NWFA Wood Flooring Expo 2012 – What to Know Before You Go

As the only annual convention and trade show in the country devoted exclusively to hardwood flooring, the NWFA Wood Flooring Expo is a can’t-miss event on the calendar of savvy hardwood flooring suppliers nationwide. Here are four quick points to keep in mind about this year’s event that are sure to make your visit an enjoyable — and profitable — experience.

This year’s theme: Renewal
As green shoots of business opportunity begin to peek through the snows of several tough years for the US economy, now is the perfect time to talk about fresh starts. That’s why this year’s Expo is all about renewing your prospects, your energy, and your business. Renew your contacts with networking opportunities, renew your hardwood flooring education with the newly revamped trade show, and renew yourself with a full schedule of social events, including a Closing Party on the trade show floor.

Where it’s at: Gaylord Palms Resort
With its turn-of-century styling and sun-drenched grandeur, the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center will provide a regal backdrop for this premier gathering of hardwood flooring suppliers. Attendees will receive a discounted room rate of $199 per night, and you can make your hotel reservations when you register for the Expo at nwfaexpo.org.

Hands-on understanding: The NWFA Demo Theater
In the business of hardwood flooring, education is a lifetime commitment. Learn the latest techniques and tricks from industry experts at the NWFA Demo Theater, where continuous demonstrations will cover topics from hand-scraping and distressing to bending and installing brass. Drop in and take your hardwood flooring education to the PhD level.

Supplier savings: the NWFA Expo Coupon Book
This year, Expo exhibitors are leaving no stone unturned to bring attendees real savings on their wares. A NWFA Expo Coupon Book will be given to every attendee upon check-in. Just take the supplier’s coupon to that company’s trade show booth, then you can redeem the coupon with your local distributor when you get back home.

Photo courtesy of David Stluka Photography

Nova Top 5 Exotic Hardwoods

At Nova, we're proud of all of our hardwood flooring products. From the classic beauty of White Oak to the eye-catching striping of TigerWood, we stand behind each variety of domestic and exotic hardwood flooring we carry. However, there are a few species that are the most popular with our clients and staff alike. The following are five of our most beloved exotic hardwood flooring products we carry. Enjoy!

Acacia:

Acacia hardwood flooring is popular with retail sellers and customers looking for a sophisticated, classy flooring material. It has a beautiful assortment of browns, red-oranges, and light yellows, and is one of the most durable and dimensionally-stable we offer. Whether you're looking for a versatile material to match multiple decor schemes or a sophisticated look to fit in only one room, acacia hardwood flooring is a great choice.

Brazilian Cherry:

Also known as Jatoba, Brazilian Cherry is a tough, attractive hardwood that features a reddish-brown heartwood, dark black streaks, and hints of white and yellow. The color contrast and striping gives the wood an eye-catching depth that is hard to match. It is also very durable, with a Janka hardness rating of 2,350 pounds and great dimensional stability.

Cumaru:

Cumaru hardwood flooring is imported from Brazil and features a medium brown color, an irregular, interlocked grain pattern, and wavy, coarse texture. Cumaru is a very dense hardwood species, making it naturally resistant to boring insects, wood rot, and other common forms of decay. It is stylistically versatile, too, perfect for dining rooms, bedrooms, and even bathrooms and kitchens.

Ipe:

Because of its dense cell structure, ipe hardwood flooring is unparalleled in its ability to stand up to foot traffic, moisture, insect infestations, and other types of decay. It is also a beautiful flooring material. Its heartwood is a pleasing olive-brown with yellow-grey tones and it has a fine, tight grain pattern. And did we mention it has a Class A fire rating? That's the same class of fire-retardant material as steel.

Patagonian Rosewood:

We love Patagonian Rosewood mainly because it is such a fun hardwood species. Also known as Curupau, it is a versatile flooring material with a dark brown heartwood, pale pink and yellow tones, and dark, crossed grain pattern. Like most of our exotic hardwoods, it is naturally durable and resistant to scratches, scrapes, and impacts.

Now that you know some of our favorite exotic hardwood flooring varieties, we want to hear from you! What are your favorite exotic wood species? Leave us a comment below and let us know.

Hardwood Floor Repairs: 5 Tips for Successful Site-Finish Repair

Repairing and refinishing hardwood flooring isn't easy, but it certainly isn't impossible. Time, patience, and the proper tools are all required for successful hardwood flooring repair. The following are five great tips for ensuring a successful, safe, and timely repair project. Enjoy!

Disclaimer:It's very easy to damage surrounding boards, so make sure to get expert advice if you attempt DIY hardwood floor repair, especially if you've never attempted it before. If you aren't familiar or comfortable with the tools or techniques described below, call a professional.

1. Cut carefully.
Removing the damaged board is the first step in any hardwood flooring repair process. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most difficult. If you improperly cut the damaged boards you run the risk of splitting or damaging the surrounding boards, which can be a time-consuming and costly mistake. Here's how to make sure you are removing the damaged board and nothing more:

• Use a circular saw to make two cuts approximately 1/2" from each side of the board, making sure to not cut past the end joints. Different boards will require a different saw depth, but many use a basic 3/4".
• Make a third cut at an angle between the first two cuts, again remembering to not cut through the side match.
• Use a sharp chisel to pop out the cut pieces, being careful to not force any piece that isn't fully cut as this could splinter the surrounding boards.

2. Clean thoroughly.
After the piece is removed, thoroughly clean the area of any dirt and debris. Sweep, vacuum - whatever it takes. If there is any debris in the area the replacement board will be more difficult to fit back in and could cause a tripping hazard once the board is set.

3. Make it a match.
The best way to ensure a uniform appearance after repairing a section of hardwood flooring is to pick a replacement board that has a similar grain pattern as the surrounding boards. If you can, use a board leftover from the installation process. If that's not available, contact the company that handled your installation and see if they have any spare boards they can give you to match your floor.

4. Be quick about it!
Epoxy - the glue you use to attach replacement boards to the floor - can dry quickly. Very quickly. Some epoxies can dry in as little as ten minutes. This leaves you a very short window of opportunity in which you can correctly fit the new board in place. If you've measured and cut correctly, this shouldn't be a problem. However, if you apply the epoxy and find out your board doesn't fit, you have a whole new problem on your hands.

5. Sand and finish.
Once the epoxy is dry and the board is set you can sand and finish the area. Don't overdo it, though - the board should only be sanded so that it is level with the surrounding boards. As far as finishes go, try to use the same type that was used during the original installation process, otherwise your floor will have a visible discoloration. If you don't know the exact finish that was used, contact the installation company that handled the project. They should have the information on record.

Yes, site-finish hardwood floor repair is something an experienced DIYer can handle, assuming they have the right tools and know-how. If you have any questions about the repair process, or you are uncomfortable with any of the tools required, call a professional.

Engineered Flooring - 5 Questions Your Customers Will Ask You

We're a big fan of Hardwood Floors Magazine. It's informative, entertaining, and timely. Take their latest in-depth article, for instance: Engineered Enigmas: Know These Answers to Avoid Problems. It features five great answers to common questions you'll be asked by customers interested in engineered flooring. It's a bit long - over 1,600 words, in fact, - so we've condensed the article a bit to bring you the most important parts in a scaled-down version. Enjoy!

1. Do I need to acclimate the flooring?
Unlike solid wood flooring, engineered hardwood flooring doesn't require an acclimation process. It does, however, often require you to acclimate the environment in which it is being installed to the manufacturer specifications. These guidelines will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, with appropriate relative humidity ranging anywhere from 35% to 60%. It's up to the installer to know what the manufacturer recommends. As Hardwood Floors Mag says, "Just because the product is engineered doesn’t mean that installers should skip taking moisture readings on the flooring or subfloor. Knowing the recommended RH range and keeping the flooring within that range for the life of the product ensures the best performance of the product."

2. Can I use it where I live?
This is one of the most common (and frustrating) problems people face when researching engineered flooring. The simple answer is - maybe not. Engineered flooring needs to be kept in an area with an appropriate relative humidity, and some places have an RH that is either too high or too low to support engineered flooring.

"If you live in Las Vegas," the article explains, "where the average RH hovers around 30%, and the flooring manufacturer’s low range is 40%, it becomes more difficult to maintain acceptable living conditions, especially without strict humidity control."

One answer to this problem is to find a manufacturer that produces engineered flooring that fits the RH of the area in which you live. However, this can limit the style of flooring you can choose.

3. Can I install it in more areas than solid products?
In a word, yes: "Engineered flooring is more dimensionally stable than solid wood flooring, allowing for more installation options. The plywood core under the wear layer is less susceptible to expansion and contraction than solid wood flooring, which makes it possible to install it on a variety of surfaces and choose from several installation methods and systems."

There are still limitations, of course. It is not meant to be installed in extreme conditions, such as places with big shifts in humidity or excessive moisture.

4. Will different wear layer cuts, finishes, and species perform differently?
Yes. Different cuts, species, and finishes react differently to different environments. Certain finishes, like oil, show fewer imperfections than others, while certain closed-grain species like beech tend to show more imperfections.

"If the floor is going in a high-rise in a drier climate like Denver," the article explains, "where you can expect the floor to experience more shrinkage, a tropical species with a hard finish may not be the best option."

5. Is a thicker wear layer always better?
The old axiom of "The thicker the wear layer, the better" isn't always true. Yes, thicker wear layers allow for more sanding and refinishing, but thicker wear layers also tend to react more to moisture, causing some engineered flooring varieties to act more like a solid: "A thicker wear layer may have a tendency to react to moisture like a solid product, with greater expansion and contraction than a thinner wear layer."

To learn more about engineered hardwood flooring, visit the engineered flooring page on the Nova USA website.

5 Common Customer Complaints about Hardwood Flooring

Many professionals working in the hardwood flooring industry are so knowledgeable of their product that they forget that most consumers are not. This can cause a lot of tensions between manufacturer, installer, and customer. Knowing the most common questions and complaints customers have about new hardwood flooring can help you disarm even the most irate customers. Knowing what complaints people are likely to have before they have them allows you to educate your customers and provide excellent pre-emptive customer service. Here are five of the most common customer complaints we see in the hardwood flooring industry, the best way to address them, and things the customer should have been told before purchasing the flooring.

1. My rustic flooring dents too easily!
This is a common complaint from people that have purchased cabin grade or other “rustic” style flooring. Many interior designers choose cabin grade flooring because of its color and rustic appearance. Little do they know that cabin grade is actually a very inexpensive builder-grade hardwood that has a lot of natural imperfections, such as knots, knot holes, color variances, splits, and cracks, and is much more susceptible to dents and scratches. You’d think that the name would give this away – cabin grade sounds like it belongs in a cabin, right? Unfortunately, many consumers can’t see past the wood’s “character” and, of course, the low price tag. If your customer is interested in cabin grade flooring, make sure you find out the needs and expectations of the customer. If they want something that is scratch- and dent-resistant, help them pick a more resilient style.

2. My floor loses shine every time I wet mop it!
For some reason unbeknownst to most hardwood flooring professionals, many people think that wet mopping a wood floor is a good idea. As you well know, they couldn’t be more wrong! Wet mopping hardwood will damage the finish as well as the floor itself. The best way to avoid hearing this complaint often is to give your customers proper care and maintenance instructions at the point of sale. Don’t trust installers to do this – it’s not really their job. And don’t expect customers to seek this information out themselves. Giving customers printed maintenance instructions will help prevent future complaints.

3. My floor shows a lot of smudges!
This complaint usually comes from customers that have purchased high-gloss, tight-grained flooring. Like any high-gloss purchase – a Cadillac, a piano, etc. – the beautiful, shiny new floor is going to show every smudge and dent. Let your customers know before they buy that highly-finished floors are more likely to show smudges.

4. There are gaps between boards in my floor!
Solid nailed-down, wide-plank floors will gap. That is a fact. It is irresponsible to sell flooring to a customer without explaining this first. Once gapping is explained as a natural expansion and shrinking of the wood, most customers are not concerned by it. Failing to do so can lead to a lot of panicked and unhappy customers.

5. My floor is changing color!
Again, this is a common customer complaint that could be easily avoided if it was explained to the customer at the point of sale. Oxidation is quite common with hardwood flooring, especially with exotic hardwood flooring. The more light the floor is exposed to, the darker it will get. By educating customers on this matter before they purchase the flooring you can help them avoid massive discoloration.

Brazilian Cherry hardwood flooring from Nova USA Wood.

Many common customer flooring complaints stem from lack of knowledge about the product and proper maintenance techniques. Explaining everything you can about the flooring – the good and the bad – will make your customers happy and save you a lot of hassle in the long run. 

Bamboo Flooring – 5 Things You Should Tell Your Customers

Environmental responsibility is quickly becoming one of the most important features consumers look for when searching for new wood flooring, and the industry has done pretty well keeping up with the trend. One of the most popular products in the green flooring trend is bamboo. It’s easy to see why – bamboo is technically a grass, and it can be quickly and efficiently grown and harvested. Bamboo flooring is also available in different forms, from solid bamboo flooring to engineered flooring to strand-woven. Yes, bamboo is certainly gaining in popularity, and for good reason. But there are still a few things about bamboo flooring that most consumers don’t know and should. Here are five of the most important points to stress to customers when they are considering bamboo flooring.

1. Bamboo flooring will expand along its length.
Hardwood flooring installers often leave space along the sides of boards to allow for expansion of the wood. Bamboo flooring, however, can sometimes expand along its length as well. If this type of expansion is not accounted for your customer may end of with warped or buckled floors.

2. It’s not as hard as you think.
Janka hardness is one of the most traditional forms of determining how durable a hardwood floor will be. But because bamboo floors are made of many different bamboo fibers bound together by adhesive, this rating isn’t always accurate. True, the individual strands of bamboo may be quite hard, but the adhesive used to bond them together may be weak. This makes some bamboo flooring more vulnerable to scratches, dents, and scrapes.

3. Humidity affects bamboo differently than solid wood flooring.
When bamboo flooring experiences changes in moisture, the fibers naturally want to expand or shrink away from each other. With engineered flooring, however, the fibers are held together by the cross-ply structure and can’t move. This can cause the bonding agent to break and cause cracks in the wear layer of the floor.

FSC-certified White Oak engineered flooring is a great
alternative to bamboo flooring.

4. Different bamboo flooring types qualify for different LEED points.
Many builders choose bamboo flooring because they believe by doing so they will earn multiple points with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system. This isn’t always true. The type of bamboo flooring you use determines what kind and how many points or credits you can earn. Visit the US Green Building Council website to learn more about LEED rating systems. 

5. Bamboo still requires acclimation.
Many customers assume that because bamboo flooring is made of many joined fibers it doesn’t need to be acclimated. This is not true. Different types of bamboo flooring require different acclimation times – solid bamboo flooring tend to be finished in 4 or 5 days, while strand-woven bamboo flooring can take as long as a month.

Suggesting or selling bamboo flooring to your customers without informing them of the many ways it varies from traditional hardwood flooring is irresponsible. Visit Nova USA Wood for information on other environmentally-friendly hardwood flooring options.  

Dispelling the Myths - Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest

Timber harvesting practices in the tropical rainforest are generally misunderstood. Many people think that exotic hardwood decking or flooring is sourced illegally or unethically and destroys the Amazon rainforests. While certain logging operations are certainly illegal, the majority of hardwood flooring and decking distributed in the US is sourced from sustainable timber practices. The goal of this post is to dispel some of the more common myths about rainforest deforestation, sustainable timber harvesting practices, and the real threats to the environment.  

Myth #1: The timber industry is the culprit.
This is the biggest misconception about deforestation in the Amazon. Countless government and conservation groups agree: both legal and illegal logging operations combined account for less than 3% of deforestation in the Amazon, with legal, selective harvesting coming in closer to 1% . The other 97% of deforestation comes from cattle ranching, commercial agriculture, and infrastructure improvements.

Many sustainable timber harvesting
companies plant Teak or Mahogany
plantations  in areas that have been
irresponsibly clear-cut in the past.

Myth #2: Clear-cutting is done by the timber industry.
While clear-cutting is certainly the cause of rainforest deforestation, the vast majority of clear-cutting is done by cattle ranchers and agriculture developers. Timber being sold from clear cutting operations is not part of the sustainable timber industry and is often obtained through illegal logging practices known as slash-and-burn agriculture.

Myth #3: Selective harvesting and clear cutting are the same thing.
There are over 11,000 different tree species in the entire Amazon rainforest. The average harvest area is approximately 3,000 – 4,000 hectares. Within this harvest area there are typically more than 100 different species of trees. The vast majority of these species are not of interest to the commercial wood products industry – they’re either too young or the nature of the wood makes it unsuitable for commercial uses. In fact, there are generally only a few trees per hectare that are of interest for logwood, meaning a harvest area can retain the vast majority of its trees while providing a renewable product to the timber industry.  

Clear cutting, on the other hand, occurs when cattle ranchers or agricultural developers need huge areas of forest for pastureland. The understory shrubbery is cleared and burned and the forest trees are cut down and sold. The area is then used to plant crops like bananas, palms, maize, or rice, or raise cattle. After a few years, the soil quality drops to an unusable level and the farmers are forced to abandon their land and move even deeper into the forest.

Myth #4: All rainforest logging operations are corrupt.
This myth has grown from confusion and misunderstanding about the many different types of rainforest logging operations. Yes, there are a number of illegal logging operations going on in the Amazon, but as previously mentioned, the majority of these crimes are being committed by local cattle and agricultural interests. The sale of illegally sourced timber can hardly even be called logging – it is reckless, unsustainable, and gives no thought to local economies or the environment at large.
Sadly, much of the clear cutting happening today isn’t even illegal. Under current Brazil squatting laws, cattle ranchers and small-scale subsistence farmers can legally clear and use unclaimed public land that they have been occupying for at least one year and a day. After five years the land becomes theirs and they are free to sell it to the highest bidder. These practices, while legal, encourage poor land management and the disregard of environmental concerns.

Myth #5: It’s better to grow food than trees.
This issue is complicated and quite counter-intuitive. At first glance, it seems to make sense to encourage local peoples to use their native land to grow food for themselves and surrounding communities. However, the slash-and-burn clearing of the rainforest combined with the overuse of the remaining soil does not produce a sustainable agriculture industry. In addition, many of the crops and cattle being raised on cleared rainforest lands are not being distributed locally. Instead, land owners sell their product to overseas buyers, often pocketing the money and giving very little to the workers that produced the crop. 
Selective timber harvesting, however, is a proven way to utilize rainforest grounds for commercial use while still preserving the area for future generations. Legal, sustainable logging operations prevent areas from being cleared for agricultural use as well as provide steady jobs to local citizens.

Read Our Green Commitment to learn more about Nova’s commitment to the environment.