Choosing A Fitter

Tips On Choosing Your Fitter/Installer

How To Choose The Right Fitter (or at least a good one!)
There is a difference between a carpenter and a floor fitter but having said that, many carpenters make excellent wood floor fitters because they know how the product should be treated and they know the potential problems that may arise in the future unless they take the necessary precautions at time of installation.

When you’ve just paid a large amount of your hard-earned cash on a beautiful new Oak Floor, you don’t want some ‘cowboy’ coming in and ruining it for you, so there are some simple routine tasks to ‘sift’ through your potential ‘partners’ for creating your finished floor.

Always Get More Than 1 Quote
This may seem obvious but it’s amazing how many people ask 1 fitter for a price and accept it there and then, without ever having met them before or seen any of their previous work. Always ask at least 3 and preferably 4 or 5 (unless someone has been recommended obviously).

The reason we suggest this is because fitters will ‘price up’ the work differently. You may get 1 that simply prices the job per m2 but you may get another who wants to give you a lump sum calculated from the amount of time it’s going to take to complete. The difference can be incredible when you work it out.

Never Accept The Price Over The Phone.
How some fitters can expect work when they simply respond to enquiries with something like; “I charge £25.00 per M2, plus Vat” beats me.

How the hell can they assess the amount of work required over the telephone? The vast majority of work is in the preparation of the subfloor (so firstly they need to confirm that either it’s been completed satisfactorily or are they expected to do it), and in finishing off around the perimeter of the room. Installing wood flooring throughout a standard ‘box’ shaped room is very simple, it’s around the perimeter where the majority of the work is involved.
The room could be completely square with one doorway, or multi-angled with 27 doorways!

So always ask your ‘potential floor partner’ (because that’s what he or she actually is going to be if you choose them) to visit your property and confirm the details then and there.

When You Have Your Potential Fitter ‘On Site’…
When you are together with your potential fitter ‘on site’, ask his advice and what he recommends for the best result. Ask him how he would fit the flooring (remember there are 4 different methods) and which way he prefers to fit, and why?

If there are any awkward parts that you’re not sure about, ask the fitter how they will go about solving what you see as a challenge. You’ll be surprised at how much you learn about the person you’re negotiating with by the way they answer your questions.
Remember, you’re entering into a ‘contract partnership’ where both parties should be able to visualise and agree what the finished floor will look like.

Can You Visit One Of Their Previous Jobs?
This is ideal if you can but not all fitters like to refer people to their past jobs, not because they’re of poor quality but because it’s abusing the privacy of their past customers. We at Oak Floors Online are forever being asked for contact details of previous customers but ask yourself if you would like 20 people a week phoning you to ask how your new floor is doing!

Sometimes you’ll find a fitter that’s installed a floor within a commercial premises like a shop or office, so it’s easy to just go along and take a look but that’s not always the case.
If you can, speak with someone that’s dealt with the fitter previously. It’s amazing how many finished floors are better when the owner ‘gets on’ with the fitter, rather than when they don’t.

When Can They Fit Your Floor?
Make sure you ask their availability. If they say something like; “Now”, beware because if they haven’t got much work on their books there’s usually a reason. That’s not always the case and maybe they’ve just completed a job earlier than expected but it’s worth considering.

The ‘when’ questions is important because there’s no point being completely thorough and agreeing everything, and then discovering that your floor can’t be fitted for another 6 months (unless that happens to fit your schedule obviously), so it’s better to ask this early on in your negotiations with something like; “If I awarded you the job, when could you do it? What notice do you need to start and would you start and work through to completion without any breaks?”

And Finally – The Price
Never accept an hourly rate or day rate. NEVER!
Always make sure that you either agree a M2 rate or an overall total for everything required before the job starts. It will prevent any issues arising afterwards if everything is agreed regarding cost and charges before the installation starts rather than afterwards.

Make sure you know what’s included in the price, what happens if something else is required during the installation, and who pays for any breakages, leaks, or mishaps (they can happen, so best to cover that now).

Then ultimately, it’s all up to you. On your experiences of speaking to your potential fitters and asking them various questions, you now must decide which is the best for your particular situation.
You have to assess their personality, their skill level, their quotation, their availability, and most importantly of all… what your finished floor will look like.

Usually, not an easy decision at all, but we hope this helps you make up your mind without too much stress?