The importance of awareness, training, and consistent practices
Unfortunately, there is another root cause of flooring failure.
“The lack of understanding surrounding proper flooring prep and moisture testing is often a case of not knowing what you don’t know,” said Jane Rohde, principal, JSR Associates Inc., AIA, FIIDA, ASID, ACHA, CHID, LEED AP BD+C, GGA – EB, GGF. “There has been a shift in recent years, with architecture and design students missing out on material sciences courses. This directly ties into material literacy and results in an imbalance, leading to a generational gap where younger designers come out of college with a technical mastery of AutoCAD and other programs but a distinct lack of training in materials and installation processes.”
While young specifiers understand product trends and the importance of sustainability, they do not understand the appropriate materials to use in different commercial settings and environments. This barrier is not easily overcome, but exposing it provides new opportunities for learning and growth—especially among the next generation of building and construction professionals.
“Young designers and architects are not looking at ASTM and other performance standards for guidance,” said Rohde. “This isn’t entirely their fault—it comes with time and training—but it can lead to mistakes in the specification process.”
Another challenge is a breakdown in the chain of communication—a theme echoed by professionals throughout the building and construction industry. Specification writers are not the same individuals who actually design the space. Their primary responsibility is to develop specifications to accompany architectural drawings to describe the installation requirements of various aspects of the project. At large firms, teams may comprise different people designing and specifying for multiple projects.
“This lack of continuity means things fall through the cracks,” noted Rohde. “To mitigate this, architecture and design firms can rely on manufacturer technical departments for assistance and expertise to educate their team members on site prep, product installation requirements, and ongoing maintenance. This should also be shared with the general contractor, client, and building operations team members who are responsible for the structure.”
Poniatowski echoes this sentiment. During his time at ReSource New Jersey, he has spent two decades educating his team and the greater industry on the importance of moisture mitigation and testing.
“Architects, designers, and general contractors should always reach out to their trusted flooring contractors,” he said. “Along with manufacturer reps, trained and certified floorcovering professionals can provide a huge amount of insight into the testing and mitigation process. While lunch-and-learns are not as common anymore, there are other opportunities which should be explored since communication is at the core here.”
