NWFA Certified Professional Wood Flooring Inspectors (CPWFI) with ICC Structural Certification are the nation's elite wood flooring inspectors

NWFA Wood Flooring Inspectors (NWFI)

North American Laminate Flooring Association(NALFA)

Wood Flooring Inspector Essentials

It is essential that the wood flooring inspector working for you has the skills, knowledge and ability to gather facts, assemble evidence and reach the right conclusion.

Wood Flooring Inspection Credentials (JP-WFIC)

2002:
Completed classroom study, written examinations and case scenario requirements for Professional Certification and License. Provisional wood flooring inspector - inspected per NWFA and NOFMA standards for one year. Completed wood flooring inspections and Technical Report Writing "compliance" reports. NWFA Certified Professionals, Inc. Examining Committee authorized probationary period to begin.
2003:
Completed mandatory one year probation provisional wood flooring inspector and consultant.
2004:
Earned CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL Wood Flooring Inspector Certification. Professional License #CP1520204 was issued May 2004 in St. Louis, MO.
2006:
Completed a second course study for Certified Professional Wood Flooring Inspectors at NWFA national headquarters in greater St. Louis, MO.
2008:
Completed the NWFA Subfloor Preparation and Wood Flooring Installation course. This school is designed to provide broad-based, hands-on training for subfloor preparation, repair, and installation of different types of subfloors. It teaches inspectors and installers how to work with both concrete and plywood subfloors, and the different tools, technologies, and techniques required for each. Serious attention is given to proper installation of both solid and engineered wood floors on both wood and concrete subfloors, using the glue-down and floating installation methods. Key focal points are Leveling Patch Products, Sealing Concrete, Floating Floors, Radiant Heat Floors, Sound Control, and Moisture Testing techniques and procedures.
2009:
Completed the NWFA Advanced Installation School. The highly specialized school provides extensive hands-on training utilizing a variety of specialized tools, techniques and technologies. Prerequisites include three years experience and previous attendance at NWFA schools. Students receive four degree credits. Topics include Borders, Medallions and Inlays, Parquet, Mixed Media, Metal Inlay, Custom Job Estimating, Specialty Tools, High-end floor designs, and Sanding/Finishing Techniques.
2009:
Completed the NWFA Advanced Certified Professional Wood Flooring Inspector School in Atlanta, Georgia. This one week period of instructions included advanced report writing techniques, moisture testing of wood flooring and subfloors (wood and concrete), and trouble shooting problems in floor installation, factory pre-finished wood products, wood product comparison, and onsite sand and finish.
2011:
Completed the Wood Flooring Education Guild four day workshops under the direction of: Dr. David Tilotta, Department of Forest Biomaterials Wood Products Extension, NC State University.

Dr. Phil Mitchell, Department of Forest Biomaterials, NC State University.

Howard Brinkman, MBA University of Massachusetts.

Students were taught and examined in mechanics, discovery and disclosure techniques of Moisture Migration and Movement in Homes, Wood and Wood Flooring Exposed to Moisture. The Basics of Wood Shrinkage, and Advanced Wood Shrinkage. Strong emphasis was placed on, but not limited to, the following studies:

  • Psychometrics and Wood Moisture
  • Application of Psychometrics
  • Calculating Moisture Content
  • Strategies for Moving Air in Heating/Cooling Climates
  • Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) and its affect
  • Sources of Moisture in the Home
  • Morphing to Thermal Conductance
  • The Role of Heat Transfer
  • Mold in the Home; Two Flavors:

    Toxic (e.g., Stachybotrys chartarum)

    Non-toxic (e.g., Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus, Alternaria)

  • Theoretical Development of (Restrained) Shrinkage Stresses in Wood
  • Restrained Shrinkage and Swelling in Wood
  • Moisture Gradients in Drying Wood
  • Moisture Change and Stress Damage to Wood
2011:
Completed the NWFA Expert Installation School: This school is designed for highly skilled professionals only. The Expert Installation School provides hands-on training for highly experienced wood flooring professionals. Students design and install a custom-built wood floor. Prerequisites include the successful completion of the NWFA Advanced Installation School. Topics include building custom jigs, cutting taper boards, cutting parquet/medallions, bending wood, installing on a radius, free-hand routing, marquetry/inlays, i.e., brass, aluminum and other types of metals, wood, glass, plastics and wood filler accents plus job cost estimating. Students earn 4 degree credits.
2011:
North American Laminate Flooring Association Inspector Certification. Completed classroom studies and successfully passed the Laminated Flooring Products Inspector Certification Examination to inspect installed Engineered Laminated Flooring Products.
2011:
Milling Operations. Inspected the operation and compliance procedure of a NWFA member wood flooring manufacturing plant. This inspection included the start to finish process of making wood flooring from raw logs to containerized packaging and shipment. Palletized lumber stored on yards to be "air dried" was examined. Kiln-drying chamber controls were inspected, and chambers were entered and tested for temperature and containment. The milling procedure of wood flooring was observed, and the equipment used in the milling process was observed and inspected while in full operation. A close "up front" observation of grading, sorting, tongue and grooving of raw wood being transformed into a usable flooring product increases the inspectors knowledge, understanding, insight, and enhances the inspectors ability to see clearly and intuitively into the complexity of the wood floor making process...from trees to wood floors that customers walk on.
2013:

Virginia Tech.

The Department of Sustainable Biomaterials

Completed studies:

Introduction to Wood Science and Wood Properties

Introduction to Engineered Wood Properties

Professors:

Dr. Joseph R. Loferski, VT Department of Sustainable Biomaterials

Dr. Brian Bond, VT Department of Sustainable Biomaterials

Dr. Daniel P. Hindman, VT Department of Sustainable Biomaterials

Solid Wood Science

This study includes, but is not limited to:

  • Wood anatomy
  • Wood terminology
  • Wood properties related to longitudinal, tangential and radial
  • Microscopic identification of wood species using state of the art microscopes
  • Microscopic details of wood species, thickness of cell walls, arrangement of cells, cell types, resinous cell canals and distribution, non-resinous (color, smell, texture and transition)
  • Calculations and Formulas for reaching moisture content and conclusions

Engineered Wood Properties

The purpose of this study is to develop the student's understanding of wood composites and engineered floor products, and how they perform under various controlled and uncontrolled conditions.

Moisture Testing Techniques

The study teaches proper use and handling of moisture testing equipment. Included is hands-on use of various types of moisture meters by manufacturers, testing known and unknown wood for moisture content of different species and cell arrangements.

Calculations and Formulas

Included in this study are calculations and formulas students use in calculating board shrinkage and swelling, moisture change in pounds of water gained per percent (%) increase in moisture content, and formulas used in calculating moisture increase (gallons per board foot/square foot, and per 1,000 board feet/square feet).

Virginia Tech Engineering Laboratory

The VT School of Engineering laboratory is recognized as one of the finest in the world. It is fitted with the best wood testing equipment, which includes "Janka Hardness Test" equipment. Students are taught how solid wood species of various dimensions are tested for hardness, bending moment, wood failure under compression and tension using various equipment, methods and techniques.

The National Wood Flooring Standards

The NWFA Installation Guidelines, the NWFA Sand and Finish Guidelines, and the National Oak Flooring Manufacturing Grading Rules are the standards for the wood flooring Industry. In addition, manufacturer's recommendations for installation of specific products should always supersede the recommendation contained in NWFA publications. The NWFA is a separate entity and is not associated with the ICC in any way. Individuals acquire ICC credentials upon satisfactory competition of ICC schooling and the examination process.

Building & Mechanical Inspection Credentials (JP-WFIC)

The visual inspection of a wood floor is generally the easy part. Many wood flooring inspectors fall short in basic knowledge of building structure. Failed or over span floor joists, deteriorated or improperly constructed piers and failure in foundation walls play important roles in how your wood floors perform. Many times that hump, dip or sudden slope in your floor may not be just a subfloor flatness issue; they could represent serious structural issues with the home. Be extremely cautions when engaging anyone with very limited skills in building structure and problem identification.

The following certifications were obtained from The University of Georgia (UGA).

UGA Structural Evaluator

Certified Structural Evaluator (Residential and Commercial Construction)

Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI)

UGA Building Code Inspector

Certified CABO and ICC One and Two Family Dwelling Code

SBCCI Registration No. 602

UGA Building Code Inspector

Certified Residential Building Code and Stucco Cladding

SBCCI Registration No. 1363

UGA Building Code Inspector

Certified Housing and Housing Rehabilitation Inspector

SBCCI Registered No. 134

UGA, Georgia State Energy Code for Buildings

Certified Energy Conservation for the State of Georgia and Local Building Officials

End of UGA Certifications

Georgia State Mandated Residential Building Codes Discussion Leader (3-1/2 years)

International Code Council (ICC) Certifications

ICC Residential Building Inspector B-2

ICC Residential Combination Inspector B-5

ICC Commercial Building Inspector B-5

Environmental Assessment Association

Environmental Inspector for Real Estate Transactions

Residential Radon Measurement and Remedial Action Studies, St. Louis, MO (2004)

Mold Detection and Identification, St. Louis MO (2006)

Residential Radon Measurement and Remedial Action Studies Atlanta, Georgia (2010)

Residential Radon Measurement and Testing, Atlanta, GA (2011)

Experience

Expert Witness

Federal Court

Expert Witness for the Plaintiff

I have undergone scrutiny, and have been qualified through the Federal Court Expert Witness processing procedure, to testify as an Expert Witness in Federal Court cases filed in the U.S. Court, Northern District of Georgia, the Atlanta Division.

Superior and State Courts

Expert Witness for the Plaintiff and Defendant

Magistrate Courts

Lower Court Expert Witness for the Plaintiff and Defendant

Binding Arbitration

Expert Witness for the Plaintiff and Defendant

South Carolina (Columbia)

Expert Witness for The State of South Carolina (April 2009) Labor-Licensing-Regulations Board (LLRB)Builder fraud and incomplete workmanship (Hilton Head Island, SC property)

Membership

The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA)

Certified PROFESSIONAL Wood Flooring Inspectors, Inc. Professional License #1520204

North American Laminate Floor Association (NALFA)

The American Society of Home Inspectors (consultant status) #2117