Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Lyn Doud enjoys his physically demanding work.

Driving up to the front of a new residential project, the hardwood floor installer turns off his van and marches inside a new luxury home under the darkness of the early morning sky. It's 5:30 a.m. No one, except the installer, is around. Inside the vaulted-ceiling mansion, the installer heads directly to the basement. He's confirming two vital facts; double-checking the address and ensuring the basement concrete has dried.

"The moisture has to go somewhere," explains Lyn Doud, an installer for six years with Smith Bros. Floors Ltd. "If it's not dry, the moisture goes into your floor and it's damaged." If the concrete hasn't dried, Doud reports his findings to a construction supervisor, usually someone working for the housing project developer, and has his installation days changed to a later date. Installers are assigned jobs by a manager at Smith Bros.' office.

Today, as with most days, there are no problems. Doud heads back to his van and begins to haul in his tools; two fully-loaded tool boxes; a mitre saw; a table saw; pneumatic stapler; and a host of others. "This is a career," he said. "It's not a quick-fix job. You have to have your tools." Doud has around $5,000 of his own money invested in tools.

Once set up inside, he'll test the moisture content of the sub-floor, and ensure the plywood floor is clean, level and screwed in place. Then he can begin working. This flooring project requires the hardwood to be installed on an angle. Starting in the widest part of the room, Doud will take some measurements, find the 45 degree angle in the house and then snap a chalk line to help him keep the boards straight.

"If you can't put a floor on straight, you have no business doing it. The whole object of the job is to make sure the floor's straight. You always have to check the floor." The work consists of lots of measuring, cutting, bending, stapling and lifting. "It's a good career, but it's physical," Doud said. "It's hard on the knees and hard on the back. You'll find out you have muscles you didn't know you had for the first month. It takes its toll on you, but you get used to it."

Before starting with Smith Bros., Doud, who worked as a bartender and bar manager for years in Edmonton, had only a basic knowledge of the job. Using the family network, his brother-in-law working with Smith Bros. suggested driving to Calgary for an interview. After a couple of months of on-the-job training, Doud moved his family to Cowtown.

"I worked under a guy for a while," said Doud, who came into the occupation without any prior training. "They trained me right. They said to do it right, the speed will come." Being paid per square foot of floor installed, he has been able to improve his skill, knowledge and speed dramatically. "I learn everyday. I'll be on the job 20 years and continue to learn. There's a lot to learn."

The continued learning is only one part of the job he enjoys. "The best part of the job is the finished product and the accomplishment of doing it." Like all jobs, however, there can be drawbacks. Some jobs can't be started until 2 a.m., such as in a restaurant, for instance, meaning Doud works through the wee morning hours.

Sometimes jobs in high rise buildings, or tall condo complexes cause troubles. For example, Doud had one job way up in a new condo complex. The building had only two elevators, with one being reserved for tenants who were moving into their homes. He wound up carrying his tools up 15 flights of stairs. "There are good jobs, and there are bad jobs," Doud said.

Besides the obvious technical skills and knowledge of multiple different kinds and grades of wood, hardwood floor installers must also be able to work well with others. In the current home Doud is flooring, he had to make arrangements with the painter who came in and primed the walls. "You just talk and make an arrangement on how to work things," Doud said.

While he has succeeded in the career without an abundance of prior experience or knowledge, he said those with some knowledge of tools and wood may find employment more easily. "It's a growing job," Doud said. "Don't expect to be a millionaire in the first few weeks. The knowledge comes with time. When you start, you learn from other guys in the company who have been doing it for 15 years. The rewards are there if you work at it."