Volume: 22 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

At CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION's first Industry Trends Roundtable in June 2002, the hot topic was moisture coming out of concrete floors and delaminating vinyl flooring, tile, and coatings. During the CEO Forum that followed, recognition of this multimillion-dollar problem led American Society of Concrete Contractors' members to contribute $40,000 to a special fund to address floor moisture and pH.

 Volume: 21 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

Modular Carpet also known as carpet tile — is probably the least difficult soft flooring product to actually handle and install. That being said, the chemistries involved in most of the modular carpet backing systems that are in general use today can create serious and occasionally catastrophic issues that [b]WILL[/b] land squarely on the shoulders of the flooring contractor if the correct steps have not been taken.

 Volume: 20 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

More and more hospitals, health care facilities and schools are using homogeneous sheet vinyl flooring with welded seams in areas requiring an aseptic or clean environment, such as operating rooms, emergency rooms and pharmacies. It is also used in corridors of schools or dialysis rooms of health care facilities. This product is used for its clean, uncluttered look and finish. In addition this homogeneous material lends itself to all kinds of creative design elements such as artistic insets, borders and free flowing patterns. Just like any other flooring material not understanding this product, the environmental conditions required for installing it, substrate conditions and how to install it properly with great emphasis on welding the seams can result in massive headaches, exorbitant costs and strained relationships, not to mention the failure of the installation.

 Volume: 19 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

It was evident, and no surprise, that Neocon's attendance was adversely affected by the economy. My guess from roaming the halls for two days is that attendance was off nearly 40%, those I've spoken with felt the same. That having been said, we've seen this slowdown at all the flooring trades shows this year. Those who did attend were serious about doing business. An entire entourage was not to be seen but key people from firms were there, and business was in fact being done.

 Volume: 18 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

THE HOSPITALITY DESIGN SHOW
The Hospitality Design Show held in Las Vegas on May 12th through 15th is one of my favorite trade shows. In my opinion HD is one of the classiest exhibitions there is for floor covering and it's a dress up event. It's nice to see people dressed as professionals when they attend this event. It reflects the significance of the hospitality market and the position it occupies that of high fashion and cutting edge design. This is where you'll see the most highly styled, eye popping high end floor covering products displayed by the sharpest manufacturers in the industry.

 Volume: 17 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

PROFESSIONAL TESTING LABORATORY
THE CSI LABORATORY FOR THE FLOOR COVERING INDUSTRY

Professional Testing Laboratory, Inc., is the CSI Laboratory for floor covering. PTL does the day to day testing for manufacturers, the Federal Government, and large corporations but they also do investigative analysis to figure out mystery problems, defects and complaint and concern issues. Following are two interesting cases PTL solved.

 Volume: 16 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

The most popular method of installing carpet in the hospitality market is the double stick method but it is also used extensively in all commercial environments. Double stick refers to installing a carpet cushion, whether it is slab rubber, densified polyurethane, needle punched synthetic fiber or rebond, by gluing it to the substrate and then gluing the carpet onto the cushion. This installation method can be compromised in a number of ways resulting in obscenely expensive monetary losses and business interruption which can be incalculable for a hotel or business.

 Volume: 15 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

The challenges of 2008 have not vanished with the passage into a new year and, in my opinion; the difficult times are going to be here for awhile. The commercial market is seeing a slow down right now with less work in the pipeline for 2009, from the latest figures on average 15 to 20%. With projects put on hold due to fear of releasing funds or tight credit, falling tax revenues and an overall slow down in business, everyone is affected. Even if a project is funded it may be shelved because of the psychological effects the economic conditions have on entities and individuals.

 Volume: 14 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

In this issue we'll cover a couple of subjects. Since sustainability is one of the hottest buzz words lately and being green the ultimate objective of every manufacturer for every product known to man, we'll talk about the most sustainable carpet fiber. We'll also take a look at the absurdity of bidding a commercial flooring installation without knowing the product specified and to be installed. How this can be an acceptable practice and why it's done is, in my opinion, insane.

 Volume: 13 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

These issues – and the terms are somewhat synonymous in their meaning – continue to plague carpet manufacturers. Pooling, Watermarking, Pile Reversal and Shading are manifested in different ways but primarily give the appearance of water having been spilled on a carpet causing irregularly shaped light and dark areas in or out of the traffic lanes of carpet.

 Volume: 12 |  Issue: 1 |  Download

Problems with new floor covering products, whatever they may be, don't necessarily mean the product has to be replaced. Carpet in particular can be made so it doesn't get shipped with defects and, depending on what defects may be in it, it is often possible to make repairs. Color shade issues, surface irregularities from shearing, stop marks from tufting and minor flaws can very often be repaired in place. The most prudent move however is to make sure these problems don't occur by being proactive rather than reactive — the former being much less expensive.