Surface Blog

Welcome to Surface, a blog by Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. Join us in discussion about hardwood flooring wood grains & styles, home decor, green building products, trends and more.

Green By Design event October 10 attracted a crowd

Posted by Christine Halvorson

More than 100 people attended the Green by Design Open House hosted by Carlisle partner ABODE Builders of New England on October 10 in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

Attendees had the chance to see and hear ideas for building their dream home or remodeling their current home in an environmentally friendly way against a backdrop of the infamous New England foliage, live music and food.

Vendors like Crown Point Cabinetry (another Carlisle partner), Landscape Design Architects, Interiors East Design and Green ICF Building solutions had the chance to address the attendees about their products inside a model home that featured Carlisle’s 4- to 8-inch pre-finished Antique Oak.

Visitors got to see Carlisle’s 4-to-8-inch Antique Hickory floor, which was installed in the Abode Design Center.

Posted on October 30, 2009 at 02:15 PM in Green Building • (0) Comments
Carlisle’s Quarter Sawn White Oak: It’s A Grain Thing.

Posted by Christine Halvorson

White Oak is a very unique wood because its grain lends itself to a variety of different looks, depending on how it is sawn.

Normally, a log is plain sawn, i.e. it is first cut into a rough square by taking off four sections of the outer bark and sapwood, and then sawn with a series of parallel cuts — as if a loaf of bread were cut lengthwise to yield long slices. Grain-wise, this typically gives a floor a little bit of everything: straight lines as well as a variety of swirls and “cathedral patterns” — several swirls inside one another. This is the way most floors are cut.

Quarter sawn cuts generally only apply to Oak and a few other hardwoods. They are made by first cutting the log into four pie-shaped wedges and then making a series of cuts which are more or less perpendicular to the tree rings, which produces straighter grain. Without getting too technical, let’s just say that quarter sawn White Oak produces more “rays” or “flecks,” which is the hallmark look of Mission furniture/cabinetry. In addition to being visually interesting, this grain pattern produces extremely stable boards.

Various stains can then be used to further enhance the grain or make it more subtle.

This Long Island, New York residence features a beautiful mixture of quarter sawn, rift sawn and plain sawn White Oak. Note the contrast between the various grain patterns.

Posted on October 29, 2009 at 03:23 PM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG: Longleaf Heart Pine is the answer for this North Carolina living room

Posted by Christine Halvorson

A couple in North Carolina sent along pictures of their living room as they prepare to do some more of their house.

Their living room was done with premium grade Longleaf Heart Pine then finished with Autumn Leaf stain and Tung Oil.

Gregg and Marsha Martin are looking to other parts of their house and doing it in prefinished county pine with the challenge of matching the new with the existing living room.

Posted on October 26, 2009 at 02:48 PM in Home Decor • (0) Comments
From Apple Farm to “Green” Flooring: Reclaimed Wood is in Demand

Posted by Chad Cassin

Reclaimed wood floors are a popular option for homeowners and for public buildings as well. The floors give a sense of history to any building. The craftsmen at Carlisle Wide Plank Floors understand the importance of maintaining that history. A good example of this is the flooring that they have reclaimed from the Guerrant Family Plantation and Algoma Apple Packing Farm.

Two hundred and fifty years ago the 3,000-acre plantation and farm was the site of 100 buildings. The apples grown on this land near Boones Mill, Va., were harvested and shipped to England and played a role in the nourishment of soldiers from the Civil War to the Second World War. Today only a few buildings made from the plantation trees almost three centuries ago remain, but the wood from these structures are still playing vital roles in today’s construction. It’s the story of the Many Lives of An Apple Farm Tree and the Green alternatives it provides for your home.

Their first lifetime was spent as majestic trees providing shelter and shade for forest animals as an integral part in the eco-system. They grew to great proportions and were likely more than 200 to 300 years old before being harvested.

Their second lifetime was spent as components of the Apple Farm’s many buildings: the large packing barn where slaves prepared apples for shipment to England was built of chestnut; the farmhand’s quarters were constructed of heart pine; and the main building was oak.

In 2002 when the Apple Farm structures were dismantled, the wood was reincarnated again to live out a third lifetime as Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. Some of the wood found new life in the Jeffersonian-style Southern National Bank in Sugarland, Texas, which was being converted into a museum. The customer requested antique oak flooring with a historical connection.

Read More…

Posted on October 23, 2009 at 01:31 PM in (0) Comments
Tim in the Carlisle Sample Shop saves the day for architect in New Jersey

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Here’s a little story from our Sample Shop, from back in August.

Tim LaRoche from Carlisle’s sample shop in Stoddard, NH

Our Sample Shop does just what it sounds like—they make custom-ordered board samples to show to clients and customers so they can get an idea of what an actual type of wood combined with the type of stain and finish actually looks like. (This, of course, helps the customer and helps us.) Well, one day in August, an architect working out of New Jersey called Carlisle Wide Plank flooring in a panic! A supplier on the project had not been able to come through with a delivery of French Oak flooring and this architect needed 1,400 square feet of floor right away—like yesterday, as our sales manager Peter Switzer says. Well, Peter had Tim LaRoche (that’s him below) in our Sample Shop pick out two of the best representative boards of our White Oak to send along to the architect. And, the architect loved them and rang us up immediately to discuss installation and finishes. Despite the Sample Shop being very, very busy at that time, Tim had come through with providing what the client needed right away. It’s probably what got us the job…

Posted on October 23, 2009 at 02:02 PM in Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments