28
JULY 2014 PRO INSTALLER
FROM THE INSIDE
www.proinstaller.co.uk
A DAY IN THE LIFE
OF AN INSTALLER
Pro Installer is running a series of articles over the coming months in which we take an in-depth look at:
THE LIFE OF A
WINDOW INSTALLER
Let’s have a look at the contributing factors that make
up the average day in the life
of a window fitter.
In the main, fitters fall between
two camps: those who turn up
in their bright, shiny van, dressed
in the latest workwear fashion
from one or a number of the large
providers of such attire. The van is
home to some of the latest labour
saving power tools, with various
additional items of tools fitted to
the side of their van. Then there
is the fitting team who turn up
in a van in desperate need of a
clean. Looking through the back
doors, everything appears to be in
a mess. The men themselves will
have smears of silicone all over
their clothing and their tools may
consist of not much more than
a crowbar, saw, hammer and an
electric drill. Unless you work with
these people, it would be difficult
to know which is the better of the
two teams I describe!
How would you describe
your fitting team?
A fitting team generally wants an
easy life. It is not uncommon for
the fitters to be responsible for the
survey from which the windows
will be manufactured. The consensus is that if they measured them –
then they will make them fit. If the
retail company employ a surveyor,
quite often the fitters will use the
excuse that they did not measure
them, so the surveyor must have
got it wrong.
What is your
preference ? Do you
prefer to carry out
your own survey?
Inclement weather is the fitter’s
worst nightmare. Working in a
customer’s house when it has
been raining puts extra pressure
on all concerned. That is why
installation planning is very important. Most of the retail companies throughout the land employ
fitters on a self-employed basis.
Although many will have vans carrying the livery and signage of the
retail company, many are loaned
or leased to the fitting teams.
Does the company you fit
for provide your van?
When the fitting team turns up
at the retail sales company they
work for to pick up their next
job, there are certain things they
need. A skip is usually provided
for them to dispose of all of the
rubbish from the windows they
have removed prior to the new
installation. They then want the
new windows to be fitted, any
uPVC trims for finishing, internal
window boards and the appropriate silicone sealants and window
fixings. In some cases fixings
Ticks all the boxes for a better business
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and silicone sealants are provided by the fitters and a financial
allowance is made to cover this.
Paperwork is provided to ensure
all parties are aware of what the
particular installation entails.
Which category to you
fit into? Is everything
provided or do you
supply your own fixings
silicones and sealants?
It is imperative that all of the
products to be installed are there
and ready. As a rule, with retail
installations, a fitting team of two
would be expected to fit comfortably £1500 of windows per day.
Obviously, some may fit more
and some less. There is always a
plan to which the team will work.
Working on two windows at a
time, they rip out the replacement
and the finishing. While they work
to this system, all windows removed will have the replacements
fitted immediately. Not allowing
for the weather to interfere, it’s
the quality of the finished work
that is most important. Fitting
teams are given a lot of responsibility in completion of the retail
sale. To this end, collecting the
final payment from the satisfied
customer is paramount to the success of both the retail company
and testament to the competence
of the fitting team.
Does the company you
fit for require final
payment collection
and satisfaction
note signed?
We will be happy to hear about
your experiences.
Email: [email protected]
During the next month, we plan to spend a
day with a team of local window installers.
We will tell you all about that experience
and the various practices employed by
them in the next issue of Pro Installer.