Much like confidently tackling a kitchen renovation after successfully assembling one IKEA entertainment center, many flooring installers and contractors dangerously assume universal approaches work across all projects, leading to countless horror stories of misapplied adhesives and costly mistakes from treating different adhesive products as interchangeable solutions. As the chemical makeup of products like adhesives must evolve to meet a myriad of challenges, so too, must you.

There are endless opportunities to research and learn about product changes, how they impact your projects and most importantly, how they impact everyone’s bottom line. However, despite numerous avenues for product and installation education, mistakes are still being made, resulting in costly failures.

Daniel Grant, technical field supervisor for Ardex, was called in to turn a commercial project around following a catastrophic failure leading to a million-dollar mitigation price tag. The cost on the front-end would have been $25,000.

“A lot of people have this belief that if you don’t do it right the first time, it ends up costing you double,” said Grant. “That’s incorrect. The actual figure is generally five times the cost.”

Certified Flooring Installers Master II trainer Roland Thompson said education is the key. He sees the same mistakes over and over, such as using the wrong trowel, not reading the instructions, and not performing moisture testing prior to installation. He teaches a luxury vinyl plank (LVP) course, covering all these topics and ensuring that his students walk away with the knowledge needed for a successful project.

Kevin Keefe, director of technical support at Roberts, like Thompson, spends a great deal of his time educating retailers, installers and contractors on their adhesives, “Just because it's glue doesn't mean it's just glue, right? They're all different. They all have different uses. The bottom line is nobody's really reading the instructions.”

But at the end of the day, whose responsibility is it to communicate product changes?

“That’s our responsibility from Field Services and Shaw as a whole,” said Nick Carter, manager field services technical, Shaw Industries. “If we’re going to implement a change or implement a new product adhesive pair, we have to be on the forefront of doing that training and education—that’s getting out to those dealers’ locations at 6:00 or 7:00 in the morning, working with those guys for an hour. Or it could be trying to hit more of those installers on those updates on how these specific adhesives work, but also going out and working with them in the field as well.”

Companies like Ardex, Mohawk, Roberts, Taylor Adhesives, and Shaw offer technical field services, education opportunities, and detailed product instructions to educate retailers, installers, contractors, and distributors, helping to mitigate these issues on the front end. Reaching everyone is a challenge; however, they are finding ways to deliver these resources directly into the hands of a rapidly evolving workforce.  

It’s Right There on the Bucket

It’s important to trace the evolution of flooring adhesives. According to Joe Denman, inspector training consultant at Flortek Academy, “The biggest change in flooring adhesives occurred some 40 years ago when adhesive manufacturers were forced to remove most of the solvents used in their products. It has taken those 40 years to develop the products that are available today. Present-day adhesives are more limited as to what adhesive can be used with certain materials compared to 40 years ago.”

This might explain why installers and contractors continue to use adhesives the same way they always have. Many are second- and third-generation and have been installing floors the same way all their lives, thinking the methods they utilize are correct.

“That doesn’t always make it right because a lot of things change over the years—instructions change, the engineering of products changes,” said Sandon Carson, field service manager II—wood and laminate, Mohawk Industries.

The instructions on the bucket of adhesive list crucial information, including the correct trowel size, open time, working time and cure time as well as RH, pH and moisture vapor emission rate (MVER). All of this information is also available in technical data sheets that can be accessed online from your phone.

Additionally, Carson points out that the workforce makeup has shifted significantly over the years to include more Hispanic installers who are unable to read the English version of the manufacturer's instructions.

 “Now, we’re getting a lot more of our instructions in Spanish,” Carson said. “That’s something we’ve really been pushing because we understand the need.”

Currently, Shaw, Taylor Adhesives and Roberts offer Spanish instructions on their adhesive products or access to them via QR code. Roberts has a QR code on its adhesives that takes you to a mobile-friendly product description that includes an image, where it’s used, how it is used and a link to the data sheet in English and Spanish.

Some manufacturers, such as Mohawk, are adapting their installation instructions to a video format. This allows anyone to access them at any time and watch the steps being performed, along with an explanation.  

Shaw is currently producing a series of Spanish-language videos for its TotalWorx Accessories line of products. 

Training and Education: The Key to Cutting Claims

Carson presents a claim scenario involving a wood floor where the installer not only chose to use the wrong trowel but also failed to protect the floor against moisture adequately. “The cost of the wood job and me having to replace it might cost me $20,000 to $40,000.”

This is why education is so important. “That’s the key to cutting down claims,” he said. “It also lets these dealers know that we want to partner with them and help them in these efforts to cut down on claims and educate.”

But how do you reach everyone involved in the installation process and get them on the same page?

One solution, according to Grant, is to promote training via the distributors. Their training flyers contain QR codes, making it simple and easy to share training information. Additionally, “they’ll go to their customers to talk to them about the training that’s available,” he said.

Ardex trains around 8,000 people per year in the U.S., according to Grant. “My job is to make sure that people are using the right products in the right way,” he said.

Ardex offers customized training that they will bring to you. They also have training facilities at various manufacturing locations, where they offer free education and provide accommodations in a hotel, along with meals.

Shaw is reaching dealers through its shows, which travel across the country, highlighting specific lines of products, such as its TotalWorx Accessories. Field Services and some of the TotalWorx Ambassadors join forces to bring dealers together in one location to demonstrate products and discuss how to properly use them.

Shaw’s Field Services team also connects with commercial contractors to be on-site for job startups. “We’re going out to those in the field, in the home, to work with those installers on-site to make sure they’re using adhesives properly,” said Carter. “That’s the best training because it’s on-site and in real conditions. You can look at their floor prep and make sure they are taking that into consideration.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taylor Adhesives modified its training format to accommodate remote training, known as Partner Exclusives. “The Partner Exclusives are performed live and are interactive to allow the installers to text in questions which we can answer during the meeting,” said Scheidker.

Taylor also offers training videos called Taylor Time Tips, which provide basic installation information and product details. For instance, anyone can watch a video that explains how to properly document your jobsite or learn more about Agile, an adhesive used under broadloom. There are also a few Spanish versions of some of the tips.

 Scheidker also notes that Taylor offers in-person training at its Dalton, Georgia, and Fontana, California, facilities by one of three CFI-certified installers. One of the trainers is bilingual, offering training education to the Spanish-speaking installation community.

Mohawk’s Carson alone trains approximately 2,400 people every year, between private training sessions and events at various flooring shows and conventions. Carson highlights the importance of educating everyone on product compatibility. Manufacturers test their products prior to launching them to ensure compatibility, taking the guesswork out of selecting the right products.

He points to the new Performance Accessories powder products that include levelers and skim coats that work with their primers, sealers, and adhesives.

“These guys, knowing that they have a one-stop shop and that they know it’s all going to work together, is how we want to move forward with working with the dealers and the installers, because now there is no second-guessing,” he said.

Keefe offers a different way of thinking about flooring: “We need to change how we sell the product. We need to sell the process.”

Rather than treating installation and all the steps needed to complete the job as an afterthought and focusing solely on the floorcovering sale, Keefe suggests sitting down with the customer and educating them on the products and the installation expertise required for a successful project. For the retailer, installer and contractor, this would require taking advantage of the training available, reading the technical data sheets, reading the product instructions and working with your technical rep or sales rep from the manufacturer to stay up to date on the latest product changes.

“It’s an investment you always get a return on,” said Grant.