Tradesman Member Profile - Flooring Dublin - Delmar Magee Flooring

Delmar Magee's 'can do' attitude has clearly sustained his flooring business through the ups and downs of being a tradesman.

‘My work is easy for me only because I genuinely love what I do.’

Delmar Magee, Delmar Magee Flooring

This month We're profiling Delmar Magee, from Delmar Magee Flooring who has been a member of OnlineTradesmen.ie for several years.       
Delmar has worked as a wood flooring contractor for 20 years, specialising in the installation and re-sanding of old and new floors for domestic and business customers. Delmar learnt his trade while living in Essex, travelling up and down the UK fitting floors in new shop outlets for companies such as Next, Gap, Monsoon to name but a few. Not much room for error in those showrooms we reckon!

Delmar has been through some challenging times in his 20-year career. Read on for his advice on building and sustaining a business as a self-employed Tradesman.

OLT: How long have you been working for yourself Delmar? 
DM: Around 16 years in total. It doesn't seem that long though! 

OLT: What type of projects / jobs do you do? 
DM: We cover everything from a box bedroom to shops and offices. We specialize in herringbone parquet floors including sanding and sealing of old and new floors.  We fit everything from laminate, semi-solid, solid wood, strip vinyl and carpet tiles. 
Some recent big contracts have been in the Goethe Institute in Merrion Square and a number of apartments in Park West to name a few. We regularly fit for local flooring shops, builders and other flooring companies.

OLT: That’s quite the skillset. Are there any jobs that you enjoy most?
DM:  I really enjoy challenging jobs - the jobs that I have to hone in on all my skills and knowledge. We recently completed 9 flights of stairs in a combination of semi-solid oak and a solid oak board.  It was a very intricate job, requiring a lot of skill and it was very satisfying to see the job completed. 

OLT: Sounds impressive! Is there any other project that you worked on that sticks out? 
DM:  A few years back I was lucky enough to get a contract doing a new departure lounge in terminal 5 at Heathrow airport. Over 1200m2 of solid oak. I enjoyed the challenge of sourcing the wood and getting a team together that could complete the job both to a high standard and on time.

OLT: You really are covering everything from domestic to large-scale commercial projects. So how do you approach a job to ensure customer satisfaction regardless of project size? 
DM:  We would always go into great detail when discussing each job and I take exact notes on what it is the customer wants. We will advise each customer on flooring types and colours, as well as the best installation process. I’m a people person and I enjoy the reaction when people see the finished job. We always clean and Hoover after each domestic job leaving the house and floor spotless.

OLT: You’ve been working in your trade for 20 years. How did you manage to stay afloat during the recession?  
DM: We had to try new things like tiling and small renovation work. Hell, I even went out doing power washing and window cleaning to keep myself busy. OnlineTradesmen.ie has been a great help in keeping things going in the past few years. There have always been jobs available when I've needed work. 

OLT:  How would you sum up what OnlineTradesmen.ie has done for your business? 
DM:  It’s been such a great help over the past few years. It’s not only provided me with work and a living at times when I needed it most but it has helped me make contacts within the trade. It's allowed me to branch out and get regular trade customers in addition to the private ones. It's delivered for my business.

OLT: What’s the most important lesson you learnt in your career so far?
DM:  Every job and client is different. I look and treat every job on its own merits. We are always coming across things that we haven’t done before or being asked to recreate a design floor from a photo or drawing. OnlineTradesmen and Facebook have been a great learning curve for me. Not being great on a computer, I find the simplicity of the OnlineTradesmen site is great. 

OLT: And finally, the last question. What advice would you give to someone starting out now in the trade? 
DM:  Always be prepared to learn from other tradesmen. I've had to sub-contract guys where I didn't have the skillset or experience to deliver perfectly for the customer. If you don’t know how to do it then find someone who does and learn how to do it. Always be looking to improve and get busier - but always take pride in what you do. My work is easy for me only because I genuinely love what I do.

Check out Delmar Magee’s website for examples of his work and to see his 5* ratings 
 

Tradesman Member Profile - Carpenter Dublin - AW Carpentry The Smart Home - Hottest Smart Home Trends in Ireland