Floored!

Unlike Africa where unskilled labour is relatively cheap, all labour in New Zealand is credited financially with the respect that it rightly deserves. I ask myself whether a man digging a trench for 5 hours has not put just as much effort into his task as, say a carpenter who has been hammering roof trusses together for the same length of time. Naturally when one of the workers has poured in heaps of time and money into studying advanced techniques in order to ply his trade, he/she can naturally expect better remuneration. However, any man or woman deserves to earn a decent living wage, and that, sadly, does not happen in places like Africa where unemployment really dictates and supresses the price of labour.

No, no: This is not a political dissertation, or a destructive criticism of labour practices in the less developed countries: it is simply a background to the comment that labour of any description does not come cheap in New Zealand. If you want work done for you, then you must be prepared to pay for it.

We are in the process of having some renovations done to the floors at Chartwell. As far as we know, most of the flooring has given service for the last 17 years and in many areas is starting to show the worse for wear. Given the nature of the terrain outside and the fact that the dogs and cats are part of the household, it makes sense to replace worn flooring with something strong and durable.

So, back to the “high” cost of labour: Unlike South Africa, the flooring contractors charge just as much to remove old floors and fill holes, etc as they charge to lay the new product. There are no advanced skills needed to pull up an existing floor, so we have opted to do it, and then to get the professionals (Jacksons) to lay the new stuff.

Whilst Jacksons will only arrive in a bit over two weeks time, it was decided to start the preparation as early as possible, to make sure that everything is completed in good time, just in case. Jacksons will start with the kitchen/ dining area , so that floor was tackled first – being a laminate, it possibly involves the most preparation as well.

 
(Above): Light-coloured laminate floor in the kitchen and dining room. It doesn’t look too bad in the photo, but closer inspection reveals considerable wear and some planks shifting.

(Above): After the first few rows of boards were removed, the original vinyl flooring is revealed, firmly glued to the concrete floor. This will also have to come up. Nice pattern, but it certainly screams out “Pattern of the Nineties”.

(Above): The laminate flooring is finally completely removed from the kitchen floor. The vinyl sheeting will be pulled up just before the contractors move in.

(Above): The vinyl sheeting can be removed with relative ease, but leaves a sticky residue behind. A bit like the old “contact” adhesive.

(Above): A view of the adjoining dining room area, where the white foam underlay of the laminate floor has been left in place in the meanwhile. We walk around barefoot indoors most of the time, so best to avoid the bare cement if we can.

(Above): All 160 planks and another pile of off-cuts are now stored on the back verandah. The quality of the composite board is still good, so we may be able to make use of them, sell them via the Internet or else donate them to a worthy cause. Selling will be first prize.