Bricks, wood, mosaics, floats, laminates, resins, micro cement, stone… The world of floor coverings is vast and full of variety. Choosing the preferred material is your task, installing it is that of floor placement.
Although there are more versatile workers able to install different types of floors, the most common is that this work is done by professionals specialized in the material in question, often working for the companies that sell it. There are also other professionals with other designations, such as builders, who also install some types of floors, namely bricks and mosaics. This means that it is not worth hiring floating floor settlers to put tiles in the bathroom, of course!
Not necessarily, but it all depends on the floor to be installed. Practical teaching in the workplace is usually sufficient to achieve a good level of professionalism, but there are exceptions.
There are floors that, due to their innovative characteristics and different installation technologies, require some basic training and a lot of experience. We are talking above all about innovative floors, such as micro cement, whose successful installation requires specific techniques taught in workshops and training.
To do this job successfully, floor planners must have mathematical calculation capabilities, to determine the quantities of material to order for the working areas, to understand some geometry, to check cutting angles (wood, tiles, mosaics… ), and improvisation ability, to overcome any problems that arise on site. However, they are not required to purchase them in a school context.
But that does not mean that these professionals do not have training on the best techniques to use in most common products, often provided by the material producers themselves, as well as the occupational safety and hygiene training required by law.
Today, hundreds of videos and articles teach how to lay the most varied floors, and in some cases this can be very useful. We talk about small jobs, in limited areas and very linear and still need to be careful if you have no way to do the projects yourself .
In larger projects with specific characteristics, the work gets complicated and trying to do it without expert help can be counterproductive, leading to wasted time and money.
Betting on specialization will guarantee you better results and save you a lot of complications, so our advice is to hire the right professionals. A poorly applied coating can lead to shorter tread life and unnecessary noise and damage that you will want to avoid at all costs!
Apart from personal taste, there are many features to consider when choosing the material to install on your floor. Resistance to impacts and abrasions, the intensity of use, humidity, among other factors can and should condition your choice.
Material suppliers and floor installers themselves (who are often one company) can assist you in setting, but if in doubt, ask other professionals, such as interior architects, for help.
There are always some features that should be part of any professional's offer for the job to be successful and these are the ones you should look for when selecting who you want to work with.
Transparency - Avoid opting for professionals with unclear budgets, as this usually leads to unpleasant situations. Ask for everything to be well discriminated, from the characteristics of materials to the price of labour.
Deadlines - working in the dark only leads to delays and wasted time and money. Run away from professionals who say we start for the week or finish before the end of the month, because the possibility of being a dragging job is great.
Sympathy- It is important to work with someone who makes us comfortable and know that criticism will not be unwelcome.
Good portfolio and good referrals - Knowing that there are successful jobs and other satisfied customers give some security in hiring. Although it is interesting to have personal references, you can currently search online on social networks and discussion forums, for example, to get reactions to the work of professionals.
Compliance with the law - although laying floors, in general, is not a high-risk job, it is always important for workers to be trained, wear recommended personal protective equipment, be seen by the occupational health practitioner regularly and legally. have occupational accident insurance.
Clearly proximity brings advantages, as the closer professionals and suppliers are, the lower the transportation costs. On the other hand, there are regional fashions that catch on and if the job you want falls into this category, surely an Edinburgh floor planner will know how to meet your goals more easily.