Dave Caldwell
The managing director of OSS Flooring Services tells David Strydom one way to avoid disputes with clients is to avoid hitting them with unexpected costs
What is OSS Commercial Flooring and what is your role in it?
OSS Commercial Flooring, based in Northwich, Cheshire, is a specialist commercial flooring contractor and part of the wider OSS Group, which also includes reactive maintenance, electrical services and managed facilities support. The flooring division is led by me as the managing director, and I’ve been involved with the business for nearly 14 years.
I originally worked with On-Site Services before the OSS Group structure was formed and later joined the group formally when the flooring division was established. Prior to that, I co-ran a commercial flooring installation business in Northwich, regularly working for On-Site Services.
What do you look for at tender stage to avoid problems later onsite?
Tender stage is all about the floor prep. The first thing I ask is: what is the subfloor? Has it been seen? What’s currently down? I need to assess whether there’s potential for issues. If it’s just a basic tender, I won’t go and check it personally, but if they’re confident in negotiation or pointing things out, I’ll take a look.
I want to be clear from the start. I don’t like having to add things after we’ve won a project. If a DPM isn’t specified and it’s an older building, we assume it won’t need one. We’ll offer testing if required, but usually standard prep is fine. Sometimes you open things up and spot an issue, but often it’s a leak rather than damp. People panic when they see moisture, but most of the time it’s not serious.
We always ask whether we’re uplifting existing flooring, and if so, are we okay with mechanical stripping? I also check the substrate makeup. Is it gypsum-based, sand-cement, or something else? Thickness, type, composition – all those questions are asked upfront. Then we look at drawings, calculate wastage, and confirm direction. We try to get all clarifications early so there are no surprises.
I work mostly with medium-sized contractors, not the really big ones. They handle £1-2m projects at a time rather than multiple nationwide. That makes it easier to maintain control and clarity. I make sure all the information I need is in place before giving numbers, and that the contractors know everything they need from me.
When it comes to extras, I’m not one to add things at the end just to make money. If something genuinely arises, I’ll price it up, no problem. That’s part of why we maintain such a loyal client base. I don’t believe in hitting clients with unexpected costs like some people do. Clarity from the start is key. That’s what avoids disputes later.
Which main contractors do you work with?
Rosslee Construction in Accrington, Concept Group in Wigan, Wren Construction in Watford, Link Contracting in Wigan, Buildzone, based in Middleton, Chapel Green Contracts, Brookhouse Contracts, Kosco Interiors, to name but a few. Many of these relationships have grown because people moved from one company to another over time, so we’ve covered the Wigan area across six different companies.
There’s also Accio Group in Norfolk and DD Porter, a new one who’s already paid on time without me chasing. All of these, without exception, handle payments excellently. If I need something expedited, a quick call is enough and they’re responsive.
What do you do if a spec isn’t right for the conditions or use of the space?
Oh, that happens a lot in kitchens. What I do is point it out straight away. For example, if someone has specified Polysafe Standard or Altro Walkway 2mm in a commercial kitchen, that’s not going to guard against grease. It’s fine in water, but in a greasy environment, it won’t work. I’ll usually send them a video showing the potential risk: someone slipping in a chip fat fryer, basically. Not too graphic, but enough to make the point.
Then I suggest a better alternative. In that case, I’d recommend Altro Stronghold 3mm. Polysafe also do Apex or Apex 55 at 3mm, which is similar. Not quite as good as Altro Stronghold, but much better than the original spec. For example, at the Castleton Visitor Centre in the High Peak, that’s exactly what we’ve specified, and it wasn’t in the original plan. The client agreed immediately. That’s key.
Wet-room floors or barefoot areas are similar. I’ll tell clients they need a specific barefoot floor. The first reaction is usually, ‘We can’t clean that.’ But nowadays you can, thanks to products like Altro Aquarius or Pisces, and the Polysafe equivalents. They’re much easier to clean now, and they look better too.
It’s the same with entrance mats. Say someone specifies a 15mm or 10mm ribbed mat at a high school. That’s borderline secondary mat, not even a proper primary mat. I’ll explain the options: ‘You can use this to save costs, but it’ll probably last six months. Or do you want a primary mat with a secondary mat? It’ll last longer but cost more.’ We just have the conversation.
We’ll also talk about practical considerations: should the floor be site-formed up the wall, is there a lot of water, is White Rock cladding worth considering? All these little things help the client make an informed decision. The goal isn’t to make more money; it’s to get the job right. We present the options and let the client decide. We always cover ourselves, but not in a ‘well I told you so’ way, just in a helpful, informative way.
How do you plan labour to balance reliability, skills and workload?
We’ve got a labour plan so I can see everything with the jobs. And if we haven’t got any allocated underneath that particular day with the start date, I can see. So every day it’s been amended because jobs change. So as jobs might go longer, so whoever you might have thought might be doing something, it might be someone else.
The quicker I’m doing that, the way I look at it is when I move somebody to something else, I then ring them. If I know now, they need to know now. Why do I need to hold that information for a week when they have a life as well? And it means they’re away for three weeks. So everyone who knows they’re away. knows they’re away now. Not quite. Someone’s going to know this afternoon, but they’re all right. We’re working away. They’ve already told me. So someone’s going to be in Glasgow next week, but that’s fine. But I like they know what’s coming this month and then into next month. And then I try and wrote to things. Some projects don’t want to be away and they’re happy just to keep doing it and get it done and then they’ll go on to the next one.
Others, they’ll do a few weeks and go, I’m going to be at home. So I’ll make sure it’s the right job, not one where they just leave a load of crap and someone picks up going, why have they done all the big areas? Why am I doing these tiny little things? Try to avoid that as well. So just, it’s a daily thing. It’s a daily thing. It changes every day.
How do you ensure subfloor prep is done properly on every project?
I make sure the team knows exactly what’s required. I ask them to check in on arrival at every project. There’s really no excuse now, they can take a video, a picture, whatever they need, and show me. I’ll give feedback, ‘The screed coming in is this and this, but the primer isn’t the one I’d go for. Go out and get Prime & Grip, it’ll be much better underneath that.’ No problem, sound, done.
I’ve told them that if you don’t prep it right, you’re just asking for trouble. It doesn’t matter how nice it looks on the surface, it has to be spot on underneath. That requires a transparent conversation about what’s needed. If I need to involve someone else to solve a problem, I will. If it costs more money because I’ve missed something, that’s on me. It has to be right.
For example, we had a job this morning laying stud rubber tiles in Flintshire. My guy sent me a picture, the floor was still a bit green. He asked if he should lay it. I said, ‘It’s not worth it. Is it walkable? Can they use the toilets?’ He said yes, but I told him to leave it and come back Monday. I spoke to the client, they were fine. My guy jumped on another task in the meantime. There’s no point going until it’s perfect. That’s how we maintain standards.
How do you respond when programmes are shortened or changed at short notice?
We’re a finishing trade, so we have to deal with it. If I feel a change will compromise the quality of the finished product, I will step up and say, ‘We may need to come in at the weekend, but you will need to cover that, otherwise this is going to be a mess.’
Other than that, I’m used to it. Finishing trades are often chaotic when trying to complete jobs. I only intervene if I think the changes will seriously impact what we are delivering and cause problems that we would have to fix later. The people I work for are generally very receptive to these conversations, so it works out fine.
What is your process for dealing with defects or issues after completion?
First, the team always self-snags before leaving a site. I make it clear that anything that crops up afterward will need to be addressed. I don’t charge the lads for returning to fix issues. It’s about getting the job done properly without penalising them.
Most issues are minor and come from oversight or inexperience. Sometimes a new fitter will make a poor decision about a drop or wastage. In those cases, I won’t charge for materials, but they may have to spend extra time returning to snag. Their day might get longer, but they do the work in the right frame of mind.
We usually get a snag list from the client within a week, and we aim to close it off promptly. Many of our clients do not take retention, which is great because it allows us to resolve issues quickly. For clients who do hold retention, we still address snags promptly but manage the timing according to the contract. The key is respect for the team and for the client, and making sure work is done properly without creating unnecessary friction.
How do you approach sustainability and material reuse on projects?
A lot of sites now have specific recycling skips. Carpet goes in one, plastics in another. That has crept in more over time. When there’s a big run, there’ll be a skip purely for plastics like adhesive tubs and another just for carpet waste.
In quieter months, such as winter, there’s often just one general waste skip. When jobs are busy, having two skips pays for itself, but in quieter periods it probably doesn’t, so it isn’t ticking all the sustainability boxes.
Companies have offered to collect waste, but they were often too slow. Jobs would finish, and weeks later the waste was still sitting outside. That’s not acceptable. It becomes an eyesore and can create problems with clients. So the waste is mostly managed in-house. Beyond that, there isn’t much more that can be done on material reuse at the moment.
Give a shout out to the manufacturers and suppliers you work with for adhesives, floorcoverings or LVT, and explain why you choose them
There are three that work particularly well. Altro, for the performance of its products and aftercare. That company is reliable and responsive. Danfloor is strong on carpet; the sales team is helpful, deliveries are timely and the product quality is right. Price generally looks after itself if those factors are in place. And we use Gerflor on temporary structures. They were very accommodating when large volumes of vinyl were required over a short period. Credit arrangements were flexible, and the products were delivered on time which made tight schedules manageable. Its sales team is also very supportive.
For adhesives and screeds, Kerakoll is used across the board, specifically its Proflow range including Proflow Trade, Proflow Finish, Proflow Smooth, all of which perform reliably. One product behaves like a standard NA screed, another is similar to conventional CL screed, and the flexible fibre-reinforced screed is excellent for laying over wood, such as ply subfloors, providing a smooth finish while handling slight movement. Feedback has been consistently positive, and the products have been in use for over a year with great results.
And how do you work with your distribution network?
Distribution is pretty good overall. We work with all the main distributors, and most offer substantial credit limits. We tend to favour certain ones at different times depending on location and reach. For example, in the south we might use one distributor, across the UK we might use another, and in the north we have a couple of options. Prices are all fairly similar, so it’s more about convenience and reliability than cost. Overall, we get on well with all of them.
Have there been any challenges with distribution given the economy and wider market conditions?
Some distributors have become more aggressive with pricing as they try to grow market share, but I don’t feel their sales support or deliveries always match the pricing. Decisions are always made considering reliability and risk. Other distributors have stayed steady with pricing, they know what they need to make and stick to it. There isn’t much of a price war; everyone generally operates within their margins. Some distributors might need to adjust their pricing soon, as a few are a little too aggressive, but it’s manageable, and it doesn’t cause real issues for us.
