On April 9-12, we held the NWFA Advanced Installation Course at our headquarters in King of Prussia, PA. This course was intended for contractors who already have a good amount of experience and wanted to perfect their techniques for creating intricate hardwood floor designs. Apparently this concept appealed to many contractors, as the course was sold out!

The requirements for students taking the course were as follows:

• Three years of installation experience
• Attendance at the NWFA Intermediate Installation Course
• Completion of NWFA University Installation Safety Course

The course is highly recommended for those contractors who are looking to become NWFA Certified Master Craftsmen.

The Process

The students worked in teams to complete three separate panels. Each panel was completed by a different team. 

This course covered advanced installation techniques such as bending wood and using a miter saw to cut intricate patterns out of wood. It involved the students taking a lot of measurements to ensure that everything would fit together as planned, and the use of miter saws and other tools such as routers to put the finishing touches on their designs.

Important safety precautions were also covered. Jason Elquest of Blackhawk Floors supervised the course.

The course was largely student-led. The students worked according to their timelines and what they wanted to do with the panels. Jason was there to lend support and guidance as needed.

The End Results

The far “room” is a rhombus pattern made with hand cut pieces of walnut, Brazilian cherry, and maple with a double 5” live sawn white oak border and walnut mitered corners with centers of end grain red oak. There was a ¼” routed detail of bisected circles converging to make a pattern then filled with a black filler.

This is a basket weave pattern made of hand cut pieces of walnut and maple. This detail and species carries into the corners as well. A section near the top referred to as the “fireplace” has a hand cut detail of “sun rays” made with Tiete rosewood and maple, banded across the top with bent white oak and inlay of ¼” x ¼” aluminum.

This “room” is a Monticello pattern of hand cut maple and American cherry.  The center star medallion is hand cut maple and Tiete rosewood with a field of white oak and perimeter of bent American walnut. The corners are walnut and end grain red oak.

The “ hallway” is various species of end grain blocks laid in a brick pattern for the first third, then on a diagonal for the next third, and again a brick pattern for the final third. The species used were ash, red oak and maple, as well as spalted maple.

Check out our Facebook Live video below to see a walkthrough of each of the panels:

We love holding training events like this to help contractors improve their craft. Sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date on upcoming events like this one, or call us at (800) 737-1786 to find out about our upcoming events.