Hardwood Floors February/March 2024

CONTENTS

Julie Russell | Chair Michael Martin | CEO Anita Howard | COO Brett Miller | VP, Technical Standards & Industry Partnerships Stephanie Owen | Executive Director, NERF NWFA LEADERSHIP

Industry Insights

16 Government Affairs Key federal initiatives

By Dana Lee Cole

impacting the hardwood industry. 20 Market Matters A slowdown without recession. 24 Design Trends Building strong relationships between flooring pros and designers.

By Santo Torcivia

PUBLICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Robert McNamara | Sheoga Hardwood Flooring Jason Elquest | Blackhawk Floors Inc. Lenny Hall | Endurance Floor Company Inc. Kevin Mullany | Benchmark Wood Floors Inc. Jim Schumacher

By Brittany Stout

Business Best Practices

Libby White Johnston | Publisher | libby.johnston@nwfa.org Burt Bollinger | Editor | burt.bollinger@nwfa.org Brett Miller | Technical Editor | brett.miller@nwfa.org Rhonda M. May | Creative Manager | rhonda.may@nwfa.org Amy Burris | Digital Manager | amy.burris@nwfa.org Bridget Norlie | Engagement Manager | bridget.norlie@nwfa.org PUBLICATION TEAM

28 Sales Savvy A sales lesson from

By Paul Reilly

the Show-Me State. 32 Marketing Ways to build a digital foundation.

By Todd Saunders

At the Site 56 Substrate Moisture Mastering moisture

14 Research Park Drive St. Charles, Missouri 63304 P : 800.422.4556 Local : 636.519.9663 F: 636.519.9664 E: news@hardwoodfloorsmag.com W: hardwoodfloorsmag.com

By Jeremy Waldorf

in your subfloors. 60 Subfloor Preparation Combatting high moisture for installations over wood substrates. 62 Hardwood Hints Touching up natural oil/

By Nick Mizzone

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Burt Bollinger Dana Lee Cole Jared Fitzgerald Libby White Johnston Michael Longshore Michael Martin

Brett Miller Nick Mizzone Kjell Nymark Paul Reilly Julie Russell

Todd Saunders Gary Scheidker Brittany Stout Santo Torcivia Jeremy Waldorf

By Jared Fitzgerald

hardwax oil finishes. 64 Tech Talk

Complex subfloor repairs. 70 Inspector’s Report The path to certification. 72 WFOY Winner Spotlight Best in Parquetry: Custom Floors Unlimited.

By Kjell Nymark

ADVERTISING SALES

By Burt Bollinger

Katie Schenk Advertising & Media Manager katie.schenk@nwfa.org | 636.736.5230

Product Focus

Hardwood Floors' subscription base is BPA audited. A BPA audit provides advertisers and agencies with assurance that what they choose to invest in does, in fact, reach target audiences for specific ads. The BPA Worldwide audit also helps media companies by documenting the quality of their audiences.

78 Adhesives, Subfloors, Underlayment

Also in this Issue

6 Chair’s Cut

By Julie Russell

Hardwood Floors (Print: ISSN 0897-022X and Online: ISSN 2475-5125) is published on a bi-monthly basis, plus the Annual Industry Guide, by the National Wood Flooring Association and distributed as a membership benefit to its member companies and without charge upon request to qualified individuals throughout the wood flooring industry. Single copy price is $8, annual Industry Guide is $50. Subscriptions: $40/year (includes 6 issues and Industry Guide) in the U.S. and Canada. Publication office: 14 Research Park Drive, St. Charles, MO 63304. Phone: 800.422.4556. Printing office: Walsworth, 306 N. Kansas Ave., Marceline, MO 64658. Printed in the U.S. Periodicals postage is paid at Chesterfield, MO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Hardwood Floors, P.O. Box 9147, Lowell, MA 01853. Copyright © 2024 by the National Wood Flooring Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

8 Business Briefs 10 Wood Stock

By Burt Bollinger

36 Special Content

By Libby White Johnston

Exit interview with Rick Holden. 69 Company Profile: Footprints Floors 82 New Products 84 Overheard on NWFA Podcasts 86 Wood Talk: Hank Adams 87 Ad Index

88 Final Coat: CEO’s Message

By Michael Martin