Choosing the right flooring fitter
Reading time: 9 minutes
One of the biggest and simplest changes you can make to your home is to update what’s under your feet. Whether you’re replacing draughty wooden floorboards or updating some tattered lino, installing new flooring can bring a room to life, and potentially increase the value of your home.
A job like flooring requires specific skills and experience, so it's essential that you find the rightflooring fitterfor your project. We spoke to some of the experienced tradespeople recommended on MyBuilder to find out the key things you should know in order to make the right choice:
- Check their experience
- See what qualifications they might have
- Make sure you’re comfortable with them
- Get like-for-like quotes and make sure everything is included
- Establish a payment plan
- Check if there will be follow-ups if needed
Keeping these points in mind can help you focus on what to look for when you’re meeting with tradespeople and getting quotes for the work. Carry on reading for more details on how to go about finding the right tradesperson for your job.
Check their experience
Compared to some home improvement projects, such as building an extension or rewiring a whole home’s electrics, installing new flooring is a relatively low-impact job. However, just because it can be simple, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own intricacies, and some elements, especially when it comes to wooden flooring, are highly specialised. This shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to hiring the right person - you should be on the lookout for a tradesperson that comes well-recommended.
Some tradespeople are dedicated specialists, who focus on a particular element of flooring, such as installing wood floors. Others tradesperson will do a range of flooring - including carpeting, wood floors, laminate flooring, vinyl flooring, or even tiling. There are also general builders and handymen who will be able to do some flooring jobs, such as lay carpets or vinyl.
As with any job, hiring someone who has specific knowledge of your project is ideal. A dedicated floor fitter will be the person best suited for a flooring job, and will be better placed to deal with any issues and answer any questions you have.
核对你遇到的任何商人的介绍信都是至关重要的。有很多方法可以做到这一点。一个简单的方法是在MyBuilder这样的网站上阅读反馈，它允许以前的客户向商家留下他们的经验评论。当你与他们见面时，他们也应该能够向你展示他们的作品集，以及以前工作的照片。他们也应该愿意帮你联系他们以前的客户，他们可以给你个人推荐。Peter Jewett of LifeStyle Trade Flooringsaid:
The first thing my customers do is look at the reviews, and look how long someone’s been doing it. If someone’s only been fitting for a short period then obviously you want to see some work that they’ve done - you should always ask for references. We have a portfolio of all of our work, we’ve got a list of customers who are quite happy to talk to other people.
Another benefit of going with a dedicated tradesperson is being able to get better advice and pricing on materials. Although it is possible to buy flooring materials such as laminates or solid wood flooring from stores or online and then hire a fitter to install them, all of the specialists we spoke to recommended contacting theflooring fitterbefore making any purchases. They will typically have a wide range of options to show you, and can buy them on your behalf. Peter said:
We quite often get people that have already ordered materials, and it can cause issues - for example, people have ordered material wanting to use it for the stairs, but it isn’t suitable to be used on stairs. It’s better to speak to the floor layer first. Quite often the floor layer will have accounts with manufacturers, as I do, and we can save them money. We can supply trade prices rather than them buying it on the internet at more expensive prices.
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See what qualifications they might have
As well as checking their references, don’t be afraid to question the tradespeople you meet about any qualifications they may have, their length of time in the business, or how they’ll approach your own particular job. You can also find out if the tradesperson is a member of any trade associations or accreditation schemes. Tradespeople who fit flooring may belong to various organisations. Some you may encounter include:
- The Contract Flooring Association (CFA): CFA成立于1974年，由三个较小的机构组成，吸纳了从事地毯、木材和乙烯基等各种地板行业的从业人员。CFA的成员在加入之前都要经过审查，以确保他们有良好的业绩记录，并提供高水准的服务。会员必须遵守最新的行业标准，并遵守承包商的行为准则。
- The National Institute of Carpet and Floorlayers (NICF): Formerly the National Institute of Carpet Fitters, formed in 1979, this body promotes excellence in the field and upholds the British Standards Code of Practice for the installation of textile floor coverings. Members must provide references and pass an exam to be admitted, and can progress to be “Master Fitters”.
- The CFA and NICF collectively established the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA)
Membership of a body such as this is a good indication that a tradesperson is competent and working up to certain standards, however, there are many experienced tradespeople who do not belong to these bodies - there is no obligation to be signed up, unlike membership of the Gas Safe Register, a legal requirement for tradespeople who work with gas in the home. There are many individual qualifications a tradesperson can have, from NVQs to standards set by specific manufacturers, while many simply learn on the job or in apprenticeships. Use your own judgement to assess a tradesperson’s experience, and see accreditation as a healthy recommendation or extra seal of approval. Flooring specialistBrian Tilbury, who has more than 270 pieces of positive feedback on MyBuilder said:
I sat various examinations and did qualifications when I started out, but I’ve been doing the job for 24 years and most of my skills come from that experience - on the whole, I’m self-taught. Look at the references and the feedback someone has as much as their qualifications.
Make sure you are comfortable with them
As well as knowing if they are familiar with your kind of job, and have the appropriate experience, you should simply assess how comfortable you feel with the potential tradespeople. You can do that from your first contact with them; are they polite on the phone, do they arrive for meetings at the scheduled time, do they ask lots of questions about the project?
Most flooring jobs may not take long to complete, so you don’t have to become best friends with them, but you should be able to have a professional relationship - you must feel comfortable speaking openly about any concerns that may arise, and dealing with any issues.
Get like-for-like quotes and make sure everything is included
It’s important to get a full quotation from a tradesperson before work begins. The detail and scope of their quotation can tell you a lot about their process. If you get multiple quotations, which you may want to do for a larger job, it is important to make sure that all the quotations are like-for-like - do they include materials, labour, and VAT? The only way to accurately compare quotations is if you are comparing like-for-like.
安装新地板时需要考虑两个特别的问题，一个是家具的移走，另一个是正在移走的地板的处理。一些装配工可能会要求你清理任何正在处理的房间，然而其他人会为你这样做——尽管他们可能会收取特权费用。有些人可能会要求，在安装新地板之前，所有旧地板，如木材或油毡都必须拆除，然而，其他人会“抬升并拆除”。因为商人必须为废物的移动和处理支付费用，这笔费用可能会转嫁到你身上——如果是这样的话，请确保它包含在报价中。Brian said:
Removal has to be taken into consideration, because for us to dump rubbish now is a lot of money. Obviously if there’s old flooring it has to come up, and it has to go somewhere. I don’t mind either way, but it will cost more. However, most boroughs give free rubbish clearances occasionally for domestic use, or if they drive they can take it to a local dump free of charge. It’s up to the homeowner if that’s practical for them.
如果你有一个更大的工作，需要多个报价，至少三个报价的样本可以帮助你发现任何不合理的低-如果是这样，这可能是一个商人想赢得工作，但会通过增加额外成本来弥补真正的价值。
Establish a payment plan
After agreeing to a price through an accurate, written quotation, make sure you have a payment plan in place that you are comfortable with.
A reputable tradesperson will generally not expect, or ask for, payment in full up front. Typically, floor fitters will not expect a deposit either, though this may depend on the scale of the job - if you are also purchasing the flooring through them, they may charge something up front to cover some of the costs and protect themselves against the job falling through. Many tradespeople will be happy to deal in cash, but most should now accept cheques or bank transfers, which allow you to keep a better record of the transaction. Peter said:
我们从不收定金，我们觉得这是他们能得到一份好工作的保证。我们通过银行转账付款，从不要求现金。有时可能会有很多钱，所以我们不要求现金，我们总是要求银行转账。它适合每个人，它直接进入你的帐户，双方都不用担心。
Check if there will be follow-ups
Flooring jobs should be relatively complication-free, but in the case of timber floors, especially solid wood floors or reclaimed timber, there may be some aftercare needed to deal with any snags or changes over time, which can be a result of changing temperatures and humidity. It is always worth checking to see if your chosen tradesperson offers aftercare, or will be accessible after the job is completed, in case you do have any questions or follow-ups. Peter said:
Before we finish we give them the best advice we can, and help with any aftercare. With laminates we leave a laminate cleaning kit with it, and if it’s a solid wood floor we leave a brochure and an aftercare product they can use - and we give those to the customer free of charge, as part of the service.
Brian added:
I advise all clients as best I can when I finish a job. I tell everyone that they can always feel free to phone me up after if there’s anything I can come and help with.
