Posts Tagged ‘portland oregon hardwood contractor’
Why I still love this career
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Some days in the world of a “floor guy” are exhausting and frustrating. Some days you are working in houses so dirty that they could be condemned and other days you end up getting stain all over your new shirt. The freedom that has accompanied starting this business years ago always makes it worth it. The hours are flexible and the appreciation of a job well done when you hear it from a customer makes the occasional long day all worth it.
The whole company (Destry, Andrew, and I) have been working for a couple of months on a large project for a church in our neighborhood. The chancel portion of the church received all brand new floors and also we installed two large radius african mahogany nosings around the flooring.
One of the characteristics of working with wood is that you never know what will happen next. The two radius nosings were built from a series of rough stock boards. The boards were planed and then cut into strips and glued together to form a curved piece. Afterwards, we still have to router, plane, and sand the product a lot in order to create the final product. In the case of this project the final sanding revealed that there were voids in some of the strips . They appeared as dark spots and were out of character relative to the grain of the wood. Simply using filler just wouldn’t work. We even used the recommendation of someone else of using dust and glue without any success.
The real thing that keeps us going in this field is when a project demands resourcefulness and creativity to solve a problem. In the end I suggested that we open the gap in the nosing and we custom created grain matched wood slivers. We glued them in and sanded them and the problem disappeared.
That’s the point of this blog. Every day we have to think with two sides of our brain in order to run an efficient high quality hardwood floor company. Whether we are working in a historic house in Portland with fir flooring or a church, we always have to think of solutions that make problems go away and look elegant. I never found that in my last career. I’m glad to be a “floor guy”.
african mahogany radius nosing
Tags: hardwood floor professional, hardwood refinishing, portland oregon hardwood contractor
Posted in Hardwood floor Portland | 1 Comment »
Who is working on your project?
Saturday, July 17th, 2010
Sometimes consumers will walk into a retail store such as Home Depot and order up a bunch of flooring and labor and assume everything is good to go. The biggest thing people are missing is that ALL of the labor that retailers use is entirely subcontracted from that point onward. This is where most communication breakdowns happen particularly regarding a site finished wood floor. Let’s look at why.
Most retailers have only ever sold flooring. I have rarely encountered a retailer where the sales staff has ever sanded a significant number of floors. They rely on the people to whom they are subcontracting the labor to maintain a high standard. Any problems that arise with the floor at that point are being handled by the subcontractor and not the retailer. It’s like passing the buck and it puts relations at a tricky point.
The best way to purchase a site-finished hardwood floor is to hire a reputable wood flooring professional. Go to the National Wood Flooring Association website and evaluate from there who fits your needs. All wood flooring contractors who specialize in site finished wood floors have access to wholesale distribution showrooms with equal or greater selection than most retailers. In fact, a lot of retailers purchase products from the same wholesale distributors as the contractor. The contractor can handle all materials and labor and reduce or eliminate any mis-communication liabilities if they are more closely involved in the process from the beginning.
Tags: hardwood choices for the wise consumer, hardwood floor contractor, portland oregon hardwood contractor
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Finish technology, the great unknown
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
I was at my distributor today and overheard something amazing. A company owner who has been in business many years was asking for some product. Here’s how it goes,
Owner, “I want the lightest colored finish you can use on maple.”
Dist rep, “You need BonaSeal for the lightest look.”
Owner, “Can I put Glitsa Infinity on top?”
Dist rep, “Sure”
Owner, “I just want whatever is cheapest for this job.”
If these are the questions of a “veteran” and the operating principles, then it’s no wonder homeowners are lost when comparing estimates. Would this make you confident to know it was your floor?
Homeowners, here is the way to solve things. Look the contractor in the eye and say the following question, “If this were your house and you could use any product to make your floors most durable, then what finish would you use and why?”
I would love e-mails about any stories.
Tags: floor finish durability, Hardwood floor durability, hardwood refinishing, portland oregon hardwood contractor, waterborne finish
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Craigslist, it’s not just for used goods anymore
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
Craigslist is a well used internet site and is definitely a great way to get rid of used furniture and old scrap metal. The odd thing to me is that people will actually go there and choose a contractor to work in their house and do a project. Craigslist doesn’t do a really great job of policing the users and their integrity. Besides being a haven for scammers, and shady contractors, it now is a resource for murderers as you can read here. With all that said why would anyone trust a Craigslist contractor to complete a quality project? It’s a big risk. Don’t believe me, then let’s just look:
This ad says “All floors installed fast and fair!”. Craigslist finally required all contractors to list a license number recently. When you look into this guy’s ad you will see he is unlicensed. Why does that matter? Let’s say that you decide it’s time to save $200 bucks and hire this guy. Day one he starts and walks into your house and starts sanding the floors. Day three comes along and he has just finished sanding and staining your floors. You have to leave the house because you can’t be there and walk on the floor. He decides to leave his sanding dust and used stain rags in a trashbag in your two car garage. You left for the night and your house is secured and Mercedes is parked away safely in the second bay. While in your hotel room you get a phone call at 2am and your neighbor is explaining how your roof and house are up in flames. Think I’m joking, then just read this. A few days go by and after it’s all said and done you realized that you will have to foot the bill to rebuild your house. Why? you find out that this guy is unlicensed and has no insurance to rebuild your house. You find out your policy doesn’t cover unlicensed contractors working in your home. In the end the $200 savings costs you $250,000 or more because of a lapse in judgment.
Consumers please consider the following thought:
Don’t ask what something costs before considering what it is worth from all angles.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, hardwood floor professional, hardwood refinishing, portland oregon hardwood contractor
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Lowest price=Lowest Common Denominator
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
I had a thesis advisor who did a lot to help me avoid one of the common pitfalls that happens to people. He always referred to it as the “lowest common denominator” as a suggestion that people would rather be a minimalist in their ways than really try to achieve the most that they could in every endeavor.
The problem that consumers don’t realize is that all contractors pay roughly the same cost for materials, unless they are stealing material, which I doubt. Therefore, to have a lower cost the contractor must have a lower labor cost.
To have a lower labor cost either jobs must happen faster or employees must be paid less. HERE are the pitfalls of such a model.
1) Faster jobs-If you want attention to detail on your project, then forget it if the job is a production job that has to be done quickly.
2) Low paid employees- Underpaid employees really don’t want to do the best job, end of story.
Here is my challenge:
If you know the name of a licensed hardwood floor company in Portland, Oregon that is “cheap” and always a low bidder, and has legal employees covered by workers compensation then please give me their name. I want to know their model and secret if their work looks good. I will donate a free premium Glitsa tack mop and cleaning kit once I see the job and you can convince me that their work is really a quality product if I know what finish they used on the floor.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, hardwood floor professional, hardwood refinishing, Portland hardwood floor, portland oregon hardwood contractor
Posted in Hardwood floor Portland, floor refinishing portland oregon, portland hardwood professional | 1 Comment »
Older businesses can disappear
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
About a year ago following the fallout of the housing market I was reminded by a friend that a company in Vancouver, WA was bankrupt and shutting down. This was significant because this company had all the markings of a “big successful floor business” such as a showroom, tons of vans and crews, etc… In many people’s eyes this is what defines a company that is solid and “real”. Looking behind the curtain though, there is a lot of overhead to maintain this type of business and with just a few unfortunate circumstances this business was gone in no time.
During a recent estimate I was discussing with a customer the gaps she had in her floors in her newly built house. She said she contacted her builder and he had been unable to locate the contractor who installed the floors originally. After talking we both realized that the warranty claim will never be done because the company in Vancouver did the original installation and they are no longer in business. This was just one person I ran into by chance. How many hundreds of people have warranty claims that will never be resolved by this “pillar” of a company?
The point of my blog is to suggest simply that the best contractors don’t need a huge showroom and tons of vans running around to be successful. In fact choosing a smaller and more efficiently operated hardwood floor business may be your best option these days if you want someone to return your calls in six months.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, portland oregon hardwood contractor
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The importance of a team
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
About a week ago our company was really buried with one project in particular. We had a goal of completing the project for the general contractor by a certain date. By about 2 o’clock that day it was apparent we were a little off schedule. Another project was also at a critical time for completion. I could sense some frustration on one of my employees regarding the progress.
I had planned to be away from the project the remainder of the day for estimating. I made a decision at that point in time to put my work clothes back on and pitch in a hand. Once I arrived and everyone rallied together the mood really picked up steam. It became apparent that we would meet our goal. We all laughed and worked diligently until 7:30pm.
While this may seem like an irrelevant blog to the field of hardwood floors in general, it is a window of insight to the inner workings of our company. I have the greatest employees who always rally and pull through for me. There is real unity in our company and is the keel that guides our craftsmanship.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, hardwood floor professional, portland oregon hardwood contractor
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Happy Contractors make great projects
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
I was having a discussion recently with two colleagues I really like, Blair Edmiston and Kent Huffstutter. These two friends of mine have really great energy and enthusiasm for their respective professions and I believe it has a lot to do with their attitudes towards life, which Blair talks about here. One of the amazing virtues of a challenging economy for me has been that it flushes out the true optimistic John F Kennedy types. They’re the people who say, “I am going to become this…” and start to work progressively towards that goal. They learn to open up to new techniques and tips that make their businesses and lives more efficient and consistently implement those things that work.
The great benefit I often observe of the contractors who refuse to participate in the negative hooplah is that serendipitously they actually end up raising their level of service because the extra positive boost that is needed to keep on track. The contractors who have an upbeat attitude are the guys who do the little extras after the job is done and send “Thank You” notes as appreciation. They are the guys who sweep AND vacuum the job because they want to leave a product and service with great value. They’re the guys who show up on time and add back value to their customer’s life by sharing a positive idea instead of grabbing the check and EXPECTING the next referral.
The emotional impact we all have on each other in the world of consumer/contractor has a lot more worth than just a bottom dollar in my opinion. Is it worth to harbor resentment over a final product just to save a few dollars? Sometimes the emotional bank account gets so drained for both parties that I consider it professional blasphemy when the lowest price becomes the number one point of value added service. So everyone cheer up, hire the contractors with a smile on their face and a deep list of happy clients for referrals. You’ll be glad you did and you’ll never look back.
Tags: portland oregon hardwood contractor, portland oregon remodelers
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Are you dealing with a jack of all trades or a specialist?
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
The other day I was in a discussion with a colleague about a new direction that a local wood flooring company is taking. They are a larger company and have a lot of employees that they need to keep working. Rather than let go of employees and focus on their specialty of wood floors, they are now doing remodels as well. This is interesting because it illustrates the phrase, “Jack of all trades, Master of None”. They aren’t a premium quality wood flooring company to begin with and with the added dimension of full service general contracting I really wonder how they will manage to maintain their quality in wood flooring.
As I understand it, a recession happens when the amount of available cash in circulation is reduced. It started to occur to me that during this time it is best to reduce your volume, increase your service, and specialize in a few specific facets of your trade. Passing more referrals in areas that are not your specialty allows more cash to circulate to other trades around you. This allows you to manage profitability much better in my opinion because you do what you do well and do that only. It improves your performance as a contractor and allows you to focus on service and quality.
The intent of this blog is to serve as an educational piece for those in any industry. If you are dealing with any professional who will always tell you they can do every part of your project, then I would really question their potential for quality. I have a favorite saying with which to end: “If you think you can enrich yourself by diluting others, you can only end by diluting yourself”.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, Portland hardwood floor, portland oregon hardwood contractor
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What’s the value of hiring a professional?
Sunday, June 14th, 2009
For about a week or so around my home I had a broken faucet in the sink. The sprayer head had simply broken off and it was a little tricky to use but worked. Despite how busy I am I decided to do the task myself and save some money. Well, I must say that the end result was that the sink was fixed, but I almost messed the faucet up by doing the work because I am not a plumber, I am a hardwood professional.
It seems like a fine point, but not really. You see, for a period of time I kept stalling and managing to deal with a less than ideal faucet until I could make the time to fix it. The day that I did manage to fix the sink was quite an adventure. I came home in a rush and tried to install the sink. I sort of glazed over the directions and managed to put the sink in and it took two tries to do improperly. I rushed out the door for a networking event and returned at 8:30pm and tried one final time to fix the sink and was successful this time. Thank you to my wife for being the brains the third time around. During the removal of the faucet the second time I almost stripped the brass threads that connect the faucet to the sink. Through some frustrating moments I managed to get the sink installed after a third attempt. I love the sink.
You may ask why a hardwood floor guy is talking about plumbing and a sink. If I had actually realized what I REALLY should do and call my plumber friend and pay his company to install the new faucet I would have saved time and frustration. In addition I almost destroyed a $120 faucet due to my less than par plumbing knowledge. Sometimes there is a reason to call a qualified professional because they have the tools and knowledge to do things right the first time. I learned on this one and won’t make the mistake again.
Tags: hardwood floor contractor, hardwood refinishing, portland oregon hardwood contractor
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