When you’re putting in expensive flooring, the last thing you want is for that floor to end up damaged soon after. But how do you deal with factors outside of your control? You can’t control how your customers maintain the environment in their homes after you’ve finished a job. They might not understand the importance of keeping the temperature and humidity stable. Then, if something goes wrong, they may even assume it’s your fault and call you with accusations, expecting you to fix the problem—at your own expense. 

With the danger that moisture poses to wood flooring, how can you help your customers protect their floors? And protect your business reputation in the process? 

For Lucas Huffaker of Huffaker Flooring, a flooring contractor in Boise, Idaho, an embedded wood floor data logger has been the key. Since some of his projects are worth $50,000, putting in a few of these devices is “a great way to protect that investment,” said Huffaker. 

His wood floor data logger of choice? The Floor Sentry by Wagner Meters. 

Let’s find out how an embedded data logger can protect against moisture damage and how you, too, can turn your customer’s floors into “smart floors.”
 

Embedding a wood floor data logger into the underside of a wood floor plank an help to protect your floor installations. Photo: Wagner Meters.

How Smart Monitoring Protects Wood Floors

Moisture is one of the biggest dangers for a wood floor. Wood tends to absorb or release moisture to adjust to its environment. Consequently, changes in the temperature and relative humidity of a home can cause the flooring to adapt, too. 

If the environment becomes more humid, the floor might swell and cup. Or if the humidity drops, the floor could end up with gaps or even cracks. Customers often don’t realize how their actions can impact their expensive wood floors: like turning the heat off while they’re on vacation or failing to maintain humidity levels in their homes. 

But with an embedded wood floor data logger, you, as the installer, can turn their floor into a smart floor, equipping them with the awareness and tools to prevent moisture issues. 

An embedded wood floor data logger, like Floor Sentry, is about the size of a credit card. It fits into a small cavity that you can rout into the underside of a wood floor plank (we recommend placing one for every 1,000 square feet of flooring, though some choose to do more). From that location, it measures the temperature and relative humidity of both the floor and subfloor, and it will continue to do so for up to eight years!

Floor Sentry sends this data to a smartphone app when in Bluetooth range, allowing your customers to keep track of their floor whenever they’re home.
 

Wagner Meter’s Floor Sentry works with a smartphone app for seamless monitoring of the floor’s temperature and relative humidity. Photo: Wagner Meters.

What Smart Monitoring Can Do for Your Business 

Adding a smart monitoring system to your customer’s flooring package may seem like an expense to you. But its benefits are priceless:

It’ll protect your hard work. A logger like Floor Sentry allows you to set temperature and relative humidity ranges. If the floor or subfloor goes outside those ranges, your customer will receive immediate alerts. This way, they can address environmental issues before they affect the floor and cause damage. And save you from having to do a repair job! 

It’ll empower your customers. Floor Sentry and its accompanying app puts floor maintenance and protection into the hands of your customers. If the temperature or relative humidity goes out of range, they can make the necessary adjustments themselves—turning thermostats up or down or putting in dehumidifiers or humidifiers. 

It’ll show your professionalism. Your customers will be impressed with the cutting-edge technology you use. And they’ll appreciate you going the extra mile to help them protect their flooring. 

It’ll protect your reputation. Consider Floor Sentry “cheap insurance” for flooring. If a problem were to occur, customers could go back in the history of time-stamped readings and see when conditions shifted and affected the flooring. This way, they won’t be able to blame you for problems you didn’t cause. 

Huffaker has experienced these benefits. For the past year, he’s been installing Floor Sentry along with every floor he puts in. And for him, it’s “a great insurance policy.” 

Since many of his projects are major investments for his customers, it’s worth it to pay for two or three monitoring devices that offer him peace of mind. 

Huffaker also appreciates how Floor Sentry works with the Wagner Sentry app. The simple, user-friendly interface allows customers to easily keep track of their floors. 

Turn Your Customer’s Floors into Smart Floors

Huffaker’s experience could be yours, too. Add a couple of embedded wood floor data loggers to your installation packages and put floor care into the hands of your customers. You’ll be able to sleep peacefully with your work well protected.