The NWFA is moving to a greatly expanded technical training schedule for 2014, with 43 weeks of educational opportunities in 20 states and Canada, most hosted by local distributors. The workshop format allows attendees to sign up for the entire week of training or only for specific days. The daylong workshop topics vary by location.
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The NWFA is moving to a greatly expanded technical training schedule for 2014, with 43 weeks of educational opportunities in 20 states and Canada, most hosted by local distributors. The workshop format allows attendees to sign up for the entire week of training or only for specific days. The daylong workshop topics vary by location.
Below are descriptions and costs of all of the educational and certification opportunities NWFA will provide in 2014, including prerequisites for progressive-skill courses.
Educational Workshops:
All educational workshops are $199 each for NWFA members.
Jobsite Preparation and Testing teaches you how to properly manage your project before the installation begins. This workshop covers the job-site checklist, moisture testing methods, water and wood relationships, structural fundamentals, subfloor preparation, wood, concrete, and flattening substrates, and how to best prepare the job site.
Moisture Mitigation & Water/Wood covers wood acclimation and conditioning, jobsite evaluation, water and wood relationships, moisture testing and moisture meters, concrete testing, hygrometers, and proper documentation methods.
Problems, Causes & Cures explores an in-depth dissection of common problems, identifying their causes, and how to cure them. The workshop will focus on problems specific to the geographic location of the event.
Limiting Your Liability (Who's Responsible?) addresses common causes of failures on the job site, the relationship between inspectors and contractors, protecting yourself against liability, documentation methods, inspection practices, and disclaimers.
Estimating/Job Costing provides a step-by-step analysis of estimating. Use real-life examples to learn about reading blueprints and job costing in order to be more profitable and minimize call-backs.
Wood Floor Repairs provides an introduction to advanced level repair work on finished floors, injections, board replacements, factory finished repairs, color matching, dyes and shellacs, color theory, and collecting payment for the job.
Finish Application/Color addresses finish problems, causes, and cures, finish technologies, UV finishes, oils, waxes, stains, dye applications, and custom color methods. Receive hands-on training for various finish application methods.
Machine Maintenance covers jobsite maintenance of sanding and installation equipment. Bring your own tools for hands-on maintenance.
EPA Lead Safe Renovators Course will help you earn Lead Renovator Certification, as required by the EPA.
Wood Floor Sales provides an overview of selling wood floors and helping your customer make the right choice in their flooring selection. This workshop also covers how to define the responsible party and how that can relate to flooring failures. Progressive Skill Levels:
The four-day intermediate and advanced level courses are $595 for NWFA members, and the five-day Master Craftsman training costs members $875.
Principles of Wood Flooring is a four-day training event that provides a comprehensive entry-level overview of installation and sand & finish of wood flooring. This training is ideal for wood flooring professionals new to installation or new to selling wood in a retail setting. Expect to walk away with a solid understanding of the entire process of installation and sand and finish. Topics include wood origins, water and wood relationships, milling practices, jobsite evaluation and preparation, installation methods, sand and finish application methods, and wood floor maintenance.
Intermediate Installation is a four-day training event covering different topics and hands-on experiences at an intermediate level. Sharpen your installation skills, including job-site evaluation and preparation, installation techniques, safety, custom entry-level borders, and medallion installations. This training features a hands-on approach to installing unfinished and factory-finished wood floors, including thorough training of installation methods for nail-down, glue-down and floating floors. Learn how to incorporate simple design elements, allowing you to offer your client a custom wood floor while increasing your portfolio. Learn basic job-site tool setup and maintenance. Intermediate Sand & Finish is a four-day training event providing extensive hands-on training for sanding and finishing wood floors at an intermediate level. Learn how to properly sand different species of wood, correctly use and maintain tools, repair and recoat existing floors, and select finishing techniques that will yield top-quality results. Receive hands-on training for techniques including multiple board replacement, hand scraping, removing finish imperfections, and pad and recoat methods for aluminum oxide. Learn how to properly flatten a wood floor, minimize scratch patterns, and bring the wood to an acceptable state for stain and finish application, as well as sanding and refinishing factory-finished wood floors. Advanced Installation is a four-day training event designed for experienced wood flooring professionals. Topics covered include techniques for installing and developing parquetry into the flooring element, bending wood, mixed media, advanced flooring design, creating balance with the floor design, and using borders and features to define the design. This training also includes instruction on installing factory-finished wood floors at an advanced level. Elevate your level of craftsmanship and open the door for new business opportunities.
Prerequisite: To be eligible to attend this event, you must have at least three years' experience in the wood flooring industry and have successfully completed an NWFA Intermediate Installation training event.
Advanced Sand & Finish is a four-day training designed for experienced wood flooring professionals. Learn how to sand and finish a custom wood floor using different finishing techniques, repair damaged flooring, and mix custom stains and finishes to blend the repair. This event includes extensive work with multi-head sanders and sanding multi-directional and mixed species flooring patterns, and helps you successfully prepare difficult species and color combinations.
Prerequisite: To be eligible to attend this event, you must have at least three years' experience in the wood flooring industry and have successfully completed an NWFA Intermediate Sand & Finish training event.
Master Craftsman Training is a five-day event designed for the higher level craftsman. Training may encompass elements such as jigs, taper boards, routing, hand-scraping, and other specific topics that define the highest level of competence in wood floor craftsmen, taught by some of the leading industry experts.
Prerequisite: To be eligible to attend this event, you must have at least three years' experience in the wood flooring industry and have successfully completed an NWFA Advanced level training event. Certification Training and Testing Sites:
Certification training workshops cost NWFA members $199 each to attend.
Installation Certification Training - Detailed training on unfinished strip installation, glue down engineered installation, floating floor installation, board replacement, patterned floor/herringbone layout, jobsite prep, safety-all necessary topics to join the elite of our industry and become an NWFA Certified Installation Professional.
Sand/Finish Certification Training - Detailed training on sanding process, abrasive sequence, final sanding methods, stain application, sealer application, intercoat abrasion, final coat application, jobsite prep, sSafety-all necessary topics to join the elite of our industry and become an NWFA Certified Sand/Finish Professional.
Certification Testing - 1 Day of Hands-on Certification Testing. Proctors on site to observe and sign off on qualified contractors.