Learned It From Experience: L.I.F.E. Lesson #8
I have discussed contractors before. I still suggest finding and building a relationship with one or two really good ones. These situations are much less likely to happen when you have an established relationship.
Let’s look at a situation that comes up a lot! TILE
I select and design tile for clients on almost every project. Kitchen or bath, they both have tile, often a lot of tile. When I am working with a client we will select the tile and then create a tile drawing to not only show the client what it will look like, but we detail specific dimensions for the contractor and his tile layer.
More often than I can count I often get comments such as:
“This tile is too hard to cut”
“This will take too long”
“I have a better way to lay the tile”
“This simply won’t work”
“I think it will look better if we do this”
“My tile guy doesn’t think this is the best way to lay this”
And on and on and on…
When I first started in this business, I was easily swayed by a contractor telling me my design wouldn’t work. This is why experience is so valuable. And I am here to help! Listen, tile is a complicated beast- sizes, angles, joints, thicknesses, the list is endless. Knowing your design, your materials and where your knowledge stops is a good place to start. Knowing when it’s time to push back because they really don’t want to lay the tile you selected or how you designed it, and knowing when you ask the questions why they don’t want to lay it, or why they don’t think your design will work.
Knowing the extent of your knowledge is step 1. The longer you are in the business the more experience comes. This is also why it is good to have a reliable contractor. But also learning the materials and process. Knowledge is power.
Talk out the reasons with your contractor and/or the person laying the tile. By doing this, you’ll gain valuable knowledge not only about the process but also about the contractor and how his team works. If it comes down to laziness, or their opinions, standing up for yourself is your best option. Then, on the next project, find a new contractor.
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