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About
Founded by Joe Avila to eliminate avoidable flooring failures.
With decades of experience as an NWFA Certified Wood Flooring Inspector, Joe Avila has investigated failures across luxury residential, commercial, and multi-family projects. The pattern was unmistakable: most failures could have been prevented with a properly engineered flooring system, clearer specification language, and strict adherence to testing and environmental requirements.
That realization became the foundation of Architectural Wood Flooring—a practice built to help design professionals avoid the problems he saw repeated across the industry.
The Gap in Today’s Wood Flooring Process
There is a persistent disconnect between how wood floors are specified, how they’re installed, and how they actually behave once in service. Manufacturer requirements, installation standards, and essential testing often never make it into the drawing set. Specifications get recycled, substrate and moisture evaluations are overlooked, and projects move forward under the assumption that everything will work—until it doesn’t.
Where Our Studio Fits In
This is where our studio steps in. Yes, we can resolve failures when they occur—but our value is in preventing them long before they surface.
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We don’t simply help you choose a material. We work with architects, interior designers, and builders to design complete wood flooring systems engineered for the project’s actual conditions: substrate composition, acoustical requirements, moisture variables, radiant heat, environmental controls, and anticipated use patterns.
What the Industry Has Been Missing
This studio was built to give design professionals what the industry has lacked for decades: a dedicated expert who ensures that beauty, performance, and longevity are designed together from day one. Our work bridges the gap between design intent, manufacturer requirements, and field realities—so the floor performs exactly as your project demands.
Joe Avila has spent nearly two decades as an NWFA Certified Wood Flooring Inspector, examining thousands of failures across the country. His approach was shaped by more than ten years of mentorship under renowned consultant Janoz Spitzer, working on projects including:
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Montclair University
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One Wall Street
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Institutional and landmark buildings
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Luxury residences and penthouses
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That experience forged the philosophy behind this studio: you prevent failures by designing systems, not by choosing products.
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We work directly with mills to tailor materials for your project’s requirements, and we help you develop clear, enforceable specification language that covers:
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Material characteristics and formats
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Acoustic and subfloor preparation
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Moisture and RH testing requirements
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Responsibilities, documentation, and controls on site
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This is the foundation of every system we design—beauty, performance, and accountability engineered together from the start.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.
