Smartphones and tablets are commonplace these days, but they are still revealing their potential to make lives easier. The following are Apple and Android apps that could make life in the wood flooring business a little easier. Do you have other apps we should know about? Email HF.
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Smartphones and tablets are commonplace these days, but they are still revealing their potential to make lives easier. The following are Apple and Android apps that could make life in the wood flooring business a little easier. Do you have other apps we should know about? Email HF.
Wood Species Guide by Timber Research and Development Association (Free)TRADA's Wood Species Guide for iPhone and iPad help architecture, construction and furniture professionals choose the most suitable species for a project by sorting species by appropriate uses, durability, color, movement characteristics and more.
MAPEI US by Lexicon Digital Media (Free)This app for Apple and Android smartphones and tablets allows users to find and email product information including product listings, Technical Data Sheets, Material Safety Data Sheets and ancillary data directly from the app. The locator tool allows contractors to find nearby distributors and retailers carrying the products they need.
Bona Floor Design Guide by Bona (Free)Bona's app allows homeowners to take a picture of a room in their house and virtually lay a variety of species, stain colors and sheens to help choose the best floor for their home. Users can also take the Bona Floor Quiz to determine the best Bona finish given their living conditions, and they can access information on and tips for using Bona products.
Respiratory Protection Resource Guide and Hearing Conservation Mobile App by 3M Company (Free)These two apps for Apple and Android phones offer answers to frequently asked industrial safety questions and a full catalog of 3M's respiratory and hearing protection products. The hearing conservation app includes a sound level meter, and the respiratory guide provides safety information on common industrial chemicals.American Hardwood Species Guide by Jam-Mobile.com (Free)This app for Apple and Android devices includes information about popular American hardwood species, including physical and working properties, a stain simulator, images of the species in finished applications and more.
Ardex Americas Product Calc. by Ardex Americas (Free)Ardex Engineered Cements/W.W. Henry Co. (Aliquippa, Pa.) has released its Product Calculator Application for mobile devices running Android. The app provides product information and calculates the amount of Ardex cement and substrate-prep products required for a given job area.
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.
