Professional Flooring Installers

There have been many changes in the flooring industry over the past 20 years - some good, some not so good.

I'm not going to exaggerate and say that back then everyone took pride in what they did and worked efficiently, because that was not the case. However, it did seem that more people, especially younger people, were eager to learn and work hard to make money. As we know, that's not the case in this day and age.

Twenty years ago the procedure for becoming a professional installer was simple. You'd work as an apprentice or "helper" for a few years and gradually learn the skills required to go out on your own as a qualified installer. Nowadays, there seems to be no such thing as an apprentice. As soon as a helper gets wind of how much his or her mentor is making, two weeks later they're an installer running ads in the newspaper and making a mess out of customers' houses. Twenty years ago almost all installers worked in the union. Although union labors do have their bad points, their apprenticeship program was definitely a big benefit. If you were in a union, you did not graduate to installer status unless you were ready and qualified to do so.

I would have to say, honestly, that in my opinion, 50% to 70% of all people calling themselves professional flooring installers should be considering another career! Even some of the ones that have field experience don't have the skills. The experience they have under their belt may have been obtained by their own trial and error, as opposed to professional training. Some are even ordinary people who may have just decided that their previous job was going nowhere, so they bought some Time-Life 'How To" books and hit the streets.

There are many things that I feel contribute to the lack of qualified installers. One thing is the added opportunity we have these days. Installing floor covering is hard work. If a young person attempts to learn a trade such as this, and sees how hard the work is versus, say, learning how to work on a computer, then realizes the pay rate is the same or better for computer work, which field do you think they're going to pursue? One thing that has to change is the pay rate for true qualified installers. In simple terms, it has to increase! Some of the pay rates for this type of work haven't changed in over 30 years, and some have actually gone down! That doesn't give newcomers much incentive, and it sure irritates the ones who already have been in the industry for many years. It irritates some of them to the point that they want to get out, or they work every day with a really bad attitude.

Another contributing factor is that, in many states, counties, towns, etc., there is no license required to do this type of work. Electricians, plumbers and many other tradesmen must be licensed to do the work that they do. In most cases flooring installations run into thousands of dollars—much more than other trades charge for their work. So, why aren't they required to have a license? This makes no sense. I feel that if a license were required for all the different types of flooring installations, it would weed out the non-professionals. Furthermore, in some states, a license is required by flooring installers on commercial jobs, but that licensing is usually overlooked when it comes to residential work contracted by homeowners.

There are some signs that the industry as a whole is attempting to change all of this. With the introduction of laminate flooring into the United States, and the fact that its popularity is growing at a staggering rate, the manufacturers are taking their own approach to this problem. Some of the larger manufacturers are now offering training classes. They charge potential installers a fee and put them through a training program that's designed for their product line. They then deem these trained people "Certified Installers." That's great, except that these classes are usually one to four days, and then they're done. I understand that the manufacturer considers them "certified," but I can't see how they'd be qualified in that short period of time. This goes back to my feeling on the apprentice programs of yesteryear. One good thing about the laminate flooring manufacturers, though: They are all terrified of developing a bad reputation with the buying public. With that in mind, they have been a bit more forgiving when it comes to approving claims. I've seen them approve claims that were installation-related problems and replace them, even though they had no obligation to do it.

What's the bottom line on this subject? Things have to change for the better, or the industry is doomed. When I say doomed, I'm referring to low profits, bad reputations and all of that good stuff. If you buy a floor made by the XYZ company, and you have a problem with it, even if it's installation-related, you may not recommend that floor to anyone. Even if the manufacturer was not at fault, you still had the bad experience. Hopefully, things will change for the better.

In the meantime, I highly recommend that you do all of your homework before hiring an installer. If you're considering doing the installation yourself, and you have some experience with this type of work, then I say go for it! You may be more professional than the "professional" you were going to pay to do the job.

Additional information on installing flooring

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Flagstone Versus Concrete For A Patio

Q: Would flagstone be cheaper than a cement slab if doing a 10x20 patio?

A: A 10 x 20 patio in concrete 6" thick is 100 cu.ft of concrete or aprox. 4 cu. yds at 4" thick it is aprox. 3 cu. yds. Depending on where you are you will pay between $125 and $175 per cu. yd. Then you need material to make a form, and wire mesh to help prevent the concrete from cracking. You still have to prepare a good base for the concrete and you will need some tools such as a float to finish the concrete properly.

Flagstone requires a sand base properly compacted. Some people like to mortar the joints. Quality flagstone will cost about $5 to $10 a square foot, depending on the thickness and where you are located. But the installation is easier and you can do it at your own pace.

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Vinyl Siding

Q: I wood like to replace the wood siding on my home and I am considering using vinyl. Is it difficult to install?

A: Vinyl siding is a relatively easy project, but usually needs two people, because of the length of the material.

Corners are handled by different moldings, as are eves and soffits.

The trick to a good installation is planning and making sure that the starter pieces are truly level!

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Parque Floor Disaster!

Q: We bought this house last year and it has nice clean carpet when we moved in. To make a long story short we got screwed. Turns out after the stains started coming up a few months later that whoever lived here before us just let their animals pee and poop wherever they wanted. We have children and have allergies so we are in a bind. We have been pulling up the carpets as we can. The two kids rooms we put down plywood flooring and stained it and used polyurethane on it. It looks good for the kid’s rooms but can't do that in the rest of the house as it scratches easily, etc. We went through the options since we have to do this ourselves and on not much extra money and came up with the parquet as the cheapest, easiest way to replace the carpet we have pulled up. Then my husband did the entryway with the parquet. It looked beautiful for a week or two but now the part along the wall is buckling and we can't figure out where we went wrong. We still have a living room, den and bedroom to do so we really want to know what we did wrong so we don't do it again in the other rooms. Can anyone give me any advice? What my husband did is put adhesive down first and then the parquet.

A: One of the most common errors with hardwood (which is what parquet is) is not to let it acclimatize to the room its being placed in. This requires 48 to 72 hours. The boxes need to be opened so that the air in the room can get around the wood. Most warehouses are very dry, the wood will suck moisture from the air in your home and expand and when it expands, if it has nowhere to go it buckles. Another error is to place the parquet tight against the wall, there should be 3/8” to ½” gap between the edge of the parquet and the wall (for expansion).

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Installing Interior Doors‏

Q: We have an old house that has dormers in the attic. We've just recently finished making these dormers into actual bedrooms for the two teens. However, there are eaves which we intend to make into closets. The "door" openings were already there and can't be made into a normal height. We know nothing about doors so we got a carpenter in to estimate and he said to cut normal interior doors to fit properly will be in the neighborhood of $200 per door.

That's seems ridiculously steep to me. Any experience with this stuff? This carpenter told us that you can't "just buy an interior door and cut it any size you want". Why not?

A: Interior doors are hollow and only have an 1.5" to 3" piece of solid wood at the top and bottom. $200 sounds high to me, just to cut the door. If the $200 includes the door, building a doorframe, moldings and trim, and supplying the door hardware (hinges), including a reasonable quality door knob, then it is a fair price.

A hollow door can be cut and a new piece of wood inserted into the top hollow.

As an alternative you might consider using bi-fold doors that come in shorter heights and a variety of widths.

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Laminate Flooring Questions

Q. A couple of laminate flooring questions.

1. I installed laminate in our living room and since then the stick-on tiles in the dining room are peeling up on the edges. I've decided to put down laminate floor in that room as well. I have a reducer molding between the living room and dining room. I'm going to have to replace it with a T molding and will have to remove it before starting the dining room for spacing. How do I remove it? Jig saw?

2. I'm also installing laminate in our master bathroom. Is it necessary to glue the glueless click planks because of moisture?

A. 1. Without actually seeing the installation a saber saw is probably your best bet. Although a circular saw set at the right height is easier to maintain a straight line.

2. DO NOT glue the glueless planks - they need freedom to expand and contract. Glue them and you will have no end of buckling problems. I am not sure I understand the part about "moisture" in the master bedroom. If you have a moisture problem in your home, you should fix the problem rather than trying to remodel around the problem.

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Storm Door Installation

Q. I need to put up a storm door. Can anyone tell me how hard this is to do? It looks pretty easy just looking at it. But I seen a man across the street a while back ago putting one up and he sure had a hard time. It took him 2 or 3 days to get it right. So I am wondering if it is as easy as it looks.

A. Size and the square of your doorframe is the key!

If you purchase a storm door that is the right size and your doorframe is square, it shouldn't be more than a couple of hour project.

As a note, most storm doors have the hinge attached to the door in a manner that requires that you screw the hinge into place while balancing the door. It is really a 2 person project, one to hold the door in position while the other screws the hinge to the door frame.

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Drafts From Recessed Light Fixtures

Q. I have a recessed light in the kitchen - last winter there was a draft coming through the house and going out or in that area the electrical working of the light is into the crawl space of the attic - yes I can get up there but not if to toss a woolen blanket over the whole thing or just pile insulation on top of it some sort of gray metal box

I was told I cannot cover up that area because when the light is on - the heat needs to be able to escape. Any suggestions?

A. Recessed lights have to be rated "IC" by UL labs if you want to put insulation around them. If they are not rated "IC" you could have start a fire by placing insulation around them.

Your choice is to replace the current fixture with an IC rated fixture, if the one you currently have is not IC rated.

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Bathtub Installation

Q: I need some advice, I have a small bathroom that needs repairs. The shower tile is coming up among other things. I have decided to renovate the whole bathroom. My question is this, which would be easier to install a clawfoot style tub or a drop in tub? I have 4 feet 8 inches width and about 40 inches in depth. I have experience in tiling, plumbing and electrical work.

A: Both style tubs require the same basic effort - possibly a little more with a drop in as you have to build a frame. However, if the clawfoot tub is going to be in the middle of the space it means that the plumbing - hot and cold water - will be seen running to the faucet. Hence, in my opinion, you have to use chrome or nickel plated water piping and your pipe sweating abilities should be perfect.

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Bathtub Installation

Q: I need some advice, I have a small bathroom that needs repairs. The shower tile is coming up among other things. I have decided to renovate the whole bathroom. My question is this, which would be easier to install a clawfoot style tub or a drop in tub? I have 4 feet 8 inches width and about 40 inches in depth. I have experience in tiling, plumbing and electrical work.

A: Both style tubs require the same basic effort - possibly a little more with a drop in as you have to build a frame. However, if the clawfoot tub is going to be in the middle of the space it means that the plumbing - hot and cold water - will be seen running to the faucet. Hence, in my opinion, you have to use chrome or nickel plated water piping and your pipe sweating abilities should be perfect.

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Crown Molding Installation

Q: I watched a couple of DIY shows where they installed crown molding. It looked like it would not be too difficult but in both shows they mentioned that crown molding is a little tedious to do. How tedious would it be? I have a small, simple home & I thought that a little, simple crown molding would dress it up a lot.

Any suggestions?

A: It is a somewhat tedious because corners in a home are not true 90 degrees. So the tedious part is generally getting the corners to fit nicely. Depending on what type of trim you are planning it can be relatively easy or
more complex. If you are painting the crown molding, then you can repair gaps in joints using a wood filler or DAP product and no one will ever see them. If you want a stained wood, getting the joints to fit properly becomes much more critical to the finished appearance.

If you take your time, measure twice, you should be able to produce a respectable finish. Personally I think crown molding is worth the effort!

Laminate Flooring - Buckling Problem

Yesterday I saw a laminate floor that had buckled. The laminate flooring had been installed for about 6 months and was a medium quality product. The homeowners did the installation themselves, after getting verbal instructions from a sales person at a big box retailer.

They admitted that they had felt comfortable in doing the project themselves and had only skimmed the manufacturers installation instruction sheet. The room size was approximately 11’ x 17’.

To my knowledge, there are only 2 reasons for a laminate floor to buckle:

• The laminate flooring was not allowed to acclimatize itself to the room before installation. (Warehouses and big box retail stores are exceptionally dry facilities).

• There was no expansion space allowed between the flooring and the wall.

On questioning the homeowners, they said that the material was in their home for more than a week before they installed it and that they had left a 3/8’ gap all around the room. Both of these should have been adequate to prevent buckling.

Quarter round had been placed around the room to hide the gap between flooring and the walls. I removed a piece of quarter round and immediately discovered the problem. The homeowners had nailed the quarter round to the floor, through the laminate, rather than to the wall, thus locking the floor into place and not allowing the flooring to expand and contract under the quarter round.

Simple mistake and one that was relatively easy to correct.

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