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.

Monday Morning Mailbag: Customer in love with Heart Pine

Posted by Christine Halvorson

We got a note and photograph from customer Lisa Cahill recently and thought we would share them. Lisa had ordered 2,200 square free of 6- to 10-inch wide Heart Pine for her home. She selected a blended grade and the boards were finished only with Tung Oil, no stain. Below is a photo of how the floor looks in her remodeled kitchen.

Lisa writes: “I love my floors!!! Thanks, again, for all of your help. I actually used the leftover flooring and had a desk top made for my kids homework room.”

While writing to us, Lisa mentioned that she used a “magic eraser” to remove a shoe mark on the new floor. Unfortunately, the magic eraser had the effect of rubbing off the Tung oil, and she wanted advice on how to fix that. Our designer, Stephanie Buckley, advised her to re-apply a little Tung oil just to the affected area. Normally, scuff marks can be removed with a little white vinegar on a cloth.

Carlisle’s Heart Pine comes from a 30,000-acre plantation in Alabama, owned and operated by the Crosby family. It’s available in widths ranging from 4 to 17 inches, and lengths averaging 11 feet.
Read more about Longleaf Heart Pine flooring.

Posted on March 8, 2010 at 01:47 PM in Customer Stories • (0) Comments
Ten years too long to wait for Eastern White Pine wide plank floors? Nope

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Ten years ago June Peoples of Washington state got a sample of our Eastern White Pine stained with Antique Pumpkin. This year, she finally got a chance to order the floor for her living room and did all the installation work herself. After completing the project, she was kind enough to send us a couple of photos and a nice note. The boards were done in 11-inch widths. She writes:

I wanted to wait until I finished room completely before sending you the final pictures. Most importantly I wanted to send you my sincere thanks for all your help and advice throughout the process. This is one of those projects where you get out of it what you put into it: hand selecting and placing each board, two coats of hand rubbed stain on my hands and knees, pilot drilling and placing the iron nails one at a time, four coats of tung oil. Not to mention, removing carpet, repainting the room and painting and replacing the baseboards…the result is better that I expected. Even prettier than the gorgeous sample I kept for ten years. Absolutely love it. The only down side is I have to deal with the envy and jealousy of my neighbors who settled for the floor-in-a-box from Home Depot.

Next year my bedroom…

Posted on February 26, 2010 at 07:53 PM in DIY • (0) Comments
Slow growth is a good thing when you’re turning trees into floors

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Ever wonder where the wide planks for the floors we create here at Carlisle actually come from? Primarily we get trees from sawyers who harvest them in New England, the upper Midwest, the Ohio River Valley and portions of the Appalachians. The reason for this is that the relatively cool, short summers of these regions allow the trees to grow very slowly. It takes years before they reach their maximum height and circumferences and that means their grains are tighter and more dense. It also makes them incredibly beautiful for use in woodworking, cabinetry and, well, wide plank floors.

Like the trees themselves, the relationships we’ve developed with local foresters and sawyers are a result of slow growth. It has taken us time to get to know the right people, those who share our environmental vision and goals of producing the best hardwood boards possible from forests grown and managed in a totally sustainable manner. These much-cherished relationships mean that no matter which Carlisle hardwood you choose, it will be the choicest and most beautiful that America can grow.

Posted on February 25, 2010 at 04:29 PM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Monday Morning Mailbag: New home in California a “must-see” with installation of Hickory wide floors

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Here’s a glimpse at a vacation home in Portola, California, where customer Kathleen Schonder had ordered a Hickory floor in 5- to 10-inch widths. The home was build by Jeff Litz of Litz Construction. Kathleen originally heard about Carlisle floors through Country Living magazine. Carlisle prefinished the floor in Gingerbread. The floor is installed over concrete and radiant heat. (Read more about installing over radiant heat here.) Kathleen worked with our own Laura Leier, our design and sales consultant, to get the look she wanted.

Kathleen wrote us this note: “Awesome. Couldn’t be happier. A must-see!”

Posted on February 22, 2010 at 02:26 PM in Customer Stories • Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments
Milled Barnwood shines in Delaware home

Posted by Christine Halvorson

A customer sent in these photos of her new floor in Middletown, Delaware. The floor is done in 9- and 10-inch widths using Milled Barnwood. It is finished with Tung Oil.

Posted on February 19, 2010 at 11:55 AM in Customer Stories • (0) Comments