Article's by Philip Reinhard
Lessons of a Lifetime
The Forgotten Wall
By Philip Reinhard
As published in "Master Paperhanger
Magazine"
1935, at the height of the depression, at a
train station in Egg Harbor, NJ. A young man talks to his father:
"Yes, dad. I'm taking the train to New Brunswick.
I've got a hundred and ten dollars. I'm getting married."
The father:
"What are you going to do for a living?"
The son:
"I'm going in the painting business."
The father:
"What do you know about painting?"
The son:
"Not a damned thing. But I'm going to learn awful fast."
And so it started. A twenty-one-year-old man left
home to get married and raise a family. In order to support his
family he went into business with his father-in-law, knocking
on doors in the middle of the depression telling people, "Your
house looks like it could use a coat of paint. We can do that
for you." He was too young to understand that people didn't
have a nickel for a loaf of bread, let alone the money to paint
their house. But he sold a job. He was on his way. He never looked
back.
I remember hearing that story so often while I was
growing up I could recite it with my father while he told it.
I was too young to appreciate it then. Things are different now.
The lessons he taught me must have been stored in the back of
my brain somewhere, because they come back to me now on a frequent
basis, and more clearly every day.
There are intangible benefits to learning your trade
from a parent. The most important one is usually the last one
you understand. You inherit the experience of another person's
life without even trying. The moral and ethical teachings that
you learn not by being preached to or lectured on, but by watching
and listening are lessons no school can possibly teach. I hope
to share some of the lessons I've learned from my father. I call
some of his quotes "Dadisms" and will borrow them from
time to time to give you an idea of his character.
I didn't realize until recently that my entire youth
was a time of learning business and life from my father. The stories
he loved to tell about the hard times, the good times, the problems,
and the rewards were his way of teaching. Every one was told with
pride. How he had raised his family, how he had provided for them,
how he had given of himself, and how he had earned the respect
of those who knew him were the underlying themes of most of the
stories.
The business I now have is a result of his lessons
and stories, run with a desire to earn the respect of every customer,
to give them the absolute best job I am capable of, and to have
the most loyal customer base possible. The only way to achieve
this is through honesty and integrity. The way I learned this
was through his teaching combined with my own youthful denial
that he knew anything and learning the hard way that he did.
I remember vividly the night of December 29, 1975.
I stood at my parent's kitchen table and announced that I was
going to quit college after just one semester. Of course the inevitable
question of, "What are you going to do?" came up, and
flying by the seat of my pants, as I have been known to do, I
said, "I guess I'll just work for you till I figure out whether
I'll go back to school, or something." He told me I could
go to work with him, but there were some things that I needed
to know. I was told that he didn't really care what I did for
a living, so long as I did it as well as I could.
"I don't care if you go into the business with me, dig ditches,
or open that music store you talk about. Just do it to the best
of your ability, and there you will always be among the best."
That became an obsession with me. I go overboard frequently, doing
little things that no one else would bother with and probably
no one else will ever notice. But I know it, and it all adds up
to doing it as well as I can. The finished look I deliver to my
customers stems from those words.
He also told me that night, "Make sure you
enjoy what you do for a living. You're going to be doing it a
long time, and if you hate getting out of bed in the morning to
go to work you're never going to make it." Wow! That was
a tough order for an eighteen-year-old to comprehend. I didn't
understand that one until I had gotten out of the business for
a while and tried a couple other things. I finally got it, and
now make a living doing what I love.
Until that night, I had been a helper and a painter.
Dad did all the paperhanging. The first job he took me on after
that night was a kitchen wallpapering job. It was January 2, 1976.
He let me hang a sheet or two on a soffitt and I was hooked. He
saw that I enjoyed the wallpaper much more than painting and started
showing me a lot of what he had learned over the years, and sharing
stories I hadn't heard before.
I was taught to appreciate the advances in the business
that had made life simpler. He showed me how the "old timers"
cooked their paste the night before the job, mixing wheat and
molasses. I saw the perforators that were used to trim pulp paper
around trim and ceilings. I learned to use them, even though they
are no longer used. I have tools in my garage that other hangers
my age can't identify. But I can use them. I learned to appreciate
what he had to go through, and how much easier it is now in many
ways.
As we worked together I learned how he handled customers.
He never sold his work on price. He sold his reputation for workmanship
and integrity. That lesson could be the most valuable lesson of
all, financially. When you develop the type of reputation he enjoyed
you don't even have to give estimates many times. Customers call
and tell you what they want done, and ask to be put on the schedule.
"Just give me a bill when you're done, Phil." I heard
that so many times I thought that was the normal away business
was done.
Another valuable lesson I never realized I had learned
was another of his sayings, "You will always get the respect
you earn." Think about that. How many people do we know who
demand respect. Do they get it? Not usually. But a person who
earns respect, commands respect. Dad never demanded. He simply
did things in such a way that even if you disagreed with him,
you respected him. That is not easy.
Dad shared his knowledge of how things had been
done in the past, how older homes were built, and the idiosyncrasies
that went with them. I know how to handle a six inch brush on
a ceiling with oil base semi-gloss paint, and can still achieve
a better finish than most of my peers with a good brush on most
surfaces. But he also understood and embraced advances in the
trade. He knew wallpaper was changing and sent me to the US School
of Professional Paperhanging to learn the new materials, primers,
adhesives and techniques that he hadn't seen. He never claimed
to know it all, and always wanted to learn more. "I learn
something new every day." Was a standard remark.
When I came out of paperhanging school he was ready
to retire, and he felt I was ready to take over. He had to cool
my jets a couple of times, reminding me that I didn't know it
all, and that there was always someone better than you, just to
keep me on track. The lessons I learned from him from that time
on were usually recollections of lessons taught but forgotten.
His influence is on every job I do.
My father passed away in January of 2001, and as
I wrote his eulogy, I keyed on the one trait that I felt was more
a show of his character than any other, pride. His greatest lesson
to me was to do what ever I do with pride and I hope the pride
I take in my trade has him smiling from above.
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Wallpaper on the floor
By Philip Reinhard, NGPP
Today's wallcovering installer needs an edge on
his competition to succeed. We all know that. What we don't always
know is how to get that edge. Sure, we know to get to the estimate
and job on time, follow up on phone calls, clean up the job site,
but what about something really different? An exciting way to
separate yourself from the pack? To do so, think about what the
customer wants.
In a way, what most residential wallcovering customers
desire when choosing to wallpaper is simple. They want a decorative,
unique, statement. They will spend hour upon hour searching for
the perfect paper to express their personality. Fortunately, there
are literally thousands of patterns, colors, and textures to choose
from. Coordinated paint colors are equally available for ceilings
and trim, not to mention the ease of computer color matching the
exact tones from the paper for the finicky client.
So now we've got the ceiling, walls and trim just
right. What's left? Look down! The Floor! If the customer wants
to carpet, there is a full spectrum of colors, a multitude of
textures, and even a few patterns. But what if carpet isn't the
choice? OK, there's wood, laminate, tile, vinyl, or stone. All
of these are good choices, but somewhat standard. Remember, the
customer is looking for a unique statement. Time for the knockout
punch: WALLPAPER!!!
With the emergence of quality water borne urethanes,
it's now possible to apply a protective coating to wallpaper installed
on floors and not alter wallpaper colors, so wallpaper on the
floor is as durable as any other choice. With a little maintenance,
it's even more durable than many. And talk about selection! When
was the last time you saw a wall of vinyl floor sample books with
a hundred or more choices per book?
Coordinating patterns, grounds and borders make
it possible to blend whole rooms, or using these combinations
on a single floor can lead to a true custom look. Imagine a dining
room where the table sits, perfectly proportioned, on a plain
ground stock, and the outer portion of the floor uses the accent
stripe from the pattern group used on the wall. (You'll want to
separate the two papers with the border, of course!) The design
and layout possibilities are endless!
Practicality does dictate a limitation to the types
of wallcovering appropriate for floors. Setting aside the standard
rule of durability, that vinyl is best, plain pulp papers and
vinyl coateds work best on floors. Any wallcovering consisting
of multiple plies has a chance to delaminate under the stress
of traffic. Also, urethane finishes do not adhere well to vinyls.
Given the huge selection of vinyl coated papers on the market
today, this is not a major limitation.
The installation process of applying wallcoverings
to the floor is significantly different from that of applying
to the more standard surfaces, walls and ceilings. For this reason,
experienced professional installation, rather than do-it-yourself
installation is important. Also an experienced professional will
be able to perform the pattern layouts required for proper aesthetics.
At a recent seminar at the convention of the National Guild of
Professional Paperhangers over 100 installers learned the process,
from the preparation of the surface to the maintenance of the
finished floor. The Guild's members are the type of professional
needed for this specialized job.
Because of it's unique performance demands the floor
requires special preparation. Obviously, it must be smooth and
clean. Any protrusions in the finished surface caused by particles
not removed prior to installation, or missed bumps in the underlayment
will cause wear spots and ultimately failure, in the form of torn
paper. Hardwood floors need to be cleaned thoroughly to remove
any traces of waxes, soaps and other foreign items. Plywood subfloors
need to be installed in most other cases to give a satisfactory
surface. Just as on the wall, proper priming is critical to success.
Layout and installation are similar to an intricate
ceiling layout, but it is important to understand that there can
be no overlapped seams, either panel to panel, or where the border
is commonly overlapped on a wall installation. All seams need
to be butted to prevent ridges, which will eventually become wear
spots. It is also important to keep in mind that the surface must
be clean and free from any particles that could cause problems
later. (Use of a tack cloth before installation of each piece
helps.) Adhesive selection would be the same as for a wall or
ceiling installation, but making sure the adhesive is smooth is
critical for the same reason as butted seams and a clean surface.
Remembering the principles of painting a floor helps
in the layout stages. Leave a way out. Starting in the middle
of the floor in order to center a pattern sounds logical, until
you get halfway across the job and either can't get out of the
room without walking on the paper or you can't access the unfinished
portion.
Since wet wallpaper is delicate, Planning on two
days for the installation is wise. Install the main area, or field
on the first day, then return to install borders and outer patterns
the next. When returning to install the balance of the job, use
padded planks or padded sections of plywood to walk on. Carpet
pad glued or taped to the bottom of plywood makes an excellent
choice. The protection is important, since the inks on unprotected
paper may scuff from the abrasion of walking on an unprotected
surface.
Once the installation is complete, allow it to dry
for two days. After drying, finish with several coats of a quality
waterborne urethane. Make sure all adhesive residues have been
removed by casting a light across the floor and checking for unclean
areas. Any adhesive left under the urethane will be very evident
and impossible to remove. A minimum of four coats is recommended
for complete protection, but five or six offer even more durability
and a deeper looking finish. Again, cleaning between coats is
important.
Maintenance of the finished floor is simple. Standard
cleaning practices for hard floors will keep the floor looking
great for years. If wear areas are detected, a fresh couple of
coats of urethane will bring it back to new.
The wallpapered floor offers a new and exciting
concept to decorating with wallcovering. The pattern and color
choices offer more selections than clients are used to with standard
ideas, and the durability is tremendous. Once you establish yourself
with a few outlets for this idea, your reputation as a skilled
master in the wallcoverings field will set you apart from the
rest of pack, and your bottom line will increase as you become
known as the most unique installer in your area.
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