Hadwood floor sales F climb the walls

By James H. ke Managing Director National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association, Memphis, Tn.

ROBABLY no "commodity" item in the building products inventory is enjoying more renewed interest and demand today than oak flooring.

Long favored as the premier flooring for luxury residences, it's now seen regularly in retail stores, offices and other commercial environments. Architects. designers, homebuilders and, rhost of all, homebuyers are rediscovering the natural beauty of hardwood as the perfect complement to any interior style.

While the warmth and charm of wood are the major reasons for its return to popularity, a contributing factor is the development of new polyurethane and Swedish finishing materials which wear much better than varnish and shellac and greatly reduce the maintenance requirements.

The National Oak Flooring Manufacturers Association, of which most major producers are members, now approves the use ofhardwood flooring in kitchens when one ofthese finishes is applied after the flooring is installed. This is a practice it did not endorse only a few years ago because of the potential for water splash which would spot the older finishes. Now a home can have a real "country kitchen" with wood floors to complement the beauty of cabinets and other natural materials. It's a trend that building products suppliers can promote to increase their sales.

Still another avenue of increased sales lies in the use of wood flooring, particularly the popular strip style, on walls and ceilings. Applied vertically, horizontally or at an angle, it provides an interesting, decorative effect and an extremely durable, low-maintenance surface. For a horizonal application, the flooring can be nailed directly to the studs. Furring strips nailed to studs are used for vertical or diagonal application or, for masonry walls, 2x4s are attached to the wall to provide a nailing surface.

Where required in commercial buildings, a Class '.A' flame-spread rating can be obtained by application of an intumescent coating, a transparent finish which thickens rapidly into a protective coating in the presence offire.

Story at a Glance

New f inishes make hardwood practical for any room...sales potential still increasing...use on walls and ceilings is a growing trcnd...literature available to help dealer promotions.

But most hardwood flooring, true to its name, ends up as floors - strip, plank, block or parquetry in a variefy ofdesigns. There is, in fact, a return to what is called the "linear look" in wood flooringlong, narrow strips, usually 2Vt " wideblind-nailed to a suitable subfloor to form a solid surface of long-wearing hardwood. Such a floor can be installed on concrete slab subfloors as well as those with wood joist construction.

Both unfinished and factory-finished hardwood flooring is manufactured by members of NOFMA, although not all members make the prefinished kind.

Established in 1909. NOFMA has as a primary function the establishment of standards for the production ofhardwood flooring and inspection of members'output to make sure it conforms with these

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E URI.flTURE made totally or in Pan F *,,n narowooo ls occunrlrlB a lasr growing new product line in home centers.

The types offurniture long associated with discounters are beginning to creep into the home center inventory. Knockdown, now with a more elegant label of ready-to-assemble (RIA), unfinished and assembled furniture including antique reproductions are being manufactured especially for the home center market. The number of producers exhibiting at the National Home Center Show is growing steadily with a full six pages of furniture displays listed in the latest sho'il directory.

Independent home centers have been slow to accept furniture in any depth. However, the majority of the chains, especially the warehouse stores, have understood the potential market and beeled up their inventory.

Hechinger's has long had a furniture department of consequence. Lowe's with its emphasis on home decorating also has stocked a considerable amount of furniture. Mr. Goodbuys is considered a pioneer in the field by some, having experimented with upholstered pieces as well as case goods. Home Depot, Cashways, Home Quarters Warehouse, Handyman, HomeClub and National Lumber are among others who have representative lines of furniture.

"Better living furniture" is the term one store applies to its lines representing four or five manufacturers. "Realwood" is the way another furniture buyer describes his merchandise.

"It's an area of our business that we expect to expand rapidly. The number of lines we carry has doubled in the last couple of years and we feel it will double again in the next two," explained the merchandising vice president at one store.

Hardwood is represented in both domestic and imported furniture. Many of the antique reproductions are made from solid hardwood, often oak. Much of the unfinished variety is alder which stains well to resemble a variety of more expensive woods. RTA furniture, usually entertainment centers, computer furniture, audio, tv/vcr cabinets or tv and microwave carts, often is fuced with hardwood while the unseen portions are particleboard.

Ready-to-assemble has many advantages for the retailer, including storage. After a sample has been assembled for the floor, the remaining stock can be stacked or shelved in the protective cartons. kss damage in delivery and storage and lower freight costs are additional advantages.

Tirday's upscale, mobile customer likes the idea of being able to carry home his choice without waiting weeks for delivery. The challenge of assembling RTA furniture or applying a stain to the unfinished seems to satisfr some creative instinct often thwarted by the professional's life style.

Manufacturers cater to the d-iy market with well written assembly instructions in many cases. Many manufacture furniture exclusively while others such as Belwood are cabinet manufacturers turned furniture makers.

Story at a Glance

Many more home centers now carry hardwood furniture... chains outpace independents in accepting new lines...most of the domestic and imported furniture make extensive use of hardwood...displays requ ire minimalfootage.

Houston Simard, president of Belwood, which has offices in Memphis, Tn., and plants in Ackerman and Tylertown, Ms., calls the future of ready to assemble furniture "very bright." His company has 88 models, all produced on its cabinet manufacturing lines.

Other domestic manufacturers of affordable, budget furniture include O'sullivan, Lamar, Mo., Whittier Wood Products, Eugene, Or., which uses only alder in unfinished pieces, and Sauder, Archbold, Oh. American Forest Products, Stockton, Ca., is the largest manufacturer of unfinished furniture in the U.S.

Furniture, like most items in the home center, benefits from being displayed well. Samples should be assembled from the RTA lines. Unfinished furniture should be cross merchandised with materials needed for staining including color samples of the various finishes possible. Vignette displays with decorative items help a customer to visualize hcxv the piece will fit into his home.

If furniture is not a line offered by your store, you should explore the growing concept that the home center customer is ready for it.