Floor & Window Covering Installation

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Replacing carpet is the number one pick for people trying to sell their home. They want something that looks nice and fresh, but is relatively low cost. For people staying in their house, it is mixed between wood and tile. Wood is a favorite for people staying in their home or just moving into a new home. Tile wins out if the people have large animals or kids who are rough on floors. When people cannot afford a wood floor or they are worried about scratches, they will move to laminate. I have some great laminate that is hard to tell it is not wood.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. I would want everyone to know that prices from flooring stores can range widely for the same product. In the majority of advertising of “specials”, when you look at the real costs, these are not specials at all. For example – the $39.00 whole house carpet install – really costs the consumers more, lots more. Last year when I checked out this advertising claim to see how they were making this happen, I noticed several things. First, you must buy the pad from them – this was three times what I charge for pad when they buy it for considerably less than I do. Second, this only applied to certain carpets. And these carpets were marked up heavily. So everyone should look at the total cost of doing business.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. We offer a convenient way to shop for flooring – in your own home, in the light you will see the materials, at a time that will fit into your schedule. The products are from excellent vendors who have been in business for 20 to 40 years and they stand behind their products. And the installers are the best we can find in Austin.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. It is great to make people love their home again at a price they can afford. Seeing the transformation of a house is just amazing along with the people's faces when they look at the difference made.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. Many people think they can save money by buying their own flooring material and they ask if we install only. We do installation only, but the truth is, they pay a huge premium for materials purchased at a "big box store" or through a discount supply house. They often purchase material that no one really wants due to the color for more money than something they would really like.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. One of my favorite stories is about the man who was recently laid off work. He had a pretty good package, so he could go a few months without a job while his wife worked. He had bids from 5 other flooring companies and was about to make a decision. Someone told him about my business and he reluctantly gave me a call to bid on his project. Once he looked over my bid, he had lots of questions about exactly what and how I would install his wood. After the installation was complete, he told me he almost did not choose my company because I was $3,000 under his lowest bid. He thought it was too good to be true. Since then, he has sent 4 other people to me because he loves his new wood floor.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. It was very surprising to me that so much is changing in this industry. There are new materials being manufactured, new adhesives, new products that protect grout, and many other areas of change. Every month I learn about the new products from my vendors and the installers have training sessions that help them with installation. And I always attend two annual meetings – one regional show with the vendors in Texas and one national show with flooring vendors from across the globe. There is a lot to learn in this changing world and I do not want to be like the flooring company who is content to sell the same products they have for the last 20 years.