCTS THAT HAVE A MANUFACTURING LEAD TIME:
You will receive a ‘Your Order ETA’ email notification within 24 – 72 hours of placing your order stating the estimated date that your order will be ready to ship out to you and then a subsequent “Order Has Shipped” email notification with the carrier’s name and tracking number once your order ships. This information will allow you to see the estimated delivery date of your order and to trace it while in transit.

All manufacturing lead times start from the date your order is placed and has either been paid in full or had the required deposit paid. For orders which require the customer to approve any CAD drawings the lead time starts on the date we receive the customer signed copies of those CAD drawings.

Manufacturing lead times do not include shipment transit times, they only reflect the manufacturing time required to complete your order prior to shipment. Manufacturing lead times are in fact estimates and are not guaranteed in any way. Tilton Coffered Ceilings, Inc. will not be held liable for any claim for any expense incurred by a customer due to orders which are not completed within the estimated lead time provided. We do everything we can to meet or exceed the estimated lead times, however, due to factors outside of our control, we simply cannot guarantee them. As such, please be sure to factor for a buffer period accordingly. Orders which are completed prior to the estimated lead time will not be held or stored and will be released to the carrier for shipment immediately upon completion.

Orders Shipping to Outside of the USA

Please be aware that all international orders will incur customs clearance charges and that customers will be required to pay taxes and duties upon receiving their order. These charges are not included in the cost of shipping the product and are the sole responsibility of the customer.

Storage Fees Prior to Order Shipment

If your order was paid in full up front it will be automatically released to the carrier for shipment to you as soon as it is complete. Any requests to hold or postpone the shipment of these completed orders will not be considered. We simply do not have the ability to store orders once they have been completed and so they must be shipped promptly upon completion.

If your order is being paid incrementally (i.e. Deposit + Subsequent Payment Schedule) you will be contacted by email once the manufacture of your order is complete and ready to ship or nearing completion to any corresponding payments and/or balance so that your order can be released to the carrier for shipment to you. As such, any orders with payments or balances which remain unpaid for more than three (3) business days from the date of the payment request will be subject to storage fees for that order in the amount of $100 per day. Furthermore, any outstanding balances left unpaid for more than fifteen (15) business days from the date of the request will result in a non-refundable forfeiture of the order unless otherwise agreed upon in writing via email.

Storage Fees After an Order Ships

Once your shipment reaches the carriers delivering terminal, the carrier will contact you to schedule an appointment to delivery your order to the shipping address you originally provided. You will have limited flexibility in terms of the day and time-frame for the delivery appointment (e.g. a couple of days and/or morning/afternoon) based on the carrier’s willingness and/or ability to accomodate. However, if you postpone and/or refuse to take delivery of your order for more than what the carrier is willing and/or able to permit, fees will be accrued by the carrier on a daily basis for stoage of the shipment during that period. As such, you (not TCC) will be held responsible for any/all such fees and the carrier will not commence with delivery of your order until you have paid for any/all such fees in full. Unpaid storage fees which accrue to an amount equal to or greater than the total order value will result in automatic forfeiture of the shipment and all of its contents (e.g. any/all products).

Furthermore, the carrier is not required to store any shipments indefinitely and will eventually return the shipment to the TCC location from where it originally shipped and you (not TCC) will be responsible for any/all associated shipping charges accordingly. Once your order received back at the TCC location storage fees will begin accruing on a daily basis. Unpaid return shipment charges and/or storage fees which accrue to an amount equal to or greater than the total order value will result in automatic forfeiture of the shipment and all of its contents (e.g. any/all products).

Shipping Address Representation

Whether you mistakenly designate or purposefully misrepresent the shipping address for your order as a business/commercial address when in fact it is a home/residential address, you will be held responsible for any residential charges made by the freight carrier due to the correction which will then be charged to your credit card and/or reflected in an invoice to you.

Additional charges may also apply if the freight carrier deems the shipping address to be a “Limited Access” destination and you will be held responsible for these charges which will be charged to your credit card and/or reflected in an invoice to you. Examples of “Limited Access” destinations include, but are not limited to Military Sites, Schools, Mini Storage Facilities and locations which cannot be reached by way of a tractor trailer truck (i.e. an ‘18-Wheeler’).

Shipment Transit Times

Unless an expedited and/or guaranteed shipment method has been quoted, selected, and pre-paid for on an order, all shipping transit times for all orders are estimated and/or approximate and as such have no expressed or implied guarantee. We recommend that you DO NOT schedule the installation of the products you’ve ordered from us until AFTER you have physically received and inspected them. Tilton Coffered Ceilings, Inc. will not be held responsible/liable for any claims for any expense incurred as a result of any shipping transit and/or delivery delays caused by the carrier and/or any subsequent effects any delays in receiving your order may cause as they are outside of our control. Shipping transit and/or delivery delays do not constitute grounds for cancellation of and/or a refund on any order.

Receiving Shipment of Your Order - LTL or FTL Freight

Once your order leaves our manufacturing facility we will send you an ‘Order Has Shipped’ notice via e-mail which will contain the freight carrier’s name, tracking number and a link to their website where you can check the transit status of your order.

FOR ORDERS SHIPPING VIA LTL OR FTL FREIGHT

When your shipment reaches the carriers’ Destination Terminal they will contact you by phone (on the number you provided with your order) to schedule the day and time-frame to deliver your order to you. YOUR ORDER WILL NOT BE DELIVERED WITHOUT THIS APPOINTMENT HAVING FIRST BEEN MADE WITH YOU BY PHONE so that you can make any necessary arrangements to be there to receive your shipment.

Freight Orders Shipped WITH Liftgate Service*
(Most items/pallets 8ft long and under)

Unless the delivery address has a loading dock with a pallet-jack and/or a fork-lift, all shipments are delivered "curb-side" and as such, you will need to have at least two (2) able-bodied people present at the time of delivery and be prepared and physically capable of doing some or all of the following to facilitate the receipt of your shipment:

1. Open the shipment (i.e. cut straps holding product to the pallet(s) and/or open the crate(s)) after it has been lowered to the ground and while it is still at the curb and unpack the order contents.
  
  Tools You May Need to Have on Hand to Unpack Your Order:
  
  - Utility Knife
  - Aviation (aka Tin) Snips
  - Prybar (not typically needed)
  - Hammer (not typically needed)
  - Cordless Drill/Driver w/ Phillips Head Bit (not typically needed)
2. Inspect the individual shipment contents as you unpack them and point out any noticeable/obvious damage or missing parts/components to the truck driver. The driver will give you an adequate amount of time to inspect your shipment.
3. Take pictures of and make notations on the delivery ticket of any damage you may have discovered or of contents that may appear to be missing.
4. Transport the shipment contents individually and/or in manageable amounts (i.e. 2 beams or several planks at a time) by hand from the curb to an inside location at your job-site or home.
5. Discard all of the shipment packaging (i.e. pallets, plywood, cardboard, strapping, shrinkwrap etc.).
  
  *While we have a very high success rate of utilizing the Liftgate Service with orders shipped on 8ft pallets, we are at the mercy of the carrier's/driver's discretion and ability to safely offload these shipments. As such, you must be willing and able to offload the shipment by hand if/when the carrier/driver is unable to do so via the Liftgate.

Freight Orders Shipped WITHOUT Liftgate Service
(Items/pallets over 8ft long)

1. Open the shipment (i.e. cut straps holding product to the pallet(s) and/or open the crate(s)) while it is still on the truck and unpack the order contents.
  
  Tools You May Need to Have on Hand to Unpack Your Order:
  
  - Utility Knife
  - Aviation (aka Tin) Snips
  - Prybar (not typically needed)
  - Hammer (not typically needed)
  - Cordless Drill/Driver w/ Phillips Head Bit (not typically needed)
2. Inspect the individual shipment contents as you unpack them and point out any noticeable/obvious damage or missing parts/components to the truck driver. The driver will give you an adequate amount of time to offload/inspect your shipment.
3. Off-load the shipment contents individually and/or in manageable amounts (i.e. 2 beams or several planks at a time) by hand from the truck to the curb.
4. Take pictures of and make notations on the delivery ticket of any damage you may have discovered or of contents that may appear to be missing.
5. Transport the shipment contents individually and/or in manageable amounts from the curb to an inside location at your job-site or home.
6. Discard all of the shipment packaging (i.e. pallet(s), plywood, cardboard, strapping, shrink-wrap etc.).

It is your responsibility to inspect the shipment immediately, carefully and thoroughly BEFORE signing for the delivery.

You, or an adult whom you have authorized to inspect the shipment in your absence, must either sign for, or reject the shipment. If for ANY reason you are unable to fully inspect your shipment, you must write on the delivery receipt "SUBJECT TO INSPECTION." In the unlikely event that your shipment is damaged, read and follow the directions in the “If Your Shipment Is Damaged” section below carefully and fully.

If Your Order is Damaged During Transport/Shipment

If you notice and/or discover any visible damage to any of the contents of your order at the time of delivery, you as the Consignee (or anyone who will be receiving the delivery on your behalf) MUST write "DAMAGED" on the Delivery Receipt and both you as the Consignee (or anyone who will be receiving the delivery on your behalf) and the carriers delivery driver must sign the Delivery Receipt accordingly. You (or anyone who will be receiving the delivery on your behalf) also MUST take PICTURES of any visible damage to the packaging and/or the contents of your order as it appeared at the time of delivery (i.e. while still on the truck or while still at the curb after unloading). Then you can/will file a claim directly with the freight carrier for the value of the damaged contents of your order (in part or in full). Any and all damage to the contents of your order which may have occurred while in the possession of the freight carrier during transport/shipment are the sole responsibility of the carrier and not of Tilton Coffered Ceilings, Inc. (TCC). As the Consignee your claim for the value of any/all damages will be with the carrier and not with TCC.

WE ADVISE THAT YOU DO NOT REFUSE DELIVERY DUE TO VISIBLE DAMAGE and that you accept your shipment with the damage noted on the delivery ticket as described above. This will allow you to assess how much of your order is actually damaged beyond the point of being usable and how much of your order, if any, will actually need to be replaced. Appearances can often be worse than they may seem and so it does not benefit you to refuse the shipment in its entirety as the carrier will not accept any claim for or provide reimbursement for any undamaged product.

All shipments will be carefully inspected and packed before leaving any of our facilities and will be shipped out to you via the best available carrier at the time of shipment. Responsibility for your shipments safe delivery is assumed by the carrier at the time of pickup from our facility. When you receive your order from the carrier, be sure to unpack all of its contents carefully and entirely and if any damage to the product(s) it contains is discovered, be sure to keep all of the original packing and to report the damage to the freight carrier immediately (within 48 hours). You should keep any and all damaged product as well as all packing material until the freight carrier has performed an inspection of it or stated that an inspection is not required with relation to the claim.

Hidden/Concealed Damages

After acceptance of delivery of your order 'Free and Clear' (i.e. without any indication of damage noted on the delivery ticket as signed by you as the Consignee or by anyone who received the delivery on your behalf and the carrier's delivery Driver), you then have twenty-four (24) hours in which to notify the carrier of any hidden/concealed damage you may discover. If you do not notify the carrier within this time frame, any future claim for said damages will be null and void. As such, we strongly recommend that you examine your order in full and completely at the time of delivery and or immediately afterwards.

Responsibility for Damages

By placing an order with Tilton Coffered Ceilings, Inc. (TCC) for products which cannot be reasonably and/or feasibly shipped via parcel carrier (i.e. UPS, FedEx, USPS), you agree and elect to deal with an independent LTL freight carrier who is selected on your behalf by TCC to transport/ship your order to you. All of the freight carriers utilized and selected by TCC for this service are fully insured and will reimburse you for any and all damages they may have caused to your order while in transit as long as the proper damage claim procedures are followed.

Our responsibility for the condition of the goods contained in your order ends when the carrier accepts and removes them from our facility for transport/shipment to you. It is then your responsibility as the consignee/recipient to file any claim for damage which may have occurred to the product in transit directly with the carrier. Any damage which occurs to an order and/or any of its contents during transport/shipment to you by the carrier does not constitute grounds for cancellation and/or a refund on that order from Tilton Coffered Ceilings, Inc. (TCC). TCC is not responsible for any damages which may occur to your order when it is in the possession of the carrier, but we can and will assist you with filing a damage claim as/if and/or when needed.