What is the hardest thing in the life of a flooring contractor? Many contractors might say it is the constant wear and tear on the body. Others might suggest the heavy lifting of big machines (sanding tools can quickly reach 40, 60 or even 80+ kilograms!). These, of course, are great answers and they are totally true. However, let me suggest something rather surprising, yet equally true.
I believe the hardest thing in flooring is taking high quality photos. Yes, you’ve read that right. Taking beautiful pictures is “a thorn in the flesh” for me. There are several reasons why I find this particular thing so difficult (and frustrating).
Reason No. 1.: poor lighting. With nice full-scale remodeling projects, electricians are often working simultaneously with the flooring contractors and, far more often than not, the new lighting system isn’t finished yet when the floors are installed. You can have the nicest camera and the prettiest flooring material, in the absence of good light, the pics simply won’t reflect the beauty of it well (Social media influencers might know this as well).
Reason No. 2.: competition with other contractors. The rooms with finished floors ready for their close-up, instantly become storage space for the other contractors. It is very common that when the flooring contractors arrive on the job site, the needed area isn’t fully emptied yet by the other crews. Left over tiles, bags of materials, debris, painting supplies, tool kits, etc. all can be found lying around. More often than not we start the day by nudging the other contractors to move their stuff out of our work area. And once we finish the floor in one room, the other crew members appear, roll down the cover for protection and immediately start putting their stuff on it.
Reason No.3.: photo bombers. Painters typically come right after flooring (for the final layer of paint), the door guys do their installation on the new floors and the cabinet crew members start building what they need to. In most cases, the floors become storage and work space for these colleagues before baseboards are even finished.
As these reasons might not seem as relevant to you as the customer, they are relevant to how your new floors are shared with the world, and in this era of Instagram and TikTok, photos and videos are as good as reality. So if you decide to selfie with your new floors, call on your photographer friend, get the lighting right, and clear out any stray furniture and leftover contractors before you do.
As for me, my frustrations with getting great photos of your new floors might subside. As time goes by and I get older and start limping because of lower back pain, like the older colleagues, I might also forget about taking the fancy photos :)