Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Trick for Keeping Your Big Machine Balanced
By Wayne Lee
Here's my latest video blog about one of my favorite easy tricks to keep your big machine running better:
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
How Can I Help? Send Your Ideas
By Scott Avery
I have to admit that I was really close to sending out a post on Thursday, but I wasn’t 100% sure that it was that different from other posts. It may or may not have impacted the people I care about (honest and legitimate flooring contractors who are in tough times). I was coming back today from a marathon day of floor coating and it struck me that I would rather ask all of the people who are reading this exactly what could I talk about.
According to the editors at Hardwood Floors magazine, approximately 14,000 people read the HF E-News, which includes the Contractor Blog. I suspect that there must be a few thousand flooring contractors within that number who read the newsletter. My question is: How can I help you all? What is it that I might be able to share to send you on a path from doing okay to “Wow, we’re killing it”?
Before you answer, I want to fill you in on what I’m like, the company that we are and what I know well. We’re not a huge company with 20 employees. I have three employees, and we do two to three projects per week. Primarily we refinish floors and repair floors in older homes, but occasionally we install a brand-new floor. We’re not big on trying to win Floor of the Year like some of the big names in the NWFA, but we did win an NWFA Xtreme Makeover award in 2008 for a floor. I thought that win might change the rotation of the earth somehow. I was convinced that having my name in lights was going to fill my bank account. I learned six months later that was a case of delusion rather than what really happens when you win awards.
When my phone literally went dead in late 2008 six months after we won the award, I ran into a few of the right people (marketing experts) in early 2009, while in a really tough time with the family due to money problems. Given that my family matters more to me than anything, I adopted a “nothing to lose attitude” and decided to implement that advice to restore my home life and help my phone. All that I’ve learned since then through advice, reading, and implementing has turned me from just a guy with a bunch of tools into what I jokingly call “a floor guy turned into a marketer.”
I’m fascinated not by buzzwords associated with acronyms like SEO, PPC, and SEM, but rather with how elucidating what your company is like via the Internet drives the growth of a business with real results, which is why we are thriving instead of struggling.
I am 100% sure that the Internet has leveled the playing field regardless of the size of a business or the number of years in business for a flooring contractor.
Over the last three years we’ve learned that:
- Content is king. The Internet is simply a portal that allows you to view what a business is like, and the post-recession consumer simply wants to evaluate the value of service providers discreetly, which the Internet allows. No content, boring content, or bad content = no phone calls.
- Marketing “experts” aren’t contractors. Despite how much you rank at the top of the Internet, if you’re bad at making a good presentation during an estimate it doesn’t matter. You have to go from A to B to C, and no skipping. If you have a lot of phone calls, stumble on your communication, or have quality issues with your floors, it doesn’t matter what your Google ranking is, you will ultimately have problems that destroy profitability.
- Increase your quality. There is simply no way to differentiate from a suffering market besides always striving to be better. On every single job you should be learning how to improve, end of story. “Good enough for government work” just doesn’t work anymore.
All that said, I want to hear from you all. I’m presenting on content marketing at the NWFA Expo in April in Orlando. (Take a look at the seminar schedule here.) What would you like to know about before then? What specific questions do you have that I could answer without you having to wait two more months? I write for you all, run a flooring business and love this industry. Write a comment with your thoughts on topics for the blog, your detailed questions about business procedure, or web marketing PLEASE. Who knows, maybe there’s a topic for a webinar in there, too (hint, hint, NWFA).
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Does Size Really Matter?
By Wayne Lee
I’m missing out on the Surfaces show this year… but wait, is that the big show?
I have not been to Surfaces in three years and I have got to say it has not been a great concern for me. The show is big but doesn't have enough of the real things I need. There is so much to see that it gets all rolled up in one ball of what to look at next. That is why I enjoy the NWFA Expo more. Yes, it is smaller, but it is driven to the needs we have as wood flooring contractors, and all the exhibitors are specifically for just us.
Okay, you are right to think that my heart is with the NWFA—yes, I have done a few training classes with them and, yes, I blog for the magazine, but I have to say the Expo is the best for the total package we need at Cardinal Hardwood. Wood, finish, fillers, nailers, sanders and just about anything from A to Z for our market. Do not get me wrong, going to Surfaces is nice—it seems to set the tone for the year in the market—but it just lacks the feeling of friends and family you get with the NWFA Expo.
I look forward to the training the most at the NWFA Expo. The way that the manufacturers jump in with demo products is great, and before I forget, let me say that they give all year-round to the NWFA training classes. I do not think any of them have refused to support the training! So when you read that a company is an NWFA Partner in Education, take the time to say “thank you,” because we all get rewards from their gifts. Thank you, Partners, we would be lost without you. The folks who give their time to do the classes are just wonderful; they share with no desire for rewards in return. From top to bottom, our members are the best and they give the best 24-7. What brightens my eyes the most is the contractors who come to teach at the classes just to share their skills and knowledge and—let me add this very important fact—without pay. They pay for it out of their own pocket, and that speaks load and clear what our contractor members are all about.
Sorry for the rabbit trail… back to the Expo: This year’s seminars are to the point and driven to help us, the flooring folks. From the dealers to the floor contractors, it is at the Expo this year. Take the time to get on the Expo website and see what they are offering this year.
I was asked to do a class about job-site machine repairs and the upkeep of the units. It is an honor to be asked. I will be doing the class, but it is my desire to make this class for you. Here is my request: Please post comments on this blog with ideas about what units or tools you feel we need to address. I could pick a few units, but the ones I pick may not be the best. The best would be the stuff you all want to see and better understand. So please write some comments so we can plan the program format now. Like all of you, my days are full of floor work, and I will need time to get it all together. We also want to contact the folks who make the tools to get the latest information, tips and insight. Here's my promo video about the seminar:
It is an honor and so very important to me; my heart is 100% floor man. The past five years living the contracting life and doing the work have blessed me and my family. If you read my blog, I think you have a feeling of the change inside my heart and life. My head wants to say that my years with the machine company were not a waste, but my heart knows that the past five years have been the greatest path for me and my family. In life we do not know what is around the corner, but when we get to the turn ... we can look back or ahead. For me, the turn was worth it, and for my family, it has given us the blessing of coming together. When the work is slow, you pray together; when times are tough, you work together; and most of all, when the rewards come, you can share them together.
Please take the time to think my request through, give us your insight via e-mail, but most of all I want to see you at the NWFA Expo in Orlando in April.
Thank you all, and be safe.
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Friday, January 20, 2012
It Went Over Like A...
By Wayne Lee
I want to start with: Please keep your prayers going up for the folks in the Pacific Northwest, I am sad to hear about the mother and one-year-old child that were taken by the waters. Also, the folks in the Reno fires they need your prayers, that is a battle with winds and flames. Thank you for keeping them in your heart.
Back to work: I am ready to coat the stairs in the multi-million-dollar home with the Dura Seal conversion varnish, truth be told, I have NEVER used any finish like this on stairs. I have used it on the floor a few times, but getting it down is easy because it will lay down all by itself. The stairs pose a concern about the finish running or not laying down. We will do the rise going up, then the stairs on the way down; this way if we get a run we can get it on the way down.
The folks that did the stairs years ago finished all the parts in the barn in the backyard. They sprayed the stain, seal coat and topcoats. I cannot spray in the house and cannot give it that look without a ton of hand-work with the stain. We already did a ton of hand-work as far as scraping the stairs:
The stain came from Sherwin Williams; it is a cabinet stain, not a flooring stain. This was a wipe stain: wipe on but not off till it sets up. Here is the point where my knowledge ends, so if a stain/finish company could help and express what makes the cabinet wipe stain different from the stains we use on floors, that would help.
Time to preach at myself one more time: the smell of the stain we are using and the spirits gave me a huge head pain. It was wrong! So even if it does not smell when you open the can, it will in time.
Look at the handprint made in the stain (the photo is not the best, so for that please forgive me):
... then look at the stain after it set and was wiped clean with the spirits:
We had to get the dark red with the hint of black and brown. The rich tone and deep color had to be in right from the start! Recall that I did not work on the skirt or detail work (and for that I am happy), but we had to nail the color.
I took a stain brush and put on the stain, then let that set up overnight. I came in the next day and took spirits with a soft rag and pulled the color into the wood and the extra off. I hope you can see the before and after; it was hard to keep the uniform color with the rags but, like I said, we could not spray in the house. I think we have a full day just working the stain into the step, clean off the rise and getting the look it needs. (Sorry if the photos are poor—I was under the influence of the smell!)
I should have the job done Saturday mid-day and will get you a photo of the finished look. I will take the time to put on the safety this time; I DO NOT want a head pain like that again! It was BC powder and a boatload of fresh air for me; do not do as I do...do as you are told to! I sound like my Daddy, but Daddy is a smart guy when it comes to doing what is right.
I start the heat-treated maple Monday. And oh yes, good news: Clifford is coming back to work with us! He went to work for a remodel guy but that guy started holding funds and telling them that he did not make the money on the job so they had to help make up the lost funds. Let’s see, a pay cut because the boss dropped the price to get the job and now he wants to make the crews eat his mistake… yes, that went over like a fart in church. So, Clifford called and asked if I could use him again—oh yeah! He is a good worker and he has the install skills. He does not sand and finish but wants to learn the craft now. I hope to bring him to an NWFA class this year. I enjoyed working with him and hated that he left, but that is okay because at the time we were slow.
On our last five estimates so far we got four of them, and I am going to call the last one and help them pick us. We ARE the highest price on the bid and we ARE the longest out for the timeline. But we ARE the right folks to do the job. It is not my pride or that I think more of our skills; it is knowing that we will work our best for them and their home.
I have got to hit the road and coat the stairs. You all be safe, and see you at the NWFA Expo in Orlando in April! I am looking forward to it.
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Monday, January 16, 2012
The Sparks Went Flying
By Wayne Lee
 I have to say “I told you so” to who else but ... me. For years I have told folks to always look over the units for wear and to just keep the preventive maintenance up to date. My vac just died, and I mean sparks flying! I forgot to look at the brushes on the motors and, sure enough, they were done. So, note to self: take time to check the units over, down time kills your ability to make money and “git r done” on time. I do have an extra unit and was able to use that one, but it was a drag to change them out in the middle of the job. I ordered the parts and cleaned up the unit, so it will be back up and running in no time.
I have four estimates to get done today; I am so glad to have jobs in the works. If all goes well, we will get all four of them!
I am not sure if this is good or bad, but two of the companies that we have been competing with went under. They did good work but never charged enough funds for the work, sounds like the same old thing: work for less and get less in the bank. The price of supplies have not gone down, so why should our price? Both were small companies like me, but they were doing things for $.75 to $1.00 less than we were. And, most of all, they did not have the workers comp, insurance or state paperwork on file. Tennessee put the hammer down on contractors, and they were not able to keep the under-the-radar attitude any more. Once more, I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. I never liked the government putting their hand in the pie, but this time, it helped. I hope to pick up some work, but truth be told, no one can do all the work, and some of the work I do not want to do. We all have jobs that we know will never make folks happy and jobs that won’t go right no matter what you do. Those are the ones I bid high just in case we get it—so we either have extra funds for it or they tell me “no.”
There is one guy is trying to start up in the area; if you recall I let him use my gun to do a job. He is still up in the air—I spoke with him after his install, and he asked, "How do you work that hard every day?" So time will tell if he is ready to work like a floor person. (I almost said “floorman,” but we have some wonderful women working side by side with the men in this trade.) This is not a trade for the lazy. Dog if your body does not take a beating doing this for a living. My gut tells me that he will not make it. He was told that it was easy money—just bang in a few nails and you get a big payday...NOT!
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Sunday, January 15, 2012
Three Things to Think About for 2012
By Scott Avery
Sorry I’ve been out of touch for a little while, folks. It was a really laid-back holiday season and I spent that time enjoying the family as well as wrapping up a couple of flooring projects. I enjoy the holidays and I really enjoy the beginning of a new year. Culturally we tend to embrace and encourage new starts and planning for the year ahead. I thought I would offer some thoughts for anyone in the middle of their planning that might help.
1) Make your company exactly what you want. There seems to be a convention that bigger is better, or that if you don’t do all the work yourself that you’re selling out the quality of your work. If you feel like you have too many employees or if you’re burned out doing all the work yourself, then adjust accordingly this year. If you currently have four employees and feel like all you spend your day doing is bidding or cutting prices to keep them employed, then why not drop down to two employees and start relaxing? This is your business and you make the rules. If you’re tired of working for remodelers or installing bamboo, then stop doing it. I’m certain that most companies that will thrive going forward are going to focus on being better within a niche market rather than expanding service offerings into markets that are not their specialty. The Internet has made quality of service more and more transparent, and being a specialist in a profitable segment of the market will make good service a turnkey process.
2) Make your health a priority. Whether it’s mental or physical health, I would make it priority No. 1 this year. The demands of business have never been more difficult regarding taxes, homeowner expectations, and costs to run a business. Couple this with all of the electronic noise coming our way through e-mail, social media, etc., and I almost admire the people who live completely off the grid. To stay ahead of all these things and keep a strong confident business, nothing is more important than keeping yourself mental and physically healthy. It doesn’t mean a big overhaul, just start small by making one meal of the day more healthy (if don’t eat that great currently). Another hidden change for the good is to quit watching the news too much. Politics, death, and fear generate ratings for media companies but are a distraction if you have a company to run.
3) Video is going to be huge this year. With Roku, AppleTV, etc., video searching on a TV is here, and I encourage you to get a presence. You can’t reach through and touch stuff through a computer screen, but you can get a good idea of a person and their personality watching a video a lot better than reading stuff. I would have probably made this a video post, but I have a Rudolph-sized zit on my nose right now that wouldn’t help my on-screen presence. Maybe next week… Don’t overcomplicate things if you do make a video, because people are interested in real, not polished. I’ve seen all sorts of manicured videos for other companies done by Yellow Pages that just show sanders going back and forth. This still doesn’t offer a window into what kind of a good person you are. Just pretend that you are explaining a project like the guys on This Old House. Even if you don’t have a website, you can set up a YouTube channel in about three minutes with a Google e-mail account.
Just two weeks into 2012, I can tell you that business is going to improve around my area based on the phone calls and how early people are planning projects. I really hope that is the case nationwide, because I really do care about all the people who take the time to read the blogs at Hardwood Floors. I also want everyone who reads this post to have an advantage over the competition if they are interested in improving their business. Even though calls are up, the number of lowballers seems to also be up, so give yourself an edge this year with whatever it takes.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
The Stairs on the $3 Million House
By Wayne Lee
So here we go… I have been offline for a time—we have been dealing with a few family matters and year-end jobs that had to be done. My mother-in-law passed away just before Christmas. That was not fun around the time of year when being with family should be enjoyable.
I got behind on a few small jobs during the time away; once we got home it was work, work and work to get ready for New Year’s plans we had with family. My sister, brother, nephew and his lady friend all came for the new year hunt and to welcome in 2012. They were with us for the week, so I had to take time to be with them, but that got me behind on the stair job (the one at the $3 million house where the horse dented the wood floor).
I am working on them now and wow, to say they are a ton of work is putting it mildly. They were the worst set I have done in a long time. The large dogs had them eat up like a soup sandwich—there are deep cuts, the nosing is no longer round and the steps were walnut per everyone, but they are not! They are oak with a dark red/brown stain to make them look "rich." Getting the color matched was a job—I went to Sherwin Williams four times to add a little red, a little black, a little brown and a ton of luck. Mrs. Diane there was a huge help with getting this right. We did it all from a photo off my cellular phone and my eye, and I am colorblind as anyone can be. Thank you, Mrs. Diane, for taking so much time with me. The reason for the color match? Because I am not sanding the skirt, just the stairs and very glad of it. Here are some pics from the job:
I did pick up a 1,600-foot install, sand & finish job with thermo-treated maple that looks awesome. I have never sanded thermo flooring before, so it was time to call in the big gun. My friend Daniel Boone is going to come work with me on this job if we can work out the timeline. Most of you know that we are the best of friends and when we get together, stuff gets done. The trouble is that between stuff getting done we have more fun pulling jokes on each other. Now, it has been some time since my boots were nailed to the subfloor, so who knows what will happen next.
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Thursday, December 22, 2011
Maintaining Your Pneumatic Nailers
By Wayne Lee
Here's my next video blog - this one is about things to keep in mind when you're working with pneumatic nailers so they keep working for you.
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Tuesday, December 20, 2011
My Red Flags for Clients
By Scott Avery
It only really takes one bad client to really upset your day. Everyone has them no matter what people say about being perfect. I wasn’t sure that I would make this post in time for Wednesday, but I thought a lot about one client who sort of grated on my nerves for a long time.
Once or twice a year we all seem to get a bad client no matter how experienced we think we are in reading people. I know there have been a lot of articles written about the topic, but I want to chime in on what I use as red flags for bad clients.
- They want you to meet them for an estimate outside of normal business hours. This point is a HUGE one for me. Every time I do an estimate and someone says to me, “The other contractor who met me on Sunday said….”, I generally know something is looking bad. Religious beliefs aside, the week has to have some order and Sunday is supposed to be about relaxing, family time, etc. … Clients who expect you to show up on a weekend or after 6 p.m. generally want only what they want and don’t care about your time at all.
- They have no children and their dogs are their “children.” These people generally have the belief that life is perfect and floors don’t scratch, especially when the floor is subject to a 150-pound black Lab and they live on a houseboat. I’m not judging people without children at all. I’m saying that people who love their dog as much as a child and have never experienced the miracle of a child are likely to have some pretty intense expectations for how a floor should be done.
- They’re panicked about dust. I know that there is a lot of money being made right now while marketing the term “dustless.” I’ve witnessed a lot of contractors strike fear into the hearts of homeowners about dust. Just the process of hand-sanding your corners can make dust unless you have a vacuum attached to your hand. Leaving a clean house with whatever it takes is more important than hooking up a vacuum and assuming that’s all it takes. If the hose falls off your edger while it’s running, you are no longer “dustless.” Let’s all man up and ditch this term in 2012 and use the more accurate phrase “dust collection.”
- You’re estimating the job without them present. I’ve done estimates that get forwarded to the homeowner by the realtor, etc. If you are not meeting with the homeowner in person, you have absolutely NO WAY of asking about their personal expectations for the floor until it is too late. The homeowner may be focused on price over quality or vice versa, but you will never know until after they accept the estimate, you are signing a contract, or are in the process of doing the job. I recommend you be VERY careful about this unless you really trust the Realtor, designer, etc.
This is the bulk of my list for red flags in clients. Let me tell you the important part; if you’re an honorable and ethical contractor, then you have a bigger cheering squad than you know. We serve probably 100 or more clients per year and if out of that only one or two are upset, then I say we’ve done our best to be a great company—and that’s something about which we can be proud. Just like a politician, I cannot make everyone happy. It’s easy to let your bad clients make you forget about your good accomplishments. If you have really good clients, then use that to your advantage, which I will address in the next blog.
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Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tricky Electrical Hookup at an Old House
By Wayne Lee
Now, this job was a pain to get hooked up. It’s an older home that has never been updated with the breakers or 3-wire ground outlets. I could not plug the vac, buffer or edger to the wall outlets because it had no ground. What to do? The house was getting a new kitchen with a 220 stovetop and oven, so the easy way was to pull off that line. Well, it was a good idea but they were using the earth ground as a neutral, and that is unsafe.
 So I took two lines and pulled off those for my 220, making sure that each fuse was the same size. I hooked up a ground wire to make the dryer plug code and, Ta-Da, the 220 was no longer any trouble. The two wire plugs were the next task. I found the wires going to the kitchen, and they had the room to pull wires and get new outlets. So the homeowner put in new wires and is happy to have GFI outlets in the kitchen. I had to run the buffer/edger on one line and the vacuum on the other line. It was tough to run cords from one end to the other end and not trip over them or work around them with the buffer and edger. In the long run it was much safer than not having an earth ground. I have not run over a cord in some time and do not want that to happen again. I recall the first time I hit the cord on the big machine...it made me jump back about 3 feet and watch the sparks fly! (Just a note, do NOT mess around with the wiring unless you know what you are doing; take a look at the article the magazine did about it.)
The floor was a mess; there was glue from the carpet backing and someone used paint remover thinking it would remove the glue:
I had to start with open paper and finish up with 100 grit to get it all off, but the edger work was not so bad—I got to start with 36 and run through the grits to 100. I worked the wall line four times with the edger to get it right and flat. It was one ugly floor but it looks great now, the lady who is going to live in the house came by to pick up some mail and looked at the floors, and she was very happy to see the wood:
I am using the water-based finish that Janet with Lenmar let me have after the NWFA open house; the color is nice and the smell is nothing. This is the job where the lady has some lung issue and needed to have little or no odor left in the house. It is nice not to have to wear the mask; yes I know, it is not the right thing to not wear it, but the stink was nothing. I will wear the mask for the next coats; I just wanted to see if it would smell. Water cleans up nice and is easy to work with, and having no smell is real nice. I am going to put on the last coat with a roller, not the T-bar, as my skills with a bar are weak... it has been some time for me. We roll the finish so much that my skills with a T-bar, well, they suck.
I have two more jobs to go look at this week and estimate. One is an install, sand and finish, and the other is sand and finish. One of the jobs is heat-treated wood that I will use Monocoat finish on. They had some folks try samples with poly and water-based finishes, but nothing looked good on the heat-treated wood. I got the call and the only question was, "Can you find something that makes the wood look rich?" Monocoat will, so I did a sample for them, and bingo! They love the rich look; it looks pure and clean. The install will be a task because the treated wood splits easily when the cleat hits the tongue, but my friends at Primatech have the thin nails, so that is the gun I will use. We have the 16G and 18G guns just for this type of stuff. It also helps with maple, hickory and the hard imported woods that split. It’s going to be a fun job, and I cannot wait to see the finish on the job. The wood is elm, but after they heat-treat it, it looks like black walnut.
Truth be told, I haven’t got much to write about this week; next week we start the stairs and resand job where the horse walked on the floor inside the house. I will take a photo of the floor so you can see it, but it is just beat up, thank God he did not have shoes on! The stairs will take me some time to make right—the dogs cut them up like a chain saw with attitude.
So, you all take care and keep in mind that I will be slow with the blog because of the time spent on the stairs—but keep an eye out for the next video blog. Be safe and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year just in case I do not get to write anything before then.
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011
How Much Do You Really Cost?
By Scott Avery
How much does your belt machine weigh? How about if you add the weight of the buffer or edger? How many trips do you make between the van and the job site to set up an average sanding job? The numbers don’t change whether it is a 200-square-foot kitchen or a 1,600-square-foot whole house refinish. The time to set up and the weight of the equipment is generally the same no matter the job. Then why wouldn’t you have a minimum job cost on small jobs instead of just using the same price-per-square-foot model? Sounds simple, but let me tell you about a scenario I just witnessed.
I did an estimate a few weeks ago for a homeowner who needed to refinish a 145-square-foot kitchen. I normally would quote a job like that with a minimum over the phone, but I was doing an estimate a mile away that day at the same time, so I figured I would stop by just to validate my thoughts. I walked in and saw a competitor’s bid lying on the table and the price almost made my jaw hit the floor. I’m going to walk you through the bid, which was $710.
The estimate included:
- Sand and refinish hardwood floors with dustless equipment
- Apply stain (customer to provide)
- Apply two coats of oil-based polyurethane
- Apply one coat of Bona Traffic waterborne finish
Let me explain a few other factors:
- The contractor owns the business and does the work himself
- He has a good reputation and is actively licensed and bonded
- He drives a gas-powered box truck (approximately 10-12 mpg)
- He lives about 12 miles from the job (I verified this with his business address and Google Maps)
Let’s hard-cost the job:
- Cost to drive to the home and provide an estimate (minimum 1 gallon fuel @$3.67, 30 minutes)
- Time to set up equipment (45 minutes)
- Time to properly sand, fill, and stain the floor (4 hours minimum)
- Drive home and allow stain to dry overnight ($3.67 fuel, 30 minutes with traffic)
- Return to apply first coat of polyurethane ($3.67 fuel, 30-minute drive, 30 minutes to coat)
- Drive home while finish dries ($3.67 fuel, 30 minutes traffic)
- Return to apply second coat of polyurethane ($3.67 fuel, 30-minute drive, 1 hour for intercoat abrasion, vacuum, and coat)
- Drive home while finish dries ($3.67 fuel, 30 minutes traffic)
- Return to job to apply final coat ($3.67 fuel, 30-minute drive, 1 hour for intercoat abrasion, vacuum, and coat)
- Time to repack tools (45 minutes)
- Abrasives/filler/finish:
- 2 belts @ $8.50=$17
- 10 edger discs @ $0.80=$8.00
- Filler @ $10
- Buffer paper, screens, and maroon pads ($20)
- 1 gallon polyurethane for two coats ($25)
- 1 gallon of Bona Traffic ($95)
Total man-hours on job: 11.5 hours total
Total materials cost, including fuel: $200.69
Total profit = $509.31
Right? WRONG!
I ran some other quick calculations based on the cost to be insured, licensed, and bonded based on my own rates and I figured it’s about $15 for the duration of the job.
$509.31 - 15.00 = $494.31
Taxes (state and federal averaged @ 20%) $494.31 x 0.2 = $98.862
Now what’s left is a realistic total = $395.45
You ready for the real shocker?
$395.45 / 11.5 hours = $34.39/hour
Now I know that sounds good, but consider the following:
- I didn’t factor the cost of health insurance.
- This doesn’t include workers compensation (which a business owner can waive)
- I didn’t factor for any 401K or retirement planning
Are you willing to give up that much of your life to make less than $400 for all of the liability and stress that comes with business ownership? What if the check bounced and you didn’t get paid? What happens if there is a hair in the finish or a missed spot? What happens if the homeowner is neurotic and decides to make you resand the floor; or they’ll make your life a living hell on the Internet on places like Angie’s List?
Stand tall if you’re a flooring contractor reading this and have the confidence to price accordingly on small jobs. A number of contractors have been so panicked by the media over the doom and gloom of our economy that they have forgotten how to make a profit that will build a good future when people want a small job done. Time is not infinite and there are a limited number of jobs that you can do in your lifetime.
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Tuesday, December 06, 2011
You Will Think I Am Pulling Your Leg
By Wayne Lee
It is true, the best job maybe the one you do not get. I spent a better part of last week doing samples for a job that was going to be hard. The GC just was bent on doing things so off that I can only say they were WRONG.
It was a gray look with some white in the grain, I called and got the correct stuff, and nailed the look, but the GC just knew that deck stain is better. So to make a long tale short, it is better to walk away. Now the hard part is to make up the lost time and funds. So I started a nasty resand today—36, 50 and 80, hand-rub and soft-plate the fire out of it. Here’s a “before”:
I am going to stain this with a medium brown when it is all done.
The big machine went well, but the edger was somewhat of a task. I needed to cut it twice, and knowing that the floor is going to have stain, I took it to 80 grit but with the flex pad on the edger. Take a look at the wall lines:
In the morning the hand-rubbing and the hand-work starts, so it should be a good day and, if all goes well, stain and the first coat by 5.
I also picked up a remodel job just under 600, so while I wait for this job to dry between coats I will run over and start this job to get both done this week; I’ll have to push hard to get both done this week. The only hang-up is the homeowner has some type of lung trouble and asked if we can find a finish that would not smell up the house. Well that is easy: water-base. During the NWFA open house Janet Sullivan let me have the water-base finish Lenmar offers. I am going to give it a run and see how it works. I have used Dura Seal water many times and some Basic, but this should be fun. The more I learn about finish, the better we can fit all the needs of each job. I do also have a factory-finish job that I want the use the Nano finish on again. It worked so great last time that I have just got to use it again. Nathan Shaw came down to help me with that one and dog, it was just nice.
I got a call for a set of stairs and I was thinking no big deal, right? It’s 22 steps 8 foot long and just the nicest set of stairs to look at. The dogs killed the finish with deep cuts and the finish is coming off in areas. I will take a photo for you next week so you can see what I mean. I also have a bedroom to re-sand at the same house. Now, you will think I am pulling your leg, but the horse walked all over it, not the dogs. They loved the horse so much that the stall is just off the bedroom and they let him in the house a few times. This is the largest house in the area, 15,000 under one roof. It took $3 million and about three years to build it. It’s sitting on a hill just as sweet as any home could be for the size and look it has to show off. The house is huge, with great wood work all around the home.
The sad part is that the folks that had it built made some dumb money moves and had to give it back to the bank. The bank sold it to cover the loss; the price was under $1 million to the new owners. Great deal, right? I should have got it for that price, LOL, a 3 million dollar home—the heat bill would kill me. They plan to flip it, yeah, flip it like a row house in the city. And you know what, they have folks from New York already asking about it. The idea is to have a home away from home for the winter time in New York. It is sad folks have to live like that and become snow birds from the nasty winters in upstate New York.
My video blog is up and running so not only do you have to read what I say, but you’ve got to hear me talk like a redneck ... Hope it is fun for all y’all because it was fun to make. We hope to do more as time goes on and if you have anything you would like to see, just let the folks at Hardwood Floors know so we can get it in the works. I am being honest when I say thank you all for reading the blog and putting up with me, I do enjoy the work and cannot think of a better way to help others. Well it is way past my bedtime, so good night and be safe.
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Friday, December 02, 2011
Heading to Cold Job Sites
By Wayne Lee
Well, here it is—my first video blog of me "Thinking Out Loud"—scary, I know. This one is about things to think about now that some of us are dealing with cold weather as we head to our wood floor jobs.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Chemicals Don’t Care
By Scott Avery
I watch the Hardwood Floors forum occasionally and what I notice is that people love to discuss installation specs and product a lot, but sometimes there is less activity on the finishing side. One area in which we need a lot more discussion and education in the wood floor industry is floor finishes—their compatibility and what finishes are a good fit for which species of wood.
One of my friends called me recently because some weird stuff was happening with a floor he installed and sanded. The finish crawled back and the job needed to be resanded. There were five coats applied by three different manufacturers, with sufficient dry time between coats. I have also mixed products from different manufacturers, so I’m guilty occasionally, too. It’s all a matter of preference, and you have to do what works best for your floors and keeps your company running smoothly.
A manufacturers rep I know very well always says the phrase, “Chemicals don’t care,” and it sums up a big problem I’ve seen: pressure on the flooring contractor to finish jobs sooner and sooner. When a problem happens with a floor because you stepped out of line regarding manufacturer instructions, then you are going to find out how lonely it can be in the business. Homeowners and GCs are rarely going to be sympathetic when flooring contractors have a problem, and I’ve seen some finish manufacturers wash their hands of problems at the drop of a dime. If you’re doing a floor that’s not your normal floor, then call a finish rep and ask for a referral to a contractor who’s been down that road before to save time and problems. Better yet, post it on the forum before you do the floor.
You get where I’m heading with this post, I think. If you are going to test a new system or mix product lines, then do it on a small floor first. Re-sanding 200 feet is easier than 2,000 feet. My other thought is to always give realistic timelines for finish to dry prior to applying the next coat. Most of the times when I’ve pushed a little too much on dry time between coats, it has come back on me in a bad way. My thought is that even though this stuff may not be covered in a class, the real golden nuggets are in the relationships with the really good finish reps from schools and conventions. I’ve called reps from “competing” companies to discuss problems and they have helped. Those are the guys you want to know. Come to the NWFA convention in Orlando next April, and I will introduce you to them, because they’re really genuine and a great resource.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
Create Your Network
By Wayne Lee
It is all good: Nicki's ACL replacement went great, now it’s time to wait and rebuild the leg. She is a tough girl; Daddy is so happy that it all went so good for her and the doctors. She went to PT today to start the program of getting back on her feet.
We start the small job in Brownsville in the morning; it is a long drive but I am going to find a hotel room so the drive will not eat a ton of fuel. The price of a hotel will be less than the cost of fuel for driving back and forth. I am looking forward to the job; it is walnut with Monocoat finish. This is the second job with Monocoat, and folks, I like the way it makes a floor look. I am a wax floor kind of guy and this will not replace it in any way, but it’s great if you have a job that demands the same look with less maintenance for the homeowner.
I also am going to do a whitewash floor in two weeks—now this one has me on edge because it is the first "white" floor we have done. I have been told that whitewash floors are hard to do—not because of the work or finish but because of the demands the homeowner has in their mind. It all comes down to the eye of the beholder, and we all know that can be the hardest part of the job! I am looking forward to the job and learning more; it is always good to grow in knowledge.
On the other hand of things, some of you know that I have been working with Jerry at Revolution to improve his parts and develop some ideas for the market. The flex pad and improvements to his re-covered drums are some of the things we have worked on together. Well, he has asked me to work with him more with some other ideas and, even more, to aid him with tech support for the machines. We had a long talk about the needs of the floor contractors and my path over the last few years. As you know, my path was 24 years with Clarke American Sanders and now to my new path as a contractor. The biggest adjustment for me has been getting the information and insight that distributors do not offer. Now, the distributors I work with are good at what they do, but in the supply line of information it takes some time to get down to my level. I do not live close to a distributor location—we do not walk into a store/showroom more than four times a year. That makes getting the full value of the distributors very hard; not that they are not reaching out—they are. My blessing is that the 24 years with the manufacturer has given me a network of friends and information. What Jerry and I talked about was letting anyone call me with a question they may run into. For things I cannot respond to myself, I know someone I can ask. My number for calls like that is now (731) 333-4093.
So in my blog I am offering my thoughts about the greatest steps for all of us to create the biggest network in any market:
- Get your company or yourself involved with the NWFA
- Sign up for Hardwood Floors magazine (you can get it online or via mail)
- Make sure your skills are up to speed with classes offered by NWFA, distributors, manufacturers, or any and all training that adds value to our market.
- Make your plans for the NWFA Expo in Orlando next April
- Get to know as many folks as you can within the network. This is a tough market, and some folks do not like to share ideas or tips; their mindset is: Why give your competition an edge? I have helped two of my competitors in the last few days. One is trying to start up and does not have a nailer that works all the time. I am letting him use my extra gun to get him through a job. The other one is having a HARD time with a homeowner; we talked twice on ways to get past his problem with her. So, long story short, the more we help each other, the more jobs there are that become wood floors done right.
At the end of the day it is about all of us helping each other and getting the best information...we are all trying to pay bills and feed our families. That is my goal now with Revolution, to help and support the flooring market. I will not stop with Cardinal Hardwood & Tile, nor with the HF magazine blogs; I have got to say that this has been a fun ride. It is very hard work, but the rewards have been wonderful for me and my family.
So, like I said, it is all good… good that we can help each other and pull together the best information and insights for our market. To be honest, no one I know does it better than we do… “we” meaning every contractor, distributor, manufacturer, Hardwood Floors magazine and the NWFA. We have lifelong friends and the greatest trade in the world, let’s keep it going and growing... it is all good if we work together.
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Monday, November 14, 2011
It All Starts at the Bottom
By Wayne Lee
I got on the 600-foot factory-finish job today, and the subfloor is a mess. During the estimate it became clear we were going to need to address the seams. I’m not sure if this is the fastest way, but it sure was flat when we got done. I took the edger and vac to hit the seams... the only pain was the nails that were not set, but just a fast hit with the hammer and they were out of the way.
It took 50 grit to get the seams flat and clean, for this 600-foot job I think it took an hour to get it flat. The seams are flat now; to make sure we took a stick of wood all around the floor and seams to make sure it was ready for the flooring. The subfloor had a coating on it from the day after they installed the decking, so I rolled poly back over the seams to seal them back up and keep the subfloor all working the same. I know it is a topic that we have talked about before on the blog, but in my ’hood the RH gets so high that on some jobs we need to slow the migration down.
I had to match up to the hall that was installed over a year ago by someone else; it is straight, but they did not prep the subfloor at all! They told the homeowner that he would not see the hump in the floor or the high spots at the seams. The bad news is that you can see the high spot and the hall looks uneven. When he saw me get the edger out and start on the subfloor, he just watched me for a while. Then he told me that it was good to see someone take pride in the work. My response was I know tons of flooring people, and we all take pride in our work, it is not just me—it is a team of people working with the NWFA. I have got to plug the schools and training; it has been a blessing for me during my time spent has a floor contractor. My skills have been honed and developed all because so many have given so much to the NWFA schools.
While I am thinking of it... a question came up in a comment about the paper I used on the factory-finish job last week. Why the paperback bolt-on, not hook and loop? OK, here goes, the best I can express what I know about paper: The high-performance papers will cut the factory finish off better than the standard papers. The way that the grit is put on to the backing with paperback is more like an open grit; the cloth back is tight and closed. Take a look at the disc for cloth vs. paper. Now, the reason for the bolt-on is because it is thin and will cut faster than the Velcro cushion. It’s like a soft plate—the same thought for the buffer can be used on the edger—always think about the backing and the grit that will best hide or reduce the scratch in the flooring.
Hope that helps? Just take a look at the grit and the backing some time, and you will see the difference in the disc. I just think about stuff like that—I look and see what is what. Over the years of schools and training, it has became a thinking-out-loud thing for me. That brings me to the next step for me on the blog, we have been working on some videos of me "just thinking out loud." You'll start seeing those soon. I hope it is as much fun for you as it is for me to make. Our goal is to show some of the things that go on in my head... but keep in mind that if you get in my head, you will be alone, so don’t go too deep—the lights are out down deep.
Well I got to get up early and get the flooring installed ASAP. It has been a rough week already because our neighbor’s wife passed away; she was a sweet Southern lady. Mr. and Mrs. Flowers were together for 65 years and have family all over the states. Kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, and, I think, a few great-great-grandkids. Mr. Flowers is 89 now and was telling me that he can recall the day he carried her up the steps like it was just the other day. The only time he was not here in Henry County was during the war and he was overseas. He is on the family farm; his son Walter works the farm now with the help of his son Andrew. They talk about farming like we talk about flooring; they are just a wonderful family.
My youngest has to have surgery Friday on her knee—ACL replacement. I am not looking forward to that, as a daddy you hate to see your babies hurt, and this is going to hurt. Well, you all take care and stay safe.
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Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Best Advice is Advice You Use
By Wayne Lee
Do you recall the words of wisdom given to me by Mickey Moore? Here we go for the ride with the builder—they just know we can install the flooring in this house. I went under and all around the home only to find a number of things not right with the house. The crawl space has a poor plastic job; it’s clear and the roots are growing under it like it’s a greenhouse. There are big rips in the plastic, plus it is not installed up to the wall nor overlapped:
Look at the gutters...what? They do not have any.
Well, after long conversations and testing with the meters we have the homeowners won over. The builder is not happy that we will not start until they have more done on the outside, the crawl fixed and the numbers all add up. So, did I go around the builder? Did I overstep the rules with the GC? Truth be told, I do not care what the GC was upset about; we wanted the job to be right, not just done. Who do you think they will point the finger at if things go wrong? Cardinal Hardwood & Tile... not the builder, not the GC, not the dealer—that is not going to happen. I was ready to walk away from this job.
So, long conversations later we won the battle and were able to get the new plastic under the home and shut down the crawl space troubles. I know that being a jerk is wrong, so during the battle it was the clear path of information that won the war. Let me take this chance to put in a plug for the NWFA Expo—the topic of wood and job site will be one of the seminars I will be sitting in. Also the one about controlling the other trades on the job is a must for me. You might want to review the training programs they have going on and plan to be a part of it. OK, you do not have to tell me that funds are tight, but in my mind the money spent to get the education is better than the funds lost on a job for callbacks or not getting paid.
The open house with the NWFA was a great time for me, seeing some friends and having the time to talk with a few finish folks was very helpful. One key for me with talking with them was the factory-finish recoats and resands we are seeing more of. I have two recoats on the books and just got done with the resand from last week. It is fact that the long-term warranty they offer will require trained floor folks like us. It is a big part of the future, so let's get ready now. Be the leader in your market is what I say.
Next week we install 600 feet of factory-finish 3- & 4-inch hickory, it has been on the job site for three weeks just to get ready. The subfloor and wood are ready for the house ... I got the house ready for the wood and now the wood is ready for the house. Dang if that is not the hardest part of the job; the install is nothing compared to the time it takes to keep going back and checking the wood and subfloor. I have been thinking about the unit that you leave on the job and call with the cell phone to get the information. That is the other thing on my list of stuff to get help with at the Expo this year.
This has been the first Saturday off in a few weeks and I have enjoyed the fire out of it. I’ve been sitting around like a old blue tick hound dog ... I’ve got a warm spot on the front porch and letting time roll by. Now if someone would just rub the back of my ears… life is good on a lazy Saturday.
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Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Let's Stay in Touch and Stay Upbeat
By Scott Avery
It occurred to me that I’d like to let the readers in on a few things that maybe I have never stated. I feel it’s important to be clear so that people will understand why I am writing a blog for Hardwood Floors and about my own feelings behind that:
- NWFA and Hardwood Floors magazine DO NOT pay me to write for them. I earn NWFA degree credits but the real payoff for me is hearing people value and can implement what I’ve written.
- I volunteered to begin writing for Hardwood Floors to share all I can in helping my peers, especially those newer to the business. When I started, the resources to learn about the hardwood floor business were mostly available only at regional NWFA schools or the magazine.
- My words are based on experience and opinion combined, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not perfect. I really wish more people would write comments as long as they are constructive. Blog comments are supposed to lead to more sharing of knowledge.
- Anyone having any success in the flooring industry really needs to open up and communicate locally and nationally about what they are doing. Keeping knowledge proprietary about how to succeed simply keeps prices down and turns contractors into consumer servants rather than the artisans we really all want to be.
- It’s really easy in this business to say something that will rub someone the wrong way. The minute we post it on the Internet, it is even more likely to stir up a hornet’s nest if someone doesn’t agree. Let’s just keep it friendly and contribute for the benefit of peers.
- Every year I’m in this industry I’m more grateful than the last. This business is fun and the mistakes just make you a better person.
I guess I would sort of call that my mission statement in being a blogger for the magazine. It’s easy to sort of become a target of criticism when you put yourself on the Internet, but anyone who knows me will tell you I’m a pretty mellow person, and just an enthusiastic and optimistic contractor. That’s something that seems a little lost in our business as time goes on.
The best changes are yet to come for the NWFA and I’m excited to see Michael Martin as our new CEO. On the inside, there is a really good buzz about the NWFA working harder to refocus on benefiting the contractors. I’m certain that this year at convention is going to be a great year, and I hope we will see some new guys there. Until the next time, stay in touch and stay upbeat.
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Saturday, November 05, 2011
Avoiding A Dirty Word: 'Free'
By Scott Avery
Estimates are not free, no matter how much we want to use that in our marketing. It is funny how often I see that slogan used all over vehicles, literature and websites.
Let me digress for a second: I live in Portland, and the coffee here is really good. I’m willing to pay 2-3 bucks for a really good 16-oz. coffee because I’m used to that price. When I am doing a road trip, do you think that I am excited when I see that the rest area has free coffee? No. Despite the good intention of giving away coffee to keep travelers awake and alert, I understand that the free coffee is not going to measure up to my personal expectations. The customers you ideally want are smart enough to understand that a good business has to make a profit and will see beyond using “free” as a way to get them to call.
All too often it’s easy to forget our own worth in this business. All it takes is to have a few problems on a job or losing a few jobs to a lowballer, and suddenly you find yourself losing a little confidence. Don’t let this affect your estimating skills.
I’m going to give you a few fundamentals that I am adamant about regarding marketing and customers.
- Attaching “free” to anything will ALWAYS attract the wrong type of customer. Being willing to show up and measure a room and talk to a customer isn’t a differentiator for the marketplace. Go get a Sharpie or take some sandpaper out and erase “free” from everything connected to your company.
- It is your job to conduct yourself like a better professional during an estimate. Assuming that a customer has a realistic and fair budget established for a project, if you lose to someone else only on price, you need to work on your confidence and professionalism.
- Throw down the gauntlet: Give away literature that explains what you do to go the extra mile and clearly explain what products you use. People will forget what you say occasionally, but they will keep and read well-written material that explains what differentiates you as a better professional.
- If you don’t feel right about the customer, don’t do the job, even if it is for your regular contractors. Not to beat a dead horse, but trust your instincts. One bad customer can derail a business for 6 months to a year.
I received two phone calls this week requesting a “free estimate” in the message. I did not return the calls because I would rather spend one hour writing for you all or with my children. Sounds crazy, but as I’m getting older I know that time doesn’t grow on trees and I have to trust my experience to guide me. Did I miss anything?
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Tuesday, November 01, 2011
How Dumb Can You Feel?
By Wayne Lee
"The best tools on the job still are your hands and eyes."
Those are words that my friend Daniel Boone drove home on every job we worked on. No matter what tool you are using, it never will do the task without your hands working it and your eyes watching it. Think about that as you run the tools.
On this job I have been working the edger over the factory-finish floor:
I needed to use the aluminum oxide mineral to get the factory finish off. For this job we used the 3M paper, why, you may ask? Well, it has a paper-back bolt-on, not hook and loop. My goal is to get the finish off, and as we know the factory finish is some tough stuff. I took 100-grit and 80-grit to get it off and flat. My next cut was with 80-grit hook-and-loop black mineral to remove any deep scratch left from the aluminum oxide.
The best way I can explain it is that I went backwards to go forward: getting the finish off and then making sure it was flat was the goal at first. After that, my task was to get the floor ready for stain. So, the 80-grit black hook-and-loop Virginia Abrasive is the next paper I used. I like the hook-and-loop paper on the flex pad on my Super 7 R edger.
Sounds like a NASCAR ad with all the brands that I have tossed out here, but it so true that you need to find the best mineral for your style of sanding. I use two brands of papers and find that those two will do everything we need on the jobs. I have not used a screen in years thanks to the 16-inch paper on a soft plate. We have talked about soft plates a few times, and when done right, you will not leave a mark in the floor. So when you stain a floor you will not see buffer marks; this allows the stain to keep the rich tones. If you over-buff, the floor will close and not give the true color of the stain. Also if you over-buff you can “dish out” the floor, making it look bad.
Knowing we are going to stain the floor, I got out the old-school tools and hand-scraped the wall lines so we had no edger marks to pop out when we stained the floor. I took a bright light and ran the wall lines with the scraper, then went behind that with a sanding block. It was faster than you might think. The real key is getting the blade right on the scraper—then just rock and roll. The blend all comes together with the buffer and the soft plate. Here it is:
This was just under 1,000 feet of flooring; I got it all done with stain/seal and two coats in four days. I would have been done sooner but the master bedroom had a perfect halo around the walls; I was sure that I over-buffed the walls and made the halo. So I got the big machine out again and re-sanded the room again, edged the walls, hand-scraped and sanded with the hand block. Got the buffer out to blend the marks and stained it all over... and it was still there! Then it hit me—the area rug was the same exact size. How dumb can you be? I did all that work to fix my mistake and it was really the color change on the floor from the rug. The dark and light from the sun just had me off my game; it was sad but I feel good that I did my best to remove it.
Well that is one for the OJT (On the Job Training) lesson ... How dumb can you feel?
On a better note: Great news, the CARDINALS win the World Series!!!!!
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