Christopher Capobianco


Flooring Answers will present “Introduction to Substrate/Subfloor Inspection (ISSI),” a certification developed by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). The two-day class will be held at Toronto Carpet Inspector in Concord, Ontario on November 20 and 21.

The instructor for the class is Christopher Capobianco, founder of Flooring Answers and an IICRC approved instructor. A fourth generation floor coverer, Capobianco is recognized in the industry as an authority on resilient floor covering issues and the relationship of concrete floors to floor covering installations. He is a long-time member of ASTM Committee F.06 on Resilient Flooring and has been a part of the development of several ASTM standards on concrete floor preparation and moisture testing.  Capobianco is an experienced resilient floor inspector, columnist forFloor Covering Installerand three other trade magazines, and a long-time industry activist and educator known for his “plain English” way of writing and speaking about complex floor covering issues.

Although the course is part of the IICRC Hard Surface certification process, the information contained in the class is invaluable for anyone in the floor covering, building design or construction industry such as installers, architects, project managers and even salespeople.  The ISSI class and the manual cover a wide range of topics on substrates and subfloors including components of concrete and wood floor systems, causes of failure and imperfections concrete moisture and its effect of floor coverings, testing methods, industry standards , adhesives, underlayment and substrate preparation. It includes two days of instruction followed by a 160 question written test.  It is also the prerequisite for all IICRC hard surface inspector certifications, including Resilient Floor Inspector (RFI), Wood/Laminate Floor Inspector (WLFI), Marble/Stone Inspector (MSI) and Ceramic Tile Inspector (CTI).

An ANSI Accredited Standards Development Organization, the IICRC was formed in 1972 to serve as an independent, non-profit certification body, to set and promote high standards and ethics; and to advance communication and technical proficiency within the inspection, cleaning and restoration service industry. The IICRC does not have schools or instructors; rather it approves schools such as Flooring Answers and instructors such as Capobianco to teach and administer IICRC certification programs. Currently, the IICRC has some 139 approved instructors.

The course will be hosted by Lee Senter at Toronto Carpet Inspector, 160 Cidermill Ave, Unit 8, Concorde, Ontario. For more information, visit www.torontocarpetinspector.com . For more information about Flooring answers, visit www.flooringanswers.com .  For more information about IICRC, visit www.iircr.org/faq.