Articles by a Flooring Professional

If you have ceramic or stone tile installed directly to your concrete floor, you may have noticed cracked tile. There can be a number of reasons for this, including inadequate bonding, lack of expansion joints, use of an inferior grade of thinset, and cracking of the substrate. For the purposes of this article, I’ll address only the last factor: cracking of the substrate.

Many concrete finishers will tell you that it’s not a matter of whether or not the concrete will crack, but when it will crack. While there are a number of reasons for the concrete to crack, it’s almost impossible to determine when and where it will crack. Cracking sometimes occurs at the weakest point of the slab. For instance, if there is an inset porch in a floor plan, there may be one or two weak points (Read more…)

We all love to share with our fellow Netizens and when we run across something especially poignant, an interesting news article, or a great photograph, we just want to post it so all our friends can revel in it too. We get a sense of belonging and of being seen as a generous and giving person. It would be awful if anyone knew that article, picture or interesting prose was actually stolen from some unsuspecting, starving artist somewhere in the ether. It’s not like we conspired to pilfer someone else’s work. We might even mention their name as the author or artist. But the fact is, taking it without permission is just like swiping that candy bar from the corner store when we were kids. Just like taking anything that doesn’t belong to us, it’s just… well, like stealing.

It may seem such a harsh accusation when we are only talking about a little picture, or an article found while surfing that someone posted for everyone to see. But (Read more…)

I used to roll my eyes when I overheard my boss talking to his friends about being a business owner while I was doing my after-school job in high school. One of his pet comments was something about having to work 14-16 hour days, instead of 8 like normal workin’ folk. But he said it enough for me to realize there was some truth to it. I did see him spend an awful lot of time at the store when I worked there during my summer vacations – he was there before I showed up at 9 and was there long after the store closed most days.

When I became an independent flooring installer, I went into it with my eyes open. I knew (Read more…)

1. Apply felt pads to all furniture.

Self adhesive protective felt pads should be applied to all furniture legs paying particular attention to dining chairs – This is the furniture moved the most frequently and can quickly cause damage. Tip: Rough up the bottom of the chair leg with a piece of sandpaper before applying the felt to assist with a more permanent adhesion.

2. Use appropriate entrance mats.

Rigid spiky plastic entrance mats will assist greatly (Read more…)

I was asked to install some hand-scraped Hickory stair treads to match a customer’s hardwood flooring. The job also included opening up a portion of one wall of the stairwell, constructing the newel posts and installing wood handrails and metal balusters. If you do hardwood flooring, you may also see this as a great way to add custom services and better profit.

The customer provided samples of the hardwood flooring installed. I used these as a pattern (Read more…)

What is Solid Hardwood Flooring?

Solid hardwood is exactly what it sounds like, one solid piece of wood, through and through.

What is Engineered Hardwood Flooring?

Engineered hardwood is constructed of 3 or more thin layers of soft or hard wood, usually arranged in opposing directions for added stability, with a finished top layer of the flooring species.

What is the difference between laminate flooring and hardwood floors?

Hardwood floors will age and mature with your property. This means (Read more…)

Basic Writing Skills Make Us Look The Professional We Are

In every aspect of our flooring businesses, we are required to communicate via the written word. Whether that is merely notes to our co-workers, detailed estimates or formal reports and proposals, we must convey information in an understandable fashion. It’s not enough that we understand our own writing; our words must be understood by others. (Read more…)

The Importance of Brand Recognition In Your Email Address

You cannot promote your brand or improve business website traffic with a throw-away email address. Gmail, Yahoo!, HotMail and the rest are known as “throw-away” email addresses. They are great to increase your anonymity and sense of security, but they do not, and probably never will command very much credibility. They do, however, increase the chances your email will end up in the spam folder.

I also use these throw-away addresses when required to provide an email address for ordering something or joining a site I am not sure of. There are some good reasons to use throw-aways. But there is one very important reason for business and flooring professionals to use addresses that belong to your business’ website domain: Brand Recognition.

As professionals, we all want our businesses to be (Read more…)

Free Websites for the Flooring Professional

My friend, “DJ,” asked me some time back where he could get a free website. He was concerned about the economy and the lack of work he was getting. DJ thought a website would bring him new customers and new opportunities. For free.

Ever heard the term, “you get what you pay for“? I see flooring professionals tell customers this time after time. Yet so many of them look for free or real cheap – not just websites, but anything. And this is a classic case of “looks are deceiving” and you really do get what you pay for.

Although it may be true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (Read more…)

This procedure will not correct the appearance of the seam if it is not constructed in an acceptable manner, but it will correct seam peaking or seam elevation. It is important to note that the installed cushion has an effect on the success of this procedure. The recommended cushion is to be manufactured with a scrim and must have a minimum density factor of six pounds. The room is to be (Read more…)