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: In Angor Hills, CA, Eastern White Pine makes the grade

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Carlisle’s Jason Wolfe, working out of our West Hollywood Design Center, got a nice note from a customer of his who had installed 800 square feet of Carlisle’s Eastern White Pine. Half of the 10- to 17-inch-wide boards were crafted with one of our handmade surfaces, hit-or-miss, and the other half were left alone. Overall they were finished with a Vintage Brown stain and Tung oil. Here’s what customer Tracey Jeremiassen wrote to Jason:

So, months and months and months later, I am finally getting around to sending you some pictures of our fabulous floors. We could not be happier with them. They truly make our house what it is and people comment on them the second they walk through the doors. You were so awesome with us through the whole process and we cannot say enough good things about the Carlisle company. Hope all is well and happy new year! Tracey Jeremiassen

Posted on January 25, 2010 at 02:44 PM in Customer Stories • (0) Comments
Velvet and Linen—and wide plank floors for the bathroom

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Last year about this time, the folks over at the Velvet and Linen blog were asked whether it was a good idea to use hardwood floors in a bathroom. Blogger and interior design consultant Brooke Giannetti answered just as we would have—“Of course!”

Ms. Morelan points out that wood can add a feeling of warmth to what is otherwise a room with a lot of cold surfaces. We couldn’t agree more. To the left are two examples of Carlisle’s Heart Pine in a bathroom. The first one is installed over radiant heat. (See about installing our floors over radiant heat here.)

Go check out Ms. Giannetti’s blog post for a whole array of photos showing wood floors in bathrooms. (The floors aren’t necessarily ours.) The person who wrote to Ms. Giannetti ended up installing one of our Eastern White Pine floors in her bathroom.

Posted on January 22, 2010 at 05:10 PM in Hardwood Flooring • Home Decor • (0) Comments
Eastern White Pine—not as soft as you think

Posted by Christine Halvorson

You absolutely love the pumpkin-colored appearance of Old Growth Eastern White Pine flooring. You’re sold on the antique look of the wide planks. You are happily anticipating the mellowing patina of the Pine’s color as the years go by. But you have concerns about the “softer side” of installing a Pine floor:

Will it hold up to the daily rigors of your toddler and 6-year-old’s playtime?
What will happen to your Pine floor after several months of living under your 80-pound golden retriever?
How will it look after many years of muddy shoes, dropped forks and knives, furniture moving, and general everyday use?

Old Growth Eastern White Pine isn’t the hardest wood used in Carlisle flooring, but it is certainly the most original and authentic wood used to craft traditional wide plank floors.

It is the wood that is most cherished among homeowners seeking an antique look. If you are looking for a perfectly flawless floor year in and year out, you might want to go with a harder wood. But Old Growth Eastern White Pine flooring is for you if you value the traditions of the past, including your family’s own history told in the endearing “dings and dents” this Pine floor acquires over the years.

On the other hand, our Old Growth Eastern White Pine is harder than you might think. Each of our floors is made from Old Growth timber that is 100 or more years old and has been sawn from the center of the tree (the most dense part). It is then slowly air- and kiln-dried, which makes it extremely rugged and durable. Because Old Growth Eastern White Pine is such a resilient wood, it stands up to the expansion and contraction that comes with the changing seasons. This ability to adapt to change is one of the things that makes our Pine a durable, long-lasting floor. While you can sand the floor again after several years to remove signs of wear, we’ve found our clients just touch up the floor with Tung Oil after about five years.

Posted on January 21, 2010 at 08:33 PM in Customer Stories • (0) Comments
A closer look at Carlisle’s antique wood floor options

Posted by Christine Halvorson

When we set out to reclaim wood from old structures to turn it into floor boards, Antique Eastern White Pine and Antique Hickory are two types we find primarily in barns along the Ohio River Valley and in the mid-Atlantic states. When we find these barns, we saw the floor boards only from beams that supported the old structure. This means the widths and lengths of the boards surpass most that you can find on the market.

Antique Eastern White Pine, upper left, comes to us with rich, pumpkin-colored heartwood—the strongest part of the treat. Because of that pumpkin color, it is sometimes nicknamed “Pumpkin Pine.” However, it does not have the rustic appearance of most pines. We often recommend it to customers who plan to have traditional, “French Country” or “Waterfront Living” décor in their home. See more about Antique Eastern White Pine here.

Antique Hickory is a lot like our modern-day, sawn recently Hickory, and then some. Read more about this wood here. At the lower left is a photo from a J. Crew store, where we installed antique hickory. The boards we grab from old buildings end up having striking color variations that are magnified by the rich patina. Rustic characteristic marks are even more prominent in the antique version. This one is one we often suggest to customers as an alternative to Antique Oak.

Read more about our reclaimed woods here.

Posted on January 20, 2010 at 12:19 PM in Green Building • (0) Comments
Five good reasons to use Tung oil on your reclaimed, hard wood floor

Posted by Christine Halvorson

We most often recommend Tung oil as the final step in creating your beautiful floor. Tung oil, which is pressed from the nut of the Tung tree, often makes the most perfect finish to a Carlisle wide plank floor for these reasons:

1. Tung oil is easy to apply and maintain.
2. It is a great alternative to harsh polyurethane or varnish – and gives the floors an authentic “hand-rubbed” look, rather than a “plastic” shine.
3. It penetrates the wood and permanently becomes a part of the floor. This gives the color a richness and depth that isn’t possible with other finishes that sit on the surface of the wood.
4. The floor will never have to be sanded or refinished if Tung oil is used. The oil can be re-applied I high traffic areas—such as a doorway or in front of the sink or refrigerator—when need be.
5. The Carlisle brand of Tung oil is a specially formulated mixture for floors that contains polymers and resins. This gives it the ability to harden, and therefore protect your floor from spills and traffic.

Tung oil has been around a long time. It was used by the Chinese over 500 years ago to waterproof the keels of seagoing ships. Due to its elasticity and penetrating capabilities, Tung oil forms an almost permanent barrier against moisture. Tung oil is still often called “Chinawood Oil,” but it comes from Tung tree farms in the southern United States and Argentina now, too.

This unique oil is used as the protective base that Carlisle recommends for a beautiful finish on every one of our floors. We have experimented with many different finishes. However, we have never found a better finish for sealing and wear protection that, at the same time, creates an antique appearance to your floor.

Original wide plank floors were finished with a mix of Tung and linseed oil, beeswax, and wood ash. This created a hand-rubbed, low luster finish that enhanced the natural characteristics of the wood. In order to recreate this look in today’s floors, and ensure the beauty and long life of your floor, Carlisle recommends only our high resin Tung oil.

Got questions about Carlisle floors? You can request a brochure here, but rest assured, we’re always happy to talk on the phone. Call us at 1-800-595-9663 and we’ll give you a virtual tour our favorite floors.

Posted on January 19, 2010 at 11:11 AM in DIY • Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments