why did man create floors

[jahjahbinks]

A NEW HOME / HOUSE the roof is leaking the basement floods and the appliances are not working correctly , but beyond all that protect the floors at all cost in fact the hard wood floors at all cost .have we lost sight that the floor was constructed so there no longer a need to walk it the dirt , home owners spend thousands of dollars to protect ther flooring but have a dirt walkway to there home 150ft away and then expect visitors to remove there shoes (SHOES) ALTERNATE TO WALKING IN DIRT barefoot , morons who greet you with plz remove you shoes because i din`t want the floor damaged should be also prepared to remove any and all appliances to a suitable location for repair , and how can HARDwood flooring BE so soft it should not be used with shoes , now SHOES created to prevent damage to the HUMAN FEET  due to walking on the bare ground ? Is there no such thing as holy ground or is holy ground restristed to those who have a floor? I can remember when having a place to live not stay was really something.

[Heimhenge]

An excellent point, Sublime Master.  We have xeriscaping and gravel (not a lawn) around our desert abode, so when it came time to choose flooring, I looked for the most durable stuff around.  That is, hands down, ceramic tile.  We used it everywhere.  The only exception is my office where I really wanted wood.  Real wood ... not that vinyl crap or that hollow sounding Pergo stuff.  Real wood.  Taking the advice of a woodworking friend, I installed bamboo.  Supposed to be as hard as any good American hardwood, but has a cool grain to it.  One year later and it's already got some deep scratches caused by gravel caught on shoes.

I do not ask visitors to remove their shoes.  But I do provide mats outside the doors.  Still, the gravel gets caught between the ridges on the soles of those athletic shoes everyone wears these days.  And as we all know, rock beats wood (but loses to paper).

At least I can sand it refinish it when I want, as It's solid bamboo and not a laminate.

[denrayr]

Almost every time I go to a house that the homeowner requests I remove my shoes it is gross inside. I end up with nasty sticky stuff on my socks. If I look inside and see the house is yucky I tell them that OSHA guidelines wont allow me to remove my shoes. If it is a nice clean house I dont mind removing my shoes.

[Keinokuorma]

Well although I'm somewhat chaotic, and tend to get anxious when things need to be in strict order... and I don't necessarily remove my shoes for having a peek into my home... I still don't have unthinkable filth laying on the floors... been to many homes where they ask me to remove my shoes though, and sometimes their floors are filthy, and my socks end straight in the garbage bin after the job. If i have to work on something heavy, I insist on keeping my shoes on for safety... but in neatly kept homes, I feel the urge to repsect their hygiene even without asking.

[Scottthewolf]

Welcome to my world.  My service area is in the sticks,  huge mansion homes with dirt driveways and off white carpeting and wood floors, even wood floors in the laundry room, it's crazy.  What is so special about having off white carpeting and wood floors?  I can hardly wait until one of my customers has a leaky dishwasher or washing machine.

Better yet, I would love to be a fly on the wall when they drop an iron frying pan on the hardwood floor in the kitchen and it leaves marks and scratches.

[Keinokuorma]

Reminds me of my aunt some 15 years ago, she had just bought a wonderfully posh hardwood table... well she called in mom and our posse... and like usual, there was something (where she was obviously wrong) where she had to start arguing with mom. Back then she used to be rather un-restrainable, and on the verge of fight, she banged her coffee cup against the table. Obviously it spilled all the coffee around the dining room furniture, left a half-moon dent in the table top, and shattered to thousands of pieces as well... and that wasn't your normal coffee cup, but a rare vintage Arabia (form the same factory that casts porcelain into toilet seats, but who cares).

Most of her language after that incident wasn't suitable for printing even in a porno mag. C*NT and F*CK were some of the mildest stuff.

[timc]

I worked in an area known as Potomac, MD. It would be difficult to buy a doorknob out there for less than a half-mill......If you drove up the long, curving driveway and there was a BMW or Mercedes in the driveway, you would be met by the maid who would lead you in over the white carpets to the kitchen which had grey stained "Hardwood" (read poplar or fir) floors. A dead givaway that the floor is soft is little round dents in the floor near the microwave. The lady of the house wears 4 inch heels. My labor rate stays the same but my parts price goes up 250%, or so, just for the aggrevation.

   Now, if you came up the same type of house and there was a oldsmobile station wagon, a chevy suburban or a dodge minivan you would be met by the owner and she would, probably, be barefoot. The coffee would be fresh and the appliance broke because she was baking a couple of hundred cup cakes for the school. A fun situation, the fix seemed easy because the environment was cool. A couple of those in one day would make the whole day better.

Tim

[WayneSB]

If I was a service tech, I wouldn't take my shoes off for anyone. I have no problem with wiping dirt off them or even checking for rocks in the grooves, but if I was going to be moving around heavy appliances to get to the back of them to service something, the last thing I want is to crush my toes with the machine.

But maybe that's just me.

[Scottthewolf]

I use shoe covers like doctors use in the operating rooms.  If  customers don't like the shoe covers I leave and tell them to find somebody else to fix there stuff.

 

[BrntToast]

i usualy take my boots off, but if when i walk in the door the house is nasty i'll leave them on...with that said, if someone asks me to take them off after i have decided they should stay on they are told "the workers compensation board says i MUST wear safety footwear whiledoing this job"

but most of the time they are taken off, but carrried to the machine and put on if i have to move said machine or its dirty behind it(i've gotta walk across other carpets in these socks)

[jahjahbinks]

the question really never got answered , (what`s the point of having a floor if it can`t be walked on?)

i have a small frame so i seem to just ice skate allover the place with the bootys so i just started refusing to remove my safety gear .

i suppose at some point we need to let the customer know just what a floor is for e.g.( picture (hung on a wall set on a table)  floor: item not to be walked on ,livingroom :location where no one is allowed: walkway: gravel trail (if you have to use it then your not welcome here) homeowner: idiot / moron who lives here and complains about cleaning altho they pay someone else to clean after them.

we have just adapted a damage waiver that now requires customers to move and or disconnect there own appliances prior to service it also requires the cust to have the personal available to reinstall the appliances after the repair to be checked and removed and reinstalled e.t.c.

most customers no longer complain about the floors !!!

[jahjahbinks]

[user=20728]BrntToast[/user] wrote:

i usualy take my boots off, but if when i walk in the door the house is nasty i'll leave them on...with that said, if someone asks me to take them off after i have decided they should stay on they are told "the workers compensation board says i MUST wear safety footwear whiledoing this job"

but most of the time they are taken off, but carrried to the machine and put on if i have to move said machine or its dirty behind it(i've gotta walk across other carpets in these socks)

In the US we have OSHA where we are required by law the wear the proper gear in order to safely complete or duties , if you choose to ignore the safety reg`s and get hurt then you are on your own and can be fired . at which point the cust can sue you as well . so i say if you want to see my feet it`s gonna cost you royal.