Sunday, September 1, 2024

Today I have officially retired from floor covering installation. I’ve been looking to retire since the day I got in. One foot out the door, I always said. I was seven years into a twenty year stint in the NY Carpenter’s Union when I was run out of the city. I only had thirteen left and I was home free. Twenty and out. That was the plan. I would have retired at the tender age of 41. I wound up doing an additional 22 years of hard labor, on my knees; and I have no permanent home.

That, in a nutshell is the floor covering installation trade.

Today is a different day. The first day of the rest of my life.

It was two years ago yesterday when I finished my last flooring job. The basic specifics of the project were that it was of a good size, residential, directly adhered cork tile job. Cork is my favorite floor. It took me four weeks, five days a week, eight hours a day, working by myself. The labor contract was for roughly $11K. That’s almost $69 per man hour. I have personal liability that I had to pay out of that, like everyone else. And of course I pay double social security, the payroll tax for the self-employed. Incidentally, corporations pay the same exact rate. Think about it.

My boss keeps reminding me that our employer is a $500 billion dollar corporation. So, I’m wondering, since we’re taxed the same, are they paying too much, or am I paying too much? The math is not the point, but it really is, if you know what I mean. It’s about equity.

I was an independent contractor, licensed in the State of Arizona since 1995, (AZ ROC 108590). My license is still active, but I plan on deactivating it when it expires. I don’t recall the last subcontract job I did but for some twenty years plus I contracted directly with the consumer. No middleman. (That’s the idea behind FindaFloorGuy.com)

I’m fibbing. Technically, I did subcontract. For about seven years – from Y2K to the blown bubble. It was more of a partnership though. I call it the Jaime Grande Years. Me and another floor mechanic, Jaime Grande, partnered up.

I helped him with his jobs, 40/60, and he helped me with my jobs, 60/40. It wasn’t exclusive or in writing but it was based on mutual respect. We simply respected what each of us brought to the table. What we did have in common was that we had the same eye for detail. Jaime’s was better than mine many times. I just won a National Contest, I wasn’t just gonna work with anyone and I was tired of teaching my competition. They just steal from you anyway. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Unfortunately it’s the current state of the union. Anybody I worked with going forward would have to at least match me. And that’s how Jaime earned Grande.

Back to the story. When I got done with the job the customer gives me a check for $1000 over and above the contract price. I saw it as a tip. In fairness to myself, I donated a number of hours to a moisture mitigation issue on the job site that I didn’t anticipate. I specified a concrete subfloor sealer, I always did with cork. This was something different. An another animal, I call it. There was something going on with moisture in the slab that had me curious. Without actually making a conscious decision about it, I went about spending the time with the customer to figure out what was going on.

We were diligent in our monitoring and testing and our patience. It was only when we were satisfied that an applied sealer wouldn’t fail, did I proceed to install the cork in the troubled area. Yesterday was the two year anniversary since I got up off my knees. I always remember the feeling of a completed job done well. Today the state mandated warranty expired. That simply means, the state can not force me to go back over my work if they find fault. Whether I agree with them or not no longer matters. That’s a large weight to be lifted, to remove the State as your overlord. Honestly, it doesn’t matter the job; I told my customers they had a warranty that lasted as long as I was on my knees. If the failure was workmanship related, deemed by me, I would make it right. That was my word, and I’m proud to say, I kept it.

Some may find that funny. Living up to my own standards. I take it very seriously.

Here’s the thinking that led to that cork job being my last installation job. I saw the moisture mitigation as a learning experience. There was an unknown that I didn’t anticipate. So I became the teacher and the student. I saw that as a wash, and not something I would charge for. That’s where the words tip and could come in to play. Could I charge for it? Absolutely. Everybody’s heard the idiom, fake it until you make it? Well, I never had to fake it. If I was learning, I was taking someone with me. People, my customers, appreciated that. For the most part. You, know, it’s impossible to please everyone, all the time. I do initially try, but I’m a quick study. If a path to satisfaction and ultimately happiness doesn’t develop early on, I simply stop looking. Unless of course there’s something to be learned.

Now that the could part is out of the way, I’ll address the tip. My line of thinking was such that, I was an independent contractor providing a service. Taxed the same as any big box. Would any consumer go up to Doug, Ed or Marvin and give them even a nickel or dime more than what they’re asking? Maybe there is someone, I heard Wally World matches the employee’s 12%, I guess in an IRA or something or other. That means, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Jones working as cashiers for fifteen years have to invest in their employer, Wally World, for Wally World to tip them 12% in return, wow, a whole dozen. Otherwise, no soup for you. That’s a lot to unpack, I don’t want to stray too far.

The point, finally, is not at the top of my head; ONLY POOR PEOPLE WORK FOR TIPS. Not financially poor, as in no money, but someone who hasn’t yet to fully realize their own value or true worth, type of poor. If I don’t know my own worth in the marketplace, who does? It’s been something I struggled with, that’s why I’ve always had one foot out the door. I didn’t want to do what I was doing. I never did. It’s true, it’s a nickel and dime marketplace, and I’ve been limited by that marketplace. The owner of boomerang staircase made that abundantly clear to me. Essentially she said, there’s a going rate, stay in your lane. God Bless.

I didn’t realize my worth so I set about reinventing myself again. We’ll see what happens, but it appears consultation is not worth anything either, except if you’re one of the many, many hit & run flooring victims I’ve seen in my career. So, what I’d like to do going forward is attempt to limit the amount of future victims. At the same time, work on the perception that floor covering installation has no inherent value other than a common wage.

Because, it’s simply not true.

1. it seems alot of people feel that way.
2. they give it away