Assessing workmanship 1. Check if a company which offers installation of coverings has its own team of fitters.Our experience shows that own team of fitters is a key element for the quality of performed works. That is why it is important to trust companies which do not hire teams for work at single investments, but employ their own teams on a permanent basis. Permanent and experienced
team of fitters guarantees promptness, expertise and quick repairs in cases of complaints. Hired installers are more difficult to check. Maybe their boss is the only professional and particular employees are in a learning phase? It is harder to exercise complaints. If there are problems with coverings, the team of installers may not be available any more. And even if you manage to convince the company responsible for investment to accept your complaint, it can drag for weeks on end.
2. Watch out for installation of PVC covering. Generally only professionals with much experience should install floor coverings. But even it does not guarantee success in all cases. Different types of coverings can be characterised by a different installation difficulty level. Definitely the biggest number of challenges is caused by PVC coverings. They require perfectly level surface. If the floor is not level, it should be levelled. When pouring self-levelling compound it is important to choose proper priming substances, depending on the quality of surface and many other factors. Wrong prime will cause the so called "burns" of compound from the floor. It will happen locally and in many cases on the whole surface.
When installing PVC coverings, you also need specialist equipment. You cannot make mistakes at joints, as they will be visible and they will ruin the final effect. In extreme cases edges on joints will start to chip, which can lead to tripping over. PVC coverings should be "rolled out" to walls. It also requires skills.
Therefore, not every team will install PVC coverings. Restore and construction companies practically do not do it. Those who will agree, often do it without having required skills. That is why it is important to ask for references, photos of performed works or any other evidence confirming experience in installing PVC coverings before commissioning work.
3. Take "bleed" into consideration. Do you need 100 m2 of covering to cover a 100 m2 room? Of course not. You need more, as you have to take "bleed" into consideration. They are scraps of covering which remain after installation. There is about 10% to 15% of such bleed. In extreme situation more than 20%. It depends on the amount of arches and angles in rooms, number of colours of coverings, complexity of patterns cut in coverings and unfavourable surface to roll width relation. The more bleed the more expensive the material is. That is why you should minimize them. How can you do it?
Demand calculating amount of bleed on planning and cost estimation stage on the basis of precise measurements of rooms. A solid company is able to define and guarantee it. Lack of bleed and estimations exceeding 20% is suspicious. You have the right to know details of such estimation. It is important to dispel your doubts.
4. Air humidity counts While installing floor coverings there are different factors which should be taken into consideration, even such "subtle" ones as air humidity. If air is too humid (because a building has been built on a boggy area), levelling compound will dry slower and it will make installation time longer. You need to remember and accept this additional time or make it shorter, by using special equipment to dry rooms. Find out if your fitter has such equipment. If air is too dry (resulting from wrong air-conditioning settings), newly installed coverings can have electrical charges. Very experienced fitters will install coverings and check air humidity, establish reasons of possible electrical charges and advise to change air-conditioning settings.
