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.

Thinking “green” sometimes means looking at the product that lasts

Posted by Christine Halvorson

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. In a recent inquiry from a potential customer, M. Carroll, Ms. Carroll noted to our Sales and Design Consultant Dan O’Neil that the “green” way to go may mean buying a quality product that lasts, not one that is going to wear out or look dated after a short time. She wrote:

“…the greenest thing one can do is choose quality that lasts a lifetime, or two. I have a background in Ecology that goes back 30-plus years. Your products are as green as it gets.”

Thank you, M. Carroll!

These days we often get asked about bamboo as a flooring material. Bamboo is a sustainable product, but Dan points out that it hasn’t proven itself over time, like sustainably grown trees have. He likes to stress the “proven timeless quality” of our floors.

Read more about Carlisle’s environmental commitments here.

Posted on November 18, 2009 at 12:47 PM in Green Building • (0) Comments
Sometimes wood reclaimed by Carlisle becomes not a floor, but a beautiful kitchen cabinet

Posted by Christine Halvorson

We’ve written here several times about our relationship with one of our neighbors here in New Hampshire—“Crown Point Cabinetry”:http://www.crown-point.com/. Crown Point, headquartered in Claremont, New Hampshire, specializes in customized cabinetry for period style kitchens, baths, offices, laundry rooms, home bars and more, and they sell direct to the customer. We think all their work is just stunning. Their customers are often requested reclaimed wood for their customized cabinets these days and when that happens, Crown Point turns to us here at Carlisle for supplies from our various reclaimation projects.

Here’s a recent stand-out example of how reclaimed wood can be used to create a modern, sleek and definitely cool look—even when it’s made from what was once an old barn here in New England. Crown Point took the grey barnwood to make the posts and horizontal runners of this kitchen island, and they combined it with cabinetry made of wood but painted black. Stunning, don’t you think?

Posted on November 11, 2009 at 08:33 AM in Green Building • (0) Comments
Hermitage Inn, Vermont uses Carlisle’s Heart Pine, Eastern White Pine in historic renovation

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Everything went smoothly, Glen says, because everyone had realistic expectations. “Every project is different and every person is different. There’s always something that will be misunderstood or not communicated well. But our builder did a great job and the client was very pleased,” Glen said. “Now they’ve got guests thinking the floor is original, from the 1800s, and we’ve got some of them going home to New Jersey and deciding they need a Carlisle floor in their lake home.”

The inn project probably took 10 months from start to finish, but it continues. An addition to the inn will also be done with about 2,500 square feet of Carlisle ’s pine flooring.

Read more about our Pine floor options here.

Read More…

Posted on November 4, 2009 at 03:29 PM in Green Building • (0) Comments
Green By Design event October 10 attracted a crowd

Posted by Christine Halvorson

More than 100 people attended the Green by Design Open House hosted by Carlisle partner ABODE Builders of New England on October 10 in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

Attendees had the chance to see and hear ideas for building their dream home or remodeling their current home in an environmentally friendly way against a backdrop of the infamous New England foliage, live music and food.

Vendors like Crown Point Cabinetry (another Carlisle partner), Landscape Design Architects, Interiors East Design and Green ICF Building solutions had the chance to address the attendees about their products inside a model home that featured Carlisle’s 4- to 8-inch pre-finished Antique Oak.

Visitors got to see Carlisle’s 4-to-8-inch Antique Hickory floor, which was installed in the Abode Design Center.

Posted on October 30, 2009 at 02:15 PM in Green Building • (0) 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.”

Posted on October 21, 2009 at 09:44 AM in Green Building • (0) Comments