Bill Renner of the North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) explains the techniques for successful laminate flooring installation during his seminar, “Laminate Flooring Installation Essentials.”


CFI founder/CEO Jim Walker explains how to avoid carpet seaming mistakes in his seminar, “Seams Easy to Me.”

Installation issues were addressed at a variety of presentations and product demonstrations during Surfaces 2010, which was held Feb. 1-4 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.  The Installation stage was sponsored by Floor Covering Installer and its sister publication, TILE Magazine.

 In addition, the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) shared a booth with the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation (CTEF), and the two associations teamed up on Feb. 4, as NTCA board member and workshop presenter Michael Whistler took the stage with CTEF Executive Scott Carothers at the Surfaces Installation Showcase.

Bill Renner of the North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA) conducted a one-hour demonstration on Feb.4, complete with insider tips and a step-by-step demonstration on how to install the perfect laminate floor. 

“Our NALFA booth was quite busy at Surfaces this year,” said E.C. “Bill” Dearing, president of NALFA. “This is the anniversary of our first year of offering NALFA Installer Certification classes, and interest was very high. From our point of view, there was serious interest at this show and certainly it appeared that there was a renewed sense that business is not only picking up, but there is genuine enthusiasm.”

“From the installation side of things, the show was a success,” said Jon Namba, executive director of the International Certified Floorcovering Installers Association (CFI). “Even though the installation showcase was a smaller venue this year, the presentations were well attended up to the last seminar on Thursday afternoon. The lineup of speaker and their content for the educational seminars was great.

In addition to the official Surfaces educational program, there were numerous installation demonstrations conducted by the manufacturers at their booths, allowing installers to see first-hand how the products are installed.

“I always enjoy Surfaces and learning about new products to share with installers in my area,” said installer Kelly Huddleston of La Junta, CO. “This year, it appeared there was more time to spend at the booths and everyone was willing to demonstrate and explain the value of using their tools or products.”

Surfaces 2011 will be held together with StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, January 26-28, with conferences beginning on Jan. 25. For more information, visit www.surfaces.com.