By Chris Edwards, Co-Founder, Right This Way Flooring. Chris leads installations and operations at RTW. He came up through finance and operations roles at Zayo and Deloitte, then spent three years running Affordable Flooring Warehouse in Steamboat Springs before founding RTW in Boulder.
Here’s the scenario we hear about most: a homeowner hires a flooring company, a crew shows up, the floors go in, and then nobody’s reachable when something looks wrong. If you’ve been searching for flooring installers in Boulder, CO, you’ve probably wondered whether that story is going to be yours.
This post explains the specific operational system we built at Right This Way Flooring to make sure it isn’t. Not promises that we care more. The actual structure, step by step.
The Short Answer: RTW’s Installer Management Model
Every RTW job has a dedicated in-house project manager on site, not calling from the office. Our crews are vetted 1099 subcontractors selected because we know their work. Before any plank goes down, we verify subfloor flatness to 3/16 inch over 10 feet and professionally moisture test every subfloor. We send daily CompanyCam photo and video updates, and we back every job with a Lifetime Installation Guarantee and a $200-per-day delay penalty.
How Most Flooring Companies in Boulder Actually Handle Installation
Most flooring stores operate the same way. A salesperson closes the job, and then the company routes it to whichever subcontractor bids cheapest. That’s the industry default, and most homeowners have no idea it’s happening. From the outside, you hired a flooring company.
The pressure that model creates flows downhill. When a subcontractor is paid by the job at the lowest possible rate, there’s no room to spend time on the prep work that nobody sees. The flatness check gets skipped. The moisture test doesn’t happen. The acclimation period gets cut short. The installer is already mentally calculating the next job.
The company whose name is on the invoice is rarely on site. When something goes wrong, and it goes wrong with predictable regularity in this model, the homeowner tries to call the store. The store points to the subcontractor. The subcontractor has moved on. Nobody owns it, and the homeowner is left holding a floor that’s squeaking, gapping, or lifting at the seams. That’s the accountability collapse we built RTW to prevent.
What RTW Does Instead: The In-House Project Manager on Every Job
We use vetted 1099 subcontractor crews, and we’re upfront about that. What’s different is the layer between the homeowner and the work. Every RTW job has a dedicated in-house RTW project manager on site from start to finish. That person is RTW staff. They’re not part of the installation crew. Their job is to oversee the work, keep the job clean, stay in constant contact with you, and make sure everything is being done to our standards, not just the installer’s judgment.
The accountability sits with RTW, not the crew. If something isn’t right, our project manager catches it before the job is complete, not after you’ve called us three times.
I came into this industry from financial planning and analysis, first at Zayo, then Deloitte. When I bought my first flooring store, I was genuinely surprised at how informally most of the business was run. No documentation, no site oversight, no written process.
I built RTW the way I’d want any business I depended on to run. You don’t just hand work to a crew and hope they do it right. You have a system, and someone accountable on the ground.
You can read more about how we think about ownership and accountability on our About page, and on Chris’s author page.
Vetted Crews, Not Whoever Is Available
We don’t run a reverse auction. We don’t take bids from whoever replies first or select installers based on who’s cheapest that week. The crews we work with are relationships we’ve built and tested over time, many of them going back to my years running Affordable Flooring Warehouse in Steamboat Springs, where we completed a couple thousand jobs. We know how those crews work. We’ve seen their seams, we’ve watched how they prep a subfloor, and we know whether they’ll cut a corner when they’re tired at 3 PM.
Vetting is relational and performance-based. A crew earns a place in our rotation by doing the work right. RTW is also a member of Certified Flooring Installers and manages every project to CFI and NWFA standards.
Daily Photo Updates and End-of-Day Videos: Why RTW Uses CompanyCam
At the end of every workday, our project manager sends you real-time photo updates and a progress video from the job site. We use CompanyCam, often in a dual-camera format so you see both the project manager and the floor in the same walkthrough. You’re not guessing what’s happening in your home. You’re watching it.
This matters most when you’ve left for work and your floors are being installed while you’re gone. The anxiety of not knowing is real. Are they cleaning up as they go? Is the seam in the hallway landing where we agreed? Has anything unexpected come up? Our end-of-day video answers all of that before you even ask.
The documentation serves a second purpose. Everything we capture in CompanyCam becomes a permanent record of the job, including subfloor conditions before installation, the progression of the work, and the finished state. If a claim ever needs to be filed under our Lifetime Installation Guarantee, that documentation protects you. This isn’t a convenience feature we added for marketing. It’s the operational record that makes the guarantee credible.
The Subfloor Work Most Flooring Installers Skip
Before a single plank goes down on any RTW job, we do three things that a lot of installers skip when they’re behind schedule.
We verify subfloor flatness to 3/16 of an inch over 10 feet. That’s the National Wood Flooring Association standard, and it’s the threshold below which floors start developing problems. We professionally moisture test every subfloor, because Colorado concrete can hold moisture for months after construction, and a floor installed over a wet slab won’t stay flat. We acclimate materials per manufacturer specifications, which means letting the product adjust to the temperature and humidity of your home before it goes down.
When these steps are skipped, the floor tells you about it within the first year. Squeaking, gapping, cupping, buckling, delamination, uneven wear, these aren’t manufacturing defects most of the time. They’re installation failures that happen because the prep work was rushed. I’ll say that plainly: most installers skip the flatness check when they’re running behind. We don’t. NWFA technical publications spell out exactly why these steps are non-negotiable, and we follow them on every job.
See how this fits into the full project experience on our How It Works page.
Guarantees That Only Work Because of How We Manage Our Flooring Installers
Our two guarantees aren’t marketing language. They’re the direct result of having a real management system behind the work.
The Lifetime Installation Guarantee means that if any labor-related issue surfaces after we leave, we come back and fix it free. No expiration date. No argument about whether it’s our problem. Seams, transitions, edges, if it’s an installation issue, it’s our issue.
The On-Time, On-Budget Guarantee means your quoted price is your final price, and your written completion date is the date we’re held to. If we miss it, we pay you $200 for every day we’re late.
A company running the reverse-auction model can’t back guarantees like these. If your project manager isn’t on site, if your crews aren’t vetted, if your subfloor prep isn’t documented, the lifetime guarantee is just words on a page. Our guarantees work because the system that produces them is real. You can review both on our Guarantees page.
What Happens From the Day You Book to the Final Walkthrough
Managed installation has a shape. Here’s what it looks like at RTW.
We come to your home, bring samples, take measurements, and give you a firm all-in quote that includes furniture moving, old floor removal, and cleanup. That number is your final price. You select your material, we confirm the order, and we give you a written completion date at booking. Before any product goes down, we assess and prep your subfloor with a flatness check, moisture test, and acclimation period. On installation day, our project manager arrives on site and oversees the crew throughout the job, there from start to finish, not checking in by phone. At the end of each workday, you receive a CompanyCam photo update and a progress video from the project manager. When the work is done, we do a final walkthrough with you before we consider the job complete.
For a deeper look at each stage, visit our How It Works page.
What a Real RTW Job Looks Like: John and Stacy’s Experience
John and Stacy had been through more than 26 home renovation projects before they hired us. They came in with a specific problem: they’d talked to other flooring companies and couldn’t get any certainty that a new floor would match their existing floor. The seam between old and new is exactly where preparation and on-site oversight show up, or don’t.
We brought multiple samples to their home, managed the install with our project manager on site, and matched old to new as precisely as the prep allowed. In their words, the crew was in and out, professional, and clean, and you can’t tell where the old floor meets the new floor. They said the home feels different, looks different, sounds different, and smells different, almost like a different house. Out of all 26 homes they’ve worked on, they called it the best flooring experience they’d had.
That result came from the flatness verification, the moisture testing, the crew selection, and the on-site oversight described above. You can read more stories like theirs on our customer reviews page.
Chris Edwards on Why He Built RTW’s Systems This Way
I spent years in financial planning and analysis, first at Zayo, then Deloitte, before I ever touched a floor. In February 2021, I bought Affordable Flooring Warehouse in Steamboat Springs knowing almost nothing about the trade. I learned it the hard way, straight from the fire hose, through a couple thousand jobs and a few genuinely hard nights wondering whether I’d made a mistake.
What I noticed across all of it was that the industry ran on informal systems and goodwill. The store would sell the job, the sub would show up, and everyone hoped it went fine. When it didn’t, nobody owned it clearly. That bothered me operationally and it bothered me for the customer. So when I built RTW in Boulder from the ground up, I decided the accountability structure had to be built in from day one, not added later when something went wrong.
I didn’t want to inherit someone else’s bad habits. If we’re going to put our names on every job, the system behind that has to mean something.
Since opening in Boulder, we’ve completed more than 100 jobs, run near 95 percent on-time to our promised dates, and have zero warranty claims to date. That track record isn’t an accident. It’s what happens when the management system is real. You can read more about my background on my author page.
If you’re ready to see what a managed installation looks like in your home, we’d be glad to walk you through it. Schedule your free in-home consultation here.
The Practical Takeaway for Boulder Homeowners Comparing Flooring Companies
Before you sign with any flooring company, ask three questions. Who is the named point of contact on site each day of installation? How will you receive updates while the work is happening? What’s the process if something looks wrong after the crew leaves?
Those questions cut through the marketing language fast. Vague answers, or no clear answer at all, tell you something real about how that company operates when things get difficult.
Our answers are specific and in writing. There’s a named RTW project manager on site daily. You get a CompanyCam photo update and end-of-day video from that person. If something’s wrong after we leave, the Lifetime Installation Guarantee means we come back and fix it free.
RTW is locally owned by Chris Edwards and Randi Pilon. Both names are on every job. Our showroom is at 2525 Arapahoe Ave E34 in Boulder, next to McGuckin Hardware, and we serve homeowners in Boulder, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Gunbarrel, Niwot, Longmont, Broomfield, and Westminster. Chris grew up in Niwot, so this isn’t a market we picked off a map. It’s home.
Frequently Asked Questions About RTW’s Flooring Installers in Boulder
Who actually installs my floors when I hire RTW, an employee or a subcontractor?
RTW uses vetted 1099 subcontractor crews for installation. What makes our model different is that every job also has a dedicated in-house RTW project manager on site, separate from the crew, whose job is to oversee the work, maintain communication with you, and ensure the installation meets RTW’s standards. The accountability rests with RTW, not the subcontractor.
How do I know the installer will show up on time and do quality work?
We only assign crews we know from direct experience, many of them relationships built across a couple thousand jobs over the Steamboat Springs years. We also back every project with our On-Time, On-Budget Guarantee: if we miss your written completion date, we pay you $200 for every day of delay. That guarantee creates a real financial consequence, not just a policy statement.
What does RTW’s project manager actually do on the job site?
The project manager oversees the installation crew from start to finish. They verify subfloor prep is completed correctly, monitor the work throughout the day, keep the job site clean, stay available to answer your questions, and send you a real-time photo update and an end-of-day progress video via CompanyCam. They’re the person you call, and the person whose name is on the outcome.
What is covered under the Lifetime Installation Guarantee?
The Lifetime Installation Guarantee covers labor-related issues for the lifetime of your ownership. If any installation defect surfaces, including issues with seams, transitions, or edges, RTW comes back and fixes it at no cost to you. There’s no expiration date and no fine print.
What happens if RTW misses the completion date?
If we miss the written completion date confirmed at booking, we pay you $200 for every day of delay. The completion date is set in writing at the time you book, and it’s the date we’re held to. The only thing that can change the project price or timeline is a major unforeseen subfloor repair discovered once the old floor is removed.
Ready to Meet the Team Whose Names Are on Your Job?
The free in-home consultation is where this management model stops being a description and becomes something you can see. We bring samples to your home so you see them in your real light against your real furniture. We take measurements, and we give you a final all-in price that includes furniture moving, old floor removal, and cleanup. That price doesn’t change.
When you meet with us, you’re meeting the people who are accountable for the outcome, Chris and Randi, both with their names on the job, both reachable by phone throughout the project. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s just how we work.
Call or text us at 303-951-5575, or schedule your free consultation here. The difference between RTW and most flooring companies in Boulder isn’t the installer on the floor. It’s the accountable management system behind them.
