Floor Covering Installation Through the Eyes of a Beginner

Installing flooring is hard! I don’t know if anyone ever said it would be easy, but I can now officially say it is indeed one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. On August 21 and 22, 2024, I attended the International Certified Flooring Installers (CFI) Association LVP, Laminate, and Hardwood Technical Certification at the Mohawk Training Facility in Dalton, Georgia.  

Mohawk invited members of the trade press to participate alongside their wood and laminate product teams as well as the Performance Accessories product team. The course, taught by Dave Garden, executive director of education and CFI Master II certified installer, covered CFI’s guiding principles, the organizations responsible for the industry standards, the different tests required prior to installation, subfloor requirements, and finally, the installation procedures for all three flooring types.  

According to the CFI website, the 2-Day Technical Certification is designed for industry professionals such as sales staff and installation managers interested in learning more about installation standards but do not intend to install. In total, nine men and nine women participated in the classroom lectures, hands-on demonstration and test.  

This was an opportunity for the product teams and trade media to walk in flooring installers’ shoes, making the same mistakes, filling knowledge gaps about installation, and learning more about the products’ real-world applications. I was completely blown away by what I learned and experienced. Going into it, you think you will do everything Dave tells you to do. As soon as you step foot into the training module to lay the first plank, everything he just told you goes out the window.  

Teaching Moment Number One: The Dustpan

It is common knowledge in the flooring installation community, an inside joke even, that no one reads the instructions. They are referred to as “the dustpan” since installers only use them to sweep up messes and then toss them in the trash with the debris. Dave confirmed this during his in-class instruction prior to the hands-on portion. We all laughed and quickly jumped on “the dustpan” boat. “Hey, pass me the dustpan,” or “Hey, have you seen the dustpan?” or “The print on the dustpan sure is small.” The first thing we did not do when we started the hands-on portion was pick up the directions and read them.  

When it was time for him to review what we did wrong, that was the first thing he mentioned. Of course, it was funny and ironic—we all shared a chuckle at the oversight, realizing how easy it is to skip this very important step.

What We Learned

On day two, we dug through boxes and shrink wrap, looking for the instructions. This teaching moment allowed everyone to gain insight into what it’s like for installers on the job every single day. Dave pointed out how quickly products evolve and installers tend to continue installing products in the same way even when the application instructions have changed.  

Teaching Moment Number Two: It’s a Tapping Block, Not a Whacking Block 

I think we all understood the concept of the tapping block, but putting that into practice was indeed a challenge. You found yourself battling the proper application of a plank which requires patience versus hammering a stubborn plank into place because you could not quite grasp the click system technique. Dave let us whack away, breaking the click system in places, damaging the plank itself and needlessly muscling the planks together.  

What We Learned

Dave demonstrated where to sit on the floor to make clicking the planks together much easier, but making that make sense in your head was a challenge. The natural inclination is to sit on the underlayment and continue fighting the good fight by pushing every plank into place. I decided to try Dave’s position and moved to the newly installed flooring side, pulling the planks into place. This was much easier. I got a feel for the click system, too, and could “find” the nice snap you feel and hear when you know you got it right. And I only needed to “tap” the plank into place when the end joints needed snugging.  

Teaching Moment Number Three: Don’t Forget the Door Frames and Closets 

My Dad has this funny saying that he breaks out when we are working together fabricating something for a car or a home project, “I’ve cut it three times, and it’s still too short!”  

On day two, my team and I had to calculate for the door frame and cut a plank to fit. I’m sure we cut it at least thrice, but it still wasn’t right. Needless to say, that customer’s bedroom door threshold will be a smidge off. I got so caught up in my success with mastering the click system that I blew past the closet, completely ignoring the fact that I needed to make a cutout in the plank.  

What We Learned

Dave busted me, of course. He made it clear that we have to reorient our thinking to focus on the cuts in addition to the correct starting location in the space while keeping in mind the expansion space that must be left around the perimeter. That’s a lot to remember!  

Sandon Carson, field service manager II—wood and laminate, Mohawk Industries, shared his extensive installation and product knowledge with the group to help us better understand what the installers deal with each day on the job site. On day two, he taught the stair tread portion, showcasing some of Mohawk’s newest innovations designed with the installer in mind. So, keep your eyes peeled for those!  

He and Dave walked us through how to spread adhesive under glue-down flooring and let us take turns. Let’s pause for a minute here. I want to acknowledge those of you who possess the skill required to spread adhesive properly. That was an exercise in humility for me. Just holding the trowel at a 45-degree angle was a challenge.  

There is so much to bear in mind while you are focusing on not spilling the adhesive in the case of a glue-down floor or not shooting a staple through the plank or not applying too much glue to the groove when installing loose lay. The expansion gap for a floating floor is ¼” and 55% relative humidity (RH) is ideal, but it varies depending on the product and region of the country. For pH testing, three tests are taken for the first 1,000 square feet and one test per every 1,000 square feet thereafter. Numbers, numbers, numbers! There are so many numbers that you feel like the exploding head emoji.  

Ultimately, the synergy between Dave’s and Sandon’s knowledge and what the product teams brought to the table was incredible. Listening to the teams openly and genuinely ask questions to help them develop products based on how installers are using them was at the top of the priority list. I learned more in two days than I have in two years. Having the opportunity to ask questions about installation and the products and get immediate feedback was priceless. As someone who does not install and has to learn through others, this experience helped me connect the installation and product information with the real-world application of that knowledge. I highly recommend it!