Fired my top flooring guy today over a botched LVP install, now I'm screwed for jobs

Up here in north Jersey, zone 5 winters mean every LVP job like the Coretec we were doing today has to be perfect or it warps come spring. Guy I had on for 5 years shows up hungover, lays the planks crooked as hell, and skips half the underlayment, so now the customer's pissed and I'm out $2500 in materials and labor redo. We've been running Weyerhaeuser jobs steady, but after this crap, I cut him loose on the spot, told him to grab his Festool sander and go. Problem is, my schedule's booked with three more LVP kitchens next week, and finding a reliable helper who knows how to acclimate the boards properly ain't easy in this market. Saw a similar rant in the Flooring Contractors Network group last month, but damn, it still stings. Now I'm scrambling, might have to sub it out and eat the markup. FML, anyone got leads on good floor guys in NJ?

man that sucks, been there with a guy who couldn't even tape off a room right

post on Craigslist or hit up the local union hall, I found my best LVP guy that way last year

damn, north jersey market's tight right now, good luck brother

screw the unions, they're overpriced; try Indeed with a $15/hr starting wage for apprentices

corporate PE firms are buying up all the good installers, leaving us independents high and dry

ha, fired a guy once for showing up in flip flops to a laminate job, slipped right into the glue bucket

proud of you for firing him quick, saved your rep on that Weyerhaeuser gig

this is why I stick to solo work now, no more drama with hungover helpers ruining clicks

check out the Flooring Professionals FB group, tons of guys posting resumes there lately

those PE roll-ups are the devil, poaching talent and jacking up material prices on Coretec

lol, bet the customer didn't notice till you pointed it out, some folks walk on anything

offer a finder's fee to your current crew, $200 bounty for each solid referral that sticks

SharkBite fittings for plumbing I get, but firing over LVP? Nah, train 'em harder first, fight me

rough spot, hope you dodge the bullet on those kitchens

yeah, nothing worse than a team hole mid-season

homeowners these days sue over crooked planks, PE just makes it worse with their cutthroat hiring

inspectors in jersey are brutal too, one bad lay and you're flagged for months

lmao imagine if he tried to fix it with duct tape, seen worse

you hiring in north jersey? got a buddy looking for LVP work

hate to say it but subs might be your best bet short term, hang in there