Surface Blog

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 Oct 26, 2009 AT 04:18 AM 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 Oct 23, 2009 AT 03:32 AM in Home Building & Contracting • (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 Oct 23, 2009 AT 03:01 AM in (4) Comments

Carlisle floors showing up in LEED Platinum homes designed to be “net zero”

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

One of our customers, architect/designer Marc Batchelder of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, recently sent us word that the super “green” home he designed was completed this past spring and has now become a LEED Platinum certified home—only the 218th one in the country! Certification comes from the U.S. Green Building Council. and recognizes homes that are designed and built to be energy and resource efficient and healthy for occupants.

The floor chosen by Marc Batchelder was Carlilse’s FSC Certified 100 percent Reclaimed Antique Long Leaf Heart Pine in Premium Grade, in 3- to 9-inch random widths. He also chose our Amber Custom Coat prefinish because of its no-voc content. The homeowners installed it themslves.

The house was designed to be a “net zero” home, consuming less energy than it produces for the family of two that lives there. Everything in the house is electric, with a PV system installed, that will generate all the electricity they need. Also, the home’s location was optimized and oriented toward the sun for peak passive solar gain. The roof overhangs will shade the windows in the summer and let full sunlight in during the winter.

Batchelder points out that when he and his wife, Cheryl, began this construction project more than a year ago, there were only 28 LEED Platinum homes in the country, so you can see where this “green” building trend is going.

The home was built by Little Green Homes and is 1,460 square feet of efficiency. The home has a solar hot water system and numerous other features that led to its recognition as a LEED home. It is the first such home in New Hampshire’s seacoast region. The home was recently featured in the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association green buildings open house tour on October 3.

Carlisle’s floors were installed in the home and Marc writes us “We have been enjoying the wood floors since we moved in in April and look forward to enjoying them for years to come. The floors get instant attention from everyone who comes in to view the house. Thanks again for these fantastic floors.”

Here’s a video update to this innovative project, courtesy of WMUR-TV in New Hampshire.

Posted on Oct 20, 2009 AT 11:14 PM in Green Building • (2) Comments

Monday Morning Mailbag: Short customer notes make us just as happy as long ones

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

Wow! Your product is great but your support and service is better. I own a construction company in Dallas and have used your floors on our jobs. I decided to put some in my home and (sales guy) Robert Plut walked me through it. He is awesome! I also appreciate the thank yous and follow up. You have a great company!

Rick Wojciechonti, Flower Mound, Texas

Posted on Oct 19, 2009 AT 03:26 AM in (0) Comments