Every young floor installer worries about hardwood floor installation costs and they are right to do so! It is important to know in advance how much you can earn on a particular project. I’m sure you have a lot of other issues, but your wage is one of the most important – because you have to feed your family!
Frankly, the profession of a floor installer is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Of course, if you compare the work of masons and other builders and specialists who work outdoors in all weather conditions, working indoors is ideal.
In fact, if you want to increase your hardwood floor installation profit, you should not only think about how much the current project will cost. First of all, your desire should be to accomplish your job well, and be pleasing to your customers. Going from project to project, you will form your own circle of customers who will respect and appreciate your work, as well as pay for the pleasure you have brought them.
If you are a beginner floor installer, and you have little (or no) experience, then you will be spending some time in working as an apprentice. How long will it take? It depends on many factors: the level of professionalism from the man who will be teaching you, his ability to explain, and your ability to understand. The result from your studies and experience may also affect individual projects with different kinds and types of flooring, and methods of installation. But I would like to emphasize the most important aspects of training: it is your desire, attention, patience and perseverance.
Hardwood floor installation cost is different for you, because…
At this stage, your hardwood floor installation costs will be assessed on the value of your work by the hour. Over time, as your speed increases, and the art of installing hardwood floor improves, you will find another boss who will provide you with work projects, and pay for each type of work by the job rather than by an hourly fee. At this stage, your hardwood floor installation costs will be much higher, and this will be your next career step as a future professional.
The period of work spent with one boss may be delayed for many years. You may have to change your bosses a few times for different reasons. Most likely, you will gain status as self employed, and stay working for one or several bosses. Most installers prefer to work in this way. It removes the problems of independent searching for customers and obtaining contracts with them.
Since hardwood floor installation costs in all cities and countries are different, I cannot give you an exact price for each type of work, but I can list some of them. With this list in hand, you can gradually make inquiries at their local counterparts.
So, for with what kinds of jobs can you make money? The full list is very large, so I will mention only the main points:
Cleaning the old flooring: They maybe carpet, tile, laminate or old hardwood which customers do not like. The cost of cleaning each coating is varied and evaluated either per hour or per square foot.
Leveling, subfloor preparation: You cannot determine the value of leveling until you see what’s under the old coating. No matter what quality the subfloor is in, it always has these problems: pits, bumps, scratches, and cracks. Depending on the quantity and quality problems, you need to use different leveling techniques – laying floor leveling compound, bumps grinding, stacking layers of plywood, sealing cracks, and many others. For this work, you may also require an hourly fee or a fee for each square foot you made.
I advise you to always insist that the level is made as perfect as possible. This will help avoid many problems during the hardwood installation, increase the speed of installation, and make your work more professional and reliable. But first of all, think about the customer. Well established hardwood and well-made floor leveling will make his investment more reliable. This flooring will serve your customer for years.
Help your clients to estimate the hardwood floor installation cost
If you are lucky, and find a customer who wants to work with you, he will always ask about how much the hardwood floor installation will cost. Help your customer to calculate the amount and cost of materials, but never give a price for leveling until you see the amount of work to be done. If your client still insists on a price estimate and is surprised that you cannot give him a leveling assessment, just ask him to list the number and size of pits and bumps on his subfloor. And at the same time, your customer should list the number of scratches on the floor he would like to get rid of. Ask this question, as a joke, and then your client will understand why you cannot give him the cost to work with the leveling.
In this post I’m talking about how much hardwood floor installation costs there are for you, as a floor installer myself. I also want to say that you have to do a lot of free work yourself. This work is: measurement space, the calculation of the quantity and quality transitions and other accessories, the choice of a certain type of flooring, a brief description of equipment installation, the choice of the flooring direction, and much more. The better you explain all these components to the customer, the more he will be compliant. This means that the project will bring you lots of cash!
Also read our article where you’ll know that hardwood floor installation cost is different for everybody”
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