well, next week I will be back in Memphis,TN for the NOFMA class, this will be my third time,,, I do it for the necessary continuing eduction,,, this class should be interesting for the people who will be there, Fred Gamble is going back trying to get back into the "program",, Ray D. is going for the first time,,, a few others will be going back,,, we like going back, Memphis is a great town, Micky is a great instructor,, the education is great, the best, ,,,,,, the food is great in Memphis! the music is great in Memphis, ,, and oh yea, they got this little tiny river that runs through it or on side,,, this will be fun,,, I am getting close to the "prize" and hope it happens soon,,, at this time, I want to make sure you guys know the installation class is not just nailing down wood, it is also 1/2 classroom where you are taught the nature of wood, and instruction on grades of wood, how wood reacts to moisture and more and more,,,, it is a must for begining inspectors wanting to move into wood inspections,,, so, just wanted to remind everyone of that,,, and that there is a class coming up soon,,,, ok, and sometimes you meet interesting people there, like when Tandy and I met Howard Brinkman, former NOFMA tech director,,, Tandy made him mad once!
Could you give us more information on the class, like when, where, how much, all that good stuff? That's the kind of stuff a lot of people might be interested in. It's even a good thing to put that on our calendar here for all to see. Thanks.
I don't care about the class...... Tell us more about how Tandy made Brinkman mad once. That's the real story here!!!
well, ok,, Bud,,, I was paying attention to how some of the many instructors were all paying respect to Howard, and, he was in my installation group,,,,, I mean, they all were deferring to him,,, so, after the first classroom sesson was over, and I saw he was in my group, I went up to a friend who was an instructor and asked,,,, now, Tandy was also in my group, as was the editor from Hardwood Floors mag.,,, Kim pertty much let Howard do his thing since she and a local wood distributor were suppose to be our instructors, but he was gone most of the time working since his home is in Memphis,,, ok, here is Howard showing us all these neat little tricks,, and explaining to a few of us about what acclimation really means vs the 99% public idea of it, and, he said that in New England, it was considered bad installation if they do not install the wood net or flush to the walls, you see, they don't use quarter round or wall base there he said,,, here comes our beloved Mr. Tandy who infomed him the standards state an expansion space (he missed part the part about acclimation/moisture content discussion in our group) must be there and if inspected one of his jobs he would be written up! yep, Mr. Tandy told him he would write him up! So, I asked Tandy as we were walking back to the class if he knew who Howard was, he said (and I can see us walking in the Agi center on the concrete floor) he did not care. So, I slow down to think a few minutes and here come Howard, who stopped me, and asked me if all damn inspectors were that way! I said, well, nope, Tandy is just special!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! being gentlemen, and men of the world, this lasted about , ten minutes if that long....
Lets get Howards name straight! It ain't Brinkman, it is Brickman ok, I know that, I happen to know he does not like it when his name is misspelled that way!
I had forgotten about that, Lee you have too good of a memory. I believe that was dealing with solid wood end joint shrink/swell not shrink/swell across the width. I consider Howard a very good friend and consider him second to none in wood knowledge. However, that said, at what point can an installer or inspector ignore industry standards. BTW I believe Howard was the main man writing the NOFMA standards which were later copied by NWFA.
I like Howards explaination of a vented crawl space vs. a closed and conditioned crawl space. It all clicked and made perfect sense.
Perry, I have been finding out lately that there has been lots of studies on that subject for the last twenty years, and more,, even some Federal labs have gotten into it,, and they all keep doing the same studies over and over and over (using out tax dollars) to come to the same conclusion,,, crawl spaces are damp is the basic conclusion,,, yep, NC State U. finished one last year, and, fifteen years before , a PhD did the same tests at Clemson U.,,, and I hear, others Universities are doing the same,, YOu can not get a copy anymore but there use to be a seriouse of books and articles from the Oak Ridge Labs, where they made the atomic bombs, the first ones, on these subjects, for energy conservation,,, but, now, even those from there are outdated,,,, just glad Howard used his common sense and saved us a few tax dollars :help: Tandy, nope, you were firm, you were going to write up Howard! yep, told me you did not care who he was! you were going to stick by your guns! and the rules! and the facts! and the standards! hell, I thought that was "down right 'admiral' " of you!
