Hardwood Floors August/September 2018

TECH TALK

with

Michael Dittmer

Jason Elquest

Lenny Hall

What Are Some of the Wood Flooring Opportunities You See in Your Region Related to Sustainability & Health?

recent restoration revealed some metal slip tongue, in the end, matching in the 3/8” red oak ooring. Finishes are chosen by the client/ suggested by me that will best maintain the longevity of the oors. Most clients rely on our expertise as to which path is the best so the oors will be able to withstand another 100 years of use for We have quite a few customers in search of a way to get rid of their carpet and make their homes healthier. We have a lot of dust in Arizona. Surprise, right? Carpet + dust = allergies. Many times the search for cleaner, more environmentally friendly oors ends with wood, and we are happy to oblige. percent VOC adhesives and 0 percent VOC nishes, they get very excited. ese were not even an option just a few short years ago. eir new oors will be healthier for them and the environment; it’s a win-win situation! LENNY HALL Here in Florida, we only buy from companies that promote sustainability and stewardship for our planet’s resources, and in turn, demand the the next generation. JASON ELQUEST When we start explaining to our customers that we can also use 0

same from their lumber/wood oor manufacturers. Our challenge locally is the great in uence of the many South American importers that see the U.S. economy as a prime target to drop product into the pipeline directly to consumers, product that may have come from non-FSC or sustained growth programs in the country of origin. For a time, Honduran mahogany was not available due to illegal logging in South America. Now there is a shi in the original species of Santos mahogany called Cabreuva from Brazil. e current Santos mahogany is coming in from Peru and looks distinctly di erent from the Brazil variety. I still cannot get a straight answer as to why Cabreuva is not leaving Brazil, but I would suspect non-compliance with proper forestry laws in Brazil is the reason.

MICHAEL DITTMER In Illinois, where my business is located, there are a number of historic buildings and residences. Clients will go to great lengths to restore the original oors to their most usable condition. Recently, we restored a maple oor from the 1890s that had never been sanded. e client removed two layers of tile and underlayment, and removed more than 13,000 nails and staples.

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We removed a few hundred more and set the same, so we could sand and re nish them to rave reviews. Salvaged maple from a decommissioned gym was used for some repairs. Saving old oors in these buildings is a priority for folks because they are saving the historic signi cance of them to their structures. We actively seek out locally reclaimed material to ensure we achieve a match not possible with newmaterial. One

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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