Attention to detail is tiler's motto
Work ethic is paying off
As a schoolboy growing up in Colombia, Franco Romero worked on construction sites to earn pocket money.
In the process he also gained the necessary skills which enabled him to start his own tiling and painting business, F.R. Renovation Group Tilers and Painters, when he later moved to London.
“I was always more artistically inclined, which is why I went into tiling and painting,” he said.
In 1993 Franco came to South Africa and has since become a sought after tiler by architects and contractors.
The pride he has in his work is evident as he describes how level a floor must be, and how straight a wall, before he will guarantee any work that he puts down on those surfaces. And he has never had any comebacks.
After 20 years Franco says he is still learning his trade and picking up tips, which is why he finds it so frustrating to employ local workers. “After a month or three they think they can start their own businesses and then I have to start training all over again.” And more often than not Franco has to fix the work that was done by people who never bothered to hone their skills in the same way he did, and is still doing.
But for Franco his work ethic is paying off and some of his work has been featured in glossy magazines and even on the Top Billing TV show.
Despite the attention Franco has always remained absolutely hands on. “I never leave the site unless I have to go and buy materials for the job,” he says. His watchful eyes will notice every detail that is not carried out to his expectations and he does most of the intricate work himself.
“I am not cheap,” he says, “but people who appreciate quality will pay my fees.”
Franco says he always advise his clients on the quality and type of tiles they want to buy, as well as the type of glue that will be needed for different types of tiles. He says unless you know what to look for, the average person will not know when a tile being sold as 1st grade is in actual fact 2nd or 3rd grade.
Franco goes with his clients to the tile shops and there he will help them to choose the right tiles and colours for the designs they want, although he often does the designs himself. At the client's house or building site he will inspect the surfaces and then it is up to the client to have them rectified before Franco lays his tiles. “About 95% of floors in South African houses are not level,” he says, “which is why tiles often sound hollow when you tap on them. These things can be fixed, sometimes just by using more tile glue, but it costs money.”
After all these years in the trade, Franco still gets excited about good quality tiles and the beautiful affects they can create. Like the solid porcelain tiles with glass topping (at a cost of R1 400 per tile) that he laid in a house in Rustenburg.
Although he is busy with big contracts at the moment, Franco says he also enjoys small projects.
“A lot of clients have become friends,” he says.
© Bizwise June 2009
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