Hardwood Floors December 2024/January 2025

Wood Stock

Carlos Mongalo, program director of the National Flooring Contractors Apprenticeship Program (NFCAP), is passionate about more than just filling job vacancies in the wood flooring industry. For him, it’s about building communities, nurturing young talent, and passing down skills to the next generation of flooring professionals. One recent project, however, took his dedication to a whole new level – a glow-in-the-dark flooring project that not only pushed creative boundaries, but also inspired his apprentices to dream big. The unique project, housed at the Treasure Island Job Corps Center in San Francisco, California, was part of a larger initiative to provide both students and the community with a functional and eye-catching recreational space. Originally, the client requested a simple flooring replacement for their recreational room, thinking along the lines of standard carpet. However, Mongalo had another vision in mind. “They asked us if we could replace the flooring in their recreational room and they were thinking of just using carpet,” Mongalo explains. “But I thought, why not take it up a notch and do something cool? I pitched them the idea of glow in-the-dark wood flooring, and they loved it!” Mongalo’s creative vision for the project wasn’t just about aesthetics. He saw an opportunity to engage his students in the process from start to finish, giving them hands-on experience in both creating and installing an innovative flooring solution. “The size of the area was about 3,000 square feet,” Mongalo says. “This space is specifically for recreational use, where students can play pool, ping pong, and just hang out after school. So, it needed to be something fun, but also durable.” The glow-in-the-dark flooring, branded under the Glowry Collection, used solid ash and engineered ash planks. “We used ash because it absorbs stain well and has this really cool grain effect after you sand it,” he notes. The flooring was treated with a fluorescent stain that glows in the dark when exposed to black light. “It’s a two-part effect,” Mongalo explains. “The LIGHTING THE WAY PHOTOS COURTESY OF CARLOS MONGALO | NATIONAL FLOORING CONTRACTORS APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM By Burt Bollinger

hardwood floors hardwoodfloorsmag.com

14