The Stupid Stuff I’ve Done

Avi Hadad has done plenty of stupid things on a wood flooring job site, just ask him.I have gotten the feeling from some of you over the years that you think I am just the most perfect craftsman you met. One of you even told me that I “probably just sit there pick and choose my million-dollar jobs, and life is just great.” Well, my friends, that’s not even close to reality. I am a contractor just like everyone else. I use this platform (with great privilege) to state my opinion and share my experience. I will admit that sometimes I write stuff to stir up conversation and people do get upset (it’s good for them). I only became confident in my knowledge and my craft after years of involvement with the NWFA, and after making so many friends in the wood flooring family. When I started almost 16 years ago, I was FAR from being good at what I do. Here is some of the stupid stuff on my list:

• The first time I ran a buffer by myself I drove it into the wall and broke the sheetrock. The buffer literally stopped for one reason: I let go.
• I had to redo my first installation of bamboo over concrete because I failed to know about moisture barriers.
• I accidently put the salt shaker in the freezer more times than I’d like to admit.
• I once fell down an entire staircase with a big container of polyurethane, which ended up showering me.
• I didn’t use respirators in my early years (you can put the word “stupid” right here) until I became so sensitized to finishes that now I smell solvent from a mile away (1.6 kilometers, Dave)
• At the end of a day after finishing up a prefinished floor installation, I dropped my nail gun on the floor, creating a big dent in it. We had to spend 20 minutes to replace that board.
• I sometimes walk into a room and forget what I came in for.
• The first time I did a center layout on a job, I was off by a lot! Good thing nobody noticed.
• On a stain job I decided to pour the stain into my plastic container outside the house and then bring it in. There was a crack in my container, so I ended up walking through the front door (over the rug that her mom gave her years ago) splashing dark brown stain all over it.
• I once put my Skil saw blade backwards. My friend who’s a craftsman noticed me doing it but didn’t say anything just to mess with me.
• I had the ugliest halo on my first stained oak job. So ugly you couldn’t even…
• Once at the end of an install day, we realized we installed the floor over the vent.

And …. We also installed a floor over a big crawl-space opening. Do you need some more?

Once at the end of an install day, we realized we installed the floor over the vent.

• OK, I installed a medallion and two minutes after I glued it in, I realized it was the wrong orientation. Don’t worry, I fixed that one quickly.
• Let’s say I go to my van to get blue tape, I then see the filler, the trowel, the mop and other tools I will need a little later, so I grab them along the way. I get back to the house and realize I didn’t get the fricking blue tape! So I go back to the van and JUST GET THE BLUE TAPE.
• To this date I stress out about jobs, even if I’ve done them a hundred times before.

So, you see, it’s not all great all the time. That’s life. Don’t forget this: I even left out the endless number of curtain parts we messed up, door stops and the list goes on. Thanks for understanding.

To end this blog post the banana song by the Minions would have been perfect: plain stupid and funny.

Sincerely,

Your humble, not-so-perfect Avi.