In the not-so-distant past, cell phones still seemed like frivolous wastes of money. Today people take for granted the ability to call anyone at anytime, but the downloadable applications that came with smartphones are still revealing their potential to make lives easier. The following are a few Apple and Android apps that could make life in the wood flooring business a little easier. The apps listed here had the best customer reviews. Do you have other apps we should know about? Email HF.
WoodTek by National Wood Floor Consultants Inc. ($9.99)National Wood Floor Consultants says this app for iPhone helps flooring contractors, installers and inspectors project wood movement within the environment. The app calculates gapping, room expansion, moisture gain, cupping, crowning, equilibrium moisture content, install moisture, indoor relative humidity and dew point. It also provides wood species identification pictures.
In the not-so-distant past, cell phones still seemed like frivolous wastes of money. Today people take for granted the ability to call anyone at anytime, but the downloadable applications that came with smartphones are still revealing their potential to make lives easier. The following are a few Apple and Android apps that could make life in the wood flooring business a little easier. The apps listed here had the best customer reviews. Do you have other apps we should know about? Email HF.
WoodTek by National Wood Floor Consultants Inc. ($9.99)National Wood Floor Consultants says this app for iPhone helps flooring contractors, installers and inspectors project wood movement within the environment. The app calculates gapping, room expansion, moisture gain, cupping, crowning, equilibrium moisture content, install moisture, indoor relative humidity and dew point. It also provides wood species identification pictures.
The Woodshop Widget by Grand Unified LLC ($3.99)This Old House Magazine called this app "a must for us." It allows users to compare up to 288 species of wood for hardness, density and movement; calculate movement, board volume, squareness and shellac formulas; and convert decimals to fractions. The app is available for all Apple and Android products.
Wood H2O by Wagner Electronic Products Inc. (Free)This free app from Wagner Meters calculates equilibrium moisture content and helps troubleshoot a variety of wood moisture problems. The app also provides links to specific gravity settings, manuals and other wood moisture resources.
Dimensional Calculator by Seneca Creek Software ($1.99)The Dimensional Calculator for Android converts between dimensional formats in feet, inches, fractions, yards, meters, centimeters and millimeters as well as areas and volumes. It allows users to enter compound units and add, subtract, multiply and divide linear, square and cubic dimensions.
iHandy Level by iHandySoft Inc. (Free)Level apps are great in a pinch, and this one has a vertical, horizontal and surface level. Customer reviews are better on Apple products than Android, but it is available for both.
Ridgid Digital Bubble Level by Ridgid Software Solutions (Free)This free level for both operating systems has vials for plumb, level and 45-degree miter, showing the measurements being recorded by the sensors. The program can be calibrated for phones with buttons or cameras that could otherwise interfere with readings.
MSDS Online by KHA (Free)This app for Apple products allows users to search the MSDS and SDS database for products and manufacturers. Users can save items in a favorites folder and forward entries by fax, email, tweet, Facebook post or text message.
Perch-Small Business by Closely Inc. (Free)Perch helps business owners keep an eye on their competitors' social media, delivering tweets, Facebook posts, online promotions and reviews for businesses on the user's "watchlist." This free app is available for both Apple and Android phones.