December 2013|January 2014

Transcription

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December 2013|January
2014
|
The magazine of the National Wood Flooring Association |
SURFACES ISSUE
Exhibitor Showcase page 63
Legal Advice for Inspections - page 25
Delamination in Engineered Floors - page 37
Wood Floors Way Back When - page 42
Product Focus
Unfinished Domestic Wood Flooring
trust
the
source
For professional floor sanding results.
3M produces a full line of 3M™ Floor Sanding
Abrasives that takes you on the journey from start
to finish. But it doesn’t stop there. With more than
100 years of heritage and innovation, you can trust
3M for all your floor sanding needs, from personal
safety and adhesives to masking and abrasives.
For performance that will make you and your
customers proud, choose 3M.
Your reputation. You’re standing on it.
© 3M 2013. All rights reserved. 3M, Regalite, TEKK Protection, ScotchBlue,
the BLUE color of the tape, Hand-Masker and the Plaid Design are trademarks of 3M.
3M™ Professional Floor Sanding Products
The difference is clear.
DuraClear™ is specially formulated to be non-ambering,
making it appropriate for lighter colored wood. Yet it still
offers the same beautiful, durable finish as the other
great DuraSeal® products you know and trust.
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UÊ£ÓxÊ6"
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For more information and to find your
nearest distributor, visit duraseal.com
or call 1-800-364-1359.
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To learn more, see greenguard.org.
Contents Features
December 2013|January 2014
Vol. 26.7
Deeply Rooted
By Karly McMillan
Wood in this modern hotel
ties to its remote community.
page 48
Iwan Baan
48
Your Business
Live and Learn
By Scott Avery
A surprising lesson from Inspection School.
page 22
Legal
32
By Jeff B. Meltzer and Sylvia Majka
Will your wood flooring inspector hold up in court?
page 25
Money
By Phillip M. Perry
Prepare your business for unexpected disasters.
On the Cover:
Yellow birch flooring at the Fogo Island Inn in Joe
Batt’s Arm, Newfoundland.
Photo by Iwan Baan.
page 28
Management
PREMIUM PARTNERS:
By Bob Whipple
Don’t let accountability become a dirty word.
page 32
www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com
December 2013|January 2014 Q Hardwood Floors 5
Contents
Garrity Design Group
17
On the Job
Ask the Expert
Q&As on gapping and HVAC delays.
page 35
In Every Issue
From the Field
Chairman’s Message
By Dr. Dirk Lukowsky
Do climate extremes really cause delamination?
page 8
page 37
NWFA News
Troubleshooting
page 12
By Joe Tedder
The dry season is not kind to this floating bamboo floor.
Woodworks
page 40
page 17
Techniques
New Products
By Jay Daniel Moore &
Taylor Moore Jr.
What we can learn from 19th century
T&G flooring.
page 72
Ad Index
page 42
page 74
42
Product Focus
Unfinished Domestic
Wood Flooring
page 53
Special Advertising Section:
Surfaces Exhibitor
Showcase page 63
At www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com, read
the CONTRACTOR,
INSPECTOR, NWFA and
GREEN BLOGS; see what
everyone’s talking about on
the FORUM; and check out
the Web-only content from
this issue:
6 Hardwood Floors Q December 2013|January 2014
At www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/FogoDJ14:
› See photos from construction of the Fogo Island Inn.
At www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/FTFDJ14:
› See photos and more detailed information on the experiment about
delamination in engineered flooring.
At www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/TechniquesDJ14:
› See more photos and a video of the craft of pitsawing.
At www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/GlowDJ14:
› See the Glowing Tree Project’s Kickstarter campaign video.
>>chairman’s message
The magazine of the National Wood Flooring Association
NWFA
John Lessick | Chairman
Michael Martin | CEO
111 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd. | Chesterfield, MO 63005
(800) 422-4556 | (636) 519-9663 | F: (636) 519-9664
[email protected] | www.nwfa.org
Editorial Advisory Committee
Avi Hadad, Chair | Avi’s Hardwood Flooring
Julie Russell, Board Liaison | Glitsa, div. of Rudd Co.
Joe Boone Jr. | Boone “The Wood Flooring People” Inc.
Howard Brickman | Brickman Consulting
Rose Mary Cummings | Maxwell Hardwood Flooring
Len Daubler | Anderson Hardwood Floors
Galen Fitzel | 3M
Lenny Hall | Endurance Floor Co. Inc.
Jimmy Nguyen | Dan’s Custom Hardwood Floor Inc.
Jim Powers | Saroyan Lumber Company
Genia Smith | Accent Hardwood Flooring Inc.
NWFA
Face Time
In DC
By John Lessick
Chairman, NWFA
HF Website
BLOGGERS
Scott Avery | Modern Tech Floors LLC
Elizabeth Baldwin | Metropolitan Floors
Howard Brickman | Brickman Consulting
Avi Hadad | Avi’s Hardwood Flooring
Wayne Lee | Middle Tennessee Lumber
Roy Reichow | National Wood Floor Consultants Inc.
FORUM MODERATORS
Cort Dunlap | Hardwood Inspections
David Harrison | Custom Wholesale Floors Inc.
Roy Reichow | National Wood Floor Consultants Inc.
Publication Staff
EDITORIAL
Kim M. Wahlgren | Editor
Karly McMillan | Assistant Editor
Scott Maurer | Art Director
Marjorie Schultz | Digital Production Manager
Scott Packel | Production Assistant
ATHLETIC BUSINESS MEDIA INC.
Gretchen Kelsey Brown | CEO
Peter Brown | President
Kara Clark | Controller/Circulation Director
Sadye Ring | Graphic Designer
Jodi Chamberlain | Sales Coordinator
Lisa Popke | Audience Development Coordinator
Erika Reise | Online Producer
Tom DePaoli | Director of Digital Media
Michael Gaio | Social Media Manager
Sean Ray | IT Manager
ADVERTISING SALES
Shawn Gahagan | Group Publisher
Kendra Griffin | Account Executive
Editorial and Advertising Offices
Athletic Business Media Inc.
22 E. Mifflin St., Suite 910 | Madison, WI 53703
(608) 249-0186 | (800) 722-8764 | F: (608) 249-1153
[email protected]
www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com
CHANGE OF ADDRESS: In order to ensure uninterrupted delivery of Hardwood Floors, notice of change should be made
at least five weeks in advance. Direct all subscription mail to Hardwood Floors, P.O. Box 47705, Plymouth, MN 55447, call
800/869-6882 or fax 866/658-6156. For faster service, visit us online at www.nwfa.org/member/mag.aspx. Single-copy price is
$8. Subscription price is $40 for seven issues in the U.S.A. and Canada. International subscriptions (via
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Express, Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. Printed in the U.S.A. © 2013 Athletic Business
Publications Inc. and National Wood Flooring Association. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (ISSN 0897-022X) Periodicals Postage Paid at Madison, Wisconsin,
and at additional mailing offices.
T
his past October, the National Wood Flooring Association
held its Fall Board Meeting in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Hardwood Federation Fly-In. This was my
first time attending the Fly-In, and I was impressed with how the
Hardwood Federation works on our behalf to support our industry.
For those of you who are not familiar with the Hardwood
Federation, they are an organization that represents the interests
of the entire hardwood industry in our nation’s capital. During
the Fly-In, they arranged meetings between our board members
and members of Congress to discuss the issues that affect our
industry. Those meetings were impactful as representatives were
truly engaged with how issues they are legislating impact the
individuals they represent. More than 70 meetings took place
with representatives from every state, which allowed us to share
our concerns with leaders on both sides of the aisle.
What exactly are our big concerns?
• The Farm Bill, which provides funding to the American
Hardwood Export Council, failed in June and is currently being
debated again. Failure to fund this program will directly impact
lumber export growth overseas.
• Green building legislation, which currently does not provide
preferential consideration for wood in government building projects promoting sustainability and energy efficiency.
• Biomass carbon emissions legislation, which currently does
not define wood as a carbon-neutral fuel source.
• Healthy forest legislation, which currently is seeking
increased timber production on commercial national forest land in
an effort to reduce the threat of forest degradation due to pests,
fire and natural mortality cycles.
Meeting with members of Congress face-to-face allowed us
to educate our nation’s leaders about how our industry helps
support economic growth, especially in small communities. You
can support the Hardwood Federation by contributing to their
PAC. Even $100 can help them continue their efforts on behalf of
our industry. Learn more by visiting www.hardwoodfederation.net
and selecting HFPAC from the menu options. ■
WWW.THEGARRISONCOLLECTION.COM
NWFAnews
>>ceo message
news and information from the national wood flooring association | www.nwfa.org
An Exciting Partnership
By Michael Martin
President/CEO, NWFA
I
n late October, the National Wood Flooring Association had a meeting with leaders from the National
Association of Home Builders (NAHB) at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., to discuss ways
that our two associations can work together to benefit our members. One of the major initiatives we
discussed was developing programs to help educate builders and consumers about selecting the right
wood flooring products for their construction and remodeling projects. Many innovative ideas were
considered that may present new opportunities for members of both associations.
For members of the NWFA, there is a lot to get excited about regarding our partnership with NAHB.
Starting in 2014, NAHB’s International Builders’ Show will co-locate in Las Vegas with the Kitchen
& Bath Industry show for the first-ever Design & Construction Week. Then, in 2015, Surfaces will colocate with both of those shows as the industry moves toward a full week of related shows being held
at the same place and at the same time.
As Design & Construction Week grows and establishes itself, what NAHB hopes to
accomplish for the homebuilding industry is similar to what happens each year with the
fashion industry during Fashion Week. During this event, the entire fashion industry comes
together with individual groups meeting throughout the week and supporting the event. This
allows for more participation in more events across the entire industry.
To start working toward this goal, the NWFA is partnering with NAHB in 2014. NWFA
members will receive a discounted registration fee to attend the first annual Design and
Construction Week. The International Builders’ Show and Kitchen & Bath Industry show are
separate and distinct but will be held simultaneously at the Las Vegas Convention Center
during the week of February 4, 2014.
The week includes nearly 200 education sessions,
more than 1,500 exhibitors and more than 70,000
attendees, which includes architects, builders,
designers, developers, remodelers and other
professionals from more than 100 countries.
In February, I will participate in a roundtable
event that will bring together all of the CEOs of the
residential home building market for brainstorming.
It is an exciting opportunity, and I look forward to
bringing you further updates after this meeting.
From the international to the local market, there
NWFA members will receive discounted
are numerous potential partnership opportunities
registration
to attend the first annual Design
between NWFA and NAHB. As we move forward,
and
Construction
Week in Las Vegas.
we will collectively look for ways to strengthen
our value to one another as we seek to develop ways that help serve both of our memberships in
new and progressive ways. For more information about Design & Construction Week and about the
special registration package for NWFA members, visit www.designandconstructionweek.com/register.
html?org=NWFA. I look forward to seeing you there. ■
© Oscar Einzig Photography
There is a lot
to get excited
about regarding
our partnership
with NAHB.
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NWFAnews
>>education and training
news and information from the national wood flooring association | www.nwfa.org
Hitting the Road in 2014
By Brett Miller
Director of Education & Certification, NWFA
B
y now, many of you reading this magazine have heard that the National Wood Flooring Association has expanded its training schedule significantly for 2014. Starting in January, the NWFA
will offer more than 40 weeks of training in 20 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada in an
effort to provide learning opportunities in areas where large populations of contractors are located.
The new schedule includes more than a dozen one-day workshops that allow students to pick and
choose the training that meets their needs. Workshops will be offered in Los Angeles; Reno, Nev.;
Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City; Denver; Albuquerque, N.M.; Houston; Tulsa, Okla.; Minneapolis; St.
Louis; Chicago; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; Marietta, Ga.; Conshohocken,
Pa.; and Toronto. Workshops vary by location, but include the following topics:
• Finish Application/Color
• Wood Flooring Sales
• Problems, Causes and Cures
• Estimating/Job Costing
• Wood Floor Repair
• Jobsite Preparation
• Moisture Mitigation
• EPA Lead Renovators
• Machine Maintenance
• Limiting Your Liability
• Certified Inspectors
• Certified Professionals Moisture Testing
• Installation
These workshops provide the foundation for more intensive hands-on training that will
be offered in six permanent locations throughout the U.S.: Richmond, Va.; Marietta, Ga.;
Chicago; St. Louis; Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Las Vegas. The training being offered in these
locations includes:
• Principles of Wood Flooring
• Advanced Installation
• Basic Installation
• Advanced Sand & Finish
• Basic Sand & Finish
• Master Craftsman Training
• Intermediate Installation
• Certification Training
• Intermediate Sand & Finish
Each of these week-long training sessions also includes an Open House, which provides attendees with opportunities to meet with manufacturer members to learn about their products and to
establish relationships with local businesses that may lead to job referrals.
In addition to the workshops and the hands-on training being offered, there also will be multiple
opportunities to participate in the NWFACP certification school, NWFACP inspector certification
school, and to be tested and certified for both Installation and Sand & Finish. For those individuals
seeking certification as an Installer or Sand & Finisher, pilot programs also are being established
with Habitat for Humanity and Operation Finally Home that would provide certification testing in
homes that benefit local communities and wounded veterans.
With so much training available in so many locations, chances are that the NWFA is offering
something to meet your needs near your home or business. Specific sessions vary by location and
date. More information, as well as a complete list of workshops and registration fees, is available at
www.nwfa.org under “Technical Education” and “Education Schedule.” ■
NWFA will
offer more
than 40 weeks
of training in
20 locations.
14 Hardwood Floors ■ December 2013|January 2014
WOOD ■ works
i n si g h t s a nd in fo r m a tio n o n th e h a r d w o o d flo o r in g in d u s t ry
Take it for a Spin
Private owner’s ‘car museum’ features rotating floor
ost people with a collection may have a shelf in the den for their commemorative plates or unicorn figurines,
but one Houston-area homeowner wanted a flashier display for his collection: This climate-controlled carriage
house has a rotating platform in the middle of a prefinished hickory floor that highlights more than a dozen classic
and luxury cars. Designer Andrea Garrity hired M & M Carpets Inc. to install the floors for this project, but when
faced with the rotating platform, M & M owner Robert Mitchell quickly subcontracted Schenck and Company. “He
said, ‘My guys are good installers, but this is over their heads; you need to come do this,’” company owner Greg
Schenck recalls. “There was a tilt to [the platform], and the recessed hole in the slab was not round, yet they wanted
a flush, consistent reveal between the platform and the floor as it rotated.” The platform and the floor had to be
shimmed to get rid of the tilt. Schenck
and his team created two perfectly circular bands of unfinished hickory for
the less-than-circular edges of both the
platform and stationary floor around it.
They then hand-scraped and finished
the bent pieces to match the prefinished floor. The homeowners do drive
the cars in their collection, but the
wood floors seem to be tolerating their
extraordinary traffic just fine, Schenck
notes.—K.M.
The center of the floor in this private carriage
house rotates to display the owner’s classic
and luxury cars.
Stepping Out
Heel accessories prevent dents in wood floors
F
un fact that many wood flooring professionals are all-toofamiliar with: A 125 pound woman in high heels exerts
2,000 pounds of force on a floor through an oh-so-chic pointy
high heel. So what’s a wood-floor-minded girl—or her wood
floor guy—to do? Can fashion and wood floors co-exist? Soleemates, based in Greenwich, Conn., has attempted to answer this
question with the High Heeler, a flexible plastic cap that distributes
utes
that force over a larger area (a little less than an inch square), preventing dents in a wood floor as well as keeping stiletto and kitten
ten
heels from sinking into grass or slipping between deck boards.
ds.
For $9.95 per pair at www.thesolemates.com, they’re a small investvesstment to keep floors free from dents after holiday parties.—K.M.
M.
Solemates
Gerrity Design Group
M
December 2013|January 2014 ■ Hardwood Floors 17
WOOD ■ works
Night Light
Geneticists plan to create glowing trees
T
Glowing Plant Project
rees have plenty of uses beyond wood flooring,
and now one company is working to add another: no-emission lighting. The crowd-funded Glowing Plant Project has spliced bioluminescent genes
from fireflies into Arabidopsis plants—the first plant
to have its entire genome sequenced—and project
founder Antony Evans hopes one day to light streets
with bioluminescent trees. For $50, contributors can
receive seeds for a glowing Arabidopsis plant, and
for $300, they can get a kit to genetically alter a plant
at home. The Kickstarter campaign far exceeded its
fundraising goal of $65,000, bringing in $484,013
from 8,433 backers. The big lingering question: Will
the bioluminescent wood be compatible with wood
floor finishes?—K.M.
See the Glowing Plant Project’s Kickstarter campaign
video at www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/GlowDJ14.
VINTAGE ■ moments
Comic Relief
I
n the middle of the last century, many wood flooring ads
centered on making your wife happy (a timeless theme,
really). This Fabulon ad from 1959 was sent to us by Jeff
LaShomb of Middletown, Del.-based Delaware’s Finest
Hardwood Floors.
WOOD ■ works
Green ■ speak
Your guide to green vocabulary
CoC: Chain of Custody
A
Here’s your present:
We finally decided on
a stain color!
CoC system means
that every company that legally touches
the wood (in this case
“legally” usually means
they have financial ownership of the product) must be part of the certified chain.
If one company is not certified, the chain breaks and the
product loses its certification. CoC is most commonly used
in relationship with certification programs such as the FSC
(Forest Stewardship Council) or SFI (Sustainable Forest
Initiative) systems. It is possible that a product can be
produced originally as FSC, but if an uncertified middle
company buys and sells it, the chain breaks and the product loses its certification.
Elizabeth Baldwin is environmental compliance
officer at Metropolitan Hardwood Floors; this was
adapted from her HF Green Blog at www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/blogs.
HARDWOOD FLOORING ■ mini-quiz
1. True or False? For most non-woven buffer
pads, the darker the color, the less aggressive
the cut.
5. The following is a common species used to
create wood flooring. What is it?
2. In general, quartersawn wood flooring shrinks
about ___ as much as flatsawn wood flooring.
a. 90%
b. 75%
c. 50%
d. 25%
3. Flooring that is called “bastard-sawn” is more
commonly referred to as __________-sawn.
4. You are short on time and figure you’ll just
mix your stain into your finish. What is a likely
consequence of your decision? (more than one
answer possible)
a. longer dry times
b. uneven appearance of color
c. lap marks
d. lighter appearance in high-traffic areas
e. all of the above
Answers: 1. False 2. c 3. Rift 4. e 5. Northern red oak
Your Business
Live and Learn
Clear Communication
A surprising lesson from Inspection School
By Scott Avery
recently attended the NWFA Certified Professionals Inspection School, and I have to say it opened my eyes to
a bigger side of this business. Love or hate inspectors,
they have a job to do, just like contractors. The technical
information about job sites was mostly review if you are
familiar with the NWFA Guidelines and have taken the
certifications for installation or sand and finish. The part of
the school that was very eye-opening for me centered on
I
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Are You a Bad Boss?
Shutterstock | iluistrator
T
he Manpower Group
asked thousands of workers to name the traits that lead
to disrespect and outright dislike for their bosses, and in the
spirit of David Letterman’s Top
10 lists, here are Manpower’s
Top 10 Traits of Bad Bosses, in
reverse order. You don’t recognize yourself, do you?
10. Complicated communication.
9. No employee input into decisions.
8. No feedback or delayed feedback, especially for good
work.
7. Too few one-on-one meetings.
6. No flexibility.
5. Lots of talk and little listening.
4. Uncaring supervisors.
3. Not playing to strengths.
2. Not showing employees how they’ll benefit personally.
And the worst trait, according to the poll, is …
1. Failure to show dignity and respect. Treat people as if
they’re machines, and you’ll end up with robots.
This list was provided by SESCO Management Consultants,
which can be contacted by phone at (423) 764-4127 or by
email at [email protected].
technical report writing, which can have legal ramifications
for involved parties.
Our instructor, Cathy Nelson, has been an English
professor, and as I write this I can hear her in the back
of my head, teaching. I actually love writing; what you
write in your estimates, your
marketing literature, and your
website has a much bigger
impact than you think. If you
hand someone a fragmented,
incoherent and misspelled
estimate, do you really think
they are going to be confident
handing you the keys to their
million-dollar house? The
odds are stacked against you, but there are ways you can
change those odds.
Your job as a contractor may leave you wearing many
hats. If you feel like adding “learning a new skill” to your
to-do list, then you could take writing courses or have
someone review your writing. Otherwise, I highly recommend you consider hiring someone to rewrite your
website content.
I can hear all the naysayers in the room… “But I’m
already No. 1 on Google.” Let me stop you for a minute.
If your website has migrated to the top of Google for
whatever reason, those website clicks do not necessarily
correlate with phone calls. How many of you review your
Google Analytics data weekly and can match those website
visits to your phone calls? Very few contractors have time
for that. You could qualify your leads by asking them,
but what about the ones you missed? If your website has
a high attrition rate, you could literally be losing tens of
thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
The website benefits of good writing are one component
but only get you halfway there. Let’s talk salesmanship for
a minute—another huge piece of the puzzle. Being a great
communicator verbally and in writing is a key to being
successful. Did you know that writing well will help your
What you write
has a much
bigger impact
than you think.
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sæææææ#ONTROLSæSUBmOORæMOISTUREæUPæTOææLBSææKGæMOISTUREæVAPORæ
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EMISSIONSæANDææRELATIVEæHUMIDITY
sæææææ2EDUCESæSOUNDæTRANSMISSIONS
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Your Business | Live and Learn
verbal communication skills? That’s because writing is a
psycho-neuromuscular activity. Huh? That just means that
if you write well, it imprints on your language and you
will, by default, speak well. Blogging has an obvious SEO
benefit, but the real benefit is for your language skills with
your potential customers.
Here’s an
example of how
those improved
skills can benefit
you: If you go on
10 estimates in a
week and land
two jobs, but I go
on five estimates
and land three
equally priced
jobs, I have made more money and a more efficient use of
my time. I can use more time to do additional marketing,
manage my jobs better or be with my family. If we change
my estimate number to 10 and I land six jobs, you can just
imagine how much more profit I am making in addition to
tripling my potential for referrals.
What changes your
lead close rate is
your ability to be
professional, likeable
and articulate.
You could read a million books about “closing” customers, and I doubt anything would change. Why? Because
what changes your close rate is your ability to be professional, likeable and articulate in front of your prospects.
Those traits require behavioral changes, which are the
toughest for most people to accomplish.
Nothing helps you more than a fresh perspective. I have
to admit, I get writer’s block occasionally. After spending a
week at school with professional writing help and several
dozen new perspectives on this industry, I was refreshed.
I spent some good time really brainstorming with my
colleague Brett Miller, NWFA’s director of certification and
education, about ideas for the future.
A business goes from good to great only when you
strive to constantly improve, and communication is key
to improving in this business. If you want to exist in
the doldrums, then never put out your proverbial sail
and explore life. It may keep you comfortable, but is it
fulfilling? Q
Scott Avery is owner at Newcastle, Calif.-based Momentum
Agents and one of HF’s bloggers on the HF Contractor Blog.
Read more at www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/blogs.
Your Business | Legal Brief
Choose Wisely
Will your wood flooring inspector hold up in court?
By Jeff B. Meltzer and Sylvia Majka
s much as we try to avoid
it, at some point most of
us will end up in a legal
dispute with a customer, whether a
homeowner or a builder, over one
of our wood floors. When it gets
A
to that point, you can’t afford to
make any mistakes in representing
your company the best you can. A
crucial step in that defense is hiring
the right wood flooring inspector
and making sure that inspector is
Do You Need an Expert?
SOCIAL STUDIES
Twitter Bio 101
S
Shutterstock | lculig
ure, it’s only 160 characters, but your company’s
Twitter bio is your one chance to lure people in.
According to a recent New York Times article, “The
Twitter bio is a postmodern art form, an opportunity
in 160 characters or fewer to cleverly synopsize one’s
professional and personal accomplishments, along
with a carefully edited non sequitur or two.” For company accounts, you should probably spend less time
worrying about that “carefully edited non sequitur”
and more time crafting a simple message that encourages customers and others
in the industry to follow you. Here are some tips:
1. Tell it like it is. There’s no need to get cute. Tell people who you are and
what you tweet about. Remember, this is a description of your Twitter account.
Your “50 years of experience installing beautiful wood floors” is a great sales pitch,
but does it make me want to follow you on Twitter? Do you tweet deals for customers? Company news? Beautiful flooring photos? Give us a reason to follow.
2. No need for all caps. We’ve noticed a few of these lately... Something like:
“WE ARE THE LEADER IN INSTALLING AND FINISHING WOOD FLOORS.”
There’s no need to shout. Standard capitalization works just fine.
3. Cut it with the hashtags. You might think loading your bio with hashtags
makes you look social media-savvy. It doesn’t. There’s no need for “Leading
#retailer of #residential and #commercial #woodfloors.” It clutters things up and
makes it harder to read.
Michael Gaio is social media manager at Hardwood Floors’ parent company, AB Media Inc.
Do you have a question about social media? Send it to [email protected].
one who will hold up in court as an
expert witness. But what does that
mean? How do you know which
one to choose? This article will attempt to explain some of the legal
facts involved.
The first question is this: Do you
need a wood floor inspector at
all? How do you know when you
should hire one? The question about
when to retain an expert may be
specific to your case. The advantages of selecting an expert from the
beginning to conduct inspections
and undertake any testing cannot be
overemphasized. It is best to have
an inspection after construction and
prior to placement on the market whenever possible. A certified
flooring inspection report is money
well-spent for the installer, because
it provides a record that shields
against claims of improper installation. For the seller, it helps avoid
any confusion about the condition
of the property before it was sold.
You must retain an expert where
and when it might be required by
law by construction regulations
(such as in Florida or New York),
and any time a dispute with a wood
floor seems to be heading toward
litigation. Expert evaluation early in
the process can either discourage a
legal claim or help clarify the basis
of legal action. In cases of home
construction, these early evaluations may even dictate
terms of a settlement.
Training vs. ‘On the Job’ Experience
While it is true that many of those involved in the
construction industry may have accumulated years of
experience in various aspects of building and safety,
from architecture and design to carpentry and project
management, these same individuals, without the formal
training of their representative
body, cannot legally render
expert opinions in court. The
on-the-job experience may
be only tangentially related
to hardwood flooring and the
concerns presented when a
claim for negligent installation
or worse is made. In the wood
flooring industry, the specific
and focused training required
by the National Wood Flooring
Association Certified Professionals to obtain certification is
the most appropriate and industry-recognized certification as considered by trial attorneys and the courts.
from the professional industry standards that have been
scientifically reviewed. NWFA inspectors use standardized performance data sheets—questionnaires that
include topical questions for the measurement and
analysis of a wide range of flooring problems that are
commonly experienced.
The NWFACP has a peer review process for reviewing
the testing of certified flooring inspectors. All inspections
conducted by NWFA flooring inspectors can be reviewed
by a peer committee in the event
of a complaint (this is the only
inspector program that has such
a policy). A hearing committee of
inspectors reviews the inspector’s
report and all related documentation to determine whether any
violation of the NWFA Standards
of Professional Conduct have
taken place. When you commission an NWFA flooring inspection, you are getting a report that
can be scrutinized for adherence
to professional standards, and
you are getting a right of a review and appeal.
Given these facts and the four factors given to us by
that 1993 court decision, we can conclude that hiring
an NWFACP Certified Inspector provides you with a
professional who is far more likely to be admitted as an
expert witness in the event of legal action involving one
of your wood floors.
The training required by
the NWFACP is the most
appropriate and industryrecognized certification as
considered by trial
attorneys and the courts.
Who is an ‘Expert Witness?’
The qualification of expert witnesses was determined in
law by a test established in the case of Daubert v. Merrilll
Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc. 113 S. Ct. 2786 (1993). In that
case, the Supreme Court held that judges should look at
the following factors in deciding whether to recognize an
expert witness as having specialized knowledge:
1) Whether the methodology or techniques used by
the expert can be tested
2) Whether the methodology or techniques have been
subjected to peer review and publication
3) The known or potential rate of error of the method
used
4) The degree of the method’s acceptance within the
scientific or professional community.
Judged by these criteria, NWFACP inspectors are those
most likely to be considered expert witnesses. The
NWFA Professional Code of Conduct requires that NWFA
Certified Flooring Inspectors draw their conclusions
based upon testing, observation and related industry
standards (for our industry, the Installation Guidelines
and Sand & Finish Guidelines are the standards). Inspectors must adhere to a standardized template for organizing and presenting the findings of their testing. This
ensures that the basis for findings can be reviewed by
similar testing.
The techniques of NWFA certified inspectors derive
26 Hardwood Floors ■ December 2013| January 2014
What’s Behind the Certification?
The NWFA training before certification includes five days
of training. Requirements to even attend the stringent
training, which has a 50 percent success rate for firsttime applicants, include a minimum number of years in
areas including sanding, finishing and apprenticeship. In
addition to the physical testing and visual inspection, the
NWFA also trains the candidate/expert to submit reports
on completed inspections for a peer review. The official
certified status is not granted until the test is passed and
all reports have been submitted and approved.
At the peer review level, the results obtained, the methodology used, observations and recommendations made, and
report format are judged against the standard protocol established by the NWFACP. Adherence to recognized, accepted
testing procedures allows the NWFACP to stand behind an
inspection, thereby providing a positive “second opinion”
for an inspector should he or she be called to testify in
court. Those not certified do not have this advantage, as the
inspections they undertake and the reports they write are
subject to neither review nor support of the NWFACP.
Those having achieved NWFACP certification are also rewww.hardwoodfloorsmag.com
quired to complete ongoing continuing education requirements each year to maintain certification, and keep abreast
of developments and advancements in the field. They must
also use standardized forms and report templates, and performance data sheets based on differential analysis. Those
outside the NWFACP are not subject to these requirements,
and therefore, as an example, a carpenter may have 10
years of experience in installing floors, but may remain
wholly unable to identify underlying problems, perform
tests, or testify authoritatively in court.
NWFACP offers a degree of protection to inspectors
seeking second opinions about prior reports, or questions
concerning methodology used by other inspectors. In
addition, NWFACP verifies the reliability of new technologies and scientific applications as they relate to testing and
opinion formation. As such, membership in the NWFA
protects members.
Beyond Certification
We’ve established the legal basis regarding why you need
to hire a certified inspector so that your inspector will be
admitted as an expert witness. Besides the baseline of
being certified, there are many other factors to consider
when choosing an inspector. They include: the expert’s
communication skills, honesty, reputation, availability and
attitude; employees of the expert, especially if they are
instrumental in any of the testing; the expert’s health and
stamina, both for conducting inspections in uncomfortable climates and for enduring multiple hours of grueling
legal examination; the expert’s ability to withstand travel
if required for trial; and academic vs. practical experience.
An experienced certified inspector provides you with an
expert opinion that is difficult to dismiss as evidence, and
has the knowledge base and savvy to be able to avoid
seeming ignorant, or to avoid the rhetorical traps that
opposing lawyers sometimes use to discredit witness testimony. Your expert’s presence on the scene and ability to
conduct testing to challenge that of opposing counsel is,
of course, invaluable. Q
Jeff B. Meltzer is an NWFACP Certified Inspector and
president of Universal Hardwood Flooring. He has conducted flooring inspections since 2006, and has served
as an expert witness on flooring matters in several dozen
cases. Sylvia Majka is a Florida attorney specializing in
mediation and arbitration.
Visit us at
Booth B3366
Visit us at
Booth B3366
Your Business | Money
Worry Early
Prepare your business for unexpected disasters
By Phillip M. Perry
ith another hurricane and tornado season behind us, and potential spring floods still on
the horizon, now is a good time to revisit your recovery plans with a fresh look. From
damaged buildings to wrecked inventory to disrupted supply lines, natural and man-made
disasters can tear a huge hole through profitability for large and small businesses. In many cases,
businesses that suffer a disaster of any sort must close their doors for good.
W
Plan for Recovery
Business owners must design and implement disaster recovery plans designed to mitigate harm
when bad things happen. Are you taking the right actions to minimize damage if you are hit with a
windstorm, a lightning strike, a flood or a power outage?
Your answer might well be “no.” Too often the details
of disaster planning get shortchanged for pressing matters. That’s a mistake. No matter how successful your
operations, everything you do can come to a halt if
core 10 points for each
there’s no Plan B when Plan A gets derailed.
“yes” answer to these 10
“A bad event can take down a company forever,” says
questions. Then total your
Jeffrey Williams, president of Binomial International,
points. If you score between
a disaster-planning consultancy in Ogdensburg, N.Y.
80 and 100 you are in a safe
“That’s why it’s so dangerous for businesses to keep
zone. Results between 60 and
disaster planning on the back burner.”
80 mean you need to dust off
In approaching your own plan, experts counsel taking
the emergency plan. Score
a broad view, incorporating as many “what-ifs” as posless than 60? Take immedisible. “There are three types of disasters,” Williams says.
ate steps to get your disaster
“The first is natural. Think weather. The second is techplan up to speed.
nical, when equipment fails. The third is a human error,
Have you. . .
what people do to other people. That can be sabotage
1. Backed up your data regularly to an off-site location?
or a fire.” Advice from Williams: Plan for all three.
2. Identified a remote site for relocated quarters?
3. Arranged for an alternative Internet network?
Offsite Data
4. Assigned key employees specific tasks in event of emergency?
Suppose you were forced out of your building right
5. Drawn up co-worker and client call lists and assigned to
now. Maybe you are the victim of a fire, flood or windemployees?
storm. How would you continue your business? The
6. Detailed your list of emergency responders?
likeliest answer would be “with great difficulty,” unless
7. Selected vendors for emergency repairs?
you have taken measures to assure the maintenance of
8. Obtained property insurance for 100 percent of replacement
a certain level of customer service and sales.
cost?
“Businesses can take a number of steps to assist in
9. Maintained regular inventory; taken photos as appropriate?
getting through a crisis before the next disaster strikes,”
10. Obtained business interruption, flood, and earthquake
says Chris Hackett, director of policy development in
insurance if appropriate?—P.M.P.
the research division of Property Casualty Insurers As-
Disaster Quiz
Shutterstock | Sergey Nivens
S
Made in North America
sociation of America (PCIAA). Perhaps one of the most
important, he says, is determining a temporary relocation
site. That might be a basement in your home or a rented
room in another city. Whatever the location, it must be one
where you can access your critical files. That includes your
accounts receivable, so you know who owes you money,
and it also includes your customer lists to protect your
future revenues. Keep a computer at this location with
continually updated company data.
On the topic of alternatives, make sure you have a
fallback Internet network into which you can plug your
devices. And have a call-forwarding plan prepared that will
route incoming calls.
Finally, put together an offsite list of emergency responders. These are people you’ll call to help solve the problems
the disaster has
caused. Include the
following:
•Your attorney,
accountant and
insurance agent.
•Any firms that
can accomplish
recovery tasks such
as removing water,
cleaning, hauling
rubbish, painting, repairing electrical and
plumbing systems,
replacing locks and getting computer equipment running.
•Real estate agencies that can help you set up a remote
operational base while restorations continue.
The remote location is one thing; having people who
take the right actions is another. Identify the steps you’ll
need to take when disaster strikes, then assign the following tasks to some key individuals: calling employees and
customers to let them know what has happened, notifying suppliers and insurance companies, and arranging
for repair work by plumbers, electricians and restoration
contractors.
A disaster can
interrupt sales, and
that means your
expected revenue
stream can
dry up quickly.
Also consider your deductibles. Lower ones mean less
money out of your own pocket but cost more in premiums. Higher means mean lower premiums but more out
of pocket when disaster strikes. Ask yourself: If a loss
happens tomorrow, would I be able to come up with the
deductible?
Be prepared to prove your losses. “It’s important to take
inventory of the items in your business,” Hackett says.
“Walk through your building with a camcorder and make
a video. That can be helpful with claims adjustor if you
experience a loss.” Store the video online and/or offsite in
a safe or a bank safe deposit box.
Protect Your Revenue Stream
A disaster can interrupt sales, and that means your expected revenue stream can dry up quickly. Think about buying
protection. “Business interruption insurance provides critical coverage for lost income—what your business would
have earned but for the physical damage of a disaster,”
Hackett says.
Purchasing interruption insurance requires thorough
consultation with your agent. “It’s not as simple as an auto
policy,” Hackett says. “The carrier will ask you questions
about the nature of your business, your employees, your
typical income in a month and whether your business is
seasonal in nature.”
You might also consider “extra expenses coverage,”
Hackett notes. “This insurance covers the higher expenses
you might incur by moving to a new location, such as
higher rents, and the costs of relocation.” You can also get
coverage for payroll expenses. “Just because your business
is shut down doesn’t mean people will not expect a paycheck,” Hackett says. “Paying them can be difficult if you
are not taking in any income.” You can purchase insurance
just for the highest paid employees or for your entire staff.
Two more options: “contingent business interruption
insurance” covers the lost income that results when a supplier is unable to deliver, and “extra contingency expenses
insurance” covers the higher prices you might end up paying to an alternative supplier.
Review Property Insurance
Rainy Day Blues
Do you have sufficient property insurance in place? What
may be good one year may no longer be adequate several
years later, so revisit your policies with a trusted advisor.
The No. 1 insurance category is, of course, property insurance that covers fire. “As it relates to fire, policies should
insure your structure for 100 percent of its replacement
costs,” Hackett says. “If you are thinking of undertaking
some renovations that will substantially add to the value of
your property you should let your agent know about that.
If you have not done so, the settlement under the policy
will be based on information the carrier had.”
Standard property insurance policies generally cover water
damage that results from pipes bursting. Not covered,
however, is flooding from causes such as tidal surges, the
overflow of rivers, or water flowing down from a mountain
or along the ground.
“Damage from flooding can be catastrophic,” says Michael Sapourn, a Satellite Beach, Fla.-based attorney who
has dealt extensively with flood damage insurance and
litigation. “Those who own buildings located in areas vulnerable to such events should purchase flood insurance.”
“Much litigation results from the difficulty in distinguish-
ing between water damage caused by windstorm (which is
covered by standard property insurance policies) or from
other causes such a tidal surge” Sapourn says. “Carriers
often litigate the gray areas where windstorm ends and
tidal surge begins.”
Mortgage lenders will require you to buy flood insurance if you are located in a flood zone as defined by
FEMA. “Businesses which have paid off their mortgage
often drop flood insurance since they no longer have a
lender who requires it,” Sapourn says. “That’s a mistake.”
Finally, don’t make the common mistake of being underinsured. “Don’t try to save money by lowering limits. Get
the coverage limits you need to protect you from a total
loss,” Sapourn adds.
Flood insurance policies are typically not available on a
replacement cost basis, so you need to estimate what you
need to rebuild. If you have an older building, you may
not be able to get the policy limit you want from FEMA, so
you may end up going into the private market for excess
insurance.
Be sure to find a broker experienced in flood insurance.
“Any broker can sell the standard flood insurance policy
through the National Flood Insurance Program,” Sapourn
says. “While many brokers have licenses to write flood
insurance, many might not write it very often. As a result
inexperienced brokers may misquote your flood insurance
premium based on an incorrect reading of the FEMA flood
insurance rate map. This may cause problems later when
FEMA sends an adjusted invoice with a far higher premium. That is especially dangerous if you have planned your
budget based on the lower, incorrect quote.”
Keep It Current
Once you have your recovery plan and your insurance
policies in place, you are in a much better position to
survive should you be hit with a disaster. But don’t just
toss your recovery plan in a desk file and forget about it.
Advisors counsel reviewing the program annually.
“Disaster recovery planning is an evergreen issue that is
never done,” Williams says. “People change jobs, functions
change, mobile phone numbers change. Keep revisiting
your plan.” You don’t want to be caught without a lifeline
when a crisis hits. Q
Phillip M. Perry is a New York-based freelance writer and
frequent contributor to Hardwood Floors.
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Your Business | Management
We Need to Talk
Don’t let accountability become a dirty word
By Bob Whipple
frequent refrain of top managers is “we need to do a better job of holding people accountable.”
Accountability seems to be the mantra for organizational get-well programs these days. One
can agree with this in part, and yet there is an aspect of accountability that feels like a cop-out.
The key to leadership is to create an environment in which people do the best they can because
they want to. When employees know it is clearly in their best interest to give their maximum discretionary effort to the organization, managers don’t have to crack the whip as often. Imagine working
in an environment where people do the right things not because they are expected, but because it is
in their best interest. In that atmosphere, holding people accountable would nearly always be positive
rather than negative. How refreshing!
It is the actions, attitudes and intentions of leaders, not the rank and file, that make the environment
of either reinforcement or punishment the go-to solution for individual performance issues. Let’s examine eight attitudes or behaviors of leaders that can foster a culture where holding people accountable is
a precursor to a feeling of celebration instead of a sentence to the dungeon.
A
1. Be Clear About Your Expectations
It happens every day. The boss says, “Why didn’t you roll that finish on? I can see applicator marks all
over that floor.” Then, the worker says, “You never told me that finish had to be rolled, so I used the
T-bar like we usually do.” Holding people accountable when the instructions are vague is like scolding
an untethered horse for wandering off the path to eat grass.
2. Be Timely
If there is an issue with performance versus stated expectations,
bring the matter up immediately. If you wait for a couple days before trying to bring up the issue, it just tends to cloud and confuse
the person who did not meet expectations. If a boss says, “You
were rude to the homeowner last week,” how is the employee supposed to even remember the incident?
3. Be Sure of Your Facts
A foreman learned this painful lesson early in his career. He
visited a job site and flew off the handle at the sight of the floor’s
perimeter. He yelled at Tom, who was running the edger in the
next room at the time. Tom said, “Well, if you had taken the time
to notice, you’d see I’m fixing what Bob did yesterday. I did not
make this mess.” Gulp. The foreman tried to cover with, “I thought
it was strange because your work is usually better than that,” but
the irrevocable damage had been done. If you are going to accuse
someone of sloppy work, make sure it was done by that person.
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Your Business | Management
4. Be Kind
Always apply the Golden Rule liberally. If you had a lapse in performance, justified or not, how would you want to get the information? Keep in mind that some
people are more defensive than others, so if you like your feedback “straight from
the shoulder,” tone it down when dealing with a particularly sensitive individual.
5. Be Consistent
If you are a stickler for certain behaviors, make sure you apply the discipline
consistently. Coming down hard on Mike for being late for work can seem unfair
if you habitually let Mary waltz in 45 minutes after the start of the shift. Always
avoid the appearance of playing favorites. Recognize that, as a human being, you
do have differences in your attitudes toward people, but when holding people
accountable, you must apply the same standards across the board. And remember, this includes family members who are employees, too.
6. Be Discreet
Embarrassing a person in public will create a black mark that will live for a long
time. If there is an issue of performance, share the matter with the individual
privately and in a way that upholds the dignity of the person. Remember the
Golden Rule.
7. Be Gracious
Forgiving a person who has failed to deliver on expectations is sometimes a way
to set up better performance in the future. Get help for individuals who need
training or behavior modification. A leader needs to be mindful of his or her
personal contribution to the problem, like not dealing with the issue when it is
small. If the current infraction is a habitual problem or one borne out of laziness,
greed or revenge, then stronger measures are needed. People cannot be allowed
to continually fail to meet expectations. The corrective measures should be based
on the severity and longevity of the problem. One caveat: Gracious behavior cannot be faked, so be sure you are calm and have dealt with your own emotions
before speaking to the employee.
8. Be Balanced
This is incredibly important: There is nothing written on a stone tablet that says
all forms of accountability must be negative. In fact, most people love it when
someone holds them accountable for all the wonderful things they have done
along the way. If we view accountability as both a positive and a corrective concept, then we can remove much of the stigma associated with the word. When
we hear a top manager say, “We need to hold our people accountable,” it means
negative feedback in most cases. This is an easy thing to change by simply modifying our pattern of feedback.
Holding people accountable is a great concept if it is used in a consistent, kind
and thoughtful way. Try changing the notion of accountability in your work area
to incorporate the 8 “Be-Attitudes” above, and you will see a significant improvement in your culture. ■
Bob Whipple is CEO of Leadergrow Inc. an organization dedicated to growing
leaders, and is also the author of The Trust Factor: Advanced Leadership for
Professionals, Understanding E-Body Language: Building Trust Online, and
Leading with Trust is Like Sailing Downwind. He can be reached at bwhipple@
leadergrow.com or (585)-392-7763, or at leadergrow.com.
On the Job
Ask the Expert
Normal Gaps, HVAC Delays
‘Normal’ Gapping
I’m receiving many complaints
from customers related to
gapping of their solid hardwood floors. What is “normal”
when it comes to gaps between
boards?
David Cathey, quality control manager at Mullican Flooring, answers:
When distributors and retailers receive gapping complaints, they often
automatically contact the manufacturer. However, more often than not,
gaps are simply normal changes in
the wood based on the time of year
(and, possibly, the result of errors during installation).
According to the National Wood
Flooring Association, normal gaps
occur “between individual boards
and open and close with changes in
humidity.” The identifying factor is
that normal gaps should appear only
during heating seasons and disappear
or close in high-humidity seasons.
The size of normal gaps depends on
the width of the boards—the wider
the board, the wider the gap. Also,
square-edge floors show gaps more
than beveled floors, and light-colored
floors show gaps more than dark
floors.
If gaps remain after the heating
seasons have ended, then you’re likely
facing a serious gapping issue and
need to uncover the cause. Some of
the common causes include: hot spots
in the subfloor caused by poorly insulated heating ducts, hot water plumbing lines, radiant heating systems,
register openings or appliance motors;
debris left between boards during
installation; improper nailing or nail
positioning; cracked tongues; flooring
installed with an extremely high moiswww.hardwoodfloorsmag.com
ture content or over a subfloor with
excessive moisture; foundation settlement or subfloor movement; the use
of improper subfloor materials that
won’t hold nails; and crushed edges
on boards due to prior exposure to
extreme moisture.
To correct the issue, determine and
eliminate the cause of the gapping
before restoring the room to normal
humidity levels and allowing the
floors to stabilize. Then use filler in
the smaller gaps (up to 3⁄32 inch) and
recoat the floor. For larger openings,
use a sliver or wider board to fill in
the gap.
The important thing to remember
is that gapping during “heating seasons” is perfectly normal. Informing
consumers about this fundamental
fact at the time of sale will go a long
way toward eliminating gapping
complaints that will naturally resolve
themselves in the summer months.
‘Forced’ to Install?
I have a builder who wants me
to install 7-inch reclaimed oak
in a barn being converted into
a home. The HVAC hasn’t been
installed yet but the flooring
and subfloor are within the
necessary 2 percent moisture
content difference overall. The
TRICK OF THE TRADE
Taming the Glug-Glug
W
hen pouring stain, most people naturally pour with the spout as close to
the bucket as possible, thinking they won’t spill or splatter it all over. However, to get a smoother pour, avoid splatter and prevent infusing the stain with
air bubbles, pour so the spout is at the top, as shown above on the right. Air can
then enter the can slowly instead of gasping in between glugs.
Thanks to Bill Ptak at DuraSeal for this tip he shared during the Wood Flooring Basics
School at the NWFA headquarters in St. Louis last fall. Do you have a Trick of the
Trade? Send it and a photo to [email protected].
On the Job | Ask the Expert
builder is pushing me to get
the floors in so he can continue
the remodel in the required
time frame. Can I install the
floors?
Brett Miller, director of certification
& education at the National Wood
Flooring Association, answers:
No matter what the timeline is,
wood flooring should be one of the
last jobs on any construction project.
If the HVAC hasn’t been installed in
this residence and the conditions in
the home are not at “normal living
conditions”—that is, the temperature
and humidity you expect the home
to be at once it’s occupied—you
will want to avoid installation of any
wood products in this home, even
if the MC of the subfloor and wood
flooring are within 2 percent of
each other right now. The flooring
and subflooring must be acclimated
to the environment in which they
are expected to perform. Once you
install the wood flooring, that constitutes your acceptance of the flooring material, the condition of the
You can expect a
call back within a
couple months
related to excessive
floor movement.
subfloor, the job site itself (including
the ambient temperature and relative
humidity at the time of installation),
and any other impacting variables
that may affect the wood floor.
If it is not possible for the perma-
nent heating and/or air conditioning
system to be operating before, during and after installation, a temporary heating and/or dehumidification
system that mimics normal living
(occupied) conditions can enable
the installation to proceed until the
permanent HVAC system is fully
operational. If you are “forced” to install these floors prior to the job site,
subfloor and wood flooring being at
normal living conditions, it’s likely
you can expect a call back within a
couple months related to excessive
floor movement: Flooring installed
during times of peak humidity is
likely to later show excessive gaps,
and flooring installed during the
driest time of the year will tend to
cup and can even buckle. If you go
ahead with installation, you’d be
wise to factor this likelihood into the
cost of the entire job. ■
On the Job | From the Field
Coming Undone
Do climate extremes really cause delamination?
By Dr. Dirk Lukowsky
s engineered wood flooring
becomes more prevalent,
we are seeing increasing
numbers of cases of delamination,
especially under the extremes of dry
or wet climatic conditions. Here in
Germany, oftentimes floor heating is
involved, and an increasing number
A
of incidents are also observed after
renovations with waterborne coatings. This led us to do some testing
of these products in the lab, with
somewhat surprising results.
What Can Floors Withstand?
In Germany, no regulations for the
TALES FROM THE FRONT
Lesson Learned
Son learns wisdom of floor-man father
Shutterstock | Tom Grundy
T
his issue’s Tale comes from Steve Matthews of J & J Floor
Service in Paden City, W.V., in his own words: “When I was
16, my father let me bid my first sand-and-finish job. Since
I am a third-generation floor man, I already had four years’
experience by then, and I thought I was quite accomplished. I
got the job, so on day one I packed the machines in the back
of my ’63 Chevy and drove 25 miles of West Virginia back roads to get to the house.
I have to say that the owner was pretty nervous when he realized my dad wasn’t
going to be there. He looked on as I fumbled around, trying to get the belts on the old
American Super 8. After what seemed to be an hour or so, I was ready to start sanding the floor—until I realized I had forgotten the power cord for the machine. Now I
think my immaturity is starting to show, and I sheepishly tell him I’ll be back in an hour
to get to work. I got in my truck and floored it down the road, and to my great surprise
my dad was sitting about a half mile away, waiting for me. When I pulled up, he asked,
‘Did you forget something?’ I saw the cord on the seat beside him and knew I was
in for a lecture. That was a lesson well-learned. In the 39 years since that day, I have
never arrived on the job unprepared. One of the first lessons I taught my three sons is
to check and doublecheck. Dad was a good floor man and the consummate pro. By
the way, he went back to that job with me and we finished it together.”
If you have a true (and printable) story to share, email it with your name and phone number
to [email protected].
quality of the bonding between the
layers of engineered wood floors exist, but we do have recommendations
from flooring associations and manufacturers for the required humidity
during usage: Often between 50 to
60% relative humidity is the recommended range. In the case of floor
heating, the recommended maximum
surface temperature ranges between
77 and 84 degrees Fahrenheit (25-29
degrees Celcius).
For experts having to determine the
cause of delamination of engineered
hardwood, the situation is not easy.
In most cases, climatic conditions exceeding the recommended guidelines
can be measured or at least estimated.
But are climate extremes always the
real cause? What if the material had
substantial weaknesses that only become visible because of the extreme
climatic conditions? How are we to
detect or to exclude these defects
if standards and requirements are
nonexistent? Which climate extremes
can common engineered wood floors
withstand without failure?
At the Fraunhofer Institute for
Wood Research (WKI) we have done
some basic work on that question.
The Engineered Experiment
Eighteen different engineered hardwood floors were glued on a subfloor
with warm-water radiant floor heating within a climate chamber. The
different floors were conventional
WHAT’S WRONG?
T
his job site was left
like this overnight
at a home with small
children, both creating a
safety hazard and making a terrible impression
on the homeowners. (Courtesy of Roy
Reichow; read his HF
Inspector Blog at www.
hardwoodfloorsmag.
com/blogs.)
market products ranging from low-budget quality to the
upper end of the price range. Thirteen wood floors had
a top layer of white oak and five had a beech top layer.
Thirteen were bonded with urea-formaldehyde resin (UF)
and five with polyvinylacetat (PVAc).Three panels 300 mm
(11.8 inches) long were assembled for every floor, with an
additional half panel on each side.
There were two phases of the experiment. In the first,
the RH was 35%, and the surface temperature of the floor
was increased stepwise. These conditions may be regarded as rather mild. After this phase the floors were left
without climate regulation—the doors were opened so the
chamber could adjust to the ambient conditions.
In the second phase, an initial surface temperature of
86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celcius) and 24% RH
for 17 days was followed by a RH of only 14% for 22 days.
These conditions may be regarded as rather severe and
clearly are beyond the recommendations for wood floors.
Despite these extreme climatic conditions, no delamination was observed in any of the 18 floors. Only some minor cracks in the wood and some opening of joints within
the top layer of the flooring became visible.
Surprising Results?
It became obvious that 18 engineered wood floors typical
in the German market are able to withstand a significant
deviation of the recommended moisture level and an extreme beyond the recommended surface temperature.
This rather tolerant behavior of engineered hardwood
flooring is not really surprising. The glues used for the
floors are common and have been established for decades. Both may be sensitive to long-term moisture exposure, but with both types a long-lasting bond between
most wood species is possible when appropriate care is
taken during the bonding process.
According to the present knowledge, it is expected that
engineered wood flooring of appropriate quality never fails
due to debonding before serious cracking of the wood,
pronounced cupping and large gaps occur. This view is
supported by the fact that in most cases of delamination of
hardwood flooring investigated at the WKI, shortcomings
in the production process were found to be the cause of
the damages. These failures range from partial missing glue,
partially to low bonding pressure, a specific type of glue
with the tendency to lose adhesion after years and too high
residual concentration of ammonia in smoked oak, causing
insufficient bonding with a polyurethane.
The preliminary test results and our experts’ experience
with delamination of hardwood floors in no way imply that
the climatic conditions recommended by the manufacturer
should be exceeded. The recommendations are justified to
prevent gaps, cracks, cupping and other moisture-related
problems of wooden floors. (As long as they are in a reasonable range and
not only meant to
have the possibility of making the
customer responsible for each and
every problem).
But as a guideline
for the assessments
of debonding, our
experiment would
lead us to conclude that these
recommendations seem to be of limited use. ■
These recommendations are justified
to prevent gaps,
cracks, cupping and
all other moisturerelated problems.
Dr. Dirk Lukowsky is a scientist at Braunschweig, Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research at the
WKI and is a master carpenter.
See photos and more detailed information on this
experiment in the online version of this article at www.
hardwoodfloorsmag.com/FTFDJ14.
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On the Job | Troubleshooting
Coming Apart at the Seams
The dry season is not kind to this floating bamboo floor
By Joe Tedder
The Problem
A complaint came in that the planks from a floating strandwoven bamboo floor were pulling apart at the seams.
The Procedure
In spring, approximately 2,000 square feet of floating
strandwoven bamboo flooring was installed. The material was brought to the house and stored for three days
prior to installation, and the cartons were not opened.
The customers advised the installer that they did not want
transition moldings installed, so they were not used.
Initially, both the installer and customers were satisfied
with the floor. As winter approached, however, the customers began noticing areas
where the planks appeared
to be pulling apart from one
another at the seams and underneath the moldings. They
contacted the retailer and
initiated a warranty claim,
citing this as a product “defect.”
Planks appeared
to be pulling
apart from
one another.
The Cause
A certified inspector on a site inspection found that while
the installer may have left adequate perimeter expansion initially, as the floor dried and lost moisture during
the heating season, it moved and came in contact with
vertical obstructions. With its movement restricted, tension
was placed on the joints, and
these began to pull apart. The
inspector determined the cause
to be “inadequate expansion
due to the lack of the required
transition moldings being
installed as per the flooring
manufacturer’s guidelines” and
“improper acclimation.” Not
surprisingly, the consumer and installer rejected this, and
the installer argued that the floor was not touching at the
door jambs because these were undercut and that he “let it
sit in the home for three days prior to installation.”
Strandwoven bamboo tends to acclimate very slowly
due to the inherent density of the material. In this instance, the installer failed to properly document the site
conditions prior to installation and failed to check the
flooring for the appropriate MC. A professional installer
should test the material upon delivery to ensure that it
does not have elevated moisture levels and should consult with the moisture meter manufacturer to determine
the proper settings for the meter. Strandwoven bamboo
should be kept consistently in the 6-8% MC range.
How to Fix the Floor
The repair options are to either remove and re-install
the existing flooring with the necessary transition moldings (an expensive and time-consuming endeavor), or, in
most cases, depending on the severity of the shrinkage,
a mechanic can replace a small section, introducing relief
cuts to relieve the tension between areas of the installed
material, and simply install transition moldings. Mechanics
should be careful not to compromise the integrity of the
joint. If the floor is removed and reinstalled, it is likely that
some material may be damaged, so hopefully the consumer has remaining extra stock.
In the Future
I have never encountered a consumer or installer who
wants to use transition moldings. They are often viewed
as being unsightly and a tripping hazard, and consumers
tend to think they draw attention away from the natural
beauty of the floor. However, strandwoven bamboo is
extremely sensitive to changes in moisture, temperature
and humidity in its surrounding environment. It is imperative that the interior humidity not be allowed to fall
below 30%. Drier, arid environments tend to encounter more problems than other more moderate climatic
regions. Using transition moldings and humidification
controls or in-room humidifiers will minimize the appearance of gaps. ■
Joe Tedder is claims manager at Dalton, Ga.-based
USFloors Inc.
On the Job | Techniques
Planed, Gauged & Undercut
What we can learn from 19th century T&G flooring
By Jay Daniel Moore & Taylor Moore Jr.
n the last 177 years—since the invention of the steam engine, to be precise—the flooring industry has come a long way. It started with hand planes and adzes, but by the mid-19th century,
the craftsmen of the time were developing new tools that would change the flooring industry
forever. Their primary motivation was that woodworking was purely manual and required a high
level of energy to plane, gauge and undercut the material for floor installations. This was the case
with all woodworking—extraordinary energy was required to fell trees, construct, saw, cut down,
fabricate and install wood products, and, not surprisingly, those doing it were highly motivated
to progress to easier methods. Of course, in today’s wood flooring industry we benefit from the
easiest methods yet, but it also can be useful to take a look back at how things were done before
modern technology took over.
I
Before the Steam Engine
The English carpenters would build a house from start to finish, and they would usually source
material locally, so it is not uncommon to find several species making up the construction of a
17th, 18th, or early 19th century dwelling. Before
the carpenters would even get to the flooring stage,
they’d likely start with green logs that they would hew
square—green logs are easier than dried logs to hew
or saw, but not to plane.
After the logs were hand-hewn to dimension and
the building was erected using mortise-and-tenon
joinery, the house would be ready for flooring, which
would have been traditionally laid directly over the
hand-hewn floor joists. Interestingly, one can find corresponding scribed roman numerals on both the floor
joists and the sills or beams, indicating the carpenters
laid the house out and mortised the material before
erecting the building.
In our area the flooring would have historically
been cut from pine and typically rough cut to 11⁄2
inches thick with a pitsaw. The pitsaw is a straight
saw blade with two wooden handles and was used
by two people pulling the saw up and down through
Arthur Jenkins
The historic way of crafting tongue-and-groove heart pine
wood flooring, before machinery: At an event called Field
Day of the Past in Goochland County, Va., I’m using a tongue
cutter plane to create the tongue side of a heart pine board,
starting at the front of the board and working my way back,
constantly moving back and forth.
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The Craft of Pitsawing
process, the boards were then gauged using a rabbeting
plane. The rabbet was cut from the rough side of the
board and would have been ½ inch to 1 inch wide from
the outer edge to create a small flat surface onto which
the tongue or groove hand plane would ride. Now the
craftsman was ready to cut his tongue and groove. By
working the plane over the board held firmly in the
upright position, the fence of his plane would glide
smoothly across the planed side of the board (with the
guide riding on the rabbet) with both the groove cutter
and the tongue cutter (see the photo on the opener
page of this article).
Taylor Moore III
Reasons for Long, Clear Lengths
A
The National Archives UK
bove, for flooring for an installation at Colonial Williamsburg, the antique heart pine flooring was created
as it would have been in colonial times: the pitsaw. Two men
work together in concert to pull the saw back and forth and
cut the boards. To see a video of the pitsaw in action, go to
the online version of this article at www.hardwoodfloorsmag.
com/TechniquesDJ14. Below, pitsawing continued to be
used in various regions of the world long after the advent
of machinery: This photo of men pitsawing pine was taken
between 1920 and 1930 in Troodos, Cyprus.
a hand-hewn log (see the photos on this page). There
was great amount of manual labor required in sawing,
and so there was not a precise thickness for boards cut
in the pitsaw.
One face of each board would be planed using a
long wooden jack plane, which would essentially join
the face to make it smooth and relatively flat. After this
There has been great speculation on why in the early
days of the Enlightenment period homes were built with
nice long-length quartersawn and riftsawn flooring that
came from select logs with very few knots, windshakes,
splits, pitch pockets, etc. The reason was not because
of the aesthetic preference, but rather had everything to
do with how the perfectly straight vertical-grain wood
If a room in a given house
were 18 feet long, then the
flooring logs would have been
cut to that length to minimize
the work required to plane and
groove the material.
could be cut and would wear and last. As the plane
is being pushed and pulled across the board from the
front to back, any grain movement would make the
plane more difficult to push. There is even a strategy
regarding knots: as with hand scraping wood floors,
working around those knots is the strategy!
As for the long lengths that would be typically found in
these homes, it is a result of proper planning on the part
of the sawyers, well-disciplined enslaved peoples and/or
apprentices. Well-organized labor helped to minimize the
physical work involved for the master sawyers. If a room
in a given house were 18 feet long, then the flooring logs
would have been cut to that length to minimize the work
required to plane and groove the material. There was
likely great effort put into not cutting more flooring than
what was needed. Also, once a board was clamped to
the working table, work would have been more productive using full-length flooring. Additionally, the aesthetic
would have been more desirable, although this was a
Historic T&G
T
his material is from the Hilary Baker House, a Federal home in Richmond, Va., built in 1813. This is a good example of what
the bottoms of the flooring boards looked like before wood flooring was created with machinery. In the photo on the left
you can see where they notched out the backside of the boards on the ends so they laid flat on the joist—notching out only
where necessary saved on the arduous labor of planing the entire board. On the sides, you can see wide gauge marks on the
groove side and shallower gauge marks on the tongue side. Just as you do today, you find varying degrees of quality of the
historic wood flooring, and I would have to classify these as more of a hack job!—J.D.M.
secondary concern to the practical reasons.
Once the flooring was processed, then the boards
would have been individually placed in the house
over the joists to see how they laid. Since the elevation of the floor joists and flooring varied by 1⁄4 inch (or
thereabouts), during installation of individual boards,
adjustments would be made. Either they would remove
a small amount of wood from under the bottom of the
floorboard, or if the floorboard was scant (too thin) or
the height of the top of the floor joist was less than full
height, a shim (a small wedge) would be added between the two surfaces.
Steam Engines Change Everything
Prior to the steam engine, woodworking was purely
manual—machines were not used because they had not
been invented. Mass production and industrialism were
unknown. The prevalent form of industrial organization was the guild, wherein a master worked with his
men (including slaves, apprentices, and freemen); and
most men, in due time, all became masters and/or were
freed. This was the Age of Enlightenment, and a cultural
movement was about to take place in large part because
of the fast-paced shift in industrialism and tool-making.
Many things would soon change. In the early 19th
century, the industrial revolution would allow men to
produce boards, flooring, siding, and many other building materials through machines like the one designed
by William Woodworth, a craftsman from Hudson, N.Y.,
who began patenting his planing machines in 1828
(see the illustrations on page 46). His machines would
ultimately cut four sides, effectively joining one horizontal and one vertical side onto which the other side
Prior to the steam engine,
woodworking was purely
manual ... Mass production and
industrialism were unknown.
cut could then be cut to dimension relative to those
sides. Initially, he simply designed the side cutting heads
for moulding the edges separate from the horizontal
cutting heads. As described in Appleton’s Dictionary
of Machines, Mechanics, Engine-Work, and Engineering, written in 1869, “[his original planer] consisted of
a rotary cylinder on which were fastened the blades or
cutters, placed above or laterally to a carriage on which
was placed the board to be planed, which was moved
forward by rack and pinion. The cylinder revolved opposed to the movement of the board, and rollers were
introduced bearing upon the upper surface, so as to
prevent the board being drawn up to the cutter.”
History books note that the invention could perform
the output of 25 laborers, cheapened finished lumber,
and greatly increased the supply, and the U.S. Congress
praised the invention in 1850, along with Eli Whitney’s
cotton gin, as one of the great labor saving inventions of
the country.
Woodworth improved upon the concept by combining the horizontal cutters and the vertical cutters, and by
making the spinning heads adjustable, but Woodworth’s
machines were made inferior in just a few years. This
was not accomplished easily, though, as the intellectual
property rights prevented others from replicating a machine with similar design elements. As stated in Appleton’s dictionary, “…[his planer] has been a fruitful source
of litigation. The only novelty seems to have been in the
pressure rollers to keep down the board, and the union
of the tonguing and grooving with the planing.”
The First
Planer
W
ood flooring is
still a laborintensive profession, but at least
contractors laying a
wood floor in homes
don’t have to cut
each wood flooring
board by hand. The
invention of William
Woodworth’s planing
machine, first patented in 1828, changed
the lumber industry
forever and started
the wood flooring
industry on the path
of industrialization.
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A number of fixed knife planers came on the market, and they did circumvent the patent, but they were
so tedious to set up and operate that most lumbermen
surrendered to the Woodworth group. This was not,
however, the end of where the industry would go, but
merely a beginning. From here, more machines for planing flooring would be invented during the Enlightenment
period. This is also the case in most industries throughout
the Eastern seaboard of colonial America—industrialism would benefit from low taxation, a more productive
working class, and the availability of interstate commerce. But the War Between the States would bring an
end to the Enlightenment, and industrialism and the steel
revolution would later be fully recognized as bringing a
fundamental change in how work is done—a change that
is truly exemplified in our trade. ■
Modern Retrofit
A
t the E.T. Moore plant in Richmond, Va., a J.A. Vance
Model 66 moulder from 1902, originally designed to be
used with a steam engine, is still in use. It originally would have
used striaght steel blades but has been retrofitted with carbide
blades. It will cut flooring up to 15 inches wide.—J.D.M.
Hayes & Fisk Photography
Jay Daniel Moore is owner at Richmond, Va.-based Antique Floors LLC. Taylor Moore Jr. is owner of E.T. Moore
Mfg. Inc., Heart Pine Specialists.
See more photos and a video of pitsawing in action at
www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/TechniquesDJ14.
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Deeply Rooted
Wood in modern hotel ties to community
By Karly McMillan
TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK
DesignOptions
n a recent blog post entitled, “What
Starbucks Gets that Architects Don’t,”
Christine Outram accused her fellow
architects of designing for the sake
of design, not for the people using
the space. “You rely on rules and pattern
books, but you rarely do in-depth ethnographic research,” she writes. “You don’t
connect with people anymore.”
The Fogo Island Inn, designed by Saunders Architecture, does not fall victim to
this. From the very beginning, it was built to
connect with the community on the rocky
92-square-mile island off the coast of Newfoundland. The design and materials were
all chosen with Fogo Islanders and Newfoundlanders in mind. As part of that mission, local carpenters installed local wood
in a way that referenced the local architecture—but with a modern twist.
I
Cultivating Community
When Zita Cobb returned to her hometown
on Fogo Island after making millions in
the tech industry, she wanted to help her
shrinking, economically depressed community, which was hit hard by Canada’s
cod fishing moratorium of 1992. She set up
the Shorefast Foundation, which aims to
Photos by Iwan Baant
The Fogo Island Inn, located
off the coast of Newfoundland,
serves as an economic driver
of the isolated community. Its
design features local wood
and mimics local architecture.
DesignOptions
Photos by Iwan Baant
The inn is made up of two
intersecting volumes, forming
an X. The floors follow the
length of the two legs and
intersect here.
preserve and promote the rich cultural heritage of the
island by making it economically viable. She also created
a scholarship fund, allowing kids on the island to go to
college like she did.
But then, she recalls in numerous interviews, one
mother pointed out, “You’re just paying our children to
leave us.” Cobb realized it wasn’t enough to bring money
to Fogo Island—she needed to bring people. So Cobb
and her foundation turned their talents to architecture,
acting as general contractor and recruiting Newfoundland
native Todd Saunders and his Norway-based architecture
firm to design the Fogo Island Inn.
The 29-room inn is more than housing for tourists. It’s
the center of Shorefast’s mission to employ and engage
islanders while attracting artists from around the world.
Designers from across Canada, the U.S. and Europe came
to stay on Fogo Island to create designs for pieces of
furniture that reflected the local culture. Those pieces
were then produced by local boat builders and carpenters
to furnish the inn. All of the furniture is for sale, and the
proceeds go to the local artisans who built them.
Shorefast also hired as many contractors and carpenters
from Fogo and surrounding Newfoundland as it could
to construct the inn itself. Part of the team constructing
the inn’s interiors, including 36,500 square feet of wood
flooring, was a group of Irish carpenters who had immigrated to Toronto. Shorefast co-founder Tony Cobb, Zita’s
brother, sought them out for the project. They requested
to stay in the Fogo Island town of Tilting during construction because it felt like home—Fogo is known for its Irish
and English heritage, and many residents have a slight
Irish brogue.
The inn also serves as a community center with its
movie theater, art gallery showing works by Shorefast’s
artists-in-residence, and a world-class restaurant serving
dishes featuring the island’s native plants and game. The
Inn’s bar often features live music, attracting guests and
residents alike.
DesignOptions
Strangely Familiar
At first glance, the Fogo Island Inn may look like some
modern art piece dropped in the middle of the wilderness. “Some people were less enthusiastic,” Joseph Kellner, the on-site architect, says of the design. “The thing
is, some of the material used, and the stilts and color
schemes, reference back to the way things are done on
the island. A lot of people say, ‘I would never have imagined it, but it does feel strangely familiar.’”
Great emphasis was placed on the materials used. The
siding is black spruce, just like every home on the island.
The stilts mimic the island’s homes and fishing stages—
sheds on the water’s edge for cleaning fish—which can’t
sit directly on the rocky shoreline. The quilts on every
bed were hand-made by the island’s quilting guild to look
like the old scrap quilts tucked away in every household’s
attic. Even the wallpaper was custom-designed to reference the local fishing culture.
There was one instance where the designers decided
to diverge from the local style: the painted floors. In most
Fogo homes, the antique floors are painted. “If you have
a wood floor that’s 100 years old, and you paint it, you
can still tell it’s a wood floor underneath,” Kellner says.
“However, once we put the paint on the [new] floor, it
kind of looked like linoleum.” For this reason, only a few
of the rooms have painted floors; the rest received the
same wax-oil finish as the public areas. “The idea is in
the future, if they want, the oil product can be sanded
out and painted over,” Kellner says. The wax-oil also
provides the matte finish and “green profile” the designers sought.
Pragmatic Style
The floors, like everything else in the inn, lie at this intersection of practicality and design while trying to stay true
to Shorefast’s dedication to the community. The design
team wanted local wood to support the local economy
but opted out of the vernacular spruce floors in favor of
Some of the wood floor in
the guest rooms are painted,
a common practice in Fogo
Island homes.
DesignOptions
Project Details
Architect: Saunders Architecture (Bergen, Norway)
General Contractor: Shorefast Foundation (Joe Batt’s Arm, Newfoundland)
Flooring Manufacturer: Forest Floors (Stephanville, Newfoundland)
Finish Manufacturer: Osmo North America (Seattle)
For more photos of the Fogo Island Inn, see www.
hardwoodfloorsmag.com/FogoDJ14.
Iwan Baant
something harder that could stand up to commercial
traffic. The common areas feature yellow birch, the hardest wood available in Newfoundland, milled by Forest
Floors of Stephanville, Newfoundland, but there wasn’t
enough of it to supply the entire inn.
“There was really only one sawmill that was willing to
organize getting all the wood we needed and mill it to
the sizes we wanted,” Kellner says. “Literally, they had to
go out, get the permit from the forestry department, cut
down the trees and mill them down.”
Because Forest Floors’ kiln could only dry so much
wood at a time, the supply of yellow birch was limited.
For this reason, the guest rooms have maple from Ontario rather than birch.
The style of the floors was also a combination of practicality and design. “The owners did not want to go with
an engineered product because it doesn’t feel and sound
the same as a hardwood, solid floor,” Kellner explained.
However, they also wanted in-floor heating. To optimize
the performance of solid wood with the radiant heating
system, the architects chose ¾-inch thick, quartersawn
wood laid in 60-, 90- and 120-mm widths throughout
the public areas. “Originally we wanted to use all wide
plank, but [the heating technicians] were concerned with
the expansion and contraction over time that they would
crack or cup,” Kellner says.
The maple floors in the guest rooms are all 2¼-inches
wide—a “more domestic scale.” The narrow boards and
more stable species also reduce the risk of failure.
Guests can open the floor-to-ceiling windows in
their rooms, but the architects aren’t too worried about
unstable conditions. In Kellner’s words, “You don’t want
the building to look brand new in X amount of years.”
The inn’s fresh air supply system does have a dehumidifying function, but the flooring is expected to stand up
to a little sea air.
In fact, the entire inn was built to stand up to wear
and tear. “Everything that was chosen was chosen for a
reason,” Kellner says. That reason? To be sure the building could continue to serve the people of Fogo Island
long into the future. ■
The architects chose yellow
birch for common areas
because it was the hardest
locally available wood.
ProductFocus
Unfinished Domestic
Wood Flooring
ON-SITE
OPPORTUNITY
W
hile there seems to be an endless variety of factory-finished
hardwood lines on the market now, nothing offers the design
potential of unfinished wood. Here, Hardwood Floors compiled a list of unfinished wood flooring products harvested in the U.S.
and Canada. Each company was limited to one listing. Flip through to
find the right domestic delicacy for your next project.
A.E. Sampson & Son Ltd.
Action Floor Systems
Allegheny Mountain
Hardwood Flooring
American Heart Pine
Appalachian Flooring LTD
Avant-Guard Inc.
Birch Creek Millwork Inc.
Carlisle Wide Plank Floors
wwwhardwoodfloorsmag.com
DaySpring Hardwood &
Moulding Inc
White Oak
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Walnut
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Red Oak
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Pine
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Maple
■
Hickory/Pecan
Stapled
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Cherry
Glued
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Faifer & Company Inc.
SPECIES
Birch
Nailed
INSTALLATION METHOD
■
Solid
Unfinished Domestic
Wood Flooring
Parquet
ProductFocus
Engineered
TYPE OF FLOORING
Elmwood Reclaimed
Timber
Beech
Czar Floors
Ash
Charles Peterson
Signature Wood Flooring
Floated
Carlton Hardwood
Flooring
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A.E. Sampson & Son Ltd. | www.aesampsonandson.com
A.E. Sampson & Son
Action Floor Systems LLC | www.actionfloors.com
Action Floors Premium Hard Maple
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Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring | www.hickmanwoods.com
Rift & Quarter Sawn
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American Heart Pine Corporation | www.americanheartpine.com
Lincoln Domestic Southern Heart Pine
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Appalachian Flooring Ltd. | www.appalachianflooring.com
Appalachian Engineered Unfinished Flooring
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Appalachian Lumber Co. Inc. | www.appalachianlumber.net
Appalachian Lumber
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Avant-Guard Inc. | www.silhouetteflooring.com
Maplecan
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Birch Creek Millwork | www.texturewood.com
Texturewood
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Carlisle Wide Plank Floors | www.wideplankflooring.com
Carlisle Birch
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Carlton Hardwood Flooring | www.carltonhardwoodflooring.com
Mandalay Collection
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Charles Peterson Signature Wood Flooring LLC | www.charlespetersonflooring.com
Charles Peterson Signature Wood Flooring
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Czar Floors | www.czarfloors.com
3D Artistic Parquet
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DaySpring Hardwood & Moulding Inc. | www.dayspringinc.com
DaySpring
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Elmwood Reclaimed Timber | www.elmwoodreclaimedtimber.com
Old Growth Hardwoods
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Faifer & Company Inc. | www.mesquitefloors.com
Texas Mesquite T & G, Texas Mesquite End Grain
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Hardwoods of Wisconsin
⁄32, 1, 11⁄2
2-18
n/a
n/a
⁄32
11⁄2, 21⁄4, 31⁄4
n/a
n/a
■
⁄4
21⁄4-12
n/a
n/a
■
⁄8-3⁄4
21⁄4-87⁄8
multi
3-6
Domestic heart pine from Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.
⁄8
4, 5, 6
9
3-9
Random lengths from 1-7 feet; polyurethane-bonded lamella.
⁄2, 5⁄8, 3⁄4
11⁄2-8
n/a
n/a
⁄4
21⁄4, 31⁄4, 41⁄4, 5
11
3.2
⁄4
21⁄4-111⁄4
n/a
n/a
⁄8, 1⁄2, 3⁄4
4-10
11
19
⁄2
61⁄2
5
2
⁄8, 3⁄4, custom
4, 5, 6, custom
12
4.5
⁄16, 3⁄4
Varies
4
5
⁄8, 1⁄2, 3⁄4
21⁄4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
n/a
n/a
⁄2, 5⁄8, 3⁄4
2-12
n/a
n/a
⁄2, custom
21⁄4, 23⁄4, 33⁄4, 43⁄4, 61⁄4
n/a
n/a
Flooring
Thickness
(inches)
Wear Layer
Thickness
(mm)
Graf Bothers Flooring
Number
of Plies
FSC-Certified
Goodwin Heart Pine
Company
Garrison Collection, The
Widths
(inches)
Finewood Flooring &
Lumber Ltd.
⁄2, 3⁄8, 3⁄4,
Harris Wood Floors/
QEP Co. Inc.
Additional Comments
1
25
25
3
5
5
1
3
3
5
1
5
5
3
1
1
Red birch and wide eastern white pine flooring are a specialty.
■
MFMA first-grade, second-and-better grade and third-grade available; can
also select birdseye and edge-grain on request.
Hand-scraped, herringbone, wire-brushed, custom-grade options.
Custom hardwood flooring; hand and machine textures.
European oak; lightly wire-brushed and slice-cut to accentuate graining.
3D effect made using various wood species.
In-stock end-grain dimensions: 3 by 2, 3 by 3, 3 by 4, 3 by 5.
Howell Hardwood Flooring
White Oak
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Walnut
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Red Oak
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Pine
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Maple
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Hickory/Pecan
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Cherry
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Birch
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Floated
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LaCrosse Flooring
SPECIES
Ash
INSTALLATION METHOD
Stapled
Parquet
Unfinished Domestic
Wood Flooring
Solid
ProductFocus
Engineered
TYPE OF FLOORING
Jamie Beckwith Collection
Beech
HomerWood Hardwood
Flooring Company
Glued
Heister House
Millworks Inc.
Nailed
Hassell and Hughes
Lumber Co. Inc.
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Finewood Flooring & Lumber Ltd. | www.finewoodflooring.ca
Finewood Flooring
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Garrison Collection, The | www.thegarrisoncollection.com
Contractor’s Choice by Garrison
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Goodwin Heart Pine Company | www.heartpine.com
Goodwin Precision Engineered and Solid
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Graf Brothers Flooring | www.grafbro.com
Solid Collection/Gräfhaus Collection (engineered)
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Hardwoods of Wisconsin | www.hardwoodsofwisconsin.com
Multi Width Herringbone
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Harris Wood Floors/QEP Co. Inc. | www.harriswoodfloors.com
Harris Wood
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Hassell and Hughes Lumber Co. Inc. | www.hassellandhughes.com
Hassell and Hughes
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Heister House Millworks Inc. | www.hhmillworks.com
Heister House
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HomerWood Hardwood Flooring Company | www.homerwood.com
HomerWood Hardwood Flooring
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Howell Hardwood Flooring | www.howellflooring.com
Howell Hardwood Flooring
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Jamie Beckwith Collection | www.jamiebeckwithcollection.com
Mosaic
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LaCrosse Flooring | www.lacrosseflooring.com
LaCrosse Flooring by Westby Hardwood Products
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Launstein Hardwood Floors | www.launstein.com
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Louisville Wood Floors LLC | www.louisvillewoodfloors.com
Louisville
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Maine Traditions by Kennebec Lumber | www.mainetraditionsflooring.com
Maine Traditions Unfinished Solid Hardwood Floor
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Middle Tennessee Lumber
Company
Wear Layer
Thickness
(mm)
Mullican Flooring
Number
of Plies
FSC-Certified
Maine Traditions
by Kennebec Lumber
Widths
(inches)
Louisville Wood Floors LLC
Flooring
Thickness
(inches)
Launstein
Hardwood Floors
⁄4, 7⁄8, custom
21⁄4, 25⁄8, 31⁄4, 4, 5
n/a
n/a
⁄16, 5⁄8, 3⁄4
11⁄2-111⁄2
9
4-4.8
⁄8, 3⁄4, custom
21⁄2-9
9
4
⁄4, 5⁄8
21⁄4-111⁄2
9-11
4, 5, 6
⁄4
up to 12
n/a
n/a
⁄8, 1⁄2
3, 5
5
2, 2.5
⁄4
21⁄4, 3, 31⁄4, 4, 5
n/a
n/a
⁄4
11⁄2-111⁄4
n/a
n/a
⁄8, 3⁄4
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
9
4
⁄8, 1⁄2, 5⁄8
21⁄4-7
3, 5
2.5, 3.3,
4.2
⁄4
31⁄2
n/a
n/a
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Pieces are 3½ inches square.
⁄4
21⁄4-8
n/a
n/a
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Coordinating transition moldings also available.
⁄16, 3⁄4
4, 5, 6, 7, 111⁄2
3
4.7
Three-layer quartersawn wide plank.
⁄4-10
10
4.7
Flooring with custom specs available.
21⁄4, 31⁄4, 4, 5
n/a
n/a
3
9
5
3
3
3
3
3
5
3
3
3
9
⁄8, 5⁄8, 3⁄4
3
⁄4
3
3
Muscanell
Millworks Inc.
Additional Comments
FSC available upon request; trims, moldings, stair treads, risers, skirts to
match.
FSC-certified material available upon request.
Hand-crafted to fit clients’ needs.
■
Made in the U.S.
Custom thicknesses and widths available; end matching up to 9¼ inches
wide.
Character and Prime flooring styles; rift and quartered oak available.
American manufacturer since 1946.
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Featuring TEMAVI tongue and groove for ease of installation, reduced
sanding, and stable, quiet floors, the company says.
Owens Flooring
by Quanex
Preverco Inc.
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Beech
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White Oak
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Walnut
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Red Oak
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Cherry
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Birch
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Stapled
■
Glued
■
Nailed
Maple
SPECIES
Hickory/Pecan
INSTALLATION METHOD
■
Solid
Unfinished Domestic
Wood Flooring
Parquet
ProductFocus
Engineered
TYPE OF FLOORING
PG Hardwood Flooring
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Pine
Oshkosh Designs
Ash
Olde Wood Ltd.
Floated
North Wood Flooring
Middle Tennessee Lumber Company | www.midtnlumber.com
Walking Horse Plank
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Mullican Flooring | www.mullicanflooring.com
Mullican Flooring
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Muscanell Millworks Inc. | www.muscanell.com
Muscanell Millworks
North Wood Flooring | www.northwoodflooring.net
North Wood Collection
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Olde Wood Ltd. | www.oldewoodltd.com
Old Groth Wide Plank
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Oshkosh Designs | www.oshkoshdesigns.com
Oshkosh Designs Parquet
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Owens Flooring by Quanex Building Products | www.owens-flooring.com
Plankfloor
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PG Hardwood Flooring | www.pgmodel.com
PG Hardwood Flooring
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Preverco Inc. | www.preverco.com
PreOil White Oak
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Rehmeyer Wood Floors | www.rehmeyerfloors.com
Rehmeyer Custom Wood Floors
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Shamrock Plank Flooring | www.shamrockplankflooring.com
Shamrock Unfinished Environeered Hardwood Floors
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Sheoga Hardwood Flooring | www.sheogaflooring.com
Sheoga Unfinished Collection
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Somerset Hardwood Flooring | www.somersetfloors.com
Somerset
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Southern Wood Floors | www.southernwoodfloors.com
Domestic Southern Heart Pine
SouthFloor | www.southfloor.com
Preferred Southern Heart Pine
Somerset
Hardwood Flooring
Southern Wood Floors
Wear Layer
Thickness
(mm)
Sitcks & Stones Dist. Inc.
Number
of Plies
FSC-Certified
Sheoga Hardwood Flooring
Widths
(inches)
Shamrock Plank Flooring
Flooring
Thickness
(inches)
Rehmeyer Wood Floors
⁄4
21⁄4, 3, 31⁄4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
n/a
n/a
⁄4, 1⁄2, 3⁄8
21⁄4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
5
2
⁄4
21⁄4-10
n/a
n/a
⁄4
11⁄2, 21⁄4, 31⁄4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9
n/a
n/a
⁄8, 1⁄2, 3⁄4, 5⁄8
3-12
9
4
⁄16-3⁄4
Varies
n/a
n/a
⁄2, 5⁄8, 3⁄4
21⁄4, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
9
4.5
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FSC available upon request; other species available; made in the U.S.
⁄4, 11⁄32
13⁄4, 2, 21⁄4, 21⁄2, 31⁄4, 41⁄4
n/a
n/a
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Available in different grades; square edge.
⁄4
7
12
4
⁄4
3-10
11
4.8
⁄8
3, 31⁄4, 5
9
4
⁄4
21⁄4, 31⁄4, 41⁄4, 51⁄4, 61⁄4+
n/a
n/a
⁄2, 3⁄4
21⁄4, 31⁄4, 4, 5, 6, 7
7
3
⁄2-3⁄4
21⁄4-87⁄8
Varies
3-6
Southern heart pine in a wide range of grades.
⁄2-3⁄4
21⁄4-87⁄8
Varies
3-6
Solid and engineered heart pine from the heart of the South.
3
3
3
3
3
5
1
3
3
3
5
3
1
1
1
Additional Comments
Madrone, Tanoak, special textures, stair parts.
Available in custom finishes, rough-sawn or smooth surfaces.
Species, grid size of entire line is completely customizable.
Offers custom tung oil finish.
FSC available upon request; CARB II compliant engineered; also available
in solid.
■
FSC available upon request.
Timeless Home and
Garden Inc.
Pine
Red Oak
Walnut
White Oak
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Maple
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Hickory/Pecan
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Cherry
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■
■
■
■
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■
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■
■
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Birch
Glued
■
SPECIES
Beech
Nailed
INSTALLATION METHOD
Parquet
Unfinished Domestic
Wood Flooring
Solid
ProductFocus
Engineered
TYPE OF FLOORING
Triton International
Woods LLC
Tiny Timbers
Ash
Thomas Schrunk Flooring
Floated
Sun Mountain Inc.
Stapled
SouthFloor
Sticks & Stones Dist. Inc. | www.sticksandstonesdist.com
Shaver Hardwood Flooring
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Sun Mountain Inc. | www.sunmountaindoor.com
Sun Mountain Wide Plank Hardwood Flooring
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Thomas Schrunk Flooring | www.thomasschrunk.com
Flow Pattern Parquet
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Timeless Home and Garden Inc. | www.timelesshomeandgarden.com
Timeless American Classics
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Tiny Timbers | www.tinytimbers.com
Tiny Timbers
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Top Grade Floors | www.topgradefloors.com
Top Grade Floors
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Triton International Woods LLC | www.tritonwoods.com
Triton International Woods
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Trout River Lumber LLC | www.troutriverlumber.com
Greenleaf
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Turman Hardwood Flooring | www.turmanhardwoodflooring.com
Turman Hardwood Flooring
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Virtu Wood Flooring | www.virtufloors.com
Virtu Wood Flooring
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WD Flooring | www.wdflooring.com
WD Flooring
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Weaber Hardwood Flooring | www.weaberlumber.com
Weaber Hardwood Flooring
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West Wind Hardwood Inc. | www.westwindhardwood.com
Douglas-fir Flooring
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Wear Layer
Thickness
(mm)
⁄2, 3⁄4
21⁄4-12
n/a
n/a
⁄4
3-8
11
3
⁄4, custom
6, custom
n/a
n/a
⁄2, 9⁄16, 3⁄4
2-12
7
2,3,4
⁄4, 3⁄8-31⁄2
3-8 random
n/a
n/a
Custom
Custom
Custom
Custom
⁄2-2
3-15
2-7
3-6
⁄8
21⁄4-8
9
4
⁄4
21⁄4, 31⁄4, 41⁄4
n/a
n/a
⁄4
4-12
3
4
⁄32, 5⁄8, 3⁄4
21⁄4, 3, 31⁄4, 4, 41⁄4, 5, 6, 7
9
4.4
⁄4
21⁄4, 3, 31⁄4, 4, 41⁄4, 5, 6, 7
n/a
n/a
⁄4
21⁄4, 31⁄4, 41⁄4, 51⁄4, 71⁄4
10
3
1
3
1
1
3
1
5
3
3
25
3
3
FSC-Certified
Number
of Plies
Virtu Wood Flooring
Widths
(inches)
Turman Hardwood Flooring
Flooring
Thickness
(inches)
Trout River Lumber LLC
Weaber
Hardwood Flooring
WD Flooring
West Wind
Hardwood Inc.
Additional Comments
Also available: stair parts, herringbone, wire-brushed, handscraped.
■
The design is custom for each room; the entry can flow into the vestibule,
the hall or other rooms; formal symmetry or abstract.
Several grades, hand-scraped, and custom specs also available.
■
Offering custom flooring.
■
Not all species FSC-certified.
True balanced construction custom wide plank flooring.
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Family-run custom wood business specializing in Douglas fir flooring.
TECHNICAL
EDUCATION
New training. New locations.
All that’s missing is you.
REGISTER NOW
NWFA has training events scheduled in more than 20 states and Canada.
Enhance your skills and participate in technical training close to home.
Earn NWFA degree credits and NWFACP continuing certification units.
Certification testing and scholarships are also available.
2014 EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS
◆ Jobsite Preparation & Testing
For more information and to register, contact NWFA at
800.422.4556 or visit www.nwfa.org.
◆ Moisture Mitigation & Water/Wood
◆ Problems, Causes & Cures
◆ Limiting Your Liability (Who’s Responsible?)
◆ Estimating/Job Costing
◆ Wood Floor Repairs
◆ Finish Application/Color
◆ Machine Maintenance
◆ EPA Lead Safe Renovators Course
◆ Wood Floor Sales
Toronto, Canada
Minneapolis, MN
Boise, ID
Stoughton, MA
Grand Rapids, MI
Chicago, IL
San Jose,
e, CA
CA
Reno, NV
Salt Lake City, UT
Riverdale, NJ
Conshohocken, PA
◆ Principles of Wood Flooring
◆ Intermediate Installation
◆ Intermediate Sand & Finish
◆ Advanced Installation
Denver, CO
St. Louis, MO
Richmond, VA
◆ Advanced Sand & Finish
◆ Master Craftsman Training
Las Vegas, NV
◆ NWFACP Certification Training & Testing
Nashville, TN
Los Angeles, CA
Albuquerque, NM
Tulsa, OK
Marietta, GA
◆ NWFACP Inspector Workshops
◆ NWFACP Inspector Training & Testing
SEE FULL DESCRIPTIONS AT WWW.NWFA.ORG.
Houston, TX
Micanopy, FL
New Orleans, LA
THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES FOR HOSTING TRAINING IN 2014: A & A Flooring Supplies Inc.
◆ All Things Flooring ◆ BPI
(Building Plastics Inc.) ◆ Chattahoochee Technical College ◆ Crescent Hardwood Supply ◆ Denver Hardwood Company ◆
E.J. Welch Company ◆ E.T. Moore Manufacturing Inc. ◆ Energyst Solutions ◆ Floors Northwest Inc. ◆ Galleher Hardwood
Co. ◆ Goodwin Heart Pine Company ◆ Intermountain Wood Flooring ◆ Kimbrough-Carpenter Inc. ◆ KO Floor Supply ◆
The Master’s Craft ◆ Philadelphia Floor Store Inc. ◆ R&R Hardwood Inc. ◆ Rode Bros. Floors ◆ Trinity Hardwood Dist. Inc.
◆ Virginia Hardwood Co. ◆ Wood Pro Inc.
www.nwfa.org | 800.422.4556
Surfaces Showcase
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Flickr | Justin Brown
Roll with
the Best
RE YOU READY FOR SURFACES? Coming
up January 28-30, 2014, at the Mandalay Bay
Convention Center in Las Vegas, Surfaces attracts flooring companies from all over the
world. To prepare, check out the products
these companies—all advertisers in this issue—are showing off on the Strip.
e
Also, make sure your first stop at the show is the
oth
National Wood Flooring Association pavilion (Booth
B3453), where NWFA and Hardwood Floors will
again be located together with a group of exhibit-ing NWFA members. At the pavilion, you can pick
up the HF Pocket Guide—your essential guide to
the wood flooring industry at Surfaces—which
includes a listing of all NWFA-member exhibitors and a color-coded fold-out map highlighting
members, making navigating the two levels of
massive show floor a whole lot easier.
For your iPad.
Surfaces Showcase
Lignomat USA Ltd.
Delmhorst Instrument Co.
Booth B3134
Delmhorst Instrument Co. is featuring TechScan,
its latest pinless moisture meter, at Surfaces.
Flooring professionals visiting Delmhorst’s booth
will see the company’s full array of products and
can preview ProScan, a digital pinless moisture
meter due to be released early 2014. These new
models give flooring professionals a choice in
pinless moisture meters.
Booth B2533
Lignomat’s moisture meters cover all applications of measuring moisture and humidity
for the wood floor installer and inspector, the
company says. The VersaPak provides pinless
concrete measuring and in-situ RH probes for
measuring subfloors and hardwood and bamboo
floors in pin, pinless or specialty dual-depth
pinless mode. VPak gives a choice of accessories
for easy measuring for installers and inspectors.
www.lignomat.com
www.delmhorst.com
MAPEI Corp.
Booth B3855
A layer of 100 percent-solids Ultrabond ECO 995
moisture-control and wood flooring adhesive
corrects a subfloor’s high MVER and provides
superior bond in one step, MAPEI Corp. says.
This easy-to-apply adhesive comes with a clipon trowel that helps installers create a solid,
void-free layer of adhesive that functions as a
vapor reduction membrane. Low in odor and VOC
content, LEED-compliant Ultrabond ECO 995 uses
rapidly renewable raw materials.
www.mapei.com
National Hardwood
Flooring & Moulding
Booth B3071
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding’s “The
French Collection” hand-scraped engineered oak
flooring line celebrates traditional hardwood
craftsmanship. Each plank is hand-scraped and
wire-brushed by hand, with its own unique design of cracks and knots. The French Collection
line is available prefinished in a variety of colors
and shades.
www.nationalhardwood.com
Surfaces Showcase
Premiere Finishing &
Coating LLC
Booth S7727
National Wood Flooring
Association
Booth B3453
The NWFA is the wood flooring professional’s
one-stop resource for technical publications,
training opportunities, networking events,
professional recognition and certification programs. Visitors to this booth can find out what
the NWFA can do to advance careers and impact
companies’ bottom lines.
Premiere Finishing says its EcoGrain flooring is an eco-friendly alternative to imported
hardwoods. The company uses a proven “wood
grain-enhanced finishing” technology to
transform domestic hardwoods into exotics.
The company says that, compared with exotic
flooring, domestically made EcoGrain offers
better color and grain consistency and less photosensitivity, adding that it also has the most
scratch-resistant surface available today.
www.ecograin.net
www.nwfa.org
Shamrock Plank
Flooring
Booth S7507
Shamrock Plank Flooring proudly offers the
Rancho Madera Collection. The collection
features hand-scraped, hand-sculpted and
wire-brushed flooring in 10 colors and textures
in hickory, maple, walnut and white oak.
Shamrock’s products are made in the U.S. by
American craftsmen for American craftsmen.
http://shamrockplankflooring.com/
PRESENTING...
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`V\YWYVÄ[Z`V\YM\[\YL
;OL0U[LYUH[PVUHS:\YMHJL,]LU[¶we’ve got you covered!
Registration is now open. Register online
using promo code G27 for your chance to
EXHIBITS: JANUARY 28-30, 2014
EDUCATION: JANUARY 27-30, 2014
WIN $1,000*
Mandalay Bay Convention Center | LAS VEGAS
*Contest rules at www.SURFACES.com
Stay Connected:
Official SURFACES Sponsor:
Official StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas Sponsors:
American Monument Association
Canadian Stone Association
Elberton Granite Association
Indiana Limestone Institute
National Building Granite Quarries Association
Northwest Granite Manufacturers Association
Official StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas Endorsers:
2014
Surfaces Showcase
Somerset Hardwood
Flooring
Booth S5701
Somerset’s new SolidPlus engineered hardwood
flooring combines the beauty of solid Appalachian hardwoods with added benefits of
installation versatility, dimensional stability and
eco-sensibility, the company says, adding that
the 3-mm solid-sawn hardwood wear layer is
equal to its 3⁄4-inch solid flooring in appearance, grade and quality. Somerset’s products
are made in the U.S.
Sheoga Hardwood
Flooring
www.somersetfloors.com
Stauf USA LLC
Booth B4427
Sheoga Hardwood Flooring is showcasing its
precisely-milled 3⁄4-inch solid hardwood flooring
in the NWFA Pavilion. Sheoga now offers 3⁄4-inch
engineered flooring to complement its solid
flooring selections. With its expanded facilities,
the company is looking for new distributors in
the U.S. and overseas.
Stauf’s Power Mastic PUM-950, now with
moisture control, is a patented isocyanate-free
moisture-cured urethane. While obtaining a
high shear strength, it is still easily removed
from the finished surface of hardwood flooring.
It can also be used as a moisture mitigation
system when used with Stauf’s No. 12 trowel.
Moisture mitigation of up to 10 pounds or 88
percent RH can be achieved with one pass of
the trowel.
www.sheogaflooring.com
www.staufusa.com
Booth B3439B
Sign up for the
semiweekly
HF E-News at:
hardwoodfloorsmag.com/
enews
also stayy connected with us on
Surfaces Showcase
Wagner Meters
Booth B3366
Wagner’s DataMaster is a smartphone-sized,
wireless handheld device that, when used in
conjunction with its Rapid RH BT Reader and the
Rapid RH 4.0 EX Smart Sensor, allows the user
to acquire the internal relative humidity and
temperature of a concrete slab via Bluetooth
technology. Then the user can upload the data
to www.f2170reports.com.
www.wagnermeters.com
Tramex Ltd.
Booth B2406
Moisture content and relative humidity testing
of concrete floor slabs and screeds to comply
with ASTM F2170, F2420 and F2659 is made fast
and accurate with the Tramex CMEXpert II and
Hygro-i Probes, the most advanced, resilient
and reusable RH probes and digital moisture
meter, the company says.
www.tramexltd.com
Yingyi Nature (Kushan)
Wood Industry Co. Ltd.
Booth 5879
Nature Wood Industries’ FSC-certified solid
cumaru from its World of Exotics Collection is
3
⁄4 inches thick and 5 inches wide and comes in
Natural, Cappuccino, Espresso and Rosewood.
Nature Wood’s flooring is sustainably produced
at its FSC-certified universal flooring factory
in Peru.
www.nature-flooring.com
presented by:
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding
14959 Delano St, • Van Nuys, CA 91411 • Toll Free: 800-848-5556
www.nationalhardwood.com
The French Collection Hand-Scraped Engineered Oak Flooring celebrates a centuries-old tradition of hardwood craftsmanship.
Each plank is hand-scraped and wire brushed by hand, with its own unique design of cracks and knots, creating a look that is
ERWKFODVVLFDQGVRSKLVWLFDWHG7KH)UHQFK&ROOHFWLRQOLQHLVDYDLODEOHSUH¿QLVKHGLQDYDULHW\RIFRORUVDQGVKDGHV
New Products
1 Urban Floor introduces its random-width Royal Court series. The
⁄8-inch-thick prefinished boards come in six colors with a handscraped finish. Boards are 3, 5 and 6½ inches wide. The flooring
can be glued, floated, nailed or stapled.
www.urbanfloor.com
3
2
Shamrock Plank Flooring’s Heritage Collection of prefinished
flooring comes in both solid and ½-inch engineered with a 3-mm
wear layer. The line features colors in hickory, maple, red oak and
walnut. The Heritage collection is made in the U.S.
www.shamrockplankflooring.com
1
3
2
Ardex Americas introduces Ardex K 60 Arditex, a twocomponent, self-smoothing, trowelable, latex leveling compound.
The company says it requires no added water, mechanical profiling
or priming, and it offers excellent adhesion, flexibility and moisture
resistance.
www.ardexamericas.com
4
Johnson Hardwood has expanded its engineered flooring
offerings with the Pacific Coast series of 6½-inch-wide hickory,
smooth maple and birch prefinished products. All Johnson floor
products are CARB II and Lacey Act compliant. Pictured is Pacific
Coast Maple in Ashland.
www.johnsonhardwood.com
3
5
4
Leitz Tooling Systems’ HeliPlan planer heads for moulders,
planers and planer sanders use 15-mm-by-15-mm radius-faced turn
blades, which are secured to the head in a way that minimizes lines
in the work piece. The knife design allows operators to change
only knives that become damaged or dull. The helical design yields
operates with lower horsepower and minimal noise levels, the
company says.
www.leitztooling.com
6
Pro-Coat’s newest eco-friendly additive, Nano-Wear, is the
first site-applied nano-aluminum oxide additive for water-based
coatings, paints, and sealers, the company says. Nano-Wear is a
blend of aluminum oxide (AL2O3) nano-particulates for top-coat
applications. This technology adds unmatched wear- and scratchresistance to any water-based product, no matter the brand,
according to Pro-Coat.
www.procoatinc.com
5
6
7
7
MP Global Products introduces QuietWarmth Film, a radiant
heat system designed for floating wood floors. QuietWarmth installs
over a subfloor or acoustic underlayment. The roll-out line-voltage
system features gradual supplemental warmth from low-wattageresistance heating of ultra-thin, flexible radiant heat film, using just
6 watts per square foot.
www.quietwalk.com
New Products
8
A Cut Above Innovation’s Grainstamping Nail Sets stamp a grain
shape while setting the finish nail and leaves a puttied natural grain
shape to hide where finish nails were used. The nail sets come in a
package of three: 1⁄8 inch, 1⁄16 inch and 1⁄32 inch.
www.acutaboveinnovation.com
8
9
Senco has updated its PC1010 compressor, increasing its
operating pressure to 135 PSI. The improved unit also features an
integrated control panel, a roll cage, high-visibility gauges, easyaccess couplers and nonskid rubber feet. The 14-by-12¼-inch unit
weighs 21 pounds and produces only 68 decibels.
www.senco.com
10 Dri-Eaz’s Velo airmover propels a strong current of air directly
through the outlet, ensuring fast, consistent drying across walls and
floors. The Velo is narrow and weighs only 21 lbs. The Velo is built
in Burlington, Wash., and features a low amp draw of only 1.9 amps
and two onboard GFCI-protected outlets for daisy-chaining.
www.velo.drieaz.com
9
10
11
Armstrong Floor Products introduces its Midtown Collection
of engineered flooring, featuring 5-inch-wide oak, maple and walnut
planks with a low gloss. Retailers can choose from eight stocked
contemporary designer colors plus a limitless number of custom
options, including a variety of species, colors, textures and finishes to
create a custom floor that complements any design project.
www.armstrong.com
11
12 Bioformix Inc. introduces Nexabond 2500 Instant Wood
Adhesive, a water- and solvent-free quick-drying wood glue.
Nexabond 2500 accepts most stains and finishes and bonds
regardless of humidity and temperature, the company says, adding
it has the speed and versatility of super glue with the strength of
traditional wood glue.
www.bioformix.com
13 Bolefloor introduces Curv8, a modular natural-curved wood
flooring. Eight-plank modules, covering 2.8 square meters, are
packaged in separate cartons with installation instructions. Curv8 is
available in ½-inch engineered with a 3-mm wear layer of German
oak. Finish options include unfinished, lacquer and natural, and light,
grey or brown oil wax.
www.bolefloor.com
12
13
14
PG Hardwood Flooring has added pre-oiled, UV-cured products
to its range, including Hope, an electric-blue color in solid and
engineered maple flooring. The solid product is 4¼ inches wide and
FSC-certified, and the engineered version is 53⁄16 inches wide.
www.pgmodel.com
14
AdIndex
Connect with HF
and these
advertisers 24/7.
Get all the information
you need at your fingertips at:
hardwoodfloorsmag.com
Stay
connected
with HF:
Online. Anytime. Anywhere.
Quickly locate an advertiser in this issue using the list below:
3M
www.3M.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Appalachian Lumber Co. Inc.
www.appalachianlumber.net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Basic Coatings
www.basiccoatings.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Bostik Inc.
www.bostik-us.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Clarke American Sanders
www.americansanders.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
D & M Flooring
www.dm-flooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Delmhorst Instrument Co.
www.delmhorst.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
DuraSeal
www.duraseal.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Elegance Exotic Wood Flooring
www.elegancewoodflooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Garrison Collection, The
www.thegarrisoncollection.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11
Lignomat USA Ltd.
www.lignomat.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
MAPEI Corp.
www.mapei.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Maxwell Hardwood Flooring
www.maxwellhardwoodflooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Mercer Abrasives div. of Mercer Tool Corp.
www.mercerabrasives.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Mirage/Boa-Franc
www.miragefloors.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Mullican Flooring
www.mullicanflooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
National Hardwood Flooring & Moulding
www.nationalhardwood.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Nature Flooring Industries Inc.
www.nature-flooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Norton Abrasives
www.nortonfloorsanding.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
NWFA
www.nwfa.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62, 69
Olde Wood Ltd.
www.oldewoodltd.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Oneida Air Systems Inc.
www.oneidavac.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Premiere Finishing & Coating LLC
www.prefinishfloors.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Primatech Inc.
www.primatech.ca. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Rust-Oleum Corporation
www.rustoleum.com/nanoshield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Shamrock Plank Flooring
www.shamrockplankflooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Sheoga Hardwood Flooring & Paneling Inc.
www.sheogaflooring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Somerset Wood Products Inc.
www.somersetfloors.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Stauf USA LLC
www.staufusa.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
SuperMax Tools
www.supermaxtools.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Surfaces
www.surfaces.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Tramex Ltd.
www.tramexltd.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Wagner Meters
www.wagnermeters.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Woodwise/Design Hardwood Products
www.woodwise.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
American
ENGINEERED HARDWOOD
HILLSHIRE
LINCOLNSHIRE
PONTE VEDRA
SAN MARCO
Since 1985, Mullican Flooring has taken great pride in
offering the highest quality Hardwood Flooring in the
world. As a privately held American company, we are
big enough to handle all your Hardwood Flooring needs,
with no committees, no focus groups, and no corporate
red tape to hinder our decision making process; we are
quick and nimble enough to provide Real-Time Service
in your Real-Time World. And now we are proud to offer
this New Collection of four American-made 3/8-inch
Engineered Hardwood Floors.
Hillshire provides a versatile array of colors to suit
any taste, while Lincolnshire offers a beautiful selection
of Hand Sculpted colors. Ponte Vedra is America’s first
domestically-produced Engineered Hardwood Floor to
feature 6-inch widths, and San Marco offers 6-foot
lengths in a wide variety of Hand-Sculpted selections.
With four state-of-the-art U.S. Manufacturing Facilities,
Mullican Flooring is committed to the production of the
finest American-made Hardwood Floors that are perfect
for any setting, any climate and any dream.
®
MADE IN
THE USA
www.mullicanflooring.com 1-800-844-6356

December 2013|January 2014

Transcription

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