Surface Blog

New Center and Staff Introduce Carlisle Floors to Chicago

• Posted by
• Chad Cassin

The new Design Center in Chicago is now up and running and our new team members are eager to introduce Carlisle Wide Plank Floors to the area. The staff is back home now after an extended training period here in New Hampshire and the Center still smells of fresh paint. Here’s what they have to say about their experience so far:

Happy Spring!  Being natives of the Chicago area we are all ecstatic about joining the family and sharing the rich Carlisle tradition with everyone in the neighborhood!  Each of us spent a substantial amount of time in Stoddard, NH, and being there for three months gave me the chance to meet life long friends.  The Chicago team has a diverse background, but we all treasure the importance of learning about and spending quality time with our customers, which is the essence of Carlisle’s culture.  Discovering as much as we have about Old Growth timbers, we are thrilled to share the wealth with everyone we meet!  We hope you will visit our new design center, at 445 N. Wells Suite 1N in the heart of Chicago’s design district, to see all that we have to offer. 

See you soon!

Erin LaRose on behalf of Eric, Kate, Brian, and Katelyn

Posted on Mar 23, 2008 AT 11:40 PM in (2) Comments

Earth Contact Built Homes

• Posted by
• Rick Menard

We received a question from a homeowner about installing our floors over a concrete slab in an earth contact built home. Although I am not familiar with this type of home, I am very familiar with installing our floors over slab as dipicted in the photo to the left.

Contrary to belief by many, you do not have to have a floating floor, or an engineered floor, if you are planning on installing wood floors over a concrete slab. What you do have to have is the best quality wood to start with, and the basic knowledge of how to do the installation, for your specific needs. So many of our floors are either glued directly to slabs, or installed over 3/4" subfloors on slab, especially in areas throughout the southeast. (Click here to see a video on the subject.)

Let’s start with the wood itself. The best quality planks will come from the slowest growing trees, and from the center of those timbers. The more heartwood and the tighter the growth rings, the more stable the planks will be. A 4" red oak plank with 1/2" between the rings, will move more then a 12" plank with 1/6" between the rings. A plank with 10% heartwood will take on much more moisture then a plank with 70% heartwood. Then air drying these planks for a long period of time before kiln drying them will add tremendous stability.

Then the next decision is whether to glue directly to the slab or to use a 3/4" plywood or OSB sub floor which is then nailed and glued to the sub floor. The deciding factor here is what you have available for height. In other words, can I get away with 3/4" flooring and 3/4" sub floor, for a total of 1 1/2" height, or am I limited to 3/4". If you are limited, then you will want to glue directly to your slab. We can also mill your floor to less then 3/4" if you are really limited.

Checking for moisture in your slab is easily done by taking a sheet of newspaper and taping all of the edges down and then checking it a few hours later. If it is wet, your slab needs to be cured more.

To glue directly down to your slab, use a concrete sealer first. Bostik’s MVP works great. Then the next day you can glue directly to the sealer with a full spread mastic.

Installing over a sub floor is always less expensive, and takes less installation experience. Seal your slab by covering it with a 6 ml poly, then cover it with a 15 lb. roofing felt, then nail your sub floor down using a concrete nail gun. Advantec makes a great OSB sub floor that is impregnated with a wax to help seal out moisture. Your floors can now be nailed and glued just like a typical installation.

If anyone has any questions regarding this process, please give me a call for further explanation.

Posted on Mar 18, 2008 AT 09:52 PM in (0) Comments

Our first Guest Post!

• Posted by
• Lesley Anderson

Hi, everyone! I’m Lesley and I have the privilege of working with the great folks at Carlisle to help with their new adventure in blogging. We’re excited to announce Carlisle’s first guest post, written by our resident ‘Green Queen’, Lindsay Barczuk over at the FloorTalk Blog! Lindsay took some time and crafted a really great entry for FloorTalk, discussing her journey at Carlisle from a newbie to a now seasoned employee with a deep appreciation for the wood that Carlisle offers and the methods used to produce it. Some topics you’ll find in her entry include:

- Choosing slow-growth wood

- Antique reclaimed floors

- Responsible and sustainable forestry and harvesting

- Carlisle Wide Plank Floors’ processes from forest to floor

- The health benefits of hardwood floors

- and more!

Basically, whether you’re looking to purchase a floor or just want to learn more about wood flooring, this article takes you on an indispensable tour through the things to consider and how to achieve the best quality floor for your time and money. Congratulations, Lindsay, on a job well done!

Do you have a blog that you’d like to feature one of our bloggers on? Do you have a story you’d like to share with us to feature on our blog? Leave us a comment!

Posted on Mar 17, 2008 AT 01:53 AM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • (3) Comments

Carlisle Hosts Green Drinks Event

• Posted by
• Chad Cassin

Carlisle is a "Green" company so it only makes sense that we’d host a "Green Drinks" event. The festivities took place February 21st in one of our newer Design Centers located in West Hollywood, CA (Avenues of Art and Design district). The event was a big success! People trickled in (as did the rain) around 7:30PM and several didn’t leave until 11PM! People really enjoyed the size and scale of the place. Several small groups enjoyed the Carlisle DVD presentation near the sample room while others (like most parties) hung out in the kitchen.

The organic food and beverages were very popular and particularly enjoyed by several guests who were vegans. They remarked that the food choices showed a great deal of respect for their needs. Many people didn’t realize how very "Green" Carlisle is - often asking "if we cut down old trees." (Click here to understood why we do indeed cut down old trees and why.)

 The FSC certified antiques were a huge hit. Although many had seen recycled wood in the past, the quality of the milling and size of the boards were new and exciting for the visitors. I think the most impressive comments about the Antiques were our ability to provide a ‘chain of custody’ history depicting how the original structure was used, where it was located, and its age. The Original Surface Barn siding on the walls in our Center also took people by surprise prompting these remarks:"Really looks great!"  "I love the Gray side" and "I can’t believe the floor in the other room is made from that wood!"

The Green Drinks organizers raved about the energy, size, and nature of our event and requested that we hold another one soon.

Posted on Mar 11, 2008 AT 11:13 PM in Green Building • (2) Comments

Penance for Lent - Give up Carbon!

• Posted by
• Lindsay Barczuk

Since the onset of Christianity, believers have shared the mindset to "use only what you need."  This approach to living has recently been revived: Two Leaders in the Church of England are calling on worshippers to give up carbon, or reduce their carbon footprints, during the season of Lent.

I think this is an interesting concept and the article contains a few practical tips to accomplish this goal.  Have any of you heard of anyone participating in this carbon fast?

Posted on Mar 11, 2008 AT 01:26 AM in Green Building • (0) Comments