What
Property Managers Should Expect from Flooring Installers
Excerpt from the book "Landlord
Floors"
by
Alan J. Fletcher © 2002-2009
Arrival
Installers should not arrive too early in the morning unless
prior arrangements have been made, as the amount of noise generated by
installers is enough to potentially disturb neighboring tenants who may still be
sleeping. The manager of each property should designate a general starting-time.
In most cases, 9 am is the time when most managers and leasing agents open the
rental or leasing office and that is the time when the flooring installers would
typically arrive and be allowed to begin working in the unit.
The installers should notify the manager
upon arrival to request the keys to the unit.
Installers should only park their vehicles in a non-reserved
visitor’s space, unless the manager has provided the installers with a special
place to park their vehicles.
If the unit is occupied, the tenants may have a preference as
to when the installers should arrive. Sufficient time should be allowed for the
tenants to finish with breakfast and showers prior to the arrival of the
installers.
Behavior
-
There should be no smoking, eating or drinking in the unit.
-
Any radio or other music should be kept at a minimum level to
not disturb any tenants.
-
The installers should not engage in horseplay or any other
activities that could endanger the safety of the tenants.
-
The installers must at all times keep sidewalks and walkways
free of cords, debris, flooring materials or any thing else that could become a
trip hazard to tenants.
-
There shall be no throwing or dropping of any materials from
balconies or stairwells.
Communication
The installers should be given specific instructions to the
proper person they are to communicate with in the event of a problem or change
of procedure associated with the job. It should be specified that any changes
must be approved by the owner, manager, or other authorized person available
onsite or by phone.
Appliances
The average price for removing and replacing appliances is
$10.00 - $25.00 per appliance. If the flooring installers are paid to remove and
replace the toilets and/or appliances, you should expect that they would put
something down to protect the carpet from spills and stains when they are set on
the carpet. When replacing appliances they must also be sure to double check all
water supply links to be sure there are no leaks. You should expect them to
communicate with you if there is a problem that should be addressed, (for
instance, if the dryer hose is damaged, or the washer hose is leaking) so you
can deal with the problem.
If, for instance, the dryer hose is damaged, you would expect
that the installer would not re-use the old damaged hose, rather they should
communicate with you so that you would be able to supply a new dryer vent hose
to install before replacing the dryer back into place. You should have dryer
vent hoses and clamps, and washing machine hoses and hose-washers on hand at all
times.
Toilets
The average price for removing and replacing a toilet is
$20.00-$35.00. Installers should always supply and use a new wax ring with a
flange when replacing the toilets. They should be expected to caulk around the
toilet base, but I suggest that you have them leave a small area at the back of
the toilet left un-caulked. They should notify the manager if the toilet has any
cracks, internal mechanical problems or if it requires a new water supply hose.
You cannot expect flooring installers to provide the
following supplies:
-
Washing machine hoses or hose-washers,
-
Dryer vent hoses or clamps,
-
Toilet water supply lines
-
Toilet internal workings or seals
You can expect installers to provide the following
supplies:
Floor preparation
You should expect typical floor preparation charges to
prevail, unless there is more floor preparation needed than usual. Floor
preparation charges are typically $25-$35 per hour. You should expect to pay
about one hour of floor preparation for every ten yards of vinyl installed. You
should also expect to pay for floor preparation based on one-half hour
increments. (If you have 15 yards of vinyl installed expect to pay for 1 ½
hours of floor prep) The manager should approve any additional floor prep
charges in advance and in writing.
Proper Floor preparation procedures
You should expect that only Portland cement based floor
patching compounds should be used to patch the floors. White-colored patching
compounds are not acceptable and should never be used. Some installers
use white patching compounds because they dry quicker, but are not designed for
this purpose.
Over existing vinyl:
Floor patch should be applied to all areas of Vinyl with
embossing in order to prevent the old vinyl pattern from
"telegraphing" through to the new layer of vinyl. No more than three
layers of vinyl should be installed on the floor. If there are three layers
of vinyl already installed, all three layers should be removed prior to
installing the new layer of vinyl and/or a new sub floor may need to be
installed.
Concrete floors:
Gypsum-based floors:
Floor repairs
Upon the discovery of any unforeseen floor damage, installer
should notify the manager at once. You should specify that the manager must
approve any additional charges for floor repairs in writing.
Installing Underlayment,
All nails screws and staples are to be counter-sunk. All
seams and hammer indentations, screw holes, voids etc. are to be filled and
leveled with a floor-patching compound.
Approved underlayment
You may want to specify which type of underlayment that you
wish to be used. There are several choices. Particle board, Plywood, Luan,
Structure wood or specialty wood products.
Underlayment thickness
You may want to specify the desired thickness that you wish
to be used. If you are removing a damaged ½ inch thick board, then by all means
replace it with a new board at least the same thickness. I recommend that if you
use particleboard or plywood, that it be no less than 3/8" thick to insure
stability.
Fasteners, minimum size and length requirements:
Transitions
It is not expected that vinyl installers replace carpet
transition metals, but you should expect that carpet installers would install
all new metal transitions. You can specify silver or gold colors. There are two
basic types of transition metals, flat-bar and clampdown. Flat-bar is a flat
piece of colored metal with nail holes every few inches. There are matching
silver and gold nails that are to be used with this type of transition.
Clampdown transition is affixed to the floor and the carpet is stretched over it
and tucked under a metal hood that is then hammered down to hold the carpet in
place.
You can specify flat-bar transition metals to be either gold
or silver and in 1 inch or 1-½ inch widths. The 1-inch
wide flat-bar is most common. (In some areas, there is an additional charge for
installing new metal, usually $1 per foot.)
Carpet seams
You should expect that carpet seams should not be too
obvious. A well-done carpet seam should be hard to notice. It should not stick
out like a sore thumb. If a carpet seam looks bad it should be brought to the
attention of the installer as soon as possible. Proper seam placement is
important. The worst place for seams is in heavy traffic areas; every attempt
should be made to place seams in low traffic locations.
Vinyl seams
All vinyl seams must be properly sealed with the
manufacturers recommended seam sealer. Best location for vinyl seams are under
appliances. Never allow a seam placed under a table and chairs.
Timely completion
You should expect that all carpet and vinyl installation jobs
would be completed in one day,
Unless other arrangements have previously been made. The
manager must be notified as soon as possible if the job cannot be completed on
time.
Completed job
All new carpet should be vacuumed (not all installers will
vacuum) and all carpet and pad scraps should be hauled away. The walls should
all be nicely tucked in. Seams should be neat and not have any loose strings
sticking up. The carpet should be stretched in tight and there should not be any
loose areas. All new metal should be installed. (In some areas, there is an
additional charge for new metal, usually $1 per foot.)
Upon completion all vinyl areas must be free of any excess
glue and all areas swept clean. All excess vinyl and debris must be removed from
the unit. All lights and heaters must be turned off. All keys must be returned
to the manager and all window and doors must be locked upon departure.
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