Having wood floors installed in a home is a big investment, not only in time and money, but in the overall look of the home, quality wood floors give a home a sense of elegance and charm.
It is important, however, that the work be done professionally, which is one of the reasons reputable Utah companies established the Utah Wood Floor Contractors Association.
Members of the association will be at the Deseret Morning News Home Improvement, Remodeling and Decorating Show.
The association was started about 10 years ago in order to present to the consumer legitimate and properly licensed and insured contractors who specialize in hardwood floors.
It is a growing group of local hardwood floor distributors and service organizations that includes Masterpiece Hardwood Floors, Wharton Hardwood Floors, Signature Floors, Ace Hardwood Floors, Barton Hardwood Floors, Evans Flooring Co., Hal Riley and Sons, the Hardwood Floor Company, Croft Beck Floors and Hardy's Hardwood Flooring.
The group is supported by National Wood Products, Ottley Floor Company, Macbeath Hardwood and Intermountain Hardwood, and Dust Gone Service.
The purpose of establishing the association was to serve homeowners by presenting them with a group of companies that uphold both the standards of the UWFCA as well as the standards of the National Wood Floor Association.
These standards include proper licensing, the carrying of liability and worker's compensation insurance, proper training of all employees and proper and ethical business standards.
Among other things, the UWFCA is responsible for changing the licensing requirements for hardwood floor contractors. Previously, nothing more was required to install hardwood floors other than a business license. Association members actually helped to create the contractor's trade test.
"Homeowners should understand the risk involved in using an unlicensed and uninsured worker in their home," explained Mark Jenkins of Masterpiece Hardwood Floors. "They could be liable should an injury to the worker occur. Without the license and insurance the homeowner typically has no recourse against claims and failure to perform."
When looking for qualified expertise as well as licensed and insured work to be done on hardwood floors, homeowners should look to a member of the UWFCA to ensure quality workmanship and, ultimately, a great looking floor.
Hardwood floors have become very popular in many of the new homes today. There is a wide range of different woods, from very light to very dark.
Along with putting hardwood in hallways and kitchen, many owners are opting to put wood floors in family rooms, bedrooms and dining and living rooms.
Many older homes also have hardwood floors, but because of the wood needed for upkeep in the early days, owners opted to cover the wood with carpet.
When the popularity of hardwood started to come back a few years ago, some of those homeowners went back and removed the carpet. What they found was a beautiful hardwood floor.
In some cases they chose to refinish. Old methods of refinishing were dusty and dirty. New equipment helped improve the quality of the floors and also improved the quality of life for the homeowners.
The new equipment greatly reduced the amount of dust and materials that are put into the air during the work process.
New dust-control systems nearly eliminate the dust problem. In the past, it was not uncommon for homeowners to be cleaning dust three to five years after the hardwood floors were refinished.
The nice part about hardwood, even older hardwood flooring, is that there are, available today, new easy methods of cleaning and polishing the floor to make it look as good as the day it was first installed.
It is also possible to re-coat a floor to renew the beautiful luster that was once there.
For information on the association and hardwood flooring call any of the service members — Masterpiece Hardwood Floors, Wharton Hardwood Floors, Signature Floors, Ace Hardwood Floors, Barton Hardwood Floors, Evans Flooring Co., Hal Riley and Sons, the Hardwood Floor Company, Croft Beck Floors and Hardy's Hardwood Flooring.