I was never afraid to ask a question. I found that if I didn’t ask then I would never know. Sometimes to a journeyman my questions may have seemed silly, but asking anyway proved beneficial in doing the floor right and building relationships along the way.

For the past 24 years we have been doing hardwood floors from residential to commercial Projects. We did everything from solid hardwood flooring to portable roll out hardwood dance mats.

In 1989 I received a call from a gentleman who asked me, “Can you make a portable hardwood floor in 4 sections?” Without hesitation I said sure. We made that portable floor from the subfloor to the glued and screwed down 4” Quartersawn White Oak flooring. That floor was one of the heaviest portable floors I ever made. A couple years later I got a call from a member of a Tap Dance Organization here in Portland. She wanted to know if I could refinish the same floor we built for them a few years ago because it had been stored in a facility that had a major water leak and it warped the floor. To my amazement I found out through her that the floor we built had been used for a famous tap dancer for his performance at the Arlene Schnitzer concert hall.

The first steps he made that night, without practicing, were on our floor. He fell in love with it from the first step. He stopped and asked the audience if they could hear when he did a shuffle. They yelled and cheered yes. He then got down on the floor and kissed it and proclaimed it to be the best floor he had ever danced on. Gregory Hines was the performer.

From that first portable floor came the invitation to re-create a roll out floor that the late Al Arthur had made. I met with his wife and purchased the little wood slats. She did not know where he got his glue or canvas but I vowed to create a new floor and to always remember her husband in each and every dance floor I made. That is how Performa Floor was created. I started making 4’ x 8’ portable roll out hardwood floors out of 1st grade maple. When I wanted to make them larger I was told that there was no way possible to do it. So I made my first 10’ x 10’ roll out dance floor. From there I created floors of all different sizes and shapes, and to this day almost any species of hardwood can be used. We can do company logos and art work as well. From Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, and a movie tribute for the Late Charlie Honey Coles, the portable floor was re-born.

From the portable dance floors I found that in milling my slats that I had a large waste factor. The waste factor came from end cuts, warped pieces, etc. The wood was so beautiful that I could not throw it out, I just couldn’t. I went on vacation to visit my father in a small town outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, it was the perfect season. It was a mild heat with nice winds blowing the moss in the Cypress trees when my dad came home with a new Ford Explorer. He noticed it didn’t come with any car mats. And when he said that - it was like a strike of lightening - Aha, all the waste factor from the dance floors could create a hardwood car mat. Are you asking yourself if someone told me I couldn’t do it? Yes, I was told that was not possible. I started the first set of hardwood car mats for my dad. Then I spent the next few years doing research on car makes and what type of wood trim was in those vehicles. Once I was ready I advertised in a very well known magazine and now we custom build and ship car mats and portable dance floors worldwide.

I can tell you that my passion is hardwood. It is versatile, long lasting and can be made into a multitude of products and it has endless possibilities. From a wooden cross, a bowl, the framing of a home, to flooring, if you have patience, and follow through, there is nothing that can stop your creativeness with wood. From an installation of hardwood flooring to custom inlays and design in hardwood flooring to the by products I make, portable floors & hardwood car mats, I promise to make your project or product the most beautiful that it can be.