From April 28 to May 1, Mike Glavin attended the 2015 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo in Saint Louis, Missouri. Mike had the opportunity to meet a number of contractors and reps from different companies, attend talks and roundtable discussions, meet and catch up with our customers from around the country, and even to accept an award for the Philly Floor Store.

The expo provided the perfect opportunity for wood flooring professionals from all over the country to share their experiences and talk about solutions to common problems. One of the hot topics at this year’s expo was moisture problems in hardwood floors, and Mike got to chat with many contractors and company reps about it.

There is never a straightforward answer to what’s causing moisture issues in a hardwood floor––the problem could be caused by a number of factors, ranging from a damaged subfloor to a failure to acclimate the floors before installation.

Mike participated in round-table style discussions about the various factors that can cause moisture issues. One contractor brought up a big problem that he’s encountered out in the field: subfloor shrinkage causing uniform flooring gaps every four feet. Other contractors also shared their horror stories, and talked about what they learned from them.

Overall, these conversations reinforced the importance of moisture measurements to hardwood floor installation success.

The Philly Floor Store is already well known for our commitment to ensuring problem-free installations. We take moisture measurements when we make deliveries to jobsites to ensure that any flooring we deliver is within the acceptable range of moisture content.

However, the discussions Mike had at the Flooring Expo has prompted Philly Floor to take a more proactive approach to on-site moisture measurements.

We will now take measurements with a hammer probe to ensure the most accurate readings possible. We’ll also take four moisture measurements for every 1,000 square feet of wood, and we will ensure the integrity of our readings by verifying our meter calibration every day. Stay tuned for updates on these new developments.

One of the big highlights of this year’s Flooring Expo was Mike’s acceptance of an award on behalf of the Philly Floor Store for being an Outstanding Distributor of Norton Abrasives. We earned this award for being one of the top six Norton Abrasives distributors in the country.

Hardwood flooring trends were also on everyone’s minds. Mike found that gray, off-white colors are currently popular. These looks are achievable with WOCA and Rubio Monocoat stains and finishes. (Read more about 2015 hardwood flooring trends.)

NWFA Flooring Expo is an annual event that’s great for networking and learning. If you missed out this year, try to make it to next year’s event. The 2016 NWFA Wood Flooring Expo will take place from April 27 to 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Can’t make it out there? Check out our upcoming wood flooring events if you’d rather stay local.

We hope to see you soon!