You May Not Know About Wood Flooring…

All kinds of information on just about anything (including wood flooring) is available these days through the internet. Unfortunately, not everything you read or see is accurate. A whole lot of what you can find (especially on the construction trades) is just plain not correct. Of course it can even be that way with books, but the internet can be used to spread false information very easily and quickly. You really must be careful not to believe everything you see.

I’ve designed, installed, sanded, scraped and finished wood flooring for well over 30 years. For more than 20 years I’ve trained floor mechanics (beginners and experts) in all aspects of the trade. I’ve written and lectured to architects, designers and others in the trade on all aspects of the wood flooring business. I’ve trained thousands of do-it-yourselfers directly and vicariously through my many articles and through my book and videos/DVDs on how to do the trade.

As well as homeowners aught worked as a wood flooring contractor for more than 30 years, and as an instructor to professionals (including wood flooring experts) as well as do-it-yourselfers for more than 20 of those years – there’s a lot of information available on this site as well as many of those I will point out to you here.

Three of your best (and easiest to get to) sources on wood flooring can be gotten from my book and videos/DVDs. These explain in comprehensive detail how to select, install, sand and finishing a wood floor. Still, if you’re not going to go into the trade or if you don’t intend to do your floors yourself, you may just want to know some important things to look out for when you’re selecting a wood flooring contractor.

One of the worst mistakes I see folks make is to leave the decision entirely up to their general contractor. Unfortunately, this is what happens almost all of the time when you are having a home built. Of course if you purchased a “spec” house, the decision was probably made and the work done long before you bought the house. Let’s not worry about things we can do nothing about. On the other hand, if you think you don’t have the “right” help select your wood flooring contractor because you’ve already hired a general contractor, then you’ve got a whole lot more to worry about than your wood flooring contractor.

I’m not saying your general contractor doesn’t have a good wood flooring professional in mind. Some do – some don’t. My point is, it’s your home and you should have some very specific ideas of what you want in it. In my experience, most full-time wood flooring contractors (that is if you’re fortunate enough to have your builder select a wood flooring contractor NOT just a flooring contractor) will do an adequate job of installing, sanding and finishing. There is a difference between exclusively wood flooring contractors and general flooring contractors. Many builders like to work with general flooring contractors. They do everything (carpet, tile, vinyl, wood, and stone, whatever). Once again, there are some very good wood flooring contractors that work in or for flooring shops that do everything. What you’ve done by selecting a general flooring contractor is limited your chances of getting the best you can get for your money (we’re talking value here not cost). The finest wood flooring contractors are known by the individual’s name or a shop’s name. Check them out on line. Know who and what you’re getting when you or your builder hires a wood flooring contractor. For that matter, it applies to any trade for which you extend a significant degree of trust. Knowing what I do about the construction business, I want every single one of the trades working in or on my home to be known by me to be at least above average in quality reputation among his or her peers. This won’t make the job of selection difficult or expensive. What you will find, as all of us in the trades have found over the years, is there’s never enough time or budget to get the job done right the first time but always enough to do it again. You can save yourself a whole lot of effort (time, money and the big one -- worry) by getting good trades folk to handle your project from the get go. Quite often this can be handled by your general contractor. I don’t know a single general contractor who won’t tell you just that in a New York minute. However, the subs your general contractor has on his or her sub list are folks he’s familiar with and have probably worked with him on projects in the past. That’s a good thing – for him, a maybe for you. But it just may not be as good for you as it is for him. You, I assume, are a new client with this general contractor. Your decision to hire that particular individual or company has many parts. You, I assume have seen other projects the contractor has done and probably like at least some of what you have seen. Unless you plan to build an exact duplicate of what he’s already built, your project is unique to that contractor. If you’re looking for an exact duplicate of the floor his wood flooring sub has done for someone else – great! If you’re looking for something quite different – I suggest you look around.

We sell to lots of general contractors. Our wholesale division actively seeks business with general contractors. Why? Because we offer them an ala carte wood flooring style. They can send their clients to our showroom or bring them in themselves and look over ideas for their client’s project. Our staff’s so knowledgeable, our samples and offerings so extensive and our vendor lists, mills and suppliers so comprehensive, some repeat customers say our service to them and their customers borders on decadence.

~Don Bollinger