I recently embarked on a flooring project in which everything that could go wrong seemed to. The outcome could have been quite disastrous, though luckily it was not … thanks to help from connections made through the NWFA. But first, a little history about me.
I am not a fourth-, third- or even second-generation floor man. I am the son of a developer and insurance agent. I began my career as a general contractor building spec and custom homes in West Virginia. I could not find a decent tile man, so I began doing tile jobs myself. I quickly began to yearn to do the wood myself, too. The opportunity presented itself on a job, as my regular man was unavailable. So I laid the floor myself, then it was on to sand and finish.
I went to my local rental store and rented a "shake and bake" (oscillating sander). Needless to say, I figured out I needed more after about five minutes. So I went back and got a 110 drum and edger. It was a natural job, so it turned out ok. I knew it wasn't the best job, but I was hooked. I began to look for my own machinery. There are no big dealers here in West Virginia, but I found one about 200 miles away that had some machines, so off I went with checkbook in hand.
Upon arriving I went in and took a look. These were not the big-name brands like Clarke, Bona or Hummel (not that I knew who they were at the time). But they had a 220 machine, which was quite impressive after the 110. So I bit, and left with a brand-new big machine, edger and buffer. The machines were much better, and I was even given a free lesson while there: All I needed to know was to sand right to left (with a belt machine), and that every job could be sanded 36, 80, 120, and buff 120. Now I was a floor man … not!
I used the machines and did my projects, and I also picked up a few side jobs along the way. The natural jobs looked fine, but I just couldn't get my edger guy to get out the scratches on stain jobs (that's right, I owned the company, so I never considered doing the edging myself). No one complained, and the checks still cleared, so no big deal, right? But if you know me, you know I am a perfectionist. I just didn't know what to do and I couldn't find any information, so what was I to do?
Well, one day while browsing at my local bookstore I came across a book about wood flooring by Charles Peterson. As it was the only book I'd ever seen on the subject, I decided to give it a try, and I think I didn't go to bed until 3 a.m. that night. The next day I looked up this organization he kept referring to, the NWFA. It turned out it is the authority on wood floors and even has educational opportunities. I quickly signed up for an intermediate school in Mobile, Ala.
I went into class thinking I was fairly experienced, since I now had 10 years of experience. I just needed some help with edger technique. Enter Daniel Boone. I quickly realized I didn't know anything about hardwood floors. It was truly an eye-opening experience. Daniel is an extremely gifted individual and an even better teacher. I learned many things from him in those three short days, but the most profound was that there was an enormous difference between experience and years spent doing the same thing. When I left, I knew I was just starting my first year of experience.
All through the next few months I struggled to improve my quality, trying to pull on what I was taught in those three short days. I began scraping and hand-rubbing my wall lines, and getting my edger marks out. I began running my machine left to right. And nobody except me did any edging. Yet, I still wasn't happy with results. Through the Internet I had heard about a guy named Wayne Lee that was making a flex pad for the edger. Surprisingly, this busy guy who had his own business to run took my phone call and time out of his day to talk to me. I tried the flex pad but could not get it on, so he said I should send it to him and he would make it right. Wayne was even kind enough to arrange me a demo edger to do a job while he worked on mine. Wayne and I quickly became great friends, and oftentimes I called him seeking his advice. He worked on me to continue my education through the NWFA, so I saved up and, with some help, managed to make it to the Expert Sand and Finish class last year. While attending the class I was able to pass my sand and finish certification. Wayne and I continued to talk, and he gave me advice that I would apply. I was getting better with each job and was finally starting to feel as though I was beginning to get experience, not just repetition.
Wayne kept after me to buy a three-disc sander, saying it would greatly improve the look and quality of my jobs. I had an oil finish job coming up, and he said the 3DS was nearly a must for me. It just so happened that I had the funds at the time, so I was able to purchase one. Well, the install took a little longer than expected, so we didn't start sanding until a Friday. Not a big deal, but we needed to be done on Sunday. It was still doable but we would have to be on our toes. All was going well until my brother noticed sparks just shooting out from under the big machine. We had just completed a gym and had no time between the jobs for maintenance. It appeared that my upper roller was worn out and the paper was no longer tracking. Now, while this kind of problem on a Friday night at 6 p.m. might seem like a big deal, I phoned up Wayne, and within 15 minutes he used his contacts within Clarke and the NWFA to locate me a loaner demo within just a few hours. I drove down the next day and was quickly back in service. Normally I don't work on Sunday, but the delays forced me to go get some sanding done after church. Once again, Wayne took time on his only day off to work with me over the phone and get the 3DS running like a purring kitten. After some hand rubbing and buffing, the floor was finally ready for the oil finish.
The floor turned out extremely well (that's it in the photo with this article). But let me say the finish will show every scratch, and we did have a couple places we had to repair as we put on the finish. Had we not had the equipment we did or the help from Wayne and the NWFA, we could have had many more repairs or, worse yet, a complete resand.
I learned many lessons on this job. I learned that friends and contacts made through the NWFA will always come through for you when you need them most. I learned that the experience and lessons taught at the technical education classes are invaluable and will last a lifetime. I learned that as tight as funds may be, spending money on redundancy will save you when your rear is most on the line. I asked Wayne one night why he spent so much time trying to teach me things. He explained that because I was willing to learn and listen, he felt he wasn't wasting his time. So I guess the most important thing I learned was that having an open mind and the willingness to learn will always be rewarded.
