Questions to ask your candidate flooring contractor

The quality of your installation is critically important to you but will only be as good as what your flooring contractor can provide.  

We provide eight questions and a few pointers to help you determine the level of skill and experience of the vinyl flooring contractor you are considering.

Ensure that your choice is the right one.

A builder or client may appoint a flooring contractor through a tender process that is often based solely on price.  It’s critical to understand that a quote is not always what it appears to be. A cheaper price may ultimately cost substantially more if the quality of the installation is poor.

From our experience, the flooring contractor who submits the lowest price has very often had to compromise on something.  It is therefore imperative that workmanship, skill and experience also be considered when selecting your flooring contractor.  If you’re intent on a quality installation, doing your homework before making your final selection is essential.

Eight questions to ask a candidate flooring contractor to ensure your selection provides you with a quality installation:

1. How long have you been operating as a vinyl flooring contractor?
2. Do you have experience of floor installations in the health, retail, commercial and/or education sectors?
3. What size project (in sqm) have you previously done?
4. What kind of post-installation service will you offer once you have been paid?
5. What guarantee do you offer on the labour element of the floor?
6. Are you able to complete this project within the timelines (and therefore avoid penalties)?
7. Within your team, who exactly will be laying the floors and what sort of experience do they have?
8. Are you a FITA (Flooring Industry Training Association) registered flooring contractor?

Other important things to do before making your final selection:

• Request references on previous jobs of a similar size and complexity.
• Inspect work previously completed by the same team of installers.
• Contact other builders that the contractor has worked with and ask about the quality and reliability of their installations.
• Check the contractor's credit rating with a reputable credit bureau; does he pay his suppliers on time?

For more advice on your installation, we have compiled a list of 18 things to look out for onsite when installing vinyl flooring here.

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