Floor Inspectors Guild of North America

I recently attended the Guild to learn more about engineered construction flooring materials.  Professor Hindman and Professor Loferski from Virginia Tech along with Professor Phil Mitchell with N. Carolina State University led the course.  The course was attended by leading inspectors and manufacturers around the country.  The professors broke down the subject matter(s) into terms that we could understand while providing the wood science behind it.  The subjects taught in this course are listed as follows:

• Material Properties of Wood vs. Engineered Flooring
• Mechanical Properties
• Moisture Content Measurement in Engineered Wood Products
• Understanding Balanced Construction
• Failures in Engineered Flooring
• Radiant Flooring
• Testing Standards for Engineered Flooring
• Moisture in Buildings (Building Science)
• Lab work at Virginia Tech—Microscope Evaluation of Engineered Flooring, Moisture Measurements, Janka testing and bondline testing

This 3 day course provided extended knowledge of wood dynamics and how it relates to in service usage.  It is evident by the course titles they are very in-depth subjects.  One example is Dr. Loferski (as shown below) explained free vs. restrained expansion theories of engineered flooring, modulus of elasticity, advantages of microscopic cell evaluation, plus much, much more.

Cell Evaluation

Understanding Free vs. Restrained Expansion

Free expansion is the movement of solid wood, while the plys of engineered restrict expansion movement.

I give Selva Lee Tucker (course administrator) many thanks for putting this program together and bringing continuing education to another level.  For those who couldn’t make it or those who are thinking of attending the Guild, I would highly recommend the next one.  It was well worth the time and money invested.