Regulatory changes to home building licensing requirements by the NSW government could hinder the specialist skills base of the timber floor laying industry by opening the sector up to inexperienced officers, says a leading timber floor supplier.
Bill Durkowyak, who has been supplying and installing timber floors in Sydney for 50 years, says "This dumbing-down of skills requirements is a potential disaster for unwitting home owners and the reputation of timber flooring."
As of 16 September, 2009 the NSW government made changes in relation to the requirements to hold a license for a number of occupations including flooring. Under the new requirements any person can install a timber floor where previously a three year TAFE course to obtain a flooring installer's certificate was required.
"To make matters even worse, the most experienced floorers in the business, some with more than 40 years experience, can now be overlooked in favour of someone with no timber floor laying experience whatsoever. This is total madness," he says.
Durkowyak explains that unlicensed tradespeople are not covered by home warranty insurance, meaning that customers may hire a contractor and be left with no options if they claim for sub-standard workmanship.
