Common Practice

[JPfloor]

I worked CT/NY/NJ from 1978-1987. The Carpenters had juridiction over flooring and to our interpretation that included anything and everything related to the install.

Funny you should mention that. My brother, who had a carpet store in the early 70s, told me a story of a job where he needed union installers. He contacted the union hall and they sent carpenters to the job. Didn’t know much about installing carpet but that’s who they sent. I don’t know how true that story was but I found it somewhat comical.

The jobs I recall where the laborers were the only ones allowed to clean up were in the mid 90s. I wasn’t on the jobs. My shop had two division, union and nonunion. This is what I was told by my union buddies…. Heck, maybe they made it all up just to mess with us nonunion guys…Who had to clean up everything …

 

[Tile Tom]

The floor had marring, footsteps, skid marks, and sawdust, which made it markedly unsightly. Furthermore, I tried Windex, Simple Green, and the Bona system. Nothing worked until a friend suggested PineSol, which worked using the Bona mop - which is mentioned because when I say the three cleaners I mentioned wouldn't work with hands and knees type scrubbing - let alone just mopping.

I used to do landscaping and couldn't leave the property looking worse than when I found it. Other professions such as carpet, tile, cement, paint, etc. left the jobs looking professional. But hey, I guess laminate/vinyl is different.

Ultimately my wife and I used a Bona mop and Pinesol and the floor looked great. It took 30 - 60 minutes to do the thousand square feet - all without a French maid's costume - but that's not the point. I expected a finish that would require maintenance - not what should have been part of the job.

And to the issue of "looking for" issues. What? People who pay thousands of hard earned dollars don't have the right to point out the obvious. So, if someone steps in dog poo and walks in your house, you can't say anything? Or how about when we moved a recliner and found a transition with a large chunk broken out. Can't say anything?

There is a difference about having expectations of a finished job than looking for knitpicking little problems. Why should a person not have the right to point out the obvious when the installer ignores it? And then there is the salesperson who make such a big deal about how great their finished product will look in a house. If it's going to take so much "extra time", charge an extra $100 or two.

If I ever have another floor done, I will be sure to include the finish in the contract. But than again, it's obvious that the majority of installers couldn't finish a floor because they don't know how to. Alright, let the games begin.

No one’s busting your balls about it. You are clearly in the right now that you painted the picture for us.
Being an installer I deal with people daily. I know how customers can be sometimes. Didn’t mean to discredit your situation.

 

[Floorist]

Funny you should mention that. My brother, who had a carpet store in the early 70s, told me a story of a job where he needed union installers. He contacted the union hall and they sent carpenters to the job. Didn’t know much about installing carpet but that’s who they sent. I don’t know how true that story was but I found it somewhat comical.

The jobs I recall where the laborers were the only ones allowed to clean up were in the mid 90s. I wasn’t on the jobs. My shop had two division, union and nonunion. This is what I was told by my union buddies…. Heck, maybe they made it all up just to mess with us nonunion guys…Who had to clean up everything …

Union installers in KC, were the guys who were not busy. Only one small store was union. Some of the union rules were asinine. Installers quit at 4 pm, period. Didn't matter if they were 30 minutes from finishing a residential job. Needless to say, that did not go over well with customers. Worked many a night until midnight so the customer would not be messed up for a 2nd day. We spent several years, bidding my own jobs, 6 weeks behind. Had another installer who worked for me. After the booze got the other installer, my older stepson went to work for me. Kid was a natural. Trimmed the first day. Within a week he could do it all except seams. Could make seams a month later. But, diabetes took his eyesight. He was totally blind by 30. Spent my last 10 years working alone, had 4 apt. complexes. Sorry, did not mean to rant. I sure miss the interaction with customers. Still friends with some of them 15-20 years later.

 

[Incognito]

Funny you should mention that. My brother, who had a carpet store in the early 70s, told me a story of a job where he needed union installers. He contacted the union hall and they sent carpenters to the job. Didn’t know much about installing carpet but that’s who they sent. I don’t know how true that story was but I found it somewhat comical.

The jobs I recall where the laborers were the only ones allowed to clean up were in the mid 90s. I wasn’t on the jobs. My shop had two division, union and nonunion. This is what I was told by my union buddies…. Heck, maybe they made it all up just to mess with us nonunion guys…Who had to clean up everything …

Yeah, I heard about that from before my time in CT. NYC has their own Flooring Local union and can furnish qualified men who've been trained and tested. CT also has flooring in a seperate union with a wider jurisidiction (the whole state) than the various locals (Hartford, Middletown, Bridgeport, Danbury and such) I don't know what's what 35 years later but union rules and contracts are VERY flexible and subject to discretion of the men, Stewards and Reps. Only on very, very large projects would the unions hassle over jurisdiction on who sweeps the dust and who scraps up. When the jobs are that large we'd get a really good laborer. Usually he's related to the Reps or himself an official because those are Plum assignments. Honestly, I treated them with respect and they gave me a days work for a days pay.

 

[havasu]

I agree with the original poster. After spending big bucks on installing new flooring, you can bet your ass that I would expect to have the installers show some care to how their finished product looked in my home. I certainly wouldn't expect a freshly waxed floor, but a few extra bucks in their pocket, feeding them lunch, and supplying all the cold drinks while they are working in my house goes a long way to ensure both the worker and the homeowner are satisfied.

 

[highup]

Back when floating floors were glued together cleaning the floor was part of the installation process. You would glue and strap it one day and clean it the next. Now that everything clicks together all you have to do is to clean up your own sawdust and footprints. Drop cloths, non marking shoes and clean working habits will generally get you 95% of the way there so that all you have to do is a quick sweep or vacuum when you’re done and you’re good to go.

Leaving the customer with a dirty floor just opens the door for them to find something wrong when they are down there themselves cleaning the floor. You know if they find one defect they’re gonna start looking for more. Won’t be long until you walk back into a house with blue tape everywhere and all you had to do to prevent it woulda been to just clean the damn floor.

Blue tapers...
OH, the horror!!!
It's probably been almost 25 years ago, I installed Wilsoart and Pergo flooring in a two-story, double octagon shaped house. The entire floor had to be renailed, sheets of particle board replaced with plywood, a dozen bags of filler, Wilsonart baseboards.
We're talking the glued together era. I bought a band saw for the job and set it up in the middle of the living room. I would hand feed most of my material through the table saw but I wasn't going to do that with 45° angles.
The home sat on a bluff which faced the ocean, 75 ft below. you could watch the jetty, see the lighthouse nearby and watch the waves roll up on the sand down below. Mostest funnest enjoyablest job ever.
It was two and a half almost 3 months later when I completed the job. I finished up 3 days before Christmas and my last day ended at 11:00 p.m. They arrived the next afternoon.
I started vacuuming from the upstairs down including the countertops.
I took a five gallon pail of warm water with a little bit of Windex in it and I had two towels with me. A damp one and a dry one. I started in the upstairs bedrooms and wiped and dried the floor all the way down and out the door. I wiped down the counters, vacuumed the brick fireplace hearth, everything.
The customer was coming up from Oakland California for 2 weeks to spend Christmas at their beach house. No way was I going to let them arrive and have to start cleaning the house.
The owner ran the nuclear division of PG&e down in Oakland. Nicest people you could ever meet.
I wanted to leave an impression.
....and I did.
After vacuuming, a slightly damp towel might cost you 15 minutes of quick wiping back and forth across the floor to get the rest of the dust. Not that big of a deal. Not Martha Stewart clean, just a quick wipe.

 

[Floor Dude]

I just had my floors done with Everlife Smithcliffs Series Waterproof Hybrid Rigid Core Flooring (now there's a mouthful). Anyway, the installers finished up and left - without cleaning the floor. Is this a common practice in the industry? When I bought my car, it shone like bling. I expected the same with the floor.

Anytime I install a plank product; I only sweep. The reason being is every manufacturer gas different specs on what type of cleaner can be used on specific floors. I am not going to fill my truck with any and every solution, and I am not going to use something and risk the warranty falling on me from something like cleaning.