Surface Blog

Chicago: Ronald McDonald House

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Hi, my name is Gary Ryer and I’ve been working at Carlisle Wide Plank Floors as a sales and design consultant for ten years. Over the years, I’ve had some pretty interesting projects. I’m writing to share with you a very special project that I’m working on in Chicago. It’s the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn and the architect I’m working with is Constantine Vasilios. We have worked together to build a beautiful FSC Certified Antique Oak wide plank floor, part of which will feature a special hand crafted pattern. Carlisle Wide Plank Floors donated the FSC Certified Antique Oak as part of the charity building effort to make a cozy, safe home for local children and families.

I thought I would share this interior sketch:

Also, here’s an exterior sketch of the Ronald McDonald House in Oak Lawn.

I’ll have more updates as the project moves on…hopefully some pictures of the progress too!

Take care,
Gary

Posted on Aug 11, 2008 AT 10:09 PM in (0) Comments

Interior Design and Wide Plank Flooring:  Spotlight on Krista Stokes - Part I

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By Albert Waitt

Krista Stokes is one of Maine’s hippest designers and the proprietor of Favela Chic Salvage Boutique and Design.  She was of 14 professionals chosen to work at the exclusive Hidden Pond Resort in Kennebunkport, ME, where she created the “Lazy Days” cottage.  Her work there was pictured in the Boston Globe and chronicled throughout the region.

The Surface sat down with Krista to discuss aspects of decorating for spaces with wide plank flooring.  For the record, the interview was conducted in a public place.  It was also repeatedly (and pleasantly) interrupted by a number of Krista’s clients who couldn’t pass by without saying hello and talking about their homes.  It’s clear that Krista has the makings of a fan club on the Maine coast.  And she has a philosophy when choosing flooring materials: 

It’s the Wood:

Krista: For me, it’s the wood.  It’s part of the earth.  When you walk into a room and see beautiful hardwood floor, it’s a feeling that you get.  I love the light reflection of it.  I love the sound of hardwood.  It’s a great way to give a space energy.  The wood has traveled long and hard.  Regardless of its history, whether it came out of an old farm in Ohio or a forest in Brazil, it’s traveled. Just to bring that into the home means a great deal.

Floors Tell Stories.

Krista:  I recently went through a big debate with some clients.  The wife really wanted a wide plank floor.  The husband wasn’t thrilled.  They have a dog and he didn’t want the dog’s nails to scratch the floor.  I said, “Listen guys, it’s life. Let life screw up your floors.  Don’t get your floors and then want them to stay the way they are.” 

Floors all tell stories.  It’s getting harder and harder for us to instill history with the next generation.  A lot of people want to leave a history for their children, but don’t want to relinquish the control of modernity.

But, it’s okay.  Don’t sweat it.  It’s a floor. It’s supposed to be walked on.  Kids are going to run across it.  It’s supposed to have dogs’ paws on it.  The wood has survived this long and it will survive much longer than us humans.  The first thing you notice when you walk into a room with a wide plank floor is, “Wow, what a great floor.”  If you see where a child’s toy car left a skid mark, then you might think, “Hey, what happened?”  It’s family history.

Posted on Aug 11, 2008 AT 03:30 AM in Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments

The Industrial Forest: Harvesting Wide Plank Flooring

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Carpenters often refer to salvaged materials as coming from “the industrial forest.”  This somewhat comical slang indicates a growing awareness in the building industry of the importance of recycling classic wood and lumber.  The US Forest Service reported:

“The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the equivalent of 250, 000 single-family homes is disposed of each year in the United States. This represents nearly 1 billion board feet of salvageable structural lumber per year, equivalent to about 3% of the current US softwood harvest. Much of the lumber available for salvage through deconstruction is from decades of old-growth harvest and represents a resource largely unavailable from any other source.  As a result, much of the wood is of higher structural and aesthetic quality (higher density, slower grown, fewer defects) than is the lumber produced today.”

Hardwood used in wide plank flooring can be salvaged from a wide range of sources.  It has come from turn-of-the-century homes, old hotels, dilapidated mills, and even a 120 year-old, decommissioned 15 story grain elevator containing “the equivalent of an entire forest of antique, old-growth white pine in its walls.”  Where once this wood might have been seen as junk and discarded or burned, it is now recognized for what it is:  An extremely rare natural commodity.

The wood salvage industry has expanded to harvest this bounty. The 2005 Forest Service study identified approximately 1400 businesses involved in salvaging, restoring, and building with reclaimed wood.  It is a number that has steadily climbed.

Demand for reclaimed antique wood has also grown as homeowners have become aware of the look and ambiance it can provide.  A National Hardwood Floor Association survey found that 56% of decorators and designers noted an increase in the demand for antique wood flooring over the past two years.

To meet this need, the hardwood flooring industry looks to the industrial forest.  It’s there that they can glean materials that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else.  The American chestnut tree is nearly extinct, but one can enjoy the warmth it offers a home through salvage and restoration.  Old growth pine harvested from a turn-of-the century farmhouse will show a dense wood grain with a tight ring pattern that just doesn’t appear in virgin lumber.  The aesthetics offered in reclaimed antique flooring are inimitable.

Barns that were once left to fall and rot are now seen as a valuable resource.  Old houses that may have crumbled in disrepair are mined for irreplaceable flooring and fixtures.  If one wants to create a period feel to a room or home, the most effective way to do so is with the materials of that period.  Thanks to the industrial forest, the floors of the past live on today-and look as beautiful as ever.

(Survey results are available from The National Hardwood Floor Association:
http://woodfloors.org/consumer/contact.aspx

Posted on Aug 10, 2008 AT 03:15 AM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • (1) Comments

Green Floor, Clean Floor: Natural Cleaning Solutions for Hardwood Floors

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By Albert Waitt

If a homeowner is environmentally conscious and chooses to install a wide plank hardwood floor, it’s easy for them to remain consistent and “go green” when caring for that floor and keeping it looking its best.  Whether one has chosen a responsibly forested white pine or an antique reclaimed hickory, a green approach to upkeep and cleaning will benefit the homeowner and their wood floor.

When considering how to maintain and clean hardwood floors,

The American Hardwood Information Center offers the following advice:

Place floor mats and throw rugs at entrances to trap dirt.

Sweep floors weekly with brooms that have fine, exploded ends.

Weekly vacuuming will also keep hardwood floors clean.

Wipe up spills, pet accidents, and other liquid mishaps as soon as possible.

It is important to remember that water exposure can harm a hardwood floor.

Instead of relying on commercial floor cleaners that may have toxic ingredients, the consumer has green alternatives when choosing materials to keep a wood floor clean and lustrous.  The first step is to determine what kind of finish is on the hardwood floor.

For hardwood floors finished with polyurethane, Greenerchoices.org, thedailygreen.com, and Martha Stewart   recommend damp mopping with a solution of one cup of vinegar per gallon of water.  The mop should be barely wet, just enough to pick up dust and dirt, but not enough to leave water streaking on the floor itself. 

For wide plank hardwood floors and soft wood floors with a penetrating finish, such as Carlisle’s Tung Oil Finish, water should be avoided during maintenance.  In addition to sweeping, dry-mopping, and vacuuming, Care2.com‘s Live Green Producer
Melissa Breyer recommends a natural Citrus Solvent be sprayed on the floor in a light film and then dry mopped off with a micro-fiber or regular dust mop.

New green cleaning products are being rolled out on a daily basis and there’s no doubt that consumers will have more choices in green floor care in the coming years.  But the tips offered here (and now) are safe and effective.  Through these simple practices, a homeowner can preserve their floor and protect their planet at the same time.

Posted on Aug 08, 2008 AT 08:35 PM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • (3) Comments

Investing in a Wide Plank Hardwood Floor

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By Albert Waitt

Wise investment isn’t limited to the trading floor of Wall Street.  According to realtors and designers across North America, hardwood flooring adds to a home’s value as well as its charm.  Aesthetics and economics converge, and the homeowner reaps the benefits.

It’s clear as to what a hardwood floor can bring to a space in terms of warmth and style.  The Denver Business Journal reported that Colorado designers and homeowners are opting for more hardwood flooring than ever, as it is seen as “timeless,” “classic,” “elegant,” and “adding style to any living area.”  The DBJ was also quick to note the accompanying increased resale value of a home with a hardwood floor.  Home décor columnist Rose Bennett Gilbert of the San Diego Union-Tribune and RealEstate.com’s renovation guide came to similar conclusions on the investment value found in hardwood flooring.

Agent Brain Madigan of Toronto, with over 5000 real estate transactions to his credit, believes that hardwood floors are “one of the few improvements that you can make to your house where the resale value may exceed the actual cost of the improvement. The return can easily amount to 150% to 200% or even more”  Although Madigan’s numbers represent a best case scenario, statistics from a 2006 National Wood Flooring Association survey of realtors further substantiate the value of hardwood floors.

The NWFA survey found:

99% of real estate professionals indicated that having hardwood floors either “greatly” or “somewhat” aided a home’s salability.

90% of realtors suggested that homes with hardwood floors will sell for more money than homes with mostly carpet.  (25% of the realtors stated that hardwood floors would add 6 to 10% to a home’s resale value, while 12 % believed hardwood flooring would add more than 10% to the sale price.)

82% of realtors believed that homes with mostly hardwood floors will sell faster.

84% of home buyers who have lived in homes with hardwood floors are more likely to buy another home with hardwood floors.

By choosing hardwood flooring when building or renovating, homeowners can add to the attractiveness of their house, something they will be able to enjoy every day.  They can also view their floor as an investment:  When the home is sold, that hardwood flooring will pay real dividends. 

(Survey results are available from The National Hardwood Floor Association:
http://woodfloors.org/consumer/contact.aspx

Posted on Aug 06, 2008 AT 09:18 PM in Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments