Hardwood Floors August/September 2019

Showing consumers why it’s important to use a professional to install or do work on their wood flooring is one of the goals of the NWFA’s “Real Wood. Real Life.” campaign. Resources are available to help members tell that story, including the Homeowner’s Handbook to Real Wood Floors, digital ads, trade and home show signage, social media posts, key messages, and FAQs. All of these materials are part of the campaign’s marketing toolkit and may be downloaded for free by visiting nwfa.org/consumer-outreach.aspx. Information about using a pro is directly available to consumers on WoodFloors.Org, including a search feature to help them find an NWFA professional in their area. Installers, sand and finishers, retailers, and inspectors can all be found there. The “Real Wood. Real Life.” campaign materials and WoodFloors.Org also share guidance for homeowners on how to choose the right wood floor and conduct maintenance properly, while going into detail about the characteristics and benefits of real wood floors. The NWFA is asking its members to continue spreading the word about the benefits of real wood. Following are some examples of the different ways the marketing toolkit materials have been used.

According to a survey done by ImproveNet, Americans ranked refinishing a hardwood floor and installing a hardwood floor in the top 10 “most regretted” DIY home improvement projects. More than 50 percent took on the work themselves to save money, but stated that the projects ended up taking longer than expected and being physically harder than expected.The results also found that people spend an average of six hours researching “how to” andmore than half of respondents used YouTube or a home improvement website for guidance. Porch recently surveyed more than 1,000 people about their experiences with home improvements ranging from flooring installation to electrical wiring to painting. The research showed that mistakes made during a DIY flooring installation added an average of nearly 14 hours to the project; that’s more working hours than any of the other kinds of projects. Time is money, and on average, those mistakes also cost DIYers more than $800 to fix the floor. And it’s not just homeowners either. “A contractor said he needed help with the top coat on a few spots on the floor. When I got there, what I sawwas scary.The original finish was still there in places, there were drum and edger marks everywhere, and there was somuch debris in the coating that it looked like a popcorn ceiling on the floor,” said Jared Fitzgerald, owner of SouthernOaks Flooring inNashville. “The contractor had been doing some painting and sheetrock work at the customer’s house and despite not being trained on wood floors, he took on a complete sand and refinish. It’s a lot cheaper to hire the right person the first time than to have to fix it later on.” Fitzgerald notes that having NWFA certification for himself and his employees puts his customers at ease. “Whether the floors need a recoat, a complete sand and refinish, or a total new installation, it’s best for homeowners to use a professional who has the knowledge and skills to do the job right,” said BrettMiller, VP of Education and Certification for NWFA. “Installing wood floors is a lot more complicated than painting walls or replacing the hardware on cabinets. In the long run, homeowners will likely save time and money by using a professional instead of taking a DIY approach.”

Arimar International features the campaign logo and a link to download the Homeowner’s Handbook to Real Wood Floors on the homepage of its website.

the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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