How to Find The Right Wood Flooring Fitter for your Home?

Simply replacing the flooring is one of the most noticeable and inexpensive ways to give your home a fresh look and feel. Whether upgrading an outdated wooden floor, or getting a laminate or hardwood floor installed, new flooring can completely transform a space and add value to your property.

Since installing flooring requires specialized knowledge and training, hiring a qualified floor fitter is best. To help you make the best decision, we asked some of the vetted professionals listed on Easefix what information they felt was essential to their work. 

To make sure you're comfortable with their track record.

• Check out their credentials.
• Affirm that you feel at ease with them.
• Compare prices and make sure everything is covered by requesting quotations.
• Make a payment arrangement.
• Verify if there will be any subsequent contact.

Following these logical steps will help you narrow in on the necessary details to ask about and discuss with flooring fitters when you meet with them to acquire bids for the work. 

Read more if you want some essential tips to find the right wood flooring fitter for your home.

1. Verify Experience

A new floor is a low-impact home improvement project compared to adding or completely rewiring a house. For example, installing wood floors necessitates the expertise of a specific set of artisans. Different types of contractors can install carpeting, hardwood floors, laminates, vinyl, and even tiling. The laying down of carpeting or vinyl flooring is a task that general contractors and handymen can accomplish.

It's best, like with any job, to find a worker who already has experience in the field. Referrals from their recently accomplished project may be relevant to verifying their expertise.

If you need help with your flooring, you should hire a professional floor fitter specializing in that work.

Verifying a tradesperson's references is essential. Several methods exist for achieving this goal. One easy option is to check the reviews the tradesperson's prior clients left on homeowner apps like Easefix. If possible, a portfolio of their work, including photographs of completed projects, should be available for viewing at your initial consultation. 

Working with a professional flooring fitter saves you money and time by receiving expert guidance and supplies. Although you can hire a wood flooring fitter to install laminate or solid wood flooring that you purchase from a shop or online, all the experts we spoke with advised getting in touch with the fitter first. They can show you various possibilities and purchase for you.

2. Verify Qualifications

Verify their references and ask potential contractors about their experience, training, and strategy for completing your project. Find out if the service provider is a part of any relevant trade groups or certification programs. Flooring installers may be members of a wide variety of trade associations. Among them are the following:

• The Contract Flooring Association (CFA): Qualified floor fitters are members of CFA, which conducts extensive background checks on all new members to guarantee their services meet its standards in carpets, hardwood, vinyl, etc. The contractor's code of ethics is followed, and members are brought up to date on industry developments.
• National Institute of Carpet Fitters and Floorlayers (NICF) is dedicated to advancing best practices in the industry and enforcing the British Standards Code of Practice for carpets and other textile floor coverings fitting. To join, prospective members must produce references and take a test, with the top scorers going on to become "Master Fitters."

The CFA and the NICF founded the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA).

3. Familiarise Yourself With The Floor Fitter

Considering how easily you work with your flooring fitter would be best. You can tell if they'll be a good fit for the project based on how they act from the moment you see them.

You probably won't spend much time with your flooring fitter, so there's no need to become best friends. However, you should be able to have a professional relationship with them in which you feel safe voicing any concerns you have and working through any problems that may emerge.

4. Request Quotes To Compare Pricing And Ensure Coverage

Obtain a detailed estimate from a wood flooring fitter before any work is done. You may learn a lot about their procedure from the depth and breadth of their quote. Whether you plan on getting many selections for a sizable project, check to see if they are comparable in terms of whether or not they cover the costs of materials, labor, and value-added tax. 

The relocation of large pieces of furniture and the proper disposal of old flooring are two considerations unique to flooring installations. Some fitters will want you to empty the space before they can work in it, while others may offer to do it on your behalf for an additional fee. 

Some flooring fitters will uplift and remove, meaning they will not require the old flooring to be removed before installing the new floor. Make that the cost of hauling and dumping debris is factored into the estimate if the contractor plans to charge you.

A sample of at least three quotations can help you spot any that seem unreasonably low, which could signify a tradesperson who wants to win the job but will make up the actual value by adding on extra costs. This is especially helpful if you have a larger job and are taking multiple quotations.

5. Schedule Payments

Make sure you settle a viable payment plan with your chosen qualified floor fitter through a correct documented quotation.

Trustworthy floor fitters rarely need full payment upfront. Although floor fitters typically do not require deposits, this can change depending on the project's scope. Though many service providers are still willing to accept cash, it is more common for them to accept bank transfers or credit card payments.

6. Post-Project Follow-up

Timber floors, excellent wood floors, or reclaimed timber may require maintenance to address snags or changes resulting from fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels over time. Still, otherwise, flooring projects should be reasonably straightforward. If you have any questions or concerns once the job is done, you should make sure your chosen flooring fitter is available for support.

You can find the best local wood flooring fitters through Easefix to get a quote, have them visit and assess the space, and discuss your flooring options with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the most effective way of hardwood flooring installation?

Nail or staple installation is the most common technique because it works well for solid and engineered wood floors. The flooring strips should be stapled down, not nailed.

2. Can you install wood flooring yourself?

Floor fitting is a technical job that requires training and expertise. It should be got done by professional floor fitters.

3. What is installed in the subfloor before wood flooring?

Underlayment, in its most basic definition, is the layer of material that sits between the subfloor and the floor. Some flooring will already have the underlayment attached, but for others, you'll need to buy and install it separately. Underlayment is typically made of rubber, cork, foam, or felt.

4. Under what conditions should hardwood floors not be installed?

Getting a new floor in the dead of winter could be tempting. Hardwood floors are beautiful but difficult to install in the winter. Winter is the driest season in the United Kingdom, and this holds true no matter where you live. Compared to other seasons, winter air is naturally drier.