Surface Blog

DIY Wood Floor Cleaner

• Posted by
• Megan Sprague

Believe it, or not, there’s a very simple way to make your own wood floor cleaning solution—right in your own kitchen!

Next time you wash your wood floors (after you’ve vacuumed or swept them clean), try adding a few cap-fulls of white vinegar to your bucket of hot water. It’s that simple! There’s no need to add any soap or floor cleaners to the solution, simply the vinegar and water.

I have even heard of some people adding 8-10 drops of an essential oil to the vinegar/water solution—this gives the room a nice, fragrant smell without adding any harsh chemicals like some of the store bought cleaners. Consider peppermint or lavender!

Choosing to make your own wood floor cleaning solution is very cost effective, simple and great for the environment. Try it out the next time you are doing your weekly chores.

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 AT 11:57 PM in Hardwood Flooring • (7) Comments

The show home next door.

• Posted by
• Jen Fox

I had a pretty cool thing happen today — I called one of our customers earlier this morning to give her the name of a referral in her area where she could see our flooring in person. Then, I found out another person was willing to be a referral, too, so I called the customer back to give her the additional name. Well, she had already made an appointment to see the first referral’s flooring tonight. Not only that, but when she was being given directions she was asked if she knew where ‘Oak Street’ was? She said she sure did, and it turns out the referral that she is going to see tonight lives three doors down from where the customer is building her new home!

Now she gets to see our floors AND meet her new neighbors…

I’d say we really do offer the best customer service — what do you think?

Posted on Jul 22, 2008 AT 11:01 PM in (0) Comments

Wide Plank Birch Floors:  We visit the Casto Family Home of Wheaton, Illinois

• Posted by
• Megan Sprague

Jani and Scott Casto first found Carlisle while they were building their family home in Wheaton, Illinois. They decided to give Carlisle a call for their flooring needs and met design consultant Jason Wolfe. After sharing multiple samples of our custom floors, Jani and Scott settled on our beautiful wide plank birch floors—in widths of 6”, 8” and 10”.  “Scott loved birch’s fire and Jani loved the watery flow of it’s grain”, as Jason thinks back to his wonderful talks with the Casto’s.

When it came time for the floors to be installed, the Casto family decided to use Joe and Eric Boos of Country Hardwoods—a preferred wide plank installer of Carlisle. Eric recollects, “The overall experience on the jobsite was wonderful.  There were some tough aspects to the install, a couple of funny fireplaces with built-in cabinets that made things a little tough.  I would have to say my favorite part of crafting this floor was the freedom the Casto’s gave us to craft the floor the best way possible.”

The Casto’s have since had a few years to live on their floors. Our marketing team just had the opportunity to visit them! During the third week of June, the marketing team and photographers took a trip to Wheaton and shot some beautiful photographs of their home (seen below). The Casto Family was very generous to welcome us into their stunning home—thank you!

Posted on Jul 21, 2008 AT 11:34 PM in Hardwood Flooring • (2) Comments

Family Trees: A Father-Son Sawmill Operation Brings Eastern White Pine from the Forest to Your Wide

• Posted by
• GuestBlogger

By Tarryn Guarino

For Peter Glidden, a long and busy work day begins at sunrise—and he wouldn’t have it any other way. For him, there is no typical “day at the office”—he and his father Larry operate a small, family owned sawmill in rural Maine. And that means Peter’s work days are as unique as each of the eastern white pine timber planks he mills alongside his dad.

“We sort of stumbled into this business about four years ago, and it’s been nothing but busy ever since,” he explains. “My dad, Larry, he came home with the first portable mill. He used to say he couldn’t saw enough wood in a year to make a picnic table . . . but not anymore!”

So, what’s the best part of owning and operating your own sawmill?

“I really [enjoy] going out to view and buy the wood,” Peter says. When the big trees come down, local foresters contact the Gliddens to come out and take a look at the timber. The premium pine is chosen from trees that have fallen naturally, a process known as selective harvesting. This is an environmentally friendly practice that provides perfect timber, while remaining sensitive to the natural growth of the forest and avoiding deforestation. Peter has no problem scouting out choice timber from these fallen pines.

“I hand pick everything, based on the quality of the wood and what I know we need,” Peter explains. To create the handcrafted wide planks for Carlisle, he personally selects the wood he knows will provide the perfect finished product. The Gliddens operate two small sawmills, and while the work can be a bit noisy, the job also allows for plenty of time outdoors in the natural wilderness.

“The actual sawmills are indoors, but we do a lot of our work outside,” Peter explains. Whether heading out into the forest to survey some potential timber, or admiring the finished boards outside of the workshop, the Gliddens are truly connected to nature—and their craft.

Peter’s genuine love of the land and the wood is clear from the moment he starts talking. When asked about his favorite part of the job, he answers without any hesitation, “The craftsmanship, definitely. I take a lot of pride in the grading of our wood. It’s all hand done. Eastern white wide planks are a great quality wood, and I take a lot of pride in the work that we do.”

To see the Glidden family’s sawmill firsthand and learn a bit more about their work, check out their http://www.wideplankflooring.com/video.aspx?cat=Relationships&Num=0).”>video on the Carlisle Wide Plank Floors website.

Posted on Jul 16, 2008 AT 03:47 AM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • (2) Comments

Green Cleaning: Eco-Friendly Solutions for Your Home (and Floor)

• Posted by
• GuestBlogger

By Nancy Shohet West

Until very recently, it was something of an oxymoron - two irreconcilable opposites - to look at cleaning products as environmentally friendly. Many of us are accustomed to thinking that clean equals germ-killing, and killing germs might not be compatible with preserving all other life forms. When you go into a hospital, you smell bleach; when you pick up clothes at the dry cleaner’s, you smell…well, we’re not sure what the smell is, but it definitely connotes a pristine wardrobe, even if it’s not an aroma found in nature.

In other words, in the past it was almost taken for granted that in order to rid surfaces and substances of pollutants - whether the item to be cleaned was wood flooring, dishes, household appliances or clothing—a certain amount of eradicating might be necessary. Sometimes you have to prioritize, we believed then, and let your ecological principles lapse a little if it meant getting your home germ-free.

Fortunately, that kind of thinking has changed. With more and more people feeling guilty about pouring chemicals into the groundwater every time they mop a floor or polish an antique, the demand grew for environmentally friendly cleaning products, as this article on green cleaning explains. So now, it really is possible to do both: preserve the environment and protect your home from germs and dirt.

Of course, the best way to keep things clean is not to let them get dirty in the first place. Your most environmentally correct choice when it comes to a cleaning substance is to avoid cleaning substances altogether. In the case of floors, there is a lot you can do to prevent the need for stringent cleaning. Bearing in mind that the three most powerful foes of wood flooring are dirt, sand and water, consider these very easy tips that promote “holistic” - i.e., non-chemical - cleaning:

Encourage the removal of shoes as people enter your house by placing a mat or a durable runner made of indoor-outdoor carpeting just inside your front door. Even more generous is to have extra pairs of slippers handy in a basket by the door for visitors.

Sweep your hardwood floors regularly, using a natural or nylon bristle broom with slightly frayed ends. Doing this every day if possible will make a huge difference in terms of the quantity of grit that gets ground into your wood floors on a regular basis.

Clean up liquid spills right away, including water, which often comes into the house in the form of snow clumps.

Dry-mop with a terry-cloth dust mop. Dry-mopping provides the benefits of buffing and polishing without the harshness of cleaners.

If you have pets, keep their toenails short.

Avoid dragging heavy objects across your wood floors.

Place felt casters under furniture legs.

When you do need to go the extra mile and wet-mop or polish, there are several environmentally friendly products designed for use as wood floor cleaners. For example, Floor Kleener from Earth Friendly Products has been specially developed for cleaning a variety of flooring, including sealed hardwood floors. Another good example is Envirorite Hard Floor Cleaner, which uses soy in place of chemical substances and can also be used on sealed hardwood flooring surfaces. Envirorite boasts the added advantage of being safe for people with allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivities, which is also important if you have babies or toddlers crawling on your floors. You can find these products and more at the Floor Cleaners and Kokopelli’s Green Market websites.

Posted on Jul 15, 2008 AT 03:52 AM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • (3) Comments