Why Can't I Get My Floor Installed Properly? by Ray Thompson, Jr. April NFT

[Robert Akin]

The April issue of National Floor Trends magazine has a great article written by Ray Thompson Jr on page 42. If you get a chance I would suggest reading it. You can also find it online: Why Can't I Get My Floor Installed Properly? - Column - National Floor Trends

Excerpt from: Ray Thompson, Jr. There are lots of reasons consumers cannot get their floors installed properly. Some of them are real, and some imagined. Some of the blame deserves to be placed on the consumer for not knowing what their needs are, or the willingness to spend the money to have the installation done properly. But most blame needs to be placed squarely on the retailer. They are often more willing to spend their profits on complaint administration than on training.

As far as I am concerned this is a very well written and points out what is going on in our industry. It has change so much since I first began as a apprentice 30 plus years ago. For the last few months I thought I was the only one who was getting frustrated with our industry. It use to be so simple and should be.

Excerpt from: Ray Thompson, Jr. Floor covering salespeople and installers today must also be aware of environmental issues, government regulations, compatibility issues between adhesives and surfaces, new floor preparation products that work with the new materials, bonding and welding systems for seams, moisture conditions of both wood and concrete substrates and all of the specialty materials requiring different installation techniques.

This green revolution in my opinion has left the industry in a free for all. These green products are not holding up in a commercial application but yet they keep pushing forward. Installation keeps getting more complicated yet the installation rates are constantly forced downward. Job schedules keep getting compromised. Somewhere there has to be a braking point. Just when will quality count for something again.

The article is © 2010 BNP Media. Ray Thompson, Jr. is a renowned installation expert and president of the Ray Thompson Floorcovering Institute in Easton, Wash. He is a regular contributor to National Floor Trends magazine and other BNP Media publications.


Rob

[Jim McClain]

That is a good article, Rob. Thanks for posting this topic. It's unfortunate that it will not be read my so many people who really should read it. Sure, that may include some sales people and some installers, but the opportunity is there for them to take (subscriptions to most flooring magazines are free). The group that doesn't have the opportunity is the consumer. Those are the ones that may have the most to learn. But the fortunate part is you posted this here and this forum can be accessed and participated in by any of our consumer members and even guests who aren't registered here. The link to the article gives anyone the opportunity to read about these issues now.

Thanks,

Jim