All Things Wood Floor

Being a Retailer in a Luxury Florida Market: Brad Rushing of California Designs

Brad Rushing of North Palm Beach, Fla.-based California Designs discusses what it is like being a retailer in one of Florida’s luxury markets, what he learned about business and people from his father, how the company has kept both clients and employees for decades, how Brad modernized the family business, including their marketing, and how educating clients boosts their business.

See California Designs’ profile in the 2024 Wood Floor Business Outstanding Retailer Awards: https://bit.ly/42bFHpv

Read Brad’s article in Wood Floor Business “How We’ve Managed to Retain Employees for Decades” here: https://bit.ly/on24retail

From Milling His Own Flooring To Installing It on Jobs: The Unique Career of Young Pro Jack Horton

Jack Horton’s father was a doctor, but he encouraged his four sons to go into the trades, and at age 16 Jack was learning to run a sawmill. Today, at age 30, he is a wood flooring contractor who installs, sands and finishes wood flooring he and his brother mill themselves, and they also sell whole-house packages of flooring and millwork to contractors. Jack and host Stephen Diggins discuss Jack’s unique journey into the trade and the insights he has about working with customers, including creating the right expectations for wood flooring and being upfront about the fact that he’s expensive. Jack also shares the biggest challenge in his career.

Look for Jack's article in the upcoming April/May 2025 issue of Wood Floor Business (https://www.woodfloorbusiness.com).

Secrets of Multi-Disc Sanding, Choosing Abrasives, Charging a Premium and More: Wood Flooring Pro T.J. Haas, Part 2

In Part 2 of this episode with T.J. Haas of Mad Science Flooring (www.madscienceflooring.com) in Syracuse, N.Y., T.J. and host Stephen Diggins discuss the right ways to use multi-disc and planetary sanding machines to get a floor flat while removing the scratches, how to choose your abrasives wisely in today’s wood flooring market, how T.J. has made a living out of doing things that nobody else wants to do, and how he charges a premium for his work and also finds new revenue streams for his business every year. They also talk about cool old wood floor sanding machines and funny machine maintenance mistakes. 

To read T.J.’s article “My Trigger Phrase: ‘Been Doing It That Way for 35 Years’” about his dad and why he cares so much about electrical safety, click here: https://bit.ly/jj23llearn

Read T.J.'s article “Do You Need a Power Station? Yes, and Here’s Why” from the February/March 2025 issue of WFB here: https://bit.ly/fm25ftf

To read T.J.’s ghost story about working at a bowling alley, click here: https://bit.ly/on24talkback

Bowling Alleys, Electrical Safety, Ghosts and More: Wood Flooring Pro T.J. Haas, Part 1

T.J. Haas of Mad Science Flooring (www.madscienceflooring.com) in Syracuse, N.Y., grew up learning anything and everything about bowling lanes and wood flooring, and today he continues that legacy. In Part 1 of T.J.’s episode, hear T.J. and host Stephen Diggins discuss what it was like growing up in bowling alleys; the story of his dad’s health issues and why he’s so passionate about hooking up electricity safely and correctly; modern advances in dust containment; creepy ghost stories from working on jobs, and funny stories about the first jobs T.J did on his own. Look for Part 2 of T.J.’s talk with Stephen Diggins coming soon.

To read T.J.’s article “My Trigger Phrase: ‘Been Doing It That Way for 35 Years’” about his dad and why he cares so much about electrical safety, click here: https://bit.ly/jj23llearn

Read T.J.'s article “Do You Need a Power Station? Yes, and Here’s Why” from the February/March 2025 issue of WFB here: https://bit.ly/fm25ftf

To read T.J.’s ghost story about working at a bowling alley, click here: https://bit.ly/on24talkback

 

Talking Gym Floors: Insights from GameTime Wraps’ Mike Hoy and Chris Pester

In this sponsored episode, host Stephen Diggins dives into the world of wood floor experts Mike Hoy and Chris Pester, who have decades of experience in wood flooring and are now representing GameTime. GameTime now offers everything from vinyl graphics to coatings for sports floors and residential floors. Mike, Chris and Stephen discuss how vinyl graphics have transformed the world of sports flooring, the sponsorship opportunities they create, the training available to use these products, how to deal with environmental conditions when dealing with maple sports flooring … and much more, including Cosmo the Peacock.

Learn more about GameTime Wraps at https://gametimewraps.com. 

A Lifetime of Wood Flooring in British Columbia: Perspectives from Pro Ron Teljeur

Lifelong wood flooring pro Ron Teljeur of Acorn Wood Floors in Aldergrove, British Columbia, grew up in the wood flooring business with his father, went to college to study physics and ended up circling right back to wood flooring—a job he still loves. In the years since he graduated, he started his own business, sized up, sized back down, and learned a lot along the way, becoming a specialist in renovations and particularly the top-nail 5/16-inch flooring that is still common in the region and in small pockets in the United States. 

See Ron’s article about the tools and techniques involved in top–nail flooring here.

See his Trick of the Trade for repairing shake here.

You can watch his video with a useful trick for board repairs here.

 

Wood Flooring Life in Appalachia and on TikTok: Talking With Pro Aaron Sheaves

Aaron Sheaves of Sheaves Floors in Weyers Cave, Va., has been on wood flooring job sites as long as he can remember, but one thing he never would have predicted would be how posting on TikTok would transform his business — and generate income. On this episode, he and host Stephen Diggins discuss how he got started on the platform and the impact it’s had on his business, as well as what it’s like working on historical homes in his Virginia area, particularities of working with heart pine, how he ended up working on job sites with his mom, and much more.

Find Aaron Sheaves on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@grain_lyfe

Watch the video tour of Aaron's "Most Organized" winning van here: https://bit.ly/22sheaves

See Aaron’s wavy bent-wood floor here: https://bit.ly/am17sheaves

See one of Aaron’s heart pine projects here: https://bit.ly/222wfotwheartpine

See the project with the butler bell: https://bit.ly/221wfotwstairs

See the tiny pneumatic sander for between balusters: https://bit.ly/am22tot

The Portuguese Wood Flooring Powerhouse: Talking Shop With João & Susy Dias of Fino Oficio, Part 2

In Part 2 of this episode, João and Susy Dias of Fino Oficio continue their conversation with Stephen Diggins and explain why they only hire people with no experience in the wood flooring industry, how they manage to charge so much more money than other wood flooring companies, how they work together as husband and wife, how they handle client relations so that customers realize they don’t have to worry about their wood floors, the mindset common to all elite wood flooring pros, and much more.

The Portuguese Wood Flooring Powerhouse: Talking Shop With João & Susy Dias of Fino Oficio, Part 1

In Part 1 of this episode, listeners will discover the origin story of how couple João and Susy Dias of Fino Oficio in Lisbon, Portugal, went from no experience in wood flooring to being one of the best-known wood flooring contracting companies in the world, why they are always willing to help other wood flooring pros, what it has been like to participate in the Workcamp Parkett gatherings in Europe, and the inside stories from some of their most out-of-the-box and award-winning wood floors—including why João decided to add fire to the lacewood in their 2024 WFB Design Award-winning floor.

Wood Flooring Health 101: Advice from an Occupational Therapist to Reduce Injuries and Prevent Pain

Occupational therapist Jennifer Hale spends all day every day helping people do their jobs without pain, and in this episode, she's concentrating on hardworking wood flooring pros. Jennifer and host Stephen Diggins talk about how pros are really "industrial athletes," and how they need to train just like any other athlete to perform their jobs without injuries or pain. She explains why nutrition and hydration are so important for preventing pain, as well as her top tips for helping wood floor pros age well. She and Stephen also go through examples of real-life wood floor pros and her feedback for them as they try to preserve their bodies and work well without pain.