Join host Steve Diggins from Specialty Forest Products for this sponsored episode as he delves into the world of wood floor finishes with two experts from Canlak Coatings, the name behind trusted wood floor finish brands like Absco, Poloplaz, Sampson and Wilson Imperial. Laura Posadas and Doug McGrew from Canlak peel back the curtain on the extensive research that goes into wood floor coatings chemistry and innovations at this major manufacturer. Hear their insights on everything from residential to sports flooring, including where the industry has been and where the world of coatings is headed in the future. 

In this episode of All Things Wood Floor, host Steve Diggins of Specialty Forest Products talks with young wood flooring pro Israel Alejandre, the owner of Cedar Oak Flooring based in Middlefield, Ohio. Featured as part of Wood Floor Business’s annual discussion about the Next Generation of emerging talent in the hardwood flooring industry, Israel shares insights into his journey as a young professional navigating the trade. Broadcasting from Ohio’s Amish country, just outside Cleveland, Israel reflects on his early experiences, the founding of his company, and what drives his success as a next-generation flooring pro. 

Read "The Next Generation: Advice For Aspiring Wood Floor Pros," featuring Israel Alejandre, from the February/March 2025 issue of Wood Floor Business. 

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

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.

Read Jack's article "What We’ve Learned by Milling the Flooring We Install" in the April/May 2025 issue of Wood Floor Business here: https://bit.ly/am25fund

Read about a special floor Jack installed in "A Meaningful Wood Flooring Project in Memoriam": https://bit.ly/dj25chevy

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

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

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. 

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.

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

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.