Howard Brickman (left) teaches during an Extreme Wood Floors school held by the International Wood Flooring Association in February 2019. Brickman's inspection course will be held Aug. 3-4.
The course, held at the Blue Ridge Hotel, will provide an overview of wood technology and inspection procedures. Tuition is $450.
“We’re going to be dealing a lot with board shrinking and swelling, the things you can quantify,” Brickman says. “Rather than having everyone doing a bunch of interpretation and analysis, I find it more useful when I do inspections to just do simple observations.”
Brickman, who founded Brickman Consulting in 1984, has gained legendary status during his 40 years in the industry, having taught some of the first hardwood flooring installation courses in the 1980s while serving as an inspector for the National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association. He taught the industry’s first wood flooring inspection class in Dalton, Ga., in 2003, and has since taught inspection courses all over the country.
In his vast experience in the trade, Brickman says he’s found there are certain qualities that help should you want to be a wood floor inspector. “You have to disengage mouth and engage ears and eyes,” Brickman laughs. “The eyes and ears are the important thing, not the mouth. Some of us have difficulty with that.”
Another key trait is being able to make observations that are meaningful—and that means observing things that are quantifiable and avoiding hyperbole, according to Brickman.
The ability to write concise reports is another important skill to learn.
Brickman encourages contractors to take the inspection courses, as well.
"When you know what a proper inspection is going to be looking for, you get a little bit sharper on your installation,” he says.
The August course will include reading material beforehand, and the class will include 15-20 students, according to Brickman.
“That’s a fairly intimate group size,” he says. “So there’s a lot of opportunity for personal contact and time. It’s a pretty intense two days and there’s a lot of interaction that occurs.”
The Flooring Guild is also hosting a kiln drying class led by wood scientists August 5-6 at the same location. Tuition for that course is $450. Students who sign up for both courses receive a $100 discount.
To register for either course, email the Flooring Guild here.
Correction: This article was updated to reflect the Flooring Guild's current tuition cost for its upcoming Kiln Drying course.
