Hardwood Floors February/March 2024

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“I’ve had different guys come to our mill who are nationally known flooring professionals, and one point I make to them is that if you want to see a good floor, look at the back of it. Flip that board over, snap it together, and run a straight edge across the back. That’s because as straight as those boards are when you have them on your work table, that’s what will contact the floor. If it doesn’t fit down onto the subsurface well, that’s when you’ll get into squeaks and noises, and the floor will have to be glued down. When we build a floor, we always start from the back.”

“A good hardwood flooring inspector’s job is not to take sides. A good inspector’s job is to interpret information gathered through historical data, testing, measurements, manufacturer’s information, etc. I say this tongue-in-cheek, but a good inspector speaks a language most people don’t understand. We listen to the wood and everything that has to do with the installation and present the facts. To be able to stand behind your conclusion, you’ve got to put every piece of a puzzle back together again to draw a conclusion.”

– Steve Marley NWFA Wood Talk

A Conversation with Steve Marley – Johnson Premium Hardwood Flooring

– Hank Adams NWFA Wood Talk

A Conversation with Hank Adams, Director of Manufacturing for Bison Hardwood

“I want my peers out there to think about going ahead and hiring that new guy if we think that the economy will be coming back like

“I like to come in and defuse the situation. I let them show me the situation and get them relaxed. That takes a bit of time, as when you are walking in, you are in a bad scenario to begin with. As an inspector, you’re the guy that nobody wants to see, but you’re there to figure out what’s going on. I would say that, on average, an inspection will take between an hour and three hours, depending on what’s going on. Writing reports is then going to take several hours. Sometimes, the report writing will take longer than the actual inspection.”

we’re discussing. You can spend any extra downtime training them. Spend longer on a job and use it as a training opportunity. Don’t look at hiring them as a cost you cannot afford, but rather as an investment in that person being able to produce more in Q2 and Q3 of 2024, which will bring your money back. Your money is not really going away if this theory holds.” – Chris Zizza NWFA Real Answers A 2024 Hardwood Flooring Outlook with Elliot Eisenberg

– Billy Simmons NWFA Wood Talk A Conversation with Billy Simmons of ITAC International

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