Contractor Blog: Wayne Lee
Wayne Lee worked for a sanding machine manufacturer for 24 years before starting
his own wood floor and tile contracting business, Cardinal Hardwood & Tile, full
time in 2008. Cardinal Hardwood focuses on custom installations and maintains
three to four employees. Wayne has taught thousands of students at wood flooring
schools and has his Craftsman, Master Craftsman, Vanguard and Ambassador degrees
from the NWFA. He is based in Springville, Tenn., a rural community with a large
retirement and resort population, where he lives with his wife of 27 years, two
daughters, one dog and four barn cats. He blogs for HardwoodFloorsMag.com about
the daily challenges of being a wood flooring contractor.
Recent Posts:
Getting Stuff Done on the Job Site on the Fly
After reading Avi’s last post about getting stuff done on the job without power tools, it got me to thinking: ...
These Parts DO Grow on Trees
My new plan: sell wood. Boy, do I have sooooooooooooo much to learn about the manufacturing of flooring. The mill ...
My NWFA Expo Takeaway: Keep It Simple!
I just could not sit here and not write something about the NWFA convention. in recent years I went as a ...
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Contractor Blog: Scott Avery
Scott Avery operates Modern Tech Floors in Portland, Ore. He has been a regular student and instructor with the NWFA since 2002, when he left the biotech industry to satisfy his inner entrepreneur and have his own business. In late 2008 the changing economy triggered Scott to re-evaluate his business and personal habits, resulting in a greatly improved home life and much more profitable business. Scott blogs for HF in an effort to help other wood floor contractors reclaim their personal time from their business while increasing profitability.
Recent Posts:
Innovate or Perish?
I have to say that wood floor contracting is a nice business to market. It is simple because you educate ...
Marketing Tips: Online Reviews
The tips that I’ve written about for marketing were basic, but still fundamental for providing a good “footprint” for your ...
Simple Advice for Making Videos
OK, as part of my series on marketing I promised some tips on making videos, and here they are:
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Contractor Blog: Avi Hadad
Avi Hadad is the owner-operator of Avi's Hardwood Floors in the San Francisco Bay area. Since 2002, his team has built a reputation for craftsmanship that goes beyond the norm. Their projects run the gamut from restoring Victorian-era floors to creating intricate, custom-designed inlays. Avi believes that techniques, materials, and equipment are continually evolving. That's why he keeps going back to school for advanced certification. And he instructs new generations of craftspeople at the NWFA. When he’s not working or teaching, Avi spends his free time with his wife and two children who, for some reason, don’t find wood flooring as endlessly fascinating as he does.
Recent Posts:
Making Your Own Wood Filler
There are several scenarios where you just have to make your own wood filler:There is no filler available for the ...
How to Use Hand Tools to Perform Tasks Done by Power Tools
It is so common these days to use power tools. For even the shortest, most delicate task in woodworking, we ...
How Other Trades Outside Can Mess Up Your Finish
I remember my first big job. I remember it because it was the only job where I had to give ...
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Green Blog: Elizabeth Baldwin
Elizabeth Baldwin has over 20 years of international wood sourcing experience.
Very widely traveled, her résumé's "Special Skills" section includes "the
ability to eat anything from raw horse to deep-fried scorpion." She serves as
Metropolitan Hardwood Flooring's (metrofloors.com)
ECO (Environmental Compliance Officer) and deals daily with the "green alphabet
soup" of today's industry: FSC, CARB, LEED, and much more. She blogs for
Hardwood Floors on all things green (and, as she says, " 'grey' and 'blue' and
almost every color except 'black and white.' Nothing in this world is black and
white, particularly not 'green issues.'")
Recent Posts:
Proposed Lacey ANSI Standard
Folks, I’m going to interrupt our review of recycling in the United States to stick in a post on a ...
Images of Recycling (and Not), Part One
Sorry, Kim, I need to acknowledge that the original idea behind this post came from a competitor’s post on recycling.The ...
More State Legislation to Watch
A few weeks ago, I talked about pending legislation regarding the use of formaldehyde in products used by children. I’d ...
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Inspector Blog: Howard Brickman
Howard Brickman has operated his own consulting and contracting business, Brickman Consulting, in Boston since 1984, and has worked in the wood flooring industry in Memphis, Seattle, and Boston since 1978. He was a Floor of the Year winner in 1999. Howard has hands-on experience with all phases of installation, sanding and finishing, ranging from gymnasiums to concert halls, as well as new construction and 300-plus-year-old antique houses in Plymouth County, Mass. He also spent three years at UMass Amherst as a graduate student in the Wood Anatomy Lab. He is a charter member of the NWFA. His hobby: Welsh corgis, because "You have to love dogs that live so close to the floor."
Recent Posts:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
It has been a whirlwind of a summer season for me since early in May. This always happens whenever I ...
Thoughts as I Travel Home from the Expo in Orlando
I am on my way back home from the 2012 NWFA convention in Orlando and wanted to get some thoughts ...
World Class Networking On the Cheap
It is less than four weeks till the start of this year’s NWFA annual convention. It looks like it will ...
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Inspector Blog: Roy Reichow
Roy Reichow has 40 years of experience in the wood flooring industry as a flooring contractor with Reichow Parquet Flooring Inc. He holds NWFACP certifications in Installation, Sanding & Finishing, Sales Counselor, Inspector and Commercial Inspector, and he serves on the NWFACP board of directors and Marketing Committee. Roy is the founder of National Wood Floor Consultants Inc., a wood floor consultation firm. He has authored several articles published in Hardwood Floors and International Fraud Update, a publication of the International Association of Insurance Fraud Agencies. Roy has conducted investigations for wood flooring distributors, contractors, home builders, manufacturers, attorneys, homeowners and insurance companies. He works with leading wood floor manufacturers to review and revise their installation and warranty guidelines. He also leads educational seminars for wood floor professionals and is a speaker at various home improvement events.
Recent Posts:
To Fill or Not to Fill?
I went to an inspection where the client expressed their concern regarding snagging their socks on the wood floor. The ...
Video: My Thoughts at the End of the Expo
The NWFA Expo in Dallas this year was a great show. Here are my quick thoughts as the show was ...
NWFA’s New ‘Involved Parties’ Definitions
The NWFA has released the 2012 Installation Guidelines, and on page 3 the guidelines now include a statement about “Involved ...
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NWFA Blog
NWFA staff and involved members use the NWFA Blog to update the industry about the association's many activities, including committee work, the Expo, updates to technical publications and more.
Recent Posts:
A Message From Howard Putnam, 2013 Expo Keynote
Thank you for inviting me to be your keynote speaker for your upcoming Wood Flooring Expo. While we come from ...
NWFA Partnerships Benefit Members
Relationships play a huge role in a business’s success. The relationship between the contractor and the distributor, the distributor and ...
Think Big in 2013
A new year always brings with it the feeling of having a new start. Thoughts usually turn to how to ...
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Inspector Blog: Craig DeWitt
Craig DeWitt, PhD, PE, is president of RLC Engineering LLC in Clemson, S.C.
Craig has a PhD in engineering and specializes in wood, moisture and indoor
environments. He has provided inspection and consulting services for over 20
years. Craig retired from blogging for Hardwood Floors in April 2012.
Recent Posts:
Going in New Directions
I have been very remiss in posting blog bits this year. My work has changed and led me in a ...
Fact, Fiction or Opinion (cont.)
One aspect of an inspection is the background information. This information is usually collected by talking to other parties such ...
Inspector Reports: Fact, Fiction or Opinion?
Fact, fiction or opinion: In writing and evaluating reports, I am often faced with determining whether something is fact or ...
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