Name: Ben Taylor
Age: 45
Company: Eagle Mill Carpets
Job Title: Director
How did you get into the flooring industry?
By sheer fluke – Eagle Mill Carpets was my dad’s business and I had always steered clear of it until I was 23 when I helped him out for a few months. That was 22 years ago now, and I’m still here to this day!
What’s been the biggest change in the industry in the past 10 years/since you started?
Floor preparation has seen the biggest change by a country mile. There are so many more preparation products now than when I first joined the business, especially with the rise of LVT. The breadth of knowledge required as a flooring contractor has really grown.
Looking forwards, what do you think will be the biggest change in the next 10 years?
Family businesses are becoming less and less common. Unless some serious investment is put into flooring training, I can see there being a decline in fresh young blood entering the industry.
What’s the worst job you’ve been on?
I have my fair share of horror stories featuring urine-stained bathroom floors! The worst kind of jobs for me are the ones where we’re spared some of the important details until we arrive; for example, finding out that the 250 kilo carpet you’ve been hired to install is going up several flights of stairs and a ladder to the attic bedroom!
And what’s the best?
As someone who predominantly works with carpets, I find border work very satisfying. There was one job in particular that took us a week to seam, but we were immensely proud of the result.
Do you have go-to-products for certain jobs?
F. Ball’s Stopgap 1200 Pro is a go-to-product for sure, along with Stopgap F77 Waterproof Surface Membrane. We’re also big fans of Styccobond F3 and F44 adhesives, as well as Stopgap 400 Repair and Stopgap 500 Micro compounds.
What do you like best about the job?
The people I meet day-to-day are sometimes the worst thing about the job, but mostly the best! It’s lovely when my customers go through the generations, and I receive calls from the children of some of my earliest customers. Perhaps when their children start calling me up for a carpet fitting, that will be my sign to retire!
What is your least favourite thing about the job?
Difficult customers. When faced with those, the job becomes ten times harder than it already is.