If You Really Want The Job?

Floordude

Isn't it funny how we cannot just bid to do our specialized line of work anymore.

Now you have to be an electrician, to find 220 for the sander. You have to be a plumber to remove toilets and pedestal sinks. A remodeler, and framer, to fix sagging and wavy substrates, and in the same manner, a concrete specialist. You have to be a crawl space specialist, and a water and mold guru.
God knows what else.

How many times have you had to go outside your flooring specialty to get the job done, or just to get a signed contract???

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**Education is the key to success. Learn more, earn more.**
http://www.AustinFloorguy.com

Mike Costello

Pretty much every day.

You left out Shrink. Gotta know how to keep the most anxious customers calm too.

Floordude

So, does that mean, the floorguys are suppose to be the most knowledgable trade to enter a jobsite, since we must know how to do everyone elses job, or at least know what is suppose to be done, just to do ours, correctly.

How many times, especially new construction and commercial work, have you had to fix and actually do, what another trade got paid for, just so you can do your job correctly?? (of coarse your getting paid to do it, at the price of pushing the schedule back, on a project the schedule cannot be pushed back, so it does not make it worth doing, and you actually lose money, to get some production going.

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**Education is the key to success. Learn more, earn more.**
http://www.AustinFloorguy.com

ron schenker

Don't forget installing new baseboard, furniture mover, and interior decorator

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

Demonseed

In new construction and commercial work, it is very rare to walk onto a job that is 100% ready for flooring. At the same time, almost every trade has to deal with these problems. It is magnified in the flooring trade, because, we are usually the last people to start working on the job.

In one specific case, I was a sub, we were working on a large project (an apartment complex about 900 units). We were only doing carpet and vinyl. Some mornings, we would get there and the unit would look like a bomb hit it, but at this point you have 2 options, Do the work, or don't do the work.

Once the GC knew I was willing to work with him, he worked with me. I would do anything within reason to get the job done, including pulling toilets, ramping work, moving their debris, tools, and garbage, things of that nature. In return, they cleaned and vacumned my units, replaced doors, ripped moldings after the fact when they were not installed, if I showed up and my work was not ready, they would make a unit ready for me.

Me, I want to work. I have used 400 feet+ of cord to run a seam iron in a house without power (this won't happen with an electric staple gun). I did 2 offices on Friday, about 80 yards of carpet tile with 40 yards of cushion back rip up (2 stage rip up, the top, and the backing had to be scraped with a stand up scraper), 60% furniture coverage on the floor, I had to disassmble L shaped desks, install cove base, etc. It was planned as a 2 man job at 7 hours (each), I did it by myself in 8 hours. Pressure sensitive adhesive and one air mover, and the place was occupied.

I would say, honestly, 90% of installers would have walked. I almost did, when the rip up turned out to be nasty, and it was a cheap carpet tile. But if I walked I don't get paid for the day, and I have dealt with worse rip outs, furniture, people, etc.

The job is done.

The moral of the reply, if you are so busy you can walk off of jobs, that is great, but if you need the work, you better learn everything you can to make sure the job happens, because that furniture truck is not going to wait 3 hours because we do not have the floor down.

Mike Costello

Amen brutha.
Testify!

ron schenker

Whoa, Demon...that was profound
I couldn't have said it better myself

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Don't worry, the baseboard will hide it!

MattCoops

My suggestion is network with a good crew of different tradesmen, that are competent, insured, and knowledgeable. And keep in contact with them when jobs arise that require different prep and finish work from other trades.
You feed each other jobs and everyone benefits. Plus, people like turnkey shows.

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more