Buying a flooring and tile company in Florida

Flooring companies install tile, wood, laminate, vinyl plank and carpet, and many also fabricate or install stone and quartz countertops, shower walls and backsplashes. Some run a showroom where homeowners pick materials the company sells and installs. Others only install, as subcontractors for homebuilders, general contractors, remodelers or retailers. Countertop shops add a fabrication side, with saws, polishing equipment and templating.

Where the work comes from shapes the business. A showroom company earns on both materials and labor and depends on homeowners, designers and remodelers. Builder work brings volume at a set price per square foot, paid on the builder's schedule, and rises and falls with new home construction. Remodels and floors replaced after water damage bring steady one-time jobs. Most companies have installers (often subcontracted crews), someone who measures and estimates, a showroom or project coordinator, warehouse space, and an owner who is often the builders' main contact.

• A mix of homeowners, designers, remodelers and builders, with no single builder dominating.
• A showroom or designer relationships that bring in better-paying retail work, where the company earns on both material and installation.
• Installers who have worked with the company for years, with documented insurance. Good tile setters are hard to find, and customers judge the company by their work.
• Accurate measuring and ordering, so jobs don't stall waiting for a missing box of tile.
• Good prices and terms from suppliers, and little stock that won't sell.
• Few callbacks for cracked tile, lifting floors or countertop seams.
• For countertop shops, well-kept equipment and skilled templaters and fabricators.
• Clear written estimates and change orders, so customers know what they're paying for.

Florida has no state license for flooring, tile or countertop installation. State law also bars cities and counties from requiring a license to install flooring, cabinetry, or decorative stone, tile, marble, granite or terrazzo, or to get a permit for that work. Expect a county or city business tax receipt, and some jobs still need permits.

Two other rules matter. For workers' compensation, Florida treats floor covering installation as a construction trade, so coverage is required with even one employee. Corporate officers count unless they've filed a state exemption, and a contractor can become responsible for an uninsured subcontractor's workers.

Countertop shops that cut and polish stone, especially engineered stone (mostly crystalline silica), must also follow OSHA's silica rules on dust control, exposure monitoring and medical checks for workers.

• Revenue by type of work (showroom retail, remodelers, builders, insurance restoration) and the largest customers' shares.
• Margins on each, since builder work at a fixed price per square foot can be thin.
• Inventory: what's on hand, how old it is, and special-order stock nobody picked up.
• Customer deposits on open jobs, and whether the materials have already been bought.
• Installers: employees or subcontractors, how they're paid, and proof of insurance.
• Callbacks, warranty claims and disputes with builders over failed work.
• For countertop shops: equipment condition, dust controls and any OSHA inspections.
• Showroom lease terms, and whether the landlord must approve a sale.
• Supplier and distributor agreements, and whether exclusive product lines would carry over to a new owner.

• How does your work split between showroom customers, builders, remodelers and insurance jobs?
• Who are your installers, and how long have they worked with you?
• Who are your main suppliers, and are any terms tied to you personally?
• What happens when a customer's tile cracks or a floor lifts a year later?
• How much inventory do you carry, and how much is slow-moving?
• Who measures, estimates and sells when you're not there?
• When you cut stone for countertops, how do you keep the dust down?