Floor covering installers lay down carpet or resilient floor coverings in homes, offices and industrial, commercial or institutional buildings. They work with anything from plush, colourful weaves for private residences to industrial strength coverings for factories and offices. Resilient floor coverings include hard substances such as vinyl, wood, ceramics, cork or linoleum. Many installers specialize in one form of covering and focus on a single type of market. Some installers are self-employed while others work for construction companies, floor covering sub-contractors and carpet outlets. Salaries vary considerably from region to region and from company to company.
Before laying down any covering, you inspect, measure and clean the surfaces to be covered. If necessary, irregularities are sanded down and holes filled in. You then mark out the lines and patterns to be followed. You cut out the floor covering material according to the dimensions specified by the plans or the client's instructions. In some cases, there is an under padding of some kind to which the floor covering is attached, and this is cut out first. In the case of carpeting, you fasten different sections together using a stitcher, a seaming iron or bonding tape. The carpet is then shifted and stretched into position and tacked into place.
There are many different ways of installing resilient floor coverings. Generally you glue them to a foundation material, following a pre-determined pattern. Some of these floor covering materials are designed to be purely decorative. Others have more specialized purposes, such as to deaden sound, to absorb shocks or to create air-tight environments.
In this job, you must be ready to do a lot of bending and kneeling. You should also be prepared to carry heavy loads, such as rolled up carpeting, tools, tiling, planks and so on. Apart from that, the work is not physically demanding. There are, however, some intellectual challenges since you must be able to calculate the amount of material you need. You must plan each cut or layout very carefully so as not to waste material.
You have to deal with certain job-related problems and hazards. Some of the materials used can be dangerous as are some of the tools used to apply them. The fumes from various kinds of glue, fibres from certain types of carpet, and dust from patching and priming mixtures are all potential health hazards. You may, therefore, have to wear protective clothing and a respirator.
You find yourself often dealing with architects or contractors to obtain materials, solve technical problems or resolve scheduling conflicts. You are accountable for the materials used and the hours worked. Whether you are an independent operator or an employee, you must keep a careful record of your work.
One of the major attractions of this job is that it involves putting the finishing touches on a construction project. In addition, the trade is expanding into challenging new areas such as plastics and other synthetic materials. New specialty areas are emerging, such as plastic welding techniques that completely enclose rooms to make them air-tight and germ-free. These techniques are used in hospital operating rooms and in special laboratory storage rooms. You may also expand your skills to include covering walls and ceilings as well as floors.
To do well in this job you need to be serious and self-disciplined. Employers and clients expect you to have the ability to focus on every job. Since many of the coverings are very expensive and require great care in cutting and shaping, employers look for installers who are careful and methodical workers. You also need to be a good planner and understand how to manage time. Aside from being physically fit, you need good hand and eye coordination. You should also be able to work as part of a team which requires good communication and interpersonal skills.