Surface Blog

A little education goes a long way

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

Kevin Crowder in the Carlisle Denver showroom told us all the story of how he spent some time educating a builder about the Heart Pine flooring he had ordered and that, in the end, the results pleased everyone involved.

The builder had ordered more than 3,500 square feet of the 11-inch Heart Pine flooring, prefinished with Concord Honey stain for a home in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Concern was expressed about raised butt joints here and there. Kevin said he explained they are “part of the look in a wide pine and that just because it is prefinished these ‘defects’, as they were perceived, are part of it.”

He said he told the builder “he certainly could biscuit joint any boards he felt a little leery about before installing.”

Kevin coached the builder, the builder coached the homeowner.

In the end, said Kevin, “everyone comments on the floors and that they turned out beautiful.”

Posted on Aug 27, 2010 AT 05:41 AM in (0) Comments

Carlisle sometimes plays matchmaker

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

Cheryl and Jeff from Florida had an interesting problem.  They needed to match an old floor with a new section of flooring that would be about 200 square feet.  So, they came to Carlisle for some help.  Our crackerjack sample shop put together some samples for them to review, based on just one photo that they had sent.  Ultimately Cheryl and Jeff, working with our design consultant Rick Menard, chose our Country Grade White Maple for the project.  Can you tell the difference? We think it was a perfect match. When they sent us the photos of the completed project, below, they wrote: “We wanted to send you a couple of photos showing how beautiful the match was with our old floor…you guys really rock!”

We appreciate the kind words, Cheryl and Jeff, and were happy to be of assistance. The photos below show their new floor with and without their furniture.

You can see more photos of Cheryl’s and Jeff’s project here.

Posted on Aug 25, 2010 AT 11:29 PM in Restoration Projects • (2) Comments

Sometimes our customers take a little convincing

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

We’re not generally surprised when potential customers ask us why our floors cost so much more than other ones they’ve already checked out on their journey toward home building or remodeling.  We had one customer recently who wanted to buy an engineered floor and was quoted a price of $6 per square foot.  But, along the way he learned there were a few “catches” to that price; the average length of the floor boards he would get for that price was 3- to 4-feet long, with no guarantee as to how many 6-foot boards he could expect.  He really wanted the 6-foot boards (most people want at least that—it makes laying the boards down much easier) and the company he was dealing with had no longer lengths to offer him.  He also couldn’t get any widths wider than 6 inches.  So, in short, he came to understand why a Carlisle pre-finished floor would cost almost twice as much as the $6 one he was originally pursuing.  He ended up ordering our Antique Oak, about which he wrote us: “The Antique Oak is unbelievable and we love it.  No issues with bowing or moisture problems yet, and hopefully never.  No transition pieces, that is how wood floors are done!…”
We will refer you guys when the opportunity is there.”

Check out the slideshow, above, for this customer’s Siesta, Florida home.

Posted on Aug 25, 2010 AT 05:28 AM in Green Building • (0) Comments

Half Moon Bay home gets some Antique Milled Barnwood

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

Here’s a floor project we just completed in Half Moon Bay, California.  It features our 9-inch wide Milled Barnwood and is finished with just Tung Oil.

You can read more about our Antique Milled Barnwood here.

Posted on Aug 24, 2010 AT 12:53 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments

Think modern and traditional don’t blend? Think again

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

You probably couldn’t get more up-to-the-minute modern than this architect’s home, wouldn’t you agree? Yet, when it came time to choosing the floors to go under that ultra-modern furniture, this customer chose our Reclaimed Oak.  According to our Dan O’Neill, who works out of Carlisle’s Carlifornia design studios, a thoroughly modern customer will often choose something like a stained concrete, or a tile, or even a mass-produced engineered flooring option.  None of those would have worked here, Dan points out. The whole feel would have turned cold, he suggests.  Wood that’s likely more than 100 years old really warms up the place, don’t you think?

Learn more about our FSC Reclaimed Floor options

Posted on Aug 23, 2010 AT 04:36 AM in (0) Comments