Carlisle Wide Plank Floors

Surface Blog

• Will your remodeling investment pay off?

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  According to Remodeling Magazine’s 2009-10 Cost vs. Value Report, a major kitchen remodel costs $57,215 with 72 percent of those costs recouped in a sale of the home. Of course, the recoup numbers are down significantly from just a few years ago because of the current economic crisis and the ongoing credit crunch. So, it’s probably a scary time to think about remodeling your home. Real estate conditions vary widely throughout the country and even within very narrow local markets. But, one of the things we like to point out to people about installing a Carlisle floor as part of a remodeling project is that the floor “pays back” in several ways.

  

  A Carlisle Wide Plank Floor can improve the home’s beauty and increase its value at the same time. Because a Carlisle floor is made from the heart of a 100-year-old (or older) tree, it will last for generations, which generally can’t be said about any other flooring product. Carlisle wood is selectively harvested from well-managed forests or, as in the case of our 100 percent post-consumer reclaimed antique wood, is recycled from an old barn or mill. The initial investment in a Carlisle floor more than pays for itself over the years given its durability and dollars saved on maintenance. Unique methods of fine milling and periodic finishing with Tung Oil make these floors virtually maintenance free.

  Remodeling is pretty much how Carlisle got started in this business in the first place. In our neck of the woods in New Hamphisre, people wanted to add rooms onto historic homes—some dating back to Colonial times—and wanted the flooring to match. We fulfilled that need, and then some.

  If a remodeling project is in your future, yes, today’s economic conditions are scary, but you just might add a little bit of “insurance” to your future resale with the addition of a Carlisle floor.

  Posted on December 24, 2009 at 12:56 PM in DIY • Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments

• Among other things, this Carlisle floor matches the family Golden Retriever

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  

  Warren and Tassie Crellin of Townsend, Delaware have been married 21 years and had always dreamed of building a log home. In March 2008, they purchased an 11- acre, partially wooded farmette. “We spent months clearing the necessary trees to make room for our dream home,” Tassie writes. “Finally, in January 2009 the logs were delivered and construction began.”

  Tassie reports that she first saw Carlisle floors in her Log Home Living magazine.

  “I first contacted Carlisle back in November 2008 and was connected with Shanon Sterrett. She was extremely helpful in helping us pick out the perfect floor for our rustic look. We ended up with 10-inch wide planks in hit-or-miss pine flooring. The roughed up texture really blends with the log walls. Not to mention, the wear and tear that two boys and two dogs provide!” Tassie wrote. “I love the hit-or-miss imperfections because any scratches or dings simply blend right in once touched up with stain and simply add to the ‘character’. Our stain color is a combination of 2 parts Concord Honey/1 part Ginger Bread. We love it! It also matches our Golden Retriever, Maddie.”

  The Crellins moved into their new home on Halloween of this year, after having sold their previous home rather quickly and needing to stay in a camper or five months. “Now we can barely see our beautiful floors for all the boxes,” Tassie wrote. “They are gorgeous and we are very happy with how they turned out.”

  Warren and Tassie actually did all of the staining and oiling (a total of four coats) of the new floor in their 1,200-square-foot rec room, just to save on time. They left the rest of the floors to their builder and his crew. “The floors were easy to install and the overall staining process wasn’t bad,” she writes.

  “We really enjoyed working with Carlisle and Shanon was always there to guide us through the decision process, making sure our flooring was just what we wanted!”

  The photo above shows Warren installing the flooring in our rec room. Below are a few more photos from the family album.

  Posted on November 30, 2009 at 12:23 PM in Customer Stories • DIY • (0) Comments

• Carlisle floors no problem over radiant heat

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  If you are thinking about a new or re-do flooring project, but have some concerns about installing wood over radiant heat, just take on this mantra: “No worries.”

  Carlisle has a wealth of experience — and endorsements — in the application of its wide plank flooring over radiant heat systems in homes.

  One such endorsement comes from Shawn Sweeney of Sweeney Design Build in Shelburne, Vermont:

  “I recommend Carlisle Wide Plank Floors to all my clients because of the stability of their wood over such a wide range of installation conditions and temperatures. Especially for radiant applications, it is far superior to any other wood floor — wide or narrow— on the market.”

  Another endorsement comes from Warmboard Radiant Subfloor one of the more popular manufacturers of radiant heat.

  Lots of homeowners like the efficiency and cleanliness of radiant heat, but may wonder how that distribution of heat directly under a floor might affect the floor over time.

  Here are some things to remember:
  ·Wood breaths and moves, so once you’ve chosen the correct, properly cured Carlisle application for your home, it will constantly adapt to its ever-changing environment, yet will remain flat and stable;
  ·The quality of our boards makes a big difference: Ours are cut from heartwood for a strong, straight vertical grain and they have low moisture content– another reason why heartwood is more stable;
  ·We have a lot of experience — more than 40 years — of installing wood floors over radiant heat in all types of environments from one coast to the other;
  ·And we’ll guarantee the work: If at any time during the life of your Carlisle floor there is a problem relating to the quality of our wood or our manufacturing process, we will handcraft a new floor for you free of charge.

  For more information, check out our website section entitled Installing Over Radiant Heat.

  Posted on November 26, 2009 at 10:08 AM in DIY • Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments

• Installing a Carlisle unfinished or Custom Coat floor can be a do-it-yourself project

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  

  Anyone with basic do-it-yourself skills can install a Carlisle floor, but it’s entirely up to you whether you wish to do it or have a professional come in. If you do it, we’ll send along complete instructions before your floor order arrives and we’re available seven days a week for your questions. Every member of our sales and design staff has had hands-on training in the most up-to-date installation applications and techniques. If you encounter a problem or have a question, we are only a phone call away at 800-595-9663. We want this to be a fun project for you and that the results will be something you’ll be proud of.

  In addition to the time, here’s a list of supplies you’ll need to install the floor yourself. You might want to take a sneak peak at the PDF document we have that provides detailed, step-by-step instructions.

  For Installing Your Unfinished and Custom Coat™ Floor:

  • Power nailer or pneumatic stapler
  • Chalk line
  • Tape measure
  • Chop, circular or radial arm saw
  • Caulking gun
  • Square
  • Utility knife
  • Rubber mallet
  • Nail punch (if you are using face nails)
  • Finishing nail gun
  • Sawhorses
  • Subfloor adhesive
  • Concrete adhesive
  • Floor straps and weights (for direct glue installation)
  • Square notch trowels (for concrete installation)

  For finishing your unfinished floor:

  • Drywall sanding pole
  • Sandpaper (220-400 grit)
  • Stain cloths
  • Six-inch brush
  • Mineral spirits or paint thinner
  • Rubber gloves
  • Paper respirator mask
  • Foam applicator
  • Lamb’s wool applicator
  • Paint tray and liners
  • Foam paintbrush

  To read a little more about the do-it-yourself process, click here.

  Posted on November 12, 2009 at 01:50 PM in DIY • (0) Comments

• Monday Morning Mailbag: Carlisle customers look at their new floor with awe

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  Every time we finish a floor project for a customer—or the customer has finished doing his or her Do-It-Yourself job to install it— we like to ask them what they think or if they have any comments to send back to our leader, Don Carlisle. Here’s this week’s sample of the type of card we get back to us—and we thought you’d like to see it straight from their heart (er…pen).

  Customers Joanne and Bill Philpot worked with Carlisle’s Gary Ryer to purchase 120 square feet of nominal width, premium grade Eastern White Pine, which was finished at their home. Our favorite quote from them about their floor: “We look at it with awe!”

  Here’s what they had to say (clicking on the file will open it up to full size):

  Philbot_Customer_Card.pdf

  Posted on September 21, 2009 at 08:47 PM in Customer Stories • DIY • (0) Comments

Page 2 of 9 pages  <  1 2 3 4 >  Last »

• The Carlisle Story
• Our Wood, Our Craft
• Browse Our Floors
• We Make Buying Easy
• Installation

• Showrooms & Trade Shows
• Request Information
• Blog

• My Favorites
• My Profile

Search Carlisle