Design Awards by WFB Editors the Award-Winning fl Oors in Our Premier Contest
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WOOD FLOOR A/M18 Empowering Wood Flooring Professionals BUSINESS 2018 DESIGN WF AWARDS BUSINESS 2018 State of the Industry | Why I’m Expensive | New Tool Reviews AM18-DA-Cover.indd 1 3/13/18 4:11 PM 140 YEARS PASSIONATE FOR WOOD SINCE 1878 HUMBLE BEGINNINGS PRODUCT QUALITY Osmo started as a small lumberyard in Behind every Osmo product stands the German woodland town of Neheim. over a century of experience, passion for wood, and perfected craftsmanship. GLOBAL PLAYER WOOD MEETS COLOR Products from Osmo are sold in over As sole wood manufacturer, Osmo 60 countries and on six continents coats its own wood products with worldwide. finishes from its own development and production. COMPANY TRADEMARK OPTIMAL SETUP High product quality has been the Thanks to an own planing mill and coating company trademark since the very production, Osmo has the optimal setup for beginning. product improvement and innovations. Find out more – visit us at the NWFA Expo booth no. 1639 in Tampa from April 11 to 14! www.osmousa.com www.osmo.ca WF04_Osmo418.indd 1 3/9/18 11:42 AM Design Hardwood Products, Inc. woodwise.com WF04_Woodwi418.indd 1 3/14/18 9:25 AM Inside A/M 2018 | v31.2 FEATURES 47 WFB Design Awards By WFB Editors The award-winning fl oors in our premier contest. 55 State of the Industry By Kim M. Wahlgren WFB’s annual wood fl ooring industry survey. 14 YOUR BUSINESS 16 Live and Learn By David Habib Getting my business out of my house (and my mind). 19 Legal Brief By Roy Reichow & Blake Nelson Who will pay for this bizarre fl ooring problem? 20 Retail By Mario Maichel What successful stores are doing to stand out. 24 Management By Angelo DeSanto A distinction I never wanted: being expensive. 28 ON THE JOB 31 Talking Shop What would you do with $10,000 for your 47 business? Our readers share their ideas. 32 Troubleshooting By Steven Rockfeld WOOD FLOOR A/M18 Gaps appear despite humidifi cation ... why? Empowering Wood Flooring Professionals BUSINESS 2018 DESIGN WF AWARDS 34 Tool Time BUSINESS By Kyle Neuroh & Sean James ON THE COVER: Reviews of the new Porter-Cable palm sander and 2018 Wood Floor Business Design Bosch square layout laser. Awards Best Commercial winner Schmidt Custom Floors Inc. 36 Techniques For more, see page 49. By Kim M. Wahlgren Photo: Dale Hall Photography 2018 State of the Industry | Why I’m Expensive | New Tool Reviews On the wood fl ooring job: then and now, part 2. PREMIUM PARTNERS: 4 ood Floor Business ■ April|May 2018 www.woodfl oorbusiness.com AM18-TOC.indd 4 3/16/18 8:00 AM WF04_DuraS418.indd 1 3/16/18 4:32 PM Inside A/M 2018 | v31.2 IN EVERY ISSUE PRODUCT FOCUS 8 From the Editor For Advertisers: 10 Woodworks 67 Exhibitor Showcase for NWFA Wood 72 New Products Flooring Expo 73 Ad Index 74 End Grain 74 Social Stay informed and get involved via our online and social offerings As Seen on Social Media… FINDING GOOD HELP is one of the most important issues facing our industry (just see the feedback in our State of the Industry report starting on page 55 for more on that), so it’s no surprise that one of the most popular posts on the WFB social media pages recently was this meme. Are you on social media? Make sure you are part of the WFB communities on Facebook, Instagram and more. WFB by the Numbers Wood Floor Business spans print, digital and social media. Do you want to share your message with wood fl ooring retailers, contractors, distributors and more? Find out how WFB can help: info.woodfl oorbusiness.com. 23,500 17,071 27,938 Audited Print Subscribers E-News Subscribers Social Media Connections 6 ood Floor Business ■ April|May 2018 www.woodfl oorbusiness.com AM18-TOC.indd 6 3/15/18 5:50 PM A craftsman’s canvas for jobsite creativity. Come see us at NWFA 2018 Expo in Tampa, Booth 1539, April 12th & 13th. Palallmalmmannn MagMagagicic Oill 2K2K FiFinnisissh “Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” Johnathan Swift LacrosseFlooring.com 608-634-3072 WF04_LaCros418.indd 1 3/13/18 6:05 AM FROM THE EDITOR Publication Staff EDITORIAL By Kim M. Wahlgren Kim M. Wahlgren | Editor Ryan Kushner | Assistant Editor Maribeth Fleischmann | Art Director What makes you Marjorie Schultz | Digital Production Manager Scott Packel | Production Assistant EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICES | AB MEDIA INC. memorable? 22 E. Miffl in St., Suite 910 | Madison, WI 53703 (608) 249-0186 | (800) 722-8764 | F: (608) 249-1153 ast weekend my daughter and I went to Cabela’s editors@woodfl oorbusiness.com | www.woodfl oorbusiness.com on Saturday morning to try on hiking boots. We Gretchen Kelsey Brown | CEO L had a tight time frame before having to rush to Peter Brown | President somewhere else. As we pulled into the crowded parking lot, we saw a canopy was set up outside the front doors Shawn Gahagan | Group Publisher where a man was off ering samples of grilled chicken Cooper Brown | Audience Development Coordinator with the Cabela’s seasoning. (It had been too long since Jared Bruley | Marketing Director breakfast, so he was a particularly happy surprise.) Upon Jodi Chamberlain | Sales Coordinator entering, we passed another canopy where staff were Kate Rampone | Marketing Associate helping kids practice archery. Then an announcement came over the loudspeakers that we shouldn’t miss Sean Ray | IT Manager them feeding the fi sh in 10 minutes and should gather Erika Reise | Online Producer at the fi sh tank. As we headed to the back of the store Sadye Ring | Graphic Designer to the footwear, to my sugar-oriented daughter’s joy, we came across a table with multitudes of fudge samples. Editorial Advisory Committee Eventually we made our way to the boots, where we Howard Brickman | Brickman Consulting found nothing in stock that fi t. Before we left, we felt Stephen Diggins | Wood Pro Inc. compelled to detour to the fi sh tank, where by then a Tim McCool | MAPEI Corp. large crowd had gathered … to watch them feed fi sh. We Robert McNamara | Basic Coatings lingered there, even though we were supposed to be in a hurry. It seemed there must be something compelling Paul Pleshek | National Academy of Floor Covering Training happening if all these people were standing there Jenny Riddle | Castlewood Inc. looking at fi sh. Todd Schutte | Bona US Why am I bothering to tell you this? It perfectly Genia Smith | Accent Hardwood Flooring Inc. illustrates the point our author makes in our retail column in this issue on page 20: When people come to your store, they are comparing their experience to the best retailers out there, not the fl ooring store down the street. My daughter and I drove all the way across town Advertising Sales to a place that ended up not having what we needed, yet Kendra Griffi n | National Account Manager I would like an excuse to go back, and I think I will even kendra@woodfl oorbusiness.com drag along my shopping-allergic son, since he would (800) 722-8764 x107 | F: (608) 249-1153 have liked to try the archery ... and see the fi sh ... and try info.woodfl oorbusiness.com the fudge. You don’t have to do something on the massive scale of Cabela’s to be memorable. Take it from me, even a table of fudge samples will go a long way toward creating a lasting positive impact. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: In order to ensure uninterrupted delivery of Wood Floor Business, notice of change should be made at least five weeks in advance. Direct all subscription mail to Wood Floor Business, P.O. Box 47705, Plymouth, MN 55447, call 800/869-6882 or fax 866/658-6156. For faster service, visit us online at www. woodfloorbusiness.com/subscribe. Single-copy price is $8, Annual Resource Book is $50. Subscription price is $40 for seven issues in the U.S.A. and Canada. Wood Floor Business is published bimonthly, plus the annual industry Resource Book in Kim M. Wahlgren November, and distributed without charge to qualified individuals in the wood flooring industry. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wood Floor Business, P.O. Box 47705, Plymouth, MN 55447. Canadian Publication Mail Agreement #42330013. Printed in the U.S.A. © 2018 AB Media Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ISSN 2475-4226 (Print), ISSN 2575-4242 (Online) Periodicals Postage Paid at Madison, Wisconsin, and at additional mailing offices. 8 ood Floor Business ■ April|May 2018 www.woodfl oorbusiness.com AM18-Editor.indd 8 3/16/18 9:47 AM WF02_Stauf217.indd 1 1/20/17 8:16 AM ObservationsWOOD from the industry WORKS Glowing wood fl oors put fun in the fi nish T WAS A background in medicine—along with a desire says aided in the creation of Glowry. “I thought it wasn’t to have fun—that led Carlos Mongalo Jr. and his father, going to work, to be honest with you,” Carlos Jr. says of the ICarlos Mongalo Sr., to develop a wood fl oor fi nish that mixture he’d concocted for the fi nish. Then he turned off glows in the dark. With the playful name of Glowry, their the lights. “And I was like, ‘Whoa,’” he recalls, “‘it works.’” eye-catching water-based fi nish illuminates wood fl ooring Available in multiple colors, the fi nish is most effective on in the dark and produces a fl uorescent neon-like shine ash and currently is offered only as a prefi nished fl oor.