Hardwood Floors - Contractor Blog: Wayne Lee

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

A Message for You Haters in the Industry

By Scott Avery

Lately, the NWFA seems to be a target for finger-pointing as positive changes come through that the “haters” of this industry do not like. Specifically, I am talking about the series of negative comments that came through following the announcement of the NWFA Installation Guidelines being available in Spanish. Strikes me as a little odd that anyone wants to discourage the release of information that could potentially improve this industry and prevent more failed floors. I’m not trying to swing this into a political discussion, but I want to take a more serious tone about the industry and the direction I see it going. That’s right, I’m making some assumptions, but blogging occasionally has a subjective tone, and being scared to speak out isn’t in my nature.

I’m writing this post at 1 a.m. because I’m frequently awake trying to figure out how to deal with my biggest current problem: a lack of skilled help for my business. The last post I wrote about was regarding the difficulty of finding and keeping good employees these days. I’m still dealing with that problem, and based on the resumes I am getting, it’s going to be a long haul to find what my business needs. I’m going to go on a real limb here and say that as long as the politicians keep bartering at giving unemployment benefit extensions to yield tax cut extensions, the employable work force is going to suffer for just as long. I’ve had several people I wanted to hire tell me that unless they could get 40 hours of work right off the bat or be paid in cash that they didn’t want to work for fear of messing up their unemployment benefits.

If our current work force is so coddled and entitled that they are willing to stay unemployed while eating bites of Taco Bell between all the “ROFLMAO” and “LOL” texts on iPhones that I’m paying for in my business taxes, then I’m glad to purge them from the system by hiring someone new. I really don’t care in what language the manual was written as long as people know proper installation technique.

This brings me to a crossroads at my post… If I am struggling so much to find employees with a great attitude and skill set, then why not educate a new batch of students regardless of the language? As long as they can communicate with me, do good work and be legally employable, then it will help my business significantly. How you get to the end result of a math problem doesn’t matter as long as the method is reproducible and yields a correct answer.

I’m only encouraged by what I’ve seen at the Expo and where the hardwood flooring business is heading. Customers are getting sick of all the crappy products and false promises that were so prominent in the greenwashing, money-printing epidemic that existed before the economy failed. Buyers who want value are coming back in droves, and they are looking for the best contractors and products that will last for more than three years. Because there is a surge of work coming back to the contractors who maintain high quality and standards, then there must be support to educate the workforce regardless of how we do it. If we do not support education, then the industry is going to become one of indentured servitude because we will never be able to justify raising our prices without raising our level of service and quality.

Posted By Scott Avery At 1:49 AM • Comments (24)

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Videos: Machine Maintenance Tips

By Wayne Lee

Here are a few clips on my machine maintenance class from the NWFA Expo last month. My goal when we talk about machine maintenance is to make you think about the units—not when they are down, but rather when and how long we work them on every job. That 1,000-foot job cut twice is 2,000 feet, and the hours we put on the edgers add up. Stop for a moment and think about the time your units give you and the stress you put on them. Here are a couple videos:

One more thing: The NWFA is offering a class on machine maintenance—one at the St. Louis headquarters on June 16 and one in Las Vegas on Sept. 29 (both are right after Intermediate schools). Contact Tricia at NWFA for more info on attending those.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 9:26 AM • Comments (0)

Monday, April 30, 2012

On the Duality of Man: Being Firm Yet Easy-Going

By Scott Avery

For all the fun and relaxing times that I had at the Expo, the weeks that have followed have been quite a reminder in juggling life’s complications. I had to resolve some employee issues that resulted in firing and hiring new help within a 24-hour period. I am generally not a hotheaded guy, but I’ve learned that when someone crosses the boundary of employment with considerable disrespect that you have to handle it quickly or it will continue to resurface.

As contractors a lot of what seems to draw us to this business is the idea of pleasing both our ego with our workmanship and other people, particularly customers. The difficult side is that we tend to sometimes be too easy-going. This can hurt you when you have employees who take advantage of you or they become prima donnas. In my case, I had a great employee who eventually turned into a prima donna and continued to complain about all of the smallest issues, what he wasn’t getting, and how unfairly I was treating him. I felt like I was working on making him happy more than the business. In the weeks that have passed I now feel a lot happier and more relaxed because the crew is now composed of very resourceful employees.

Skills in this business are essential to survive, but I can teach those at anytime to an employee. I would rather have an upbeat and resourceful person who comes in a little green who I can continue to shape into our company procedures. As anyone who has employees knows, this business is loaded with guys who are 20-year veteran know it alls, who wouldn’t listen to anything you told them because it means they might have to change their habits. As times are changing, I’ve noticed that these people continue to sit on the sidelines without a job because their attitude and ego are more important than shutting their mouth and opening their ears.

I know for sure that in my area of the country that the market is turning around and the best customers are still out there in need of good quality service. For all of the honorable and upright contractors who read this, I really hope that your business is on the rise this year. When you decide to hire help, I would only advise you to always be aware that you are the captain of your business and that hiring and firing is a really big piece of the puzzle in this business. Being firm and yet easy-going is a hard trait to acquire; yet, I think you’ll find it essential unless you want your business to drive you crazy.

Posted By Scott Avery At 11:39 AM • Comments (0)

Friday, April 20, 2012

I Felt Like a Government Mule

By Wayne Lee

Wow, what a two-week run! Where do we begin? Hmm, let’s go back a few weeks to before the Expo.

We took on a job that is not our area of expertise: a VCT strip-and-wax job. I got a call from one of our doctor’s offices, and Mrs. Barbara said, "We have some tile work." So off we go to the doctor’s office to look at what my mind was thinking would be ceramic tile in the bathroom or entry. Well, she said, "We need the floors cleaned and heard you have the right equipment." In a blink off an eye I almost said, “We do not work on VCT cleaning.” But in that same blink my head went to money for the trip to the Expo. Now, not knowing what folks get for a strip-and-wax on VCT, I said $.50 a foot, and we can have it done in four days.

So after the fact I Googled “cost of VCT strip & wax” and, with a bucket of luck, it said .24 to .50 a square foot, so yay for dumb luck. If you have never done VCT work, it is easy as eating a slice of pie. Now the bad news: Just when you think you got the luck of the Irish, bang, the pot of gold is nowhere to be found. They had to have it done at night, plus do it in stages. The stage thing is okay, but working at night? I am in bed right after they roll the street up. I did not want to mess with Clifford working our other jobs during the day and did not want to pass on easy work, so what to do? Well, I got a worker lined up for nights, then left our day plans alone. I did not want to kill the guys, so it became my J-O-B to work day and night. Can you say old man? When I was young doing that would not have been a thing, but now, at 50, it is a huge thing. Kim (my wife) made fun of me because I would roll in about 2:30 a.m., get in the rain locker, fall into bed, then roll right out at 6 a.m. still half-asleep.

The work we had planned during the day was a 600-foot install, plus an 800-foot resand. I booked both at the same time because they were just a few homes apart and we could run between both. As the finish was drying we’d go back to the install, run back and coat, and run back and run and run and run and run … and if you know me, I do not run. Limp real fast, yes, but not run. Being worn out and running on high for 16-17 hours for six days in a row had to be some of the longest days I have put in for a long time. I felt like a government mule—worked all week and then rode to church on Sunday.

The wax job went great with no troubles other than it was late when we got done. The install was a bit of a pain only because the stairnose was not ready for us to install with the flooring, so we had to put in blanks where it was going to go so it would keep the flooring straight during the install. The room has knee walls that are 1 1/2 out from the rest of the room, and that was a bit tough to make it all look right to the eye. We had lines snapped all over to keep it all right on the mark for the room and stairnose. The sand-and-finish was not so easy! It was water damage from the ice maker line getting plugged, letting the water back-flow all over the floor. Plus—and I am not being ugly—it was dished out, with chatter and wave from the word go. I would have thought the homeowner did the work 16 years ago when the home was built, but it was a floor man who did it.

Getting it flat was the first step, so we did a 20-degree cut with 40-grit then 40 straight before we moved to the 60-grit. It was now flat and I wanted to keep it flat, so we brought in the multi-disc sander with 60-grit. The floor looked good and flat. Clifford wanted to cut with 100 on the big machine, but it was so good-looking that we went to 80-grit then 100-grit with the multi disc unit. After that we got the buffer with 120 on a soft plate. It was slick as it could be, but most of all very flat. This job was poly with super-high-gloss and, as we all know, high-gloss shows every mark, scratch and imperfection.

The fireplace was marble, and we did not want to touch it with the edger, so here is the trick we used. We taped the edge of the marble, then got a long, straight board:

wood floor trick to protect marble fireplace

wood floor trick to protect marble fireplace

We put the board on the blue line, and if you could see blue, you know it was not on the edge of the marble. We ran the edger while someone held the board down:

trick to protect marble fireplace when edging

trick to protect marble fireplace when edging

We got a straight, great-looking line:

edging right up to the marble fireplace

This removes the worry of hitting the marble and the stress of trying to repair it if you do hit it.

The wall lines are flat and clean, the photo of the cupped floor along the wall lines tells the story of the water damage:

wall line poor edge work.jpg

Just a heads-up with the trim, we do not remove it on the resand jobs. That saves the funds on the bid and time with the install of the trim. If your edger is set up correctly, it will sand tight to the base and shoe—look how tight we got to the vent and base by edging:

Edging right up to baseboard.jpg

We got the job done and put on the high-gloss poly finish with three coats, it looks like a pool of water. One thing I am not good at is taking photos, so it was very hard to get one with the finish on. The sun or any light would flash away the look; folks, this was high-gloss.

Now here is the good story of this job: They paid us $200 extra for the work we did and the little extras we did; they were vey happy with the work and attention to detail. That just feels good when you get that extra reward for the extra care. We clean up every night and make sure our path to the trailer to the home is clean, with no mess left at any time. If the job is clean, the finish is clean, and if the finish is clean you got some happy homeowners ... We got the extra reward in the end.

Good Friday came around, and Clifford had the day off, so to share the good feeling I paid him the full day’s pay. Keep that in mind if you’re the boss: If your workers are doing things right, then that—like Ken Schmidt talked about in his keynote at the Expo—will drive more great stories from the homeowners, and more jobs will come from that. So, reward your workers when you can.

The reward for me after working like a government mule was going the NWFA Expo; what a great show—my blogs about that are already up here and here (a video blog).

Posted By Wayne Lee At 12:24 PM • Comments (1)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

The Renewed Expo Attitude: My Highlights

By Wayne Lee

Since I was looking forward to the NWFA Expo and wanting extra funds for the trip, we pulled a few long days out of the trailer. I’ll catch you all up with those long days later this week, but for now let me skip ahead and tell you about the Expo (besides what I already told you in my video blog from last week).

If you were not able to make it, I understand, but if you did not come just because you were thinking it would be a waste, well, you missed out on one of the best Expos in a long time. The renewed attitude was outstanding! From the front door to the back door, it was a good time. Some highlights for me:

The start with Ken Schmidt from Harley was perfect! His detail of how Harley recovered, how they looked at the market, and every step they took as they looked hard at the things they were doing right and wrong made you rethink what we need to do in our day-to-day operations.

Next would be the classes. There is so much talent in our market shared by folks that are not just looking for the self reward, but deep inside they want to make our lives better. I was asked to do a short class on machines, so in 45 minutes we walked through some things we can do to help keep the units running. (Look for a couple short videos from that seminar coming on the blog soon.)

The awards given out this year to folks who have given back was great—I think it was 51 NWFA degrees handed out. One that gave me real joy was Mickey Moore getting the Honorary Vanguard degree; it was given for his life's commitment to making our lives better. He is an icon in the wood flooring market. Don Conner and Neil Moss were given awards for their drive and desire in the wood flooring market... They are two men who gave more than they took.

The show floor was just abuzz with the folks showing product. I did not have time to walk the show between working with Jerry at Revolution and helping Frank Kroupa with the hands-on demos; time just passed fast. It was so much fun to do the demos—I miss that part of doing the schools. Over the years it has been a treat to do the NWFA classes; I made a bunch of friends and got more out it than words can tell. As said in the past, it was teaching me to get ready for the next step in my life—such a blessing!

So let me again say this: If you have not been to a class with the NWFA, you are missing out. They are the best wood flooring classes anywhere with the best insight from our peers, manufacturers and one thing we seem to forget: history. We have the best history of wood floors and how they work. Tell me what trade has a rich history like the flooring market?

Well, back to reality: This week we have to trim out a few jobs, do a paste wax on 400 foot and repair a water damage job. That will be fun; the finish is Monocoat, and this will be the first time we have to repair a floor with this finish. I like it a bunch, so let’s see how easy it is to blend. It is a repair with about 10 boards; we need to hand-sand then blend in the finish. Yep, I will let you know how it goes. They say it is the best at blending in ... sure hope so.

It is time to get going and get the work done, thanks for reading this. Please allow me to say this: I was taken aback at the show with all the people who said they enjoy reading the blog. Thank you is not enough; it is such a blessing to see that others take the time to read what goes on in my life and path. Humbled is not the word. At the end of the day, it is all worth it; we are family and friends, and that is the best award given out at the Expo ... the handshakes, hugs and bonds will never be forgotten. God bless you all and please be safe.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 10:20 AM • Comments (1)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Leaving the NWFA Expo: T-Minus 30

By Scott Avery

So I’m giving myself just 30 minutes before I board to put my thoughts together for the NWFA Expo I just left, which is still technically happening while I write. I missed the wife and kids, so I peeled out a little early. I could literally describe it in four words: fun and fast-paced. This year was a revelation for the quality of the event compared the previous convention. The efforts of the NWFA staff, sponsors, and everyone who set foot in the door created the most positive, friendly and energetic event I’ve been to for so long.

My head has been buzzing from all of my really great new and old friends I’ve met at the Expo. There were other ethanol-fueled reasons, too, but we’ll save that for the next time I meet you all because I need to be quick, and the stories were too many for just the four days I was there. Remember I only have 30 minutes to write before I get into my coach-class cubicle for the next eight hours. The stories, though, are what our phenomenal keynote speaker told us to remember, because they make us all unique and different but give us common ground. They provide depth to your character.

I walked across the stage today and got a new degree, which is always cool. I’d like to give you another thought about things beyond the plaque that will get hung up in six months when I get around to it. I used to be a scientist; I put in six years to earn two degrees and spent six years working in the industry and I left without looking back. I knew some stuff about science but never really hit many significant accolades … maybe I didn’t try hard to stand out and it was because I was in the wrong field, where I couldn’t develop a passion for the career. I’ve spent around 10 years with NWFA now, and I feel like a Swiss army knife of knowledge because of how many opportunities this place has given me. The doors for excellence and the best network were so open at convention, and I can’t say enough about the smiles and happiness from all my friends.

I’ve heard it said that the wealthiest men built of good character always say their most valuable possession is their Rolodex—not their money. I totally agree. Genuine character and enthusiasm is a hallmark of literally every individual I met. I heard the stories about things being down and tough. The thing I say is that just by making it down to the Expo, you are going to walk away with some new improvement to your business and overall state of mind. The difference isn’t measurable right away, but the next year I’m ready to hear about all the new successes from every friend I have at the show.

Time’s about up, so I gotta be quick. Let’s do it again next year in Dallas, and I’ll bet it’s going to beat the show this year because it’s just the style of this group of people to always improve. Just make sure to remind me that it’s my turn next year to buy [my fellow HF blogger] Howard Brickman a bottle of great bourbon.

Posted By Scott Avery At 8:14 PM • Comments (0)

Video: Straight from the NWFA Convention in Orlando

By Wayne Lee If you aren't here in Orlando at the new NWFA Expo this week, you are missing out. Here I am outside the convention center at the Gaylord Palms with a few thoughts about how things are going so far at the show:
Posted By Wayne Lee At 12:55 PM • Comments (0)

Friday, April 06, 2012

Following Up on a Bad Sand Job

By Scott Avery

Yesterday I took a look at a job that was pretty messed up by another contractor. Normally I make it a point not to even entertain these phone calls, but this homeowner was just genuinely distraught with valid concerns. We never even exchanged the name of the contractor, which is cool because I don’t want to know.

The real problem of the job (fir flooring) was a lack of adequate hardplating to provide an even burnish to the floor and remove some sanding errors. Over the years what I’ve picked up on over the years living in the Northwest is that contractors think because fir is softer that it means it is easier to sand and they speed through the hardplating. The opposite is actually true because fir will readily highlight the difference between the sanding of the edger and belt machine.

The homeowner was not picky, but he had seen all of the errors and called everything into question with the contractor. The contractor got very defensive and said that nobody in this town could have done a better job. He also said that the floor could not be sanded again because it was too thin. Neither statement was true because the sanding could have been better and the floor has plenty of life left in it for a re-sand.

Excuses may make a customer go away and get you a check, but this career should be more than that. The joy for me to running a business aside from profit is fulfillment. I remember once hearing Steve Seabaugh talk about seeing his customers in Wal-Mart and getting into 30 minute conversations with them. That’s exactly how every job should conclude, with customers who really like you, your employees, etc… The ability to sleep at night happily is the reason to learn and be passionate in this business.

As I drove away from looking at that sanding job I was thinking about the resistance from the contractor and the emotion and effort necessary to put up such a fight with the homeowner. For the next few months even though the contractor was paid, you know that in the back of his mind will be the thoughts of an unsatisfied customer. The negative emotional baggage nagging at his conscience could likely affect his attitude on the next estimate.

Everything could be different for this contractor if he would change a few things by becoming educated and being honest with himself and admitting an error. The contractor’s sanding may not improve if he doesn’t start talking with other more experienced contractors and talking shop. This could happen simply by going to a few distributor barbecues and being friendly. That’s free and it comes with food, so why not go there and make a friend. My other suggestion is formal technical training, but I swear that for some contractors that’s sort of like joining Alcoholics Anonymous—where the hardest step is admitting there is a problem.

The Expo is next week, and here’s my take on things. If you live within 500 miles of Orlando, grab some Red Bull and hop in your truck. Even if you only stay one night and drive all through the night, I can promise you that there will be more collective expertise for sanding and installing wood floors than you will ever find in your town by chance. Road trips are fun, and like Howard said a while ago, you can do Expo for a low cost. Just avoiding one problem job because of what you learned at this event will easily be worth the cost of the gas. See you next week.

Posted By Scott Avery At 9:40 AM • Comments (2)

Monday, April 02, 2012

Have a Laugh at My Expense: the Bloopers Blog

By Wayne Lee The folks at Hardwood Floors made a video of some of my best moments—not—so far doing the video blog. Hope you all enjoy a laugh, and we'll see you next week in Orlando.
Posted By Wayne Lee At 11:20 AM • Comments (1)

Friday, March 23, 2012

A Work Marathon We Call Spring Break

By Scott Avery

When reading Wayne Lee’s blog posts versus mine, I’ve often gotten the feeling that people think I’m sort of a pencil pusher who talks about running a company more than what’s going on day-to-day in my business. The truth is that I work with the tools aplenty. In fact, Wayne Lee was a trainer at the very first NWFA school I went to 10 years ago, and he was just as funny and damn good at what he knows then as he talks about these days.

This was a crazy week because here in Portland we are on a two-week floor sanding and installation marathon called spring break. We are on a custom whole-house installation that was booked since January. We put this project together and it has been fun because the homeowner trusted me to run with the design elements. In the dining room we installed a herringbone that is patterned to match the ceiling detail. We’re still not done, but I thought this part was cool enough for the blog:

Herringbone wood floor.jpg

In addition to the Powerpoint for convention I promised Anita at NWFA, we got everything done and cleaned up by 6 p.m. Friday. The day wasn’t done yet, though, because I still had to get back and watch Star Wars Clone Wars with my boys when it started at 8 p.m.

We installed our herringbone the right way using a full-trowel spread of Chemrex adhesive and cleats. Trust me, I HATE working with adhesive, but on herringbone it is worth it. We needed to remove a few boards before we cut the header around the field and the glue tore out the subfloor before it let go of the flooring. That glue is AMAZING. I was covered in adhesive by the end of the day, but our floor looks perfect.

I got all of the adhesive off before my evening of Star Wars with the boys:

Scott Kids.jpg

It wouldn’t have been fun getting the glue off, but luckily I had some tubes of 3M Paint Buster, so I smell like citrus instead of lacquer thinner. It even works when you get that stuff in your hair, which I had done on Thursday.

When I was really young, there was a family friend I knew who ran a business in automotive repair and towing. He did really well financially, but he always told my dad that he enjoyed his business not because of the money but the “thrill of the hustle.” Thirty years later I see exactly what he was talking about. Our business is full of ups and downs, but the constant challenge of “hustling” makes it all worth it. Some days I play the roll of “pencil-pusher” with sales and marketing efforts, but some days I’m still in the trenches getting frustrated about working with glue and nailers that jam. Either way, it’s so rewarding that I wouldn’t change a thing. Let’s talk shop at the Expo, everyone, because I’m looking forward to meeting a ton of cool new friends.

Posted By Scott Avery At 10:36 AM • Comments (0)

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A Gift From Under the Carpet

By Wayne Lee

I went to an estimate Saturday and the homeowner said that they took up the old carpet and look what they found—a hand-installed top-nail 5/16 floor! This is a 90-to 100-year-old home and can you see some nut job putting carpet over this?

5-16 hand nailed floor.jpg

The border is hand-cut, the field is tight and it looks like the flooring was cut on site. I am going to get this job; we will not get underbid. I want to repair the flooring, resand it, coat it and make it look like it should. Can you understand why they put carpet on it?

Now on to a bad deal that had me just a bit unhappy… I did a bid on a job and was given the job by the GC. Well, I got a call from the job foreman, and he said he found a better deal and he was going with the other folks. So I asked, ”Who can make that change? He said, “I can, and you’re too high.” I asked, “How much less,” and he said, “$3,000 less.” They have no idea what it will take to make that floor look right, but go for it. We will not drop our price, so have at it. It did make me upset that they played that game, but what can you do? I do not think we will be working for this guy in the future.

We got to the hickory job this week and man did it look great—No. 2 common 4-inch hickory with a ton of heartwood in it:

Hickory wood floor with monocoat.jpg

We installed it, then we let it sit for a few days, then we got it ready for finish. Once more, they went with Monocoat finish. I tell ya, folks, if you want the matte look, try it. It’s easy to buff in and easy to make it look great. The key is to make sure you finish the floor as if you were going to stain it. Get the scratch out along the walls and door jambs just like you would with hand paper and hand work, then buff it out.

Clifford ran the multi-disc sander on the floor; it is flat flat flat flat flat. We call the sander Sweetie because the floor is so sweet when you’re done, and did I say flat? Our concern is the scratch from the unit, so we follow that up with the buffer and 120-grit gold paper. Recall the soft plate idea, where we use the pads to make it cut less or more? On this one here, we went with the 120-grit gold on a new driver that I made with a ¾-inch red pad. My pad driver is nice, and if you are coming to the NWFA Expo, I will be showing it at the Revolution booth.

In my head, the pad drivers we all use did not offer the best use of the paper and the buffer. So that set the wheels in motion… this is a mix of steel, plastic and rubber with the uniform grip face. So come see it and please give me your insight.

Well, we start the next job Thursday. It’s a simple install, sand and finish with a set of stairs to install. This is the nice part: The floor is on the second floor, and the homeowner took the wood up for us… yay, and thank you very much. How many times will that happen? Not just to tote the wood, but even better, up the stairs ... someone is living right.

We trim out the hickory job in the AM and make sure we get the tools back in place for Thursday. Clifford said, "Boy, we drag out the tools," and he is right, you just do not know how many till you have got to put them back. Trust me, we clean at the end of each day, and it just seems like we have hours to put stuff away. I like everything in its place and everything has a place... I hate looking for stuff when you need it. We both know where the tools are, and it helps us never forget anything. If the spot is open, then it is not put away, and that saves money and time.

Alright, it is getting late and I need to hit the rain locker before supper. Be safe.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 7:14 PM • Comments (1)

Friday, March 16, 2012

Potluck Catch-Up Blog, Part 2

By Wayne Lee

To pick up where I left off:

I did a floor repair last week; the homeowner cannot find it, and they know where it was. The flooring is all shorts:

Shorts floor repaired with finish.jpg

There is not one stick is longer than 18", so it was not easy to find shorts. I went to a paint store that sells wood flooring, and they had broken bundles that were right up my needs. They sold the loose flooring to me at a great price, and they got rid of the stuff they have no need for (and most time just put in the fireplace). They looked at me a bit funny till I showed them the photo of what we were doing.

Clifford took it out:
Shorts floor repair.jpg

... and I got to put it back in. We used the palm nailer, so the cleat was just like we never took it out.

Palm Nailer.jpg

I like this new tool; it is not faster than hand nails or pin nails, but the flooring looks better. We have been doing this for years with a large palm nailer and 8d nails. It hides the nails in the flooring, and we only have to top-nail the last row. Some folks glue down the last few rows and top-nail the last row and that is great but for me… I cannot open a glue jug or gun without it getting all over me, so I like the palm nailers. I will be getting one more unit so we can get the wall lines done faster. ?

I like working this hard, and when the backside hits the chair, it is lights out. Clifford is a huge plus; he is getting the feel for the sanders, and on the last job he ran the edger with 60 grit. It was an old floor that had to be cut 40, 60, and 100. He was ready to take it on but I did not want him to make deep cuts, so I went ahead of him with 40 and got it clean and flat, and then he came behind me with the 60 to start the cleanup cut. “Hide the scratch” is all he had to think about, and he did a great job of doing it. The funny thing is, he is a “man of a certain age” ... he uses what we call readers (glasses with the power to start a fire in the sun beam). For the first room he did without, but then he went back wearing his readers and saw the scratch. Getting old is no fun! We also drag a bright light with us to show the scratch, but you have got to be real sure not to polish the wood. We cannot hear and now we cannot see, how funny is that?! The good news? We are not bald.?

Well, I have got to get to work, I took the half day to get this done. I feel bad when the blog is not done, but we have got to cut hay when the sun shines. My task is to write about the things we face every day and give the feeling that we are not alone during the challenges we face. This is a nice challenge; getting the work then makes it all come together in a short timeline. Here is one thing to think about: the trust folks have in you and your staff. They open their house to us and trust we will do the best work we can and not violate the confidence they place in us. That is very important to the next job and the next job. Word of mouth is our best sales tool.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 3:58 PM • Comments (3)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Potluck Catch-Up Blog, Part 1

By Wayne Lee

This blog will be a bit of everything, as I have been trying to keep up with demands. It is so wonderful to have jobs in line!

The last two jobs went with Monocoat finish and we were able to sell two more with the same look. I bid one Saturday that will go with it also; let’s hope they give us the okay. It is something we are doing here to set us apart—trying new ideas and getting great floors. I like the wood filler we just started with—Precision Liquid Woodfiller. It is the same tone/color and takes stain or finish great. The nail holes from the carpet removal hide great; in fact, it filled some bigger holes in the flooring when it splits from the nails. We have had the blessing to be awarded the last 12 bids...12 for 12 right now.

During my last years working as a rep, one of the best sales training classes that I can recall over 24 years was from Bill Munn. He made it easy and right to the point; his teaching is off-the-wall but so dead-nuts on. Something we do—that he made real clear to me during the training—is to look at your competition, see what they do, and then do something totally different. We look at the finish they all use and use something different; we look at the fillers, sanders, how they sand, and on and on. One tool we added to our jobs is the multi-disc sander; this gives us the flat look we can sell over others.

It is easy to review not only others but your style, your past jobs and the look that brings home the something extra to the bid. One thing we did at a big risk? Not lower our price. With gas going up, we are going to add more to the price. The key? Make sure you can bring the goods with that price.

On to more of the potluck… Recall when I said we have to deal with a common pole for juice? Well, here is what we have to hook up to at times:

Common Pole for Power Hookup.jpg

Looks good, but the only fear is having enough cord to get into the home, plus—and this is real important—make sure your cords outside do not have twist-lock plugs. If the water, mud or whatever gets in it, you will have trouble. Be safe when it comes to the juice, that cord has 20 amps of knock-you-down or worse. So be a jerk if you see others messing with the cords, and if they do not understand, show them the danger it can be if they screw it up. The power box is great for jobs like this, because you have the four-wire hook up. At that point you’re bringing in your 220 along with the 110 power you will need. We have two of them and have hooked both of them up many times. We also have twist lock plugs on our cords once we get it inside; this way no one can unplug us and use the cords we have run.

The other pain is getting HVAC working for us. The GC understands we need it to get the home done, but the inspector thinks we need to have a final before the house gets total hookup. They make life hard at times, but do not make them mad, because they have a way of making the job come to a stop. Is the phrase “big-head power-nut” too harsh?

(Part 2 of the Potluck to come soon…)

Posted By Wayne Lee At 12:24 PM • Comments (4)

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Being Safe Doesn't Make You Less of a Man

By Wayne Lee Lots of guys don't think it's cool or manly to use safety equipment on the job, but I don't agree:
Posted By Wayne Lee At 12:45 PM • Comments (1)

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Strong Feelings About Why I Lost This Job

By Scott Avery

Recently I had a customer email and agree to our price for a project. However, she wanted us to use specific stains and finishes because they were well-marketed by a couple of particular product manufacturers as being very low-VOC and the best thing since sliced bread. In fact, the stains were not made by the water-based finish manufacturer, but by a different manufacturer. I explained to her that this month is exceptionally busy and that given her timeline, we were unwilling to experiment with a new line of products and mix systems. It is risky and voids the chance of a manufacturer warrantying their product. We were going to use our preferred brand of water-based finish with the manufacturer’s approved stain. We consistently know there will not be a problem with this system, and the finish is a very good-quality product. I did not hear back from her, even though she had texted me the night before that she was excited to work with us following the estimate. I’ve written about this before when I wrote a post titled “Chemicals Don’t Care.”

This is the NWFA, so I have to be name-free when discussing products, and I will leave out the company names, but I have a message for the product manufacturers that is a very strong message, so if you have thin skin, click to the next link on E-News or the blog. I believe that manufacturers of wood flooring products who market to the homeowner in an attempt to get the homeowner to mandate that the contractor use their product on the homeowner’s floors are sellouts to the industry and the trades. Contractors with real experience should sell and deliver the finish system that they prefer and that they know is of good quality. Consistency of quality should trump a 50g/L VOC difference between your preferred product and the homeowner-preferred product. Who’s the professional? I hope that the flooring contractors reading this will walk away from jobs in which the homeowner mandates product choices that are not in your comfort range for whatever reason. This is especially important on high-risk jobs with important deadlines. Experiment on small jobs if you want to learn a new finish, but stand your ground if something doesn’t feel right.

I have a better message for product manufacturers that want to drive the market by appealing to homeowners: Look up “Pareto’s principle.”

Using the “spray and pray” principle by marketing to everyone is only good when you do not care about your long-term reputation and the top 20 percent you should care about—the contractor. Understand that we all talk amongst ourselves and look to the manufacturers of products who care about our interests first. We sing the praises of those products and literally sell your product for you when we’re at the next distributor barbecue. This is called influence, and it spreads so deep in the wood floor community that my next recommendation is reading “The Tipping Point.” Learn about the different personality types and why you should care about “influencers,” “mavens,” and “connectors” instead of the homeowner, even though they outnumber us.

I hope the audience reading this will understand something: I’m certainly not bitter about losing a job. We have so much work on the books that I’m referring work right now, and I’ll let a few go by before I will take a risk that severely impacts my employees or time with my family. I really want all of the contractor readers to stop and take a stand by being the professional in the driver's seat when it comes to product choices. Stay with what works for you, and learn new products slowly and carefully—not at the demands of an Internet-obsessed, pseudo-professional homeowner. Stay cool until next time, and remember, we’re all on the same team.

Posted By Scott Avery At 5:54 PM • Comments (13)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Dream of the NWFA Founders

By Wayne Lee

I cannot tell you how nice it was to just sand an oak floor—no stress or stain to worry about. We got the 1,100-foot job sanded and coated with not one problem. Yay for a great job, yay because it was fun! Clifford is in the learning stage of sanding floors with me; he is doing well. He did the rough cut with the big machine on most of the 1,100 feet, but it was best if I did the fine cuts. He left a few drum marks, but overall it was good. He has not worked with the edger at all, so in order for him to come behind the last cut with the jitter bug (palm sander) I had to put it in high gear to make the last cut with the big machine, then get right on the edger with the last cut. You know how we say the edger man must keep up with the big machine? Well, I had to keep up with myself and stay ahead of Clifford. When I got done, the edger was out of breath and I’m not real sure that the big machine wasn’t limping a bit. That was a LOL...

I have been reading Scott’s blog about the NWFA’s future and the next folks to step up. Let me share what was my drive to be the “next” some years ago. Look at the folks who got the NOFMA and NWFA training programs going. The leaders who set the bar were only concerned with one thing: making the wood flooring knowledge stronger. It was in the mid ’90s that I first went to the NOFMA class, and the program was so good that it was clear to me I needed to be a part of it. My request went into my boss, Dick Hammond. I told him, “You have got to find a way for me to be a part of the NWFA and the training programs.” Dick was glad to get me in the program; at the time he was the only one working with the NWFA through Clarke American Sanders.

Wayne Lee teaching at the September 1997 NOFMA NWFA Wood Flooring Installation School.jpg

Wayne Lee teaching at the September 1997 NOFMA NWFA Wood Flooring Installation School.jpg

That's me in the green shirt at the NOFMA school back in September 1997.

Dick had a great saying that still sticks with me: “If you do not train someone to replace yourself, then you can never move forward." Well, Mr. Hammond has retired, along with the founders of the training programs. It was time for his replacement to step up. I never felt worthy to take the place of so many that gave so much to the dream of the NWFA founders—the dream to make the wood flooring market stronger.

Now I sit on the sidelines, looking back at the years and the gift of being a part of the same dream. The truth be told, I was being trained for my future. Twenty-four years later, my task with Clarke is done, and my new path as a flooring contractor is growing. Some folks told me that it would not work, that I would be like the other reps that lost a job and wanted to be in the flooring market ... they told me, “You will fail.” It made me think: Are they right? But at that point, my heart said, “Boy, you got this! The NWFA/ NOFMA schools have you so ready.” From that point, the training kicked in, with all the information, the network of friends and the love of the dream to make the wood flooring market better… better right here in Northwest Tennessee. And along the way, to use the skills, grow the knowledge.

Here is what matters when you are going from nothing to a growing dream in this business: If you are not a member of the NWFA, then join! The network of folks is HUGE. You may think you are the only one having trouble with a floor, but someone has been there and done that. Most of all, they are willing to help share and fix your pain. Take the classes. I had never sanded a floor before the NOFMA class. I was a wrench in a service center, fixing tools with no clue how to use them. I was the best at setting up a sander, but get me behind it, and look out walls, here comes an out-of-control big machine! My desire was to be the best not only with a wrench, but also at making the sanders do what they do. After every class, my skills grew; after every class, my desire grew.

Now that you have joined, use the tools they offer at the NWFA. How many times are we getting beat up by the lowest bid? Why not sell your knowledge with your skills? Over the years it has been my pleasure to earn the NWFA degrees from Craftsman to Vanguard. You can improve your skills, but most of all, your knowledge, and we know knowledge is our first selling point with any job we bid. They do not see your skills until you start the job. I make sure folks know that Cardinal Hardwood is always learning, improving and, most of all, working with the NWFA. I take along the tech books on estimates; when a question pops up, I can give them not just my insight, but the information in print from the folks that set the standards. I use the job-site checklist and show them why we look in the crawl space, check rain water control, and on and on. You become the comfort company—the company that removes the fears and worries for the homeowner. We use the degrees over others, because they tell folks that Cardinal Hardwood is not a company with a just a drop saw and nailer—we are improving, we are leading and we are held to a higher standard.

So, here is my question: Who will fill the shoes of the founders? The Dick Hradeckis, Roland Holders, Warner Tweeds, Big Mac McLaughlins, Dick Hammonds, and the most recent, the Mickey Moores, Tim McCools, Daniel Boones and Steve Seabaughs. I like the future with the NWFA, with new leadership, new ideas and younger folks who have the dream. You have got to ask yourself this question, and please allow me wiggle room. JFK said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Well, ask not what the NWFA can do for you, but what you can do for the NWFA and the dream of our founders. I sit (mostly) on the sidelines with joy, feeling blessed that so many people gave their time, skills and knowledge. Without it, I would still have a job, but they were the ones who gave me a craft.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 10:02 PM • Comments (5)

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

We Are the Next Generation of NWFA

By Scott Avery

I have a real fondness for the NWFA because I’ve known it for so long. I think of all of my friends and how I can call them at anytime because they’re so smart and so friendly. Lately I’ve started popping into the forum on the Hardwood Floors magazine website, and sometimes the conversations get a little heated. In fact, one person who recently posted a topic on the forum actually apologized for stirring up a few of the regulars on the forum because they sort of got into an argument. Not long afterwards, I was in a conversation with a really good friend and great floor contractor I know named Avi. He brought to my attention that we should do our best to never have a contractor apologize like that, and I agree. We are supposed to be a warm and inviting group of folks, not an Internet gang engaged in turf wars. The NWFA is a professional resource and we should conduct ourselves in a way that makes people learn more from our discussions and want to be a part of our organization.

A number of people beyond Avi have also mentioned examples of other websites and forums in our business that have become breeding grounds for a few dominant forum members who like to bicker. It has since devalued and made a mockery of those websites and forums. The NWFA is an organization I am committed to, and I want to do all I can to have people see our forums and blogs as a hub of knowledge. Because Avi and I are young guys in our 30s who are really passionate about our peers and NWFA, I told him I would like to share with you all his thoughts on the forum and how even the “young” guys care about those who are sitting on the fence about the value of our organization and our forums on the Hardwood Floors website.

Enter Avi and his words to the readers regarding the next generation of NWFA members:

We are taking action to help shape and promote our trade for the better. We will make things better by being everywhere. We will be on the committees, on the Hardwood Floors magazine website, at the convention and at the NWFA schools. Our mission is to help all wood flooring contractors specifically and the trade in general by sharing the experience and the knowledge we have. We will promote common sense in every aspect of our professional lives. We will start by flooding the HF Forum with good contractors who will push away incorrect or misleading information. We will do so by being professional and technical. We will not engage in any back-and-forth ego competitions. We do have a code of honor that is we respect each other for trying to do the right thing. If you will use our forum to your advantage or cross the lines, we will respond. We are powerful, we are confident and we never stop learning. Who are we? We are the next generation of the NWFA. Together we stand, divided we fall.

That’s the end of his statement, but I think it should become the tipping point for all NWFA members in thinking about how we can check our feelings and ego when we use a keyboard or our mouth around other people in the business or homeowners. If we are going to grow and improve as an industry, then it only happens because we deliver value to prospective members. I’ve been in and out of several organizations, and members leave and fail to join when the organization decides to quit trying to be better and chooses “the least common denominator.” Members who have been there for a too long form a clique and stay together or act like a bunch of “fakes” in person to entice you to join so they can win the membership drive.

This post isn’t a membership drive; it’s about the readers and letting you know that everyone matters. Value comes in the form of better education, networking, and business relationships. I ask two things of those who read this blog:

If you are going to talk, then make it helpful and not pedantic.
Ask your questions and don’t be afraid of judgment in any way.

If you can turn on a computer and read this then… Please join the forum with your knowledge and let’s start networking and connecting. I want to hear more about the stuff that I’ve never done because I didn’t know it was possible. I want to see more photos of floors that didn’t make it to “Floor of the Year” for whatever reason even though they rock. Let’s talk about ways to do everything better and more efficiently so that we make the under-bidders and competition frustrated because they just don’t have the skills or time to step up their game to the level of this group of contractors who really care. Everyone, let me hear your thoughts.

Posted By Scott Avery At 4:24 PM • Comments (4)

Monday, February 20, 2012

Dawg, Sanding This Floor Was a Huge Task!

By Wayne Lee

What can be said, I have not written a word in awhile, but we have laid and sanded more than words can express.

The yellow pine job that the horse walked on is done, but what a job it was getting the stain right. The dust would plug up the upper roller, so after each cut we had to stop and clean the unit. We found out the floor in the area where the horse walked was so thin that we could not do the best hard-plating job, and the knots were a pain in the bu--ffer. (I did not want to use bad words, sorry young readers.)

We hit the floor with every hand tool and soft plate, but there was still a roll in the floor that we could not get out. The floor is done and paper thin, so hand work was the only way to get all the scratches out. The stain was not difficult, just tough to keep even; pine is not a good one to stain, as we all know.

Here is the floor after sanding:

Yellow pine floor after sanding.jpg

Here's what happened all the time with the upper roller:

Dirty upper roller from big machine.jpg

Here's the floor after staining:

Yellow pine floor after stain.jpg

... and with the finish on it:

Yellow pine floor after finish.jpg

The next task was the 1,600 feet of the thermo-treated maple. We installed it and let it sit for a bit so it would do what it was going to do as far as movement. We have not sanded thermo flooring before, so in a few words... dawg, it was a huge task! The flooring cut like butter, but each and every scratch from the paper was very hard to remove. We started with the big machine and 40 grit to get the overwood gone, next we tried 60 grit, but it cut the flooring so fast and bad that we knew there was no way the scratch would come out. We made a few cuts and put it back on the trailer. I got the multi-disc sander out with 50 grit, and thank God, it worked! From that point on, we only used the multi-disc sander on the job all the way to 100 grit. We did not skip a grit, we went 50-60-80-100, and I have got to say it was flat as a tabletop.

The next task was to get the fine scratch out from the multi-disc sander, so the 12x18 orbital sander had to come out of the trailer. We used 120-grit with a thick red pad and a SPP pad to keep it flat. My fear was the floor would be so smooth that it would not take finish. Here is a photo showing where we had to do a tape line; the right part has finish and the left part is unfinished (but is so slick it looks like it has finish on it):

Thermo treated maple.jpg

We had the Monocoat going on this job, so knowing that we were going to buff in the finish put my mind at rest. You can see from the photo how flat and smooth it was and the cut line we had from the hall to the bedroom. I have never got a floor this slick and hope I never have to again. The thermo flooring was one of the hardest floors we have sanded. It was like sanding plastic; you can get it smooth, but you always see a scratch. We did hand work and hand work and more hand work just to get it scratch free. I am worn out from both jobs.

I have to go back to the job and install the doors, go over the floor and make sure that we did not miss anything. I am so looking forward to a floor that is just seal and coats of poly. I start that in the morning; it will be a walk in the park compared to the last two jobs. We start a 1,100-foot resand in town—an old floor that needs to be made to look like new. It will be so sweet to just do the same-old, same-old on a floor.

The good news is we have a few jobs in a row, so that will help with getting the funds for the NWFA Expo in Orlando; I am still looking forward to the going to the show and getting a rest. We were lucky to get the last seven estimates approved, so we are seven-for-seven, and, no, we were not the lowest bids. It was a joy to sell the job, not bid the job. The other trades just came in, gave a flat price then said, “We can start next week.” Well, our time looking under the house, checking the subfloor and all that we do to share the skills needed to complete the job paid off. I am glad they took the time with us and very glad to see the lower price guys get the message that it is a craft we do, not a job.

Well this is getting long. I hope the photos we sent in show the work that had to go into the floors. We pulled the rabbit out of the hat on both jobs and, like I said, thank God they both look good.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 6:15 PM • Comments (0)

Monday, February 13, 2012

What Has Time Done for Your Attitude?

By Scott Avery

I was recently told that a person I knew only through social media had passed away. His name was Hank Wiley (aka "The Sandman"), and over the last two years he hadbecome a fan of my company on Facebook and often commented on our work and our blog. I had really become fond of Hank, and later, when messaging with him through Facebook, I found out that he had ALS, something that recently took his life. According to a few industry friends, Hank was an exceptional person and a great floor guy. Even though I had never met Hank in person, I know that by his positive comments on our fan page he was still passionate about the trade, even in the retirement years. He was someone I wished that I could have met and learned from before his passing.

In our industry the years seem to go by quickly, and I’m always interested in seeing what time does for someone’s attitude. Some people seem to use time in the field as an assumption of greatness without regard to contribution to those around them. I see the comments often posted in the forums and sometimes on the blog about the number of years people have been in the business, and yet these people are virtually unknown when you ask around at the distributor or within the industry. I don’t assume to know the answer, but when my time comes, I don’t want people standing around saying things as generic as, “He did floors for 50 years. He’s dead. Let’s go have lunch.” I want to be known for contribution and passing on information that improved a life.

I don’t claim to have 30-plue years in the business, but I do know that I have a level of knowledge that likely exceeds that of most 30-year veterans in the field who never participate in learning, and that is because I have consistently spent the last 10 years around the best mentors in the industry at NWFA. Come to think of it, the veterans who I’ve been around in the NWFA never really use their number of years in the business as a statement of credentials. They just “talk shop” a lot, and it quickly becomes apparent they still have a passion to educate and a deep base of knowledge. That is what participation in a high-quality organization does for you. It makes the learning curve disappear exponentially and accelerates the process of mastery.

If I were to determine admission to the Expo or membership in NWFA based on who I want to participate, it would be:

Good attitude
No experience necessary, but experience is welcome if you qualify for #1
Be honest
Be genuine
Interest in meeting new people.

That’s it, that’s all.

I want people who contribute to be a part of the NWFA and be a part of my circle. Come join me at the Expo—even if you just bought your first sander—and I promise I’ll introduce you to my crew of peers and you’ll learn something cool or helpful. Maybe you’ll even win the Harley.

What I also really want to start this year is an army of passionate craftsmen (or craftswomen) who, regardless of credentials, want to raise the bar for service and return a level of pride to the business. It’s much more productive than the same old speech of how bad the economy is and how much you’re being underbid. Those people might as well stay home. There are two choices:

Complaining about being underbid all the time and expecting jobs based on your tenure. Or…
Differentiating yourself as a craftsman using the brain connected to your body to justify your cost.

If anyone reads this post and you are coming to Expo, then do me a favor and e-mail me or leave a comment. I want to plan an additional brainstorming and networking session after my presentation on Tuesday so I can learn from the readers. Sometimes it gets a little lonely writing, because you don’t know who is out there reading and what to talk about.

Posted By Scott Avery At 7:03 PM • Comments (7)

Thursday, February 09, 2012

Easy Tech Tips to Improve Your Business

By Scott Avery

Sometimes tech evades the attention of a contractor. The brilliant side of running a company these days is that you can use technology to really identify ways to improve your business, specifically your marketing efforts. I’ll introduce you to a few key tricks and tools I’ve used very economically to help my business.

Crowdsourcing: Typically this is an online contest or contracting resource with a reward to the winner in which you determine the payout. I’ve often used a website called Hatchwise to host online design competitions for brochures and logos. There are other websites such as 99Designs for design help. The beauty of crowdsourcing is that you are able to tap into the collective creative potential of everyone registered to the particular website. You don’t end up locked into the designs of one individual in your local community. There are also other websites such as eLance that allow you to use talent globally to get a multitude of things done such as website design, etc.
Google Voice: I started my business years ago and originally used my personal cell phone number for the contact information. That was okay until I realized that I was getting tired of phone calls beyond business hours (whether I answered them or not). When you start growing your presence online, you will quickly see that you have to separate your personal cell phone from your business. Google Voice numbers are available free of charge. Calls to your Google Voice can be seamlessly forwarded to your cell phone whenever you want, along with tons of other options. In fact, while in Germany I used Google Voice to stay in touch free of charge with my family, employees, and customers via text without having outrageous data usage fees (which I would have had if I used my personal cell phone).
OWLE Bubo: This little guy is amazing. Combined with your iPhone or iPod Touch, you can take some seriously good amateur photos and video. Add a microphone, light, or tripod and it can do it all. I feel that professional photography is best for your gallery on the website, but your Facebook fan page or your blog are a great place to host your basic shots. This thing can turn your smartphone (which usually produces slightly shaky video) into a pretty good filming device.
Quickbooks Online: I started using Quickbooks years ago. At that time I was sold on Mac, and my wife was PC. I also had an office away from my house (where my wife does bookkeeping). Needing multiple copies of the software for different computing platforms and locations wasn’t going to work … enter cloud computing. For $40/month we have the most updated software, available anytime anywhere there is an Internet connection, and with a smartphone app too. I can be doing jobs locally, e-mail estimates on the spot, and ask my wife to send invoices while she is visiting family in another state once the job is sold. That’s amazing in my eyes.
Wordpress App: If you have a smartphone and want to blog and generate good content, then you’re in luck. This app is amazing and allows you to use those 30 minutes before your next estimate to share your thoughts or a project on your website. You can add photos and videos on the spot also. Although I’m mentioning Wordpress only, other apps exist for Drupal and Joomla blogging platforms.

These are a few of my key favorite tech tools that I rave about lately. I have seen a real improvement in my efficiency as a business owner using these tools to get things done for a good cost. Send me an email or leave a comment if I can help you with any of these.

Posted By Scott Avery At 9:18 PM • Comments (0)

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