Hardwood Floors Oct/Nov 2019

OCT/NOV 2019

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

2020

INTERIOR CLIMATE CONSIDERATIONS ACCLIMATION BEST PRACTICES FOR END-GRAIN

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FEATURES

ON THE COVER

2020 Wood Flooring Industry Outlook Karen Garvey, Shannon Gayton, Lindsay Tallman, and Lindsay Young Construction and remodeling markets across the country remain strong, and NWFA members expect 2019’s robust market to continue into 2020. A sizeable majority who responded to the association’s annual outlook survey forecast that demand for wood flooring will increase in 2020. However, a greater number of respondents were pessimistic about the next year than in recent years’ surveys.

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Interior Climate Considerations for Wood Flooring By Brett Miller The wood floor selection must coincide with the interior climate capabilities of the facility in which it is to be installed. Across every region, wood floors can be installed successfully; however, all wood floors cannot be installed in the same manner in all climates.

Acclimation Best Practices for End-Grain By Brett Miller Because of this cut of flooring’s ability to move in all directions, it is very important to ensure the facility receiving end-grain flooring is capable of maintaining a consistent temperature and humidity throughout the year.

PUBLISHING PARTNERS

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CONTENTS

Industry Insights 16 Market Matters Wood flooring retail distribution channels.

Craig Dupra | Chairman Michael Martin | CEO Anita Howard | COO Brett Miller | VP, Education & Certification NWFA LEADERSHIP

By Stuart Hirschhorn

18 Government Affairs Transportation issues roll along.

By Dana Lee Cole

20 Designer Insights Do you have 2020 vision?

PUBLICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE Julie Russell, Chair & Board Liaison | Glitsa, a division of Rudd Company Brandi Copeland | Peachey Hardwood Floors Jason Elquest | Blackhawk Floors Inc. Lenny Hall | Endurance Floor Company Inc. Robert McNamara | Basic Coatings Kevin Mullany | Benchmark Wood Floors Inc. Jim Schumacher | 3M Mike Sundell Libby Johnston | Publisher| libby.johnston@nwfa.org Burt Bollinger | Editor | burt.bollinger@nwfa.org Brett Miller | Technical Editor | brett.miller@nwfa.org Nick Baker | Digital Editor | nick.baker@nwfa.org Katie Schenk | Media Production | katie.schenk@nwfa.org PUBLICATION TEAM 111 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd. Chesterfield, Missouri 63005 P : 800.422.4556 Local : 636.519.9663 F: 636.519.9664 E: news@hardwoodfloorsmag.com W: hardwoodfloorsmag.com

By Emily Morrow Finkell

Business Best Practices

24 Legal Tariffs and duties for multi-layered wood flooring.

By Jennifer Zimmerman

26 Sales Savvy How to thrive during the next recession.

By Paul Reilly

28 Finance 2019 mid-year economic outlook.

By Jonathan Benner

32 Technology Protect your business from cyber criminals.

By Stacy Brown

34 Marketing Why aren’t you using video? By Katrina Olson

At the Site 56 Sponsored Content The connection between cleaning, screening, and recoating. 68 Installation Nail-down method for installing engineered flooring over concrete.

By Swiffer

By Tony Morgan

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jonathan Benner Burt Bollinger Stacy Brown Dana Lee Cole Michael Dittmer Craig Dupra Emily Morrow Finkell Karen Garvey

72 Tech Talk Regional impact of By NWFA

Kjell Nymark Katrina Olson Paul Reilly Lindsay Tallman Lindsay Young Jennifer Zimmerman

Shannon Gayton Stuart Hirschhorn Libby White Johnston Michael Martin Brett Miller Tony Morgan David Williams

end-grain wood flooring. 74 Sponsored Content Embracing change.

Regional Instructors

By David Williams

76 Health & Safety Fight fatigue.

By Stacy Brown

78 WFOY Winner Spotlight Best Color & Finish: Diamond Wood Floors.

By Stacy Brown

ADVERTISING SALES

Product Focus 94 Borders/Inlays/Vents/ Moldings/Stair Parts 99 End-Grain Wood Flooring

Libby White Johnston Media & Advertising Sales libby.johnston@nwfa.org | 337.794.9232

Also in this Issue

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: 111 Chesterfield Industrial Blvd., Chesterfield, MO 63005. Phone: 800.422.4556. Printing office: Walsworth, 306 N. Kansas Ave., Marceline, MO 64658. Printed in the U.S.A. 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 © 2019 by the National Wood Flooring Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

6 Chairman’s Cut 8 Wood Stock 80 NWFA Resources 102 New Products 103 Ad Index 104 Final Coat: CEO’s Message

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CHAIRMAN’S CUT NWFA: YOUR GREATEST ROI

By Craig Dupra Chairman, NWFA

These items represent a return on investment of more than 45 times the value of the original investment. At a time when many businesses are evaluating every expense, it just makes sense to recognize the actual value that the NWFA brings to your company. Think about it…just one call to the NWFA’s technical hotline when you are facing a problem on the jobsite could save you thousands of dollars, not to mention your reputation. And one referral from your listing on the NWFA’s “Find a Professional” website could literally pay for your membership dues many times over. That’s an investment in your company you can’t afford to miss. Plus, this estimate doesn’t include other valuable benefits such as: themanufacturer coupon book for contractor members containing close to $8,000 in product savings; the NWFAU, where for only an additional $100, your entire company has access tomore than 150 courses; the newly launched apprenticeship program designed to help you address the growing labor shortage; and access to NWFA’s Technical Guidelines to name a few. So as you look ahead to 2020 and beyond, I encourage you to take full advantage of the benefits available to you through an NWFAmembership. It’s an investment you won’t regret. Contact the team at 800.422.4556 or visit nwfa.org today to learnmore.

This edition marks the third consecutive year we have presented an Industry Outlook in Hardwood Floors . The research shows that construction and remodeling markets across the country remain stable, and many NWFAmembers expect a similar sales trend into 2020. However, a higher number of respondents were pessimistic about the coming year than in recent years’ surveys. Nearly a quarter said they expected sales to be down, either somewhat or significantly in 2020 as compared to 2019. In 2018, just 9 percent said the same about 2019. There also are a lot of wild cards that could impact our economy and our industry in 2020. Could we be recession bound? What will be the impact of the 2020 election? Will competition from non-wood flooring continue to take market share? Yes, the future is uncertain, and while declines in consumer confidence and decreased sales threaten all businesses, there is a single investment you can make to help your business weather difficult times. Investing $475 for a one-year membership to the NWFA can get you back over $22,000 in real value. Now I would consider that a pretty good return on investment. Here are just a few of the valuable benefits you receive and their estimated values (as determined by our members) to help illustrate my point.

VALUABLE BENEFITS

• Opportunities for involvement and leadership: $200 • Access to NWFA office staff: $250 • Technical advisory staff through the NWFA Tech Hotline: $1,500 • Professional technical training opportunities (free monthly webinars, etc.): $300 • Peer referrals: $2,000 • Peer support and mentoring: $2,500 • NWFA certifications: $5,000 • NWFA logo use: $500 • Convention attendance discount: $150 • Web referrals through NWFA's "Find a Professional" feature: $1,000 • Networking opportunities: $5,000 • Access to the latest industry news and information to effectively run your business through Hardwood Floors magazine, weekly e-newsletter, and app: $1,250 • Unlimited free classified listings through HardwoodFloorsMag.com : $1,000 • Free listing in the Hardwood Floors magazine’s annual Industry Guide (print and online): $1,500

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Wood Stock

Rebuilding in PARADISE By Kjell Nymark

Dillon Moore, an NWFA Certified Sand and Finisher based in Chico, California, felt the impact firsthand and was compelled to do something for his community. Moore reached out to the NWFA to organize installation training in the area to aid in the rebuilding efforts. He wanted to offer an opportunity to retrain people who had lost their homes and jobs. Once the rebuild of Paradise begins, there will be a high demand for construction workers. Dillon wanted to ensure that when the flooring goes back into homes, they are installed by a trained workforce. The training was hosted by Carpet One in Chico withMoore, Avi Hadad, Roger Barker and me as instructors. The class was attended by some of Moore’s employees and a few other contractors. Materials were supplied byMaxwell Hardwood Flooring, Somerset Wood Products Inc., Fortifiber Building Systems Group, Titebond, and Loba-Wakol LLC. The three-day course dealt with common installation practices, borders, and patterned floor installation. On the last day of class, we took a trip out to Paradise so the visiting instructors could see the area. Traffic had to keep moving to accommodate all the machinery and dump trucks that were involved in the cleanup, so there were not many places to stop and get out. It didn’t matter where you drove around Paradise, just about every home was completely burned out. The area was very lush with lots of tall trees between each of the houses.

A campfire that broke out in November 2018 near the town of Paradise, California, turned out to be the deadliest wildfire in the United States in a century. The fire killed 86 people, destroyed more than 19,000 buildings, and tens of thousands of people were displaced. The cleanup is still ongoing, and it will take a long time to remove everything that was left behind from the evacuation.

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On the last day of class, we took a trip out to Paradise so the visiting instructors could see the area. Traffic had to keep moving to accommodate all the machinery and dump trucks that were involved in the cleanup, so there were not many places to stop and get out. It didn’t matter where you drove around Paradise, just about every home was completely burned out. The area was very lush with lots of tall trees between each of the houses. Surprisingly, not every house burned. There were neighborhoods that were completely burned out, but then you would see one house untouched, and you had to wonder 'how in the world did the one house survive?' It was eerie to see all the devastation because you realize that people lived in each one of these houses, and all the things they once owned are not salvageable. These people had to leave everything they had behind as there was no time to gather anything when the evacuation order came in. Each of the students that came with us to view the area had their own stories

Moore reached out to the NWFA to organize installation training in the area to aid in the rebuilding efforts. He wanted to offer an opportunity to retrain people who had lost their homes and jobs.

meant that traffic leaving Paradise was slower than the fire that was approaching them. Some people were not able to get out of the way in time. When speaking with some of the survivors, it became very clear that they have developed a whole new perspective. As heart-wrenching as it is to lose all of your possessions all at once, they feel lucky to have gotten out of the situation alive and look forward to rebuilding. DuringThe International Surface Event (TISE) 2019 in Las Vegas, NWFA member CalFlor launched the Camp Fire Recovery initiative to support their local community in the recovery efforts. They currently are in the process of seeking donations of both materials and labor for when the rebuilding process begins toward the end of the year. CalFlor’s efforts will focus on rebuilding nonprofits, schools, assisted living facilities, and special needs facilities. Anyone interested in donating or learning more can contact the CalFlor team at 888.277.FLOR or campfirehelp@cal-flor.com. g

of the events of that day. It’s impossible to imagine the level of stress these people had to go through in order to gather their loved ones and get out. The day of the fire, people got up and went through their usual routine. Some had already started working while others were dropping the kids off to school or still sleeping. The evacuation order came in at 8:00 amwhen the fire entered Paradise. The fire was fanned by 55MPHwinds and spread quickly. Once the evacuation order was announced, the focus was to try and get everyone out to safety. Kids who were dropped off at school had to be ushered into any available cars. The teachers would ask other parents if they could take children they knew, sorting out how to contact their parents to let them know they were safe. People were frantically trying to reach family members and friends to find out where they were and if they would be able to reach other friends and family members. Unfortunately, the number of people who had to get out all at once and the limited number of roads to get out,

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Wood

By Burt Bollinger bridging the gaps

CONTRACTOR CORNER

• Construction employment increased by 4,000 jobs in July and by 202,000, or 2.8 percent, during the past 12 months, while the number of unemployed jobseekers with construction experience rose, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. • Don Lewis, of Lewis Flooring in Hillsboro, Missouri, received a restored one-of-a-kind antique 1938 Dodge pickup truck as the grand prize winner of the Robert Consolidated Industries Inc. 80th Anniversary Giveaway Sweepstakes.

before, so I knew the sanding process; however, I had some concerns about filler. They don’t make Brazilian teak filler, and I didn’t know what I was going to use to get the stain to match,” explains Schmidt. “If I used the wrong type of filler, I could end up with racing stripes on the floor. I needed to ensure that the filler would take stain in the same way as the wood so that they would age well together.” Another concern of Schmidt was the naturally oily characteristics of Brazilian teak. After buffing, he would need to get the floor sealed as soon as possible so as not to have a reaction between the finish and the wood’s oils. “In addition to worrying about the stain, I was also very concerned about the gaps in the floor. Along the walls and around the vents, it had separated so bad that you could see the subfloor,” says Schmidt. The gaps in the floor were due to the fact the wood was likely improperly acclimated to the home, shrinking soon after installation, and also due to the original installer not installing the floor tightly enough. “My initial thought was to simply pull up six or seven rows along the wall where the gaps were the worst, and then reinstall,” says Schmidt. Unfortunately, pulling the boards and reinstalling turned out to be

When Dave Schmidt was called out to look at a floor in disrepair that the homeowner wanted to cover with LVP, he had no hint as to the journey he was about to embark. “Being a hardwood guy, I did not want to cover the existing floor, but I did agree to come out and take a look at it for the homeowner. I felt if we could save the floor, then it would add a lot of value to the home versus covering it with vinyl,” says Schmidt. I gave the homeowner a bid for LPV and another bid for repairing the existing hardwood floor. By the time materials and labor were factored in, the LPV floor would have actually been more expensive,” explains Schmidt. “I also told her that I had worked with realtor's in the area, and that I knew keeping the existing wood floor would be a huge positive if she ever decided to sell her home. When Schmidt first saw the gapped and cupped floor, he thought the material was perhaps cherry, but in reality, what he was looking at was Brazilian teak, also known as cumaru. “I immediately reached out to some of my friends at the NWFA to get advice on how to work with Brazilian teak. I had sanded dense woods

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at 36 grit at an angle. I had to angle 60 grit twice. Once at 30 degrees and another at about 15 degrees… then going straight, I finally got the floor flat.” As aggressively as he had sanded the floor, Schmidt was still worried. “I was concerned about getting the floor completely flat and getting all of the 36 grit scratchmarks out, so I went ahead and tookmy belt andmy edger through 100 grit.” Fixing the Final Flaws Content with the floor’s flatness, one final challenge arose as Schmidt began final buffing. “As I began final buffing, I saw that all of the big gaps that I repaired looked great, but now every single small gap that I had not filled was standing out. I was not happy with the way it looked.” To correct these small gaps, Schmidt used 100 grit buffer dust combined with a mixing compound. “I let that dry, rebuffed it, and we stained the next day. I was thrilled with the results,” says Schmidt. “I amdelighted with the way the stain looks, but I’ll be honest, this was a challenge. I had never done it before, but I wanted to prove tomyself that I could do it. I don’t think the outcome could have turned out any better.The clients love it, and we’ve even become friends during the process.” g

MANUFACTURER MEANDERINGS

• The Dubois Equipment Company, a Timesavers LLC company, named Michael Hornbraker as National Sales Manager. • Cefla North America announced the appointment of Kristen Riggs, Event Planner and Communications Specialist, and Sales Area Manager Kyle Grodzinski, who will cover the Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta provinces. • Mercier Wood Flooring announced the hiring of Troy Silveira as the new Southeast Regional Sales Manager. • AHF Products announced the completion of the expansion of its Cambodian engineered wood flooring manufacturing capabilities to offset the impact of tariffs and duties on imports fromChina. Also, the company hosted a grand opening for its new headquarters inWest Hempfield Township in Lancaster,

impossible. Schmidt discovered that the original installer had glued the solid Brazilian teak to the floor. Because of this, he needed to find another solution for fixing the gaps instead of pulling and reinstalling. “I made a sliver jig, and with boxes of leftover wood the homeowners had from the original install, I made around 100 slivers and glued them into areas of the floor that had the biggest gaps.” Because Schmidt was doing the repairs during the summer months, he felt adding slivers was an acceptable fix as the floor had swelled to its maximum. Correcting the Cupping Unfortunately, for Schmidt, there was one last problemwith the floor. “In addition to the gaps, the floor was also cupped and not at all flat. It ended up taking me four days to get 1,200 square feet flat. I started

Pennsylvania, featuring a ‘log-cutting’ ceremony and tree planting. • RollMaster Software

announced the introduction of multilingual documents, made possible by the company’s API technology.

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Wood

• Galleher LLC announced that the company has acquired the assets of Aged Timber and hired Greg Glasnow, Aged Timber’s founder, to run its custom finishing facility, Royal Custom Plank & Parquet (RCP). • Musolf 's Wood Flooring will distribute the Pallmann Hardwood DISTRIBUTOR DOINGS • JJ Haines &Co. is now the exclusive supplier of Mercier Wood Flooring's residential and commercial product lines in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, replacing Compass Flooring LTD. • The BelknapWhite Group (BWG) has created a multi-page publication specifically for architects and designers who specify products for commercial projects. The company shared that the new BWG Look- Book offers a comprehensive gallery of different products assembled to inspire and educate. RETAILER ROUNDUP • Cali Brands has been included on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies list for the 11th straight year with a ranking of 2,196 for 2019. Complete range of products throughout their distribution network.

By Burt Bollinger

Hardwood

HEARING

Dominic Baisas from Bast Floors & Staircases has overseen a wide variety of flooring installs; however, during a recent project inside the auditorium of a senior living facility, he uncovered a unique challenge.

“We originally visited to provide a refinishing quote. Unfortunately, the original floor was just too thin to refinish, and we ended up removing it. In total, it was about 9,500 square feet of flooring we needed to remove and replace,” explains Baisas. During the removal process, Dominic and his team discovered issues with the concrete slab underneath. “There were cracks in the concrete slab. It also was not level. I could have put a toy Hot Wheels car on it, and it would have rolled down the floor,” says Baisas. “There was also an asphalt-type residue on the concrete slab we needed to address.”

Some types of asphalt- adhesives, such as “cutback,” contain asbestos and always should be tested before moving forward with any project. HEARING LOOP In addition to defects in the concrete slab, Dominic and his crew had another challenge to overcome – the discovery of an intricate grid of small wires embedded in the exposed concrete.

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“We learned the wires we uncovered were part of a sound system for hearing aids installed directly into the concrete slab,” says Baisas. The systemBaisas discovered is called a “hearing loop.” A hearing loop is an assistive listening system that amplifies single sources of sound such as a microphone or public address system and connects wirelessly to hearing aids. An array of wires is embedded into the concrete, creating an induction loop. This loop sends clear sound to the hearing aids, without distortion or background noise. FLOORING FOCUS “While we were repairing the slab, we had to be very careful that we did not hit any of those wires. They were in a large grid system about ¼” deep. Working around these wires

We wanted to make sure we gave them investment value in case they wanted to change the color someday or freshen it up,” explains Baisas. Feedback on the newly installed hardwood floor from both residents of the senior living facility and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. “The hardwood flooring fromLauzon was an excellent recommendation, and fit our budgetary constraints perfectly,” explains Jeffery Beeba, the assistant maintenance manager of the facility. “The overall look is stunning, and due to its resiliency, the floor should be an asset to us for years to come.” g

was a tedious, but necessary, process,” explains Baisas. To repair the uneven concrete slab, the team carefully poured self-leveler. After it cured and filled the cracks, they then put MAPEI PMB moisture barrier down. Once cured, Baisas and his team began installing ¾ by 3 ¼” Lauzon maple exclusive grade wood floor. To install the floor, Baisas used 983 MAPEI glue. It took a week and a half to complete the install. “The Lauzon flooring is pre-finished, engineered ¾” thick, and it has a 5.2mmwear layer on it. This layer makes it slightly thicker than a standard engineered wood floor. The benefit is that the wear layer will allow for sanding over the floor’s lifetime.

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Wood Stock

Creating a Connection to Nature By Burt Bollinger

The Trends International Design Award for architects in New Zealand and Australia has selected a stunning holiday home as its 2018 New Home of the Year. This home provides a powerful testament to the natural beauty and transformative nature of real wood flooring. The design by New Zealand architect Gary Todd follows “biophilic design principles” which make the home appear to be organically part of its surrounding environment. Material selection was a crucial consideration in the home’s design, especially the wooden floors featured in all four levels of the residence. Real Wood and Biophilic Design Philosophy Proponents of biophilic design

that the floors themselves also provided an immediate visual and physical connection to nature. To accomplish this, architect Gary Todd and his design team installed 4,300 square feet (400 square meters) of extra-wide oak boards featuring a deep, brushed surface texture. The grey natural oil finish of HARO

strive to create visual and physical connections with nature by incorporating open space, large areas of glass, water features, and materials that mimic natural shapes and forms. The end goal is architecture that integrates into its natural surroundings. Wood flooring is an ideal component of biophilic design due to the belief that humans can instinctually differentiate between real and synthetic materials. As such, minimally processed materials

are preferred for biophilic design whenever possible.

wood flooring was explicitly selected to blend with the shades of the rocks visible outside of the home’s glass walls, which make up more than 65 percent of the house. The result is that the natural environment outside appears to merge with the flooring through the glass walls of the house. g

Floor Focus The four levels of this award-winning home were carefully terraced so that the structure appears to emerge from the rock itself. With so much effort put into this natural design, it was imperative

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Engineered Flooring System

An alternative to solid hardwood flooring – Only from Union Tool

The Union Tool Corporation offers a complete material handling and coating system for laminating engineered flooring. Count on Union Tool for your next engineered flooring system.

• Includes a hot melt roller coater, lay-up conveyor and multi-nip roll machine. • The hot melt roller coater applies a controlled and consistent amount of (PUR) adhesive. • The lay-up conveyor allows a piece of lamella to be placed on top of the coated core. • The multi-nip roll machine is then used for pressing and holding the two pieces together.

Engineered Flooring Core Feeder, automatically feeds cores directly into the Hot Melt Roller Coater

The Union Tool Corporation www.uniontoolcorp.com 574-267-3211 Get the whole story at www.uniontoolcorp.com

E-mail: sales@uniontoolcorp.com

MARKET MATTERS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Photo courtesy of Mouery’s Flooring Springfield, Missouri

Retail distribution channels are important to wood flooring manufacturers and distributors due to their heavy dependence on the residential replacement market. The Main Street commercial market (consisting of retailers, professional offices, and service providers) is another potential market for retailers. Residential replacement and Main Street commercial markets represent about 51 percent of total wood flooring sales. However, a weak housing market and increased competition from luxury vinyl tile have caused wood flooring retail sales to decline between 2017 and 2019. During 2019, wood flooring retail sales are estimated to decline by 6.4 percent to $5.7 billion. As a result, wood flooring lost share of total U.S. floor coverings retail sales. Wood flooring’s share could decline to 13.9 percent of total retail floor coverings sales during 2019. This is down from 15.6 percent in 2017. This reversed some of the inroads made by wood flooring between 2007 and 2017. Wood Flooring Retail Distribution Channels

The most important retail channel for wood flooring is specialty floor coverings stores. Wood flooring is more likely to be sold by a specialty floor coverings retail store (retailers with 50 percent or more of total revenues derived from the sale of carpet and area rugs) since specialty floor covering retailers are better able to satisfy the needs of the higher-end buyer attracted to wood flooring than big box retailers. As a result, specialty floor coverings retail stores are estimated to capture some 48 percent of total wood flooring retail sales during 2019. This is higher than specialty floor coverings retailers’ 41 percent share of total floor coverings retailing. However, specialty floor coverings stores have experienced increased competition from value-priced hard surface flooring retailers such as Floor & Decor. Hard surface flooring retailers also have relatively high levels of wood flooring sales per store. Value-priced hard surface floor covering retailers gained share as manufacturers introduced factory-finished and easier-to-install wood flooring and foreign manufacturers imported competitively priced engineered wood flooring. These flooring products were targeted to the do-it-yourself buyer who generally is served by home centers and value- priced hard surface flooring retailers. In 2019, value-priced hard surface flooring retailers could have captured 30.2 percent of total wood flooring retail sales, up from an 18.3

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By Stuart Hirschhorn

trend has continued into 2019 since first half wood flooring sales dropped by 14.9 percent. This will reduce Lumber Liquidators share of wood flooring retail sales significantly. Floor & Decor also reduced its reliance on wood flooring as vinyl planks increased in popularity. However, the overall strong sales growth for Floor & Decor continued to keep wood flooring sales on a positive trend. In 2018, Floor & Decor total revenues increased by 23.5 percent, and increased by 19.1 percent in the first half of 2019. Company wood flooring sales increased by 14.9 percent in 2018, and by 6.9 percent in the first half of 2019. These trends will allow Floor & Decor to continue to gain share of wood flooring retail sales. Catalina Research tracks wood flooring industry trends, including an analysis of U.S. manufactured versus foreign- sourced products, end-use markets and distribution channels, factors driving demand, and the outlook for 2019 and beyond. This data and information is part of the Catalina Report on Wood and Laminate Flooring released in July 2019. For more information, contact Stuart Hirschhorn, Director of Research at 561-988-0853 or shirschhorn@ CatalinaReports.com. Stuart Hirschhorn is Director of Research for Catalina Research Inc. in Highland Beach, Florida. He can be reached at 561.988.0853 or shirschhorn@catalinareports.com.

percent share in 2007. Meanwhile, home center’s share of wood flooring retail sales is relatively flat at about 20 percent. Specialty floor coverings retailers are joining buying groups or becoming part of a franchised network in order to source flooring at more competitive prices and better compete with the big boxes. Members of these groups are able to become more price-competitive with home centers and value-priced hard surface floorings retailers while providing a higher level of service. Buying groups and franchise networks also offer retailers sophisticated market services such as Internet marketing. Home Depot and Lowe’s remain the leading wood flooring retailers despite the inroads made by value-priced hard surface floorings retailers and efforts by specialty floor covering retailers to become more competitive. Home Depot could have accounted for 9.5 percent of total U.S. wood flooring retail sales in 2018, and Lowe’s another 7.8 percent. Home Depot has held on to this share since 2012, while Lowe’s has lost some share during the 2012 to 2018 period. Meanwhile, value-priced hard surface flooring retailers have made inroads in wood flooring retailing over the past 17 years. The leaders in this channel are Lumber Liquidators and Floor & Decor with 415 and 106 outlets, respectively. In 2018, Lumber Liquidators accounted for 6 percent of total wood flooring retail sales and Floor & Decor another 2 percent.

Lumber Liquidators, however, lost share since 2012. Lumber Liquidators originally lost share due to the controversy about the formaldehyde emissions released from the company’s Chinese-made laminate flooring. The controversy also hurt their sales of wood flooring. Lumber Liquidators continued to lose share in recent years due to their increased reliance on vinyl plank products. For example, wood flooring represented only one- third of total Lumber Liquidators sales in 2018, down from 47 percent in 2012. This downward

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GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

transportation issues Roll Along

• A merica’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 (S. 2302)

• Safe Routes Act (H.R. 2453/S. 1509)

without the enactment of a grandfather provision, the weight limit on these routes would automatically drop to 80,000 pounds, which is the maximumweight that trucks can operate on the interstate highway system. Maintaining a 90,000 pound limit on these routes is critical in terms of fewer truck trips and lessened impact on infrastructure, reduced fuel consumption, and preserving the overall competitiveness of facilities that rely on freight and rawmaterial that travel on these roads. The forest products and forestry communities in North Carolina have been very vocal about the need to secure this fix and have been working their congressional delegation with success. A similar provision is included in the bill for Kentucky, where state roads have an 88,000-pound weight limit. Like North Carolina, several state-owned roadways in the Commonwealth are on track to be converted to federal interstate highways and would be grandfathered under S. 2302. The legislation has a long way to go, but we are encouraged by these two positive developments. While only affecting two states, the inclusion of the grandfathering language is helpful in setting the table strategically for the enactment of the Safe Routes Act (H.R. 2453/S. 1509) as part of the overall highway bill

The Hardwood Federation team inWashington has been hard at work this year focused on the trade dispute with China and educating high-level decision makers in the administration and Congress about the effects retaliatory tariffs are having on our sector. While this issue has occupied the bulk of our attention and resources, there are important policy issues that are advancing in Congress in which we are also engaged. Primary among them is transportation. In July, just before members of Congress left town for the annual August recess, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a 5-year highway bill. The legislation, S. 2302 ( America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019 ), would replace the current highway bill known as the FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act, which is scheduled to expire in the fall of 2020. Two notable provisions in this comprehensive bill (which totals more than 500 pages) would grandfather truck weight limits on state roads in North Carolina and Kentucky – two key hardwood states – that are slated to become interstate highways. In North Carolina, trucks traveling on state roads may haul up to 90,000 pounds. Several state roads, including critical arteries that serve forest products facilities near the coast, have been posted with signs recently indicating that they will be converted to federal interstates. If this occurs

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By Dana Lee Cole

the most direct route from logging site to a hardwood mill includes an interstate highway segment. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), who sits on the influential House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, is championing this measure in the House and is working hard with his colleagues on the committee to include provisions of H.R. 2453 in any transportation reauthorization bill that the committee develops. The House is far behind the Senate in writing a new highway bill and is not expected to unveil a draft bill until early 2020. Our objective is to work toward including the Safe Routes language in the House’s version of a highway bill and then, subsequently, into any final deal that is sent to the president. g Dana Lee Cole is Executive Director at the Hardwood Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based hardwood industry trade association that represents thousands of hardwood businesses in every state in the United States and acts as the industry’s advocacy voice on Capitol Hill. She can be reached at dana.cole@hardwoodfederation.com.

reauthorization effort. Safe Routes is a simple, practical bill that would allow trucks loaded with raw forest products traveling at the maximum gross vehicle weight on state roads to access the interstate highway system at these higher weights. As is the case in Kentucky and North Carolina, a number of states around the country maintain higher weight limits for state roads than are permitted on the interstate. This has created a situation where large trucks are forced to travel on two-lane roads through small towns, over railroad crossings, through crosswalks, stop signs, and school zones instead of on highways that are designed and engineered to handle these rigs. A few years ago, truck weight pilot programs were enacted for Maine and Vermont allowing heavier trucks to travel on the interstates. Data collected shortly after these pilots took effect showed that truck accidents decreased 25 percent and fatalities were reduced by 37 percent. In addition to increased safety, the Safe Routes Act will deliver efficiencies in the supply chain to our mills as it is often the case that

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the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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DESIGNER INSIGHTS INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Louis Vuitton, Balmain, Saint Laurent, and Celine are hot on the ’80s while J. Crew specializes in making the ’80s trends applicable for the everyday person. Without going too far into “back to the future” mode, let me list some of the fashion trends that will impact interiors for 2020. From these trends, there will undoubtedly be some impact on our interiors choices, not in hardwood flooring, but as pops of color and sparkle for accessories. You may have already seen some of these examples in a Target or Home Goods store near you. For those of us in the floor covering world, we are all striving to stay one step ahead of trends, in the sweet spot of what matters most. Many years ago, I said there's a big difference between trends and trendy, and to sum it up simply, trendy includes things that pop up and go quickly like reversible sequins on pillows, while trends are things that have a much longer shelf life, such as brushed gold lamps, fixtures, and accessories. unexpectedly. Color and design professionals understand that the colors that are trending are affected by finishes, gloss levels, and even practical things like cleanability. That said, hardwood flooring colors are easily going to be well within the matte range of gloss levels. We can say with confidence that glossy-shiny is passé and will be for some time. We can also say that the reds, oranges, and wine-colored woods from the late ’90s and early 2000s aren't coming back anytime soon. We do see the old-fashioned hand-scraped cider- colored floors on occasion, but it's typically in an installation where the project was built without a designer or specifier involved. I n 2020, we will see a darkening neutral palette with more warm grays, charcoal to full black, as well as espresso browns. The counterbalance to these dark neutrals will be accent-colored walls as well as lighter case goods and upholstery colors; creamy off whites with bright pops of color in trims; contrast welting, fringe, and tassels. With major companies tapping into the performance My eye is always on the longer sustaining trends, but knowing full well that the trendy can impact us

2020 Vision

do you have 2020 vision ? As an over 50-year-old person who wears bifocals and has astigmatism, I can assure you that I don't have perfect vision. What I do have, and offer to share with you, is my 2020 vision for design trends. The year 2020 is going to be one where we see that our specific market preferences are not entirely unlike 2019, but what will drive these preferences will be new and altogether unexpected. If you look at what is watched most often on streaming platforms, you'll see that circa 1995 is very well represented. Shows like Friends have recently been rediscovered by the millennials (as they didn't get to watch it when it was broadcast 25 years ago). Besides Friends and the reboot of Beverly Hills 90210 , you'll see cultural influences as seen on these shows from the ’80s and ’90s interiors emerging in 2020. As with every trend that has cycled from decades past, I asterisk them with this: Any trends from years past will undoubtedly be improved upon thanks to modern innovations. These fashion trends aren't just a passing fancy that will come and go quickly. Most likely, you can expect to have many “blasts from the past” making a big comeback. Behind almost every interior design trend, are the runway fashion trends that spark it, and haute couture houses like

The ’80s • Neon bright colors • Purples and hot pinks as an accent color

• Stone-washed denim with patches and airbrushing • White shoes, boots, heels

• Wide waist

• Gold lamé • Glitter, sequins, beads, and studs

• Extreme proportions (e.g., broad shoulder pads and baggy pants) • Pencil skirts and peg-legged jeans

cinched belts

• Ruffles • Big hair, headbands, permed curls, and textured cuts

(e.g., glitzy sequins, glittery eye makeup, jeweled nails)

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By Emily Morrow Finkell

the real thing, real wood . Without a doubt, our digitally overstimulated appetite for ease and convenience is shifting to what is lasting and enduring. This is no different from when the over 50 crowd decided they wanted sophisticated and timeless classics instead of trendy styles that they tired of easily, or simply didn't last long enough. My research time and again is turning up consumers who are asking for quality materials, and working with retailers and contractors who know their stuff and can guide them through the very confusing process of selecting hardwood flooring.

brand fabrics like Sunbrella, Crypton, and Revolution, consumers now are becoming more and more knowledgeable and thus confident in their expectations of life with a dog and an off-white sofa. (It can work.) Step into performance flooring, and you'll find a wide variety of options as well. The hundreds of wood-looking- vinyl, composite core, and ceramic products have so over flooded the market that consumers are looking around for something special. More times than not, it's for

The ’90s • “ The Rachel” cut • S kin tone neutrals • D enim with denim • E mbellished denim

• B rown lipstick • G oth black lace, leather, denim, combat boots,

• N eon and

• Baggy jeans, mom jeans, and dad jeans

• T racksuits outerwear (think Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ) • L eopard print

vivid colors • T ie-dyed and psychedelic prints • M ini backpacks and fanny packs

(all light denim) • L ayered looks • Bandanas and flannels

• Black and white • O pulent Versace style prints

ripped jeans, and hosiery

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easily without breaking. Who knew a floor leveling compound could do this ? Stauf’s ULC-500 Level-Seal is a revolutionary product that provides solutions to many common problems associated with floor leveling and moisture mitigation. Its unique characteristics are that the product is pour in place, self-leveling, ultra-adherent, and provides moisture mitigation of up to 18#’s CC or 97%RH. ULC-500 remains flexible throughout its lifetime, providing resilience under foot, and impact resistance. It’s also capable of spanning cracks that may arise in cementitious slab constructions. Flexibility is a desirable attribute. Why not demand it in your floor leveling compound? Stick with what works.

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the magazine of the national wood flooring association

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2020 Vision (Continued)

The top design styles based on age is something to watch. According to a recent Architectural Digest article by Lindsey Mather, “Millennials (those ages 18 to 34) are seemingly obsessed with modern, minimal midcentury design, called ‘mod visionary.’ AlessandraWood, a design history Ph.D. and the director of style at Modsy, isn't surprised. ‘Younger generations living in cities are likely living in smaller apartments and condos, so a minimalist aesthetic is more appropriate – perhaps even necessary – for the size of their spaces,’ she explains. ‘Midcentury-style furniture tends to feel more open and less bulky, and is known for being livable, which translates to both comfortable and stylish. Urban areas are also the prime location for the industrial aesthetic, with tons of converted lofts and newer buildings mimicking the loft-feel.” The article also highlighted that the 55- to 65-year-old Baby Boomers, most often received ‘refined rustic’ as their result on the style quiz. “‘Refined rustic, in particular, blends classic forms with a more informal rustic style, suggesting that these generations are looking for a comfortable feel to their homes,’ says Wood. Perhaps life has taught them that a sharp-lined, sculptural armchair – a sure bet for millennials – isn't what you want to cozy up in, well, ever.” Besides performance innovations and the ’80s and ’90s fashion trends, which we will see in 2020, expect to see some familiar trends. Gray, taupe, greige, and chalky off-white are going to remain strong. These neutral colors serve as long-standing timeless trends that won't go away for quite some time as they are very practical, forgiving colors that help disguise the tracked-in dust and dirt of pets and people. In a recent design project, my client showed me a photo of swept up shed dog hair from their chocolate lab. I emphasized the importance of that practical knowledge stating that it can be the perfect palette for their home so they won't struggle with unsightly dog hair on their furnishings and flooring daily. In the same week that this client showed me their dog's hair color, I also spoke to a group of regional flooring retailers and designers where one of the attendees stated, every person I know has a dog, and that dog rules their home or apartment. Employers are even permitting employees to bring their dogs to work as a way to attract and retain skilled and talented employees. We will see more andmore performance, and pet-friendly features work their way into our world. With both fabrics and flooring already addressing this need, what will we see next? Emily Morrow Finkell is an interior designer and CEO of EF Floors & Design LLC in Dalton, Georgia, a provider of hardwood floors and home furnishings, and an NWFA design contributor. She can be reached at emily@emilymorrowhome.com.

What's possible today wasn't possible a few years ago, and that is waterproof and splash protection for hardwood flooring. Innovation, as defined by MerriamWebsters Dictionary, is “a new advancement or a change made to an existing product, idea, or field” and manufacturers of floor covering are always innovating. Things that work for one category can sometimes be applied to an altogether different category, much like the transfer of using aluminum oxide in laminate flooring to hardwood flooring resulting in scratch- resistant surfaces. In the tidal wave of products that are “waterproof,” we can now find a handful of hardwood flooring brands that are protected from splashes, spills, and the occasional pet accidents. This is a giant step for our industry, which allows consumers new-found confidence that they can indeed turn back to real wood flooring. Knowing that the Baby Boomers continue to age gracefully and carry their purchasing power with them into the decade of the ’20s, they will be a major catalyst that will influence our decisions for what they demand and what we manufacture. The same needs might apply to the performance of finishes to what they want and need.

SOURCE: architecturaldigest.com/story/top-interior-design-styles- based-on-age

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