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.

Chestnut Oak Lodge, Virginia and Carlisle Floors

Posted by Megan Sprague

This is a nice letter and photo from Peter Switzer's client! They used our wide pine floors in their Chestnut Oak Lodge.

This is a photo from their website of the lodge.

Hello Peter,

Since you were involved in our project, it's with great pleasure that I can now proudly announce to you that our log cabin in the beautiful Shenandoah valley of Virginia is complete and ready for service! WOOHOO!

I know you’ve been hearing me talk about it for a long time now (like 3 years – who knew it would take so long!?!), so I wanted to make sure I filled you in on the finished product.

Please see this link for all the details: www.chestnutoaklodge.com

Yes, this cabin has its own web site (and blog!) because we have decided to rent it out for vacation rentals so others can enjoy it as much as we do. We have also added links to your company since we are so fond of you.

Thanks for sticking by me through this project – if you have ideas about what I should do next, please let me know. I am looking forward to the next one!

Talk to you soon,

Jeff A. Dunkelberger

Posted on October 28, 2008 at 02:11 PM in Customer Stories • Home Decor • (0) Comments
Our friends at Classic Hardwood Floors

Posted by Megan Sprague

We've been working with Classic Hardwood Floors for over ten years now. Here's a nice letter from owner, Joe Boos.

Although it is my profession and can be challenging and stressful at times, I thoroughly enjoy being the owner/operator of Classic Hardwood Floors. In 1998 my brother Eric and I formed our business and had the best time of our life working together for 10 years. A person seriously could write a book about all of our experiences. We did have a few employees throughout the years, most notably our other two brothers and our father. Imagine a customers surprise after contracting us to work in their million dollar + houses based only on phone conversations and a written proposal; only to have a truckload of 18-24 year olds show up at their door on day one to install a beautiful, expensive wide plank floor. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked how old I am, when my dad or boss was showing up, or where is the guy I talked to on the phone. Of course the outstanding results continue to be a testament to the beauty of Carlisle’s wood and our commitment to perfection. Eric has recently moved on to bigger and better things (design consultant for this company called Carlisle Wide Plank Floors), however I still enjoy installing floors with my employees Jeff and Eddie.

Originally our business was a general wood floor operation (strip flooring, sand and poly, refinishing, etc). Thanks to the expertise and knowledge of so many at Carlisle we transformed into specializing in the installation and finishing of wide plank floors. Many quickly conclude they are one and the same, and although wide plank flooring contains many of the same aspects of “wood flooring”, in my opinion it is in a league of its own. You could liken it to the difference between arithmetic and algebra. A mathematician cannot learn algebra before the groundwork or basics are laid (arithmetic,etc). I feel as if we went from being nailers and sanders to craftsmen and artists. We went from installing and finishing floors that looked good to creating timepieces that make a house.

The first floor we did with Carlisle was a face nailed, stained, and tung oiled eastern white pine for John and Randee Malmberg. Randee could not find the floor she had seen in a magazine picture. No one in the area could. After extensive searching we stumbled upon Carlisle. Todd Waterman and Chris Sy were tireless in their efforts to insure we gave Randee the floor she wanted. Thank goodness they were! What a difference this floor was from what we were used to. No conventional sanding? No way! Face nail the face of the boards with antique square cut nails? No way! However, it turned out great and because of our commitment to quality and a number of referrals from Carlisle and the Malmbergs our wide plank career took off.

Since the Malmbergs we have installed and finished 111 wide plank floors for Carlisle. We have done many eastern white pine and heart pine, along with red and white oak, hickory, maple, ash, walnut, cherry, antique woods, saw kerf surface, hand scraped surface, barnboard, and many others that I am likely forgetting.

Among my favorites are the antique woods. The warmth and character in antique wood cannot be beat. One of my all time favorites is probably the antique sweetgum (an extremely rare antique wood with grain and color being similar to a mix of hickory and cherry) we installed in Lakeside, MI. Beautiful!

We also, because of being specialists, have had the privilege of working a large territory and discovering so many great places to visit, restaurants, and wonderful people. Carlisle floors have brought us to downtown Chicago, many of the suburbs, on the lake in Michigan, and rural Wisconsin, and many other places.

Over the past 10 years we have worked with so many great people at Carlisle. I truly view it a privilege and honor to be a part of crafting your beautiful floors and working with you guys. Without your help and support we would never had made it, and we sincerely thank you for everything! The relationships formed through the years are far more than simple business ties. We view you all as friends and family. So here is to 111 or more outstanding works of art!

THANK YOU!

Here's a few photos of floors that Classic Hardwood Floors' has installed over the years!

Birch

Hand Scraped White Oak with Stain

Posted on October 28, 2008 at 08:57 AM in Customer Stories • Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • Restoration Projects • True Hardwood Story • Wood Grains & Styles • (0) Comments
Customer Letter and Friendly Service

Posted by Megan Sprague

This customer is in the process of having her FSC Antique Oak floors installed.
Here's a nice letter she sent to Dana Tuscher of our New York sales team...
Thank you very much for the lovely picture - the wood is drop dead gorgeous!

I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today. Each time I have called your company I have been handled in a first class kind of way by each person I have spoken to - what a luxury. Please tell your staff their
kindness goes a long way and makes a lasting impression. It is a pleasure dealing with Carlisle.

Best....
Carol

Posted on October 21, 2008 at 03:23 PM in Customer Stories • Green Building • (0) Comments
DIY: Wide Pine Floors

Posted by Megan Sprague

Lynne Rafuse of our New England sales team received this email and photos from her client Bruce of Walpole, New Hampshire!

Lynne- Just a note to let you know that the floor is finished. The floor looks like I expected it to, and there is a consistency of finish on the knots as well as the rest of the planks.

I am attaching a few pictures of the floor, although the rooms still need door and window casings and mopboards. The radiators seen under the windows can now be hooked up too. There are other features to be added to the fireplace (mantle) and a wall of bookshelves to finish the look in one of the rooms. I'll send you those pics when the job is finalized.

Thanks, Bruce
--
Bruce Blanchette
Visual Artist

Posted on October 21, 2008 at 11:11 AM in Customer Stories • DIY • Home Decor • (1) Comments
Getting It Right..the Second Time Around!

Posted by Megan Sprague

Lisa and Keith Hatch purchased their Brown Maple floor (with hand scraped edges) earlier this year. They received the floor and proceeded to stain it with one of our custom stains, to match a sample that we had sent them. After a few rounds of the stain, it was turning out way too light.

Sales Manager Kevin Crowder remembers, "They were having trouble getting the same dark color on their floor that we had sent them in the sample. They called me with their concerns and I took good care of them. I paid them to have it sanded back down to raw wood. Once they did that it took the stain darker as the photos show."

Lisa and Keith are very happy with their floors! See this note that Lisa sent earlier this year:

Hi Kevin,

Our floors turned out great! It was a pleasure working with you and the rest of the Carlisle Wide Plank Floor staff. I will certainly recommend your company to others interested in exceptional wood floors.

I’ve attached pictures. I apologize for not sending these photos sooner. If you need additional ones, please let me know!

Many thanks again for everything!

Lisa and Keith Hatch

Posted on October 17, 2008 at 02:35 PM in Customer Stories • Hardwood Flooring • Home Decor • Wood Grains & Styles • (1) Comments