Nicole P. SmithNicole P. Smith is a Sun Prairie, Wis.-based freelance writer and a former associate editor of Hardwood Floors.DesignHumble Gym Floor has Ties to JuilliardSchool districts across the nation perpetually struggle to find funds, so when it came time for rural Lincoln Middle School in Oakland, Ore., to replace the tattered carpet in its gymnasium, its budget left little room for hope. Neighboring flooring manufacturer J & B Wood Products, however, had just completed a custom run of madrone flooring for stages at The Juilliard School in New York and had wood left over. Mill supervisor and local parent Bob Farley approached J & B owners Bill Brownsberger and John Rideout, and the duo were more than willing to donate the necessary 4,500 square feet of flooring. "With our emphasis on wider plank flooring, we don't often run the narrow, 2¼-inch strip that Juilliard had specified. When the gym floor project came up, we realized it was a perfect fit, both for us and for the middle school," Farley says. While the students of the small school may not grasp the connection their gym now has with a renowned school of drama, dance and music, everyone fully appreciates the floor. "Everyone has chosen their own favorite board for its unique color and grain," Farley adds. "We're just glad we could help and can't wait to see the Lincoln Raiders win a few games here."August 2, 2011Green IssuesBarcode Project Gives Trees a Positive IDThere are thousands of species of trees. Some you use daily on the job site; some you may have only heard of; others remain mysterious. Fortunately, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life's (CBoL) Plant Working Group's recent agreement on a standard plant DNA barcode for identifying the world's flora has paved the way for all of the approximately 100,000 trees of the world to gain a positive ID through TreeBOL, a worldwide tree barcoding project sponsored by a grant from the Alfred B. Sloan Foundation of The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) and managed by the NYBG's Dr. Damon Little. Researchers around the globe are now collecting tree barcode data for their geographic regions, and this data will have direct applications for the forest industry, particularly timber certification. "Currently, it can be difficult to determine exactly which species a wood product was harvested from. The technique of barcoding, in combination with a good reference library, will allow the testing of wood products to ensure species identifications are correct," Little explains, adding that forest management also could see benefits. He and Brazilian collaborators are now conducting tests to see if DNA barcoding of bark samples, a minimally invasive procedure, can be used to accurately estimate species composition and relative abundance, Little says. If so, "managers will have much better data to use for policy decisions," he adds. Trees, it's time to stand up and be counted.August 2, 2011InstallationHow to Thrive in the Remodeling MarketEvery wood flooring contractor has stories about the wackiest customer he’s ever dealt with. Whether it’s unreasonable expectations or the toddler who kept wandering onto the finish, homeowners send plenty of wood flooring contractors to bed with migraines. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Managing the Emotional Homeowner: The Remodeler’s Guide to Happy Customers by David Lupberger with Bill Still (available at www.builderbooks.com; $26.95 for National Association of Home Builders members, $29.95 for nonmembers), offers some invaluable insights into creating happy homeowners during the emotional remodeling process. Some of the advice includes:• Understand how difficult remodeling is for most people. Most homeowners have more money invested in their homes than anything else, and their homes reflect who they are, so they have huge financial and emotional investments in their homes. Remodeling makes them feel vulnerable and out of control.• Because remodeling is a difficult emotional process, the homeowners look to you to take on a parental role and take care of them.• Don’t take homeowners’ anger personally. If you get caught up in the emotions of the homeowner, both sides lose.• If something goes wrong, coming across as honest is more important than being worried about “looking bad.”• Keeping homeowners informed of what to expect, such as job-site procedures and schedules, will make them more comfortable. A paper trail, such as a job-site log,can help.January 31, 2006Page 1 of 1Top StoriesDesignCraftsmanship Across the Globe: Introducing the Winners of the 2024 WFB Design AwardsHailing everywhere from Italy to Portugal to Cincinnati to Washington, D.C., to Brazil to Chicago (by way of Poland), the recipients of this year’s WFB Design Awards prove, through sweat and creativity, that true craftsmanship has no borders.Machines/ToolsMeet the Repairman Turning Edgers Into ArtworkContractingWhat’s Your Top Advice for When Things Get Slow?DesignWhite Oak vs. Red Oak: As Pressure Increases on White Oak, Red Oak Is a Versatile AlternativeSponsor ContentBona Traffic HD RAW® Damage Mitigation
