All Over the Floor

Flooring renovations are often triggered by the building of new homes and facilities or by the sale or purchase of buildings. The purchase of a new home inspires someone to install all new hardwood floorings. New residential construction during 2000 to 2005 generated demand for massive volumes of new carpet. However, the economy has constricted upon us all. In response, new construction has nearly ground to a halt. Foreclosures and bankruptcies have ruined the credit of many and raised the credit scores required for loans. So, the buy and selling of property has plummeted.

Today, we spoke to a young lady whose family has been in the flooring business for 24 years. They are closing their doors at all locations. They received 90 percent of their business from builders. When new construction virtually died, they unsuccessfully attempted to shift towards retail residential. Another of our friends who binds carpet (like us) has also been crushed by this sluggish economy. These stories are very regretful.

Being part of a family owned company, we relate to our friendly competitors. The flooring companies which survive will be those of the best reputation and with the strongest liquid capital positions. What does this mean for consumers of vinyl, ceramic, stone, etc.? We are offering the most aggressive pricing in our company’s history. Our reduced pricing is compounded by better prices from the flooring manufacturers. Now is a great time to receive wonderful pricing on your new flooring.

We are very grateful for our customers for keeping us busy.

King Solomon wrote long ago: “A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecclesiastes 7:1-3).

“It’s a sad day,” I said to myself as my first conscience thought. Today, a couple of us from Wolfe Flooring will attend the funeral of Sidney Defour. It was immediately apparent upon meeting Sidney several years ago that he was a man of rare experience—a top-caliber flooring business owner. A limited number of carpet installers perform with excellence on high-end residential projects, but only a handful of flooring professionals can orchestrate the most complex commercial installations like Sidney. He loved working with the finest woven carpets from mills such as Desso. Sidney enjoyed exercising his talent against challenging projects proving his reputation. While some are overwhelmed with 1,000-square yard renovations, Sidney was accustom to 50,000-square yard carpet installations for airports and metropolitan convention centers. Beyond commercial installs, we knew Sidney as a man of his word. It was common that Sidney would speak of his horses or show us pictures of his wife and young daughter. We will miss our friend and one of the best of our industry:  Sidney Defour (1960 – 2010).

We are wise enough to know that we do not know everything but that we can remain flooring professionals if we make ourselves diligent students of the manufacturers’ technical experts. As with any industry, professionals must be lifelong learners. Architectural designs and construction methods are constantly evolving. There is a drastic contrast between a home or commercial facility built in 1960 compared to 2010. Our job is to provide our clientele with inspiring aesthetics, innovative hard surfaces, and current technical knowledge.

Retailers, such as Wolfe Flooring, converge with distributors, architects, engineers, fabricators, and more to exchange ideas and expand relationships at Coverings. In one day alone, we had employees attending classes on shower drainage systems; new ADA recommendations; moisture and mold prevention; the chemistry of various concrete products; eco-friendly green flooring; new setting methods for large tiles that are relatively thin; color trends and hue combinations with paint; and, more.

We draw exciting design ideas from flooring conventions like Coverings which allow us to provide decorating concepts to our clients. Beyond cosmetic appeal, we learn of new suppliers, products, techniques, finishes, sealers, and more.

Undoubtedly, Coverings in Orlando is the ultimate tile and stone experience available in the United States. At Coverings, we see products ranging from customized mosaics measuring taller than eight feet comprised of tiny glass pieces for the wall to massive slabs of translucent onyx for your countertops. Literally, tile with embedded gold costing more than $500 per square foot. Decorative tiles are integrated with metallic tiles as trim pieces. Granite is blended with marble; coral competes with travertine; and porcelain imitates slate. Tiles with every possible surface finish are on display: polished, brushed, hammered, and more. Supplementing the main materials are the exhibitors who supply allied products, for example, grout, mortar, transitions, sealers, underlayments, floor heating systems, etc. In addition to the ceramic, glass, and stone products, Coverings also has a few resilient, hardwood, and laminate flooring exhibitors. The relationships that we forge at events like these indirectly puts our customers in touch with the finest products from around the world.

We dedicated this last week of April to attending the Coverings convention in Orlando, FL.  Coverings specialized in ceramic and stone products and tools. Wolfe Flooring’s ability to provide extraordinary results to our residential and commercial customers depends upon our relationships with excellent flooring manufacturers. Thankfully, this international and world-class event draws representatives from more than 90 countries, including China, India, Korea, Italy, Spain, and Israel. More than 1,000 suppliers to the flooring industry exhibit at Coverings. We always enjoy seeing the latest innovations from regulars such as Florida Tile, Mapei, and TEC. But, what makes Coverings especially great is meeting the companies who traveled across the world to be with us.

Today, I met Lawrence from China, who, is only about 24 years of age and speaks very broken English. Lawrence was his company’s sole representative. Lawrence, like a young lady that I met from Italy, was in the United States for the very first time. Both Lawrence and the Italian sales representative were very happy to be in America, and specifically central Florida. Although there are many exhibitors who have exhibits costing more than $5o0,000 and are staffed by more than a dozen professionals, there are also smaller family businesses like the India-based company of a woman named Gijji.

We are very thankful for all the suppliers who enable us to offer the most artistic and durable ceramic and stone products available on Earth.

How do you purchase new flooring when the project is over budget? Today, one of our commercial clients here in Tampa, Florida asked that we divide our proposal on Armstrong’s Stonetex vinyl composition tile (VCT) into two parts. They are not sure if they can afford to have an entire renovation during this economic slump. So, we’ve divided their installation into two phases. This will raise the price slightly due to extra product waste; however, our customer will have us install the new VCT in the most prominent area first. The new VCT in their showroom will create the WOW-affect for their visitors, especially if they purchase 18-inch Stonetex VCT. When funds are available, we will install the balance in the back offices.

If you are going to take this approach, remember to purchase all the product as soon as possible. Preferably, buy all the product at one time. Why? Manufacturers may discontinue the product line and dye lots will likely be different. Deferring the installation will save money.

Among other visits today, we measured for a Tampa residential carpet installation using carpet by Stanton.  What makes this installation special is that Stanton is producing a woven product made of 100% New Zealand wool.  New Zealand is known for some of the finest wool yarn in the world.   Appropriately, quality woven carpet deserves a nice cushion.  We will recommend TredMOR 2580, which has an 80-ounce weight rubber cushion with 1/4-inch thickness.  We love working with high-end flooring goods.