Continuing to expand its training offerings, INSTALL, the North American leader in floorcovering installation training and certification, recently presented a Hardwood Flooring Installation course at the Northwest Carpenters Institute (NWCI) in Burlington, Washington. 

INSTALL’s main hardwood flooring course curriculum is developed by the Carpenters International Training Fund (CITF) and built around standards from the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC). However, INSTALL offers such a depth of resources, knowledge, and methods, that NWCI was able to choose specific elements for the 40-hour Hardwood Flooring Installation course that would resonate strongly with local flooring installers. 

“We worked closely with INSTALL to design a Hardwood Flooring Installation course that would directly target a sizeable market that has very limited access to professional training,” says Steve Anderson, instructor for the NWCI. “The course is based upon and incorporates the high training standards promoted by INSTALL, and that translates to the best fine-tuning opportunities for even the most seasoned hardwood flooring installers.”

With a variety of industries that rely heavily on professional flooring installers who are highly skilled at hardwood flooring installation—such as retail outlets and tech industry leaders that focus on biophilic design to promote worker productivity—a hardwood flooring course is essential to installers and contractors in the Pacific Northwest that wish to deliver long-term value to their customers, according to Anderson.

Building Block to Future Growth

The introduction-level course, led by INSTALL trainer Jeff Moore, focused on proper installation of sleeper and underlayment systems, instructed apprentices on glue-down and nail-down methods, and highlighted techniques used for multiple installation patterns and styles. The final steps in the course addressed various hardwood flooring repair remedies.

“There is tremendous interest in expanding comprehensive flooring installation training programs across the Pacific Northwest,” says John T. McGrath Jr., executive director of INSTALL. “INSTALL sees the NWCI training course as a foundational building block for growing our programs throughout the region.”  

Path to INSTALL Certification

For installers looking to achieve their INSTALL certification, the training provided in these hardwood flooring Installation courses will enable and prepare them to successfully achieve certification. Apprentices are set up to take one course per quarter throughout their apprenticeship.

Due to the popularity of the recent course, the NWCI will offer the training again in the late summer/early fall (third quarter) of 2022 at the NWCI in Burlington, Washington. Those interested in attending can visit www.nwci.org or call the NWCI at (253) 437-5235 for more information or to register.

For more information, visit installfloors.org.