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.

Slow growth is a good thing when you’re turning trees into floors

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Ever wonder where the wide planks for the floors we create here at Carlisle actually come from? Primarily we get trees from sawyers who harvest them in New England, the upper Midwest, the Ohio River Valley and portions of the Appalachians. The reason for this is that the relatively cool, short summers of these regions allow the trees to grow very slowly. It takes years before they reach their maximum height and circumferences and that means their grains are tighter and more dense. It also makes them incredibly beautiful for use in woodworking, cabinetry and, well, wide plank floors.

Like the trees themselves, the relationships we’ve developed with local foresters and sawyers are a result of slow growth. It has taken us time to get to know the right people, those who share our environmental vision and goals of producing the best hardwood boards possible from forests grown and managed in a totally sustainable manner. These much-cherished relationships mean that no matter which Carlisle hardwood you choose, it will be the choicest and most beautiful that America can grow.

Posted on February 25, 2010 at 04:29 PM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
It’s all about the character when customers choose reclaimed wood floors

Posted by Christine Halvorson

It’s not uncommon for a few customers of ours to choose an Antique or Reclaimed wood floor based on our samples and then be distressed when the actual floor boards arrive. Often those reclaimed boards are full of what we call “character marks”—the nail holes, dings, knots and other marks that are clear indications that this wood has been used before for different purposes. So, a panicked phone call is not unusual and, after a discussion with one of our sales and design consultants, the customer usually is convinced to sit tight and wait to see what the floor looks like in place, stained and finished.

Well, we had another of those experiences lately with a home in White Lake, New York. The floor that the customers, Raj and Chris Mundkur, had ordered was Milled Antique Barnwood, in 5- to 12-inch widths. The Mundkurs had come to us through a recommendation from their builder. However, the builder was a bit apprehensive with the boards actually arrived—too much character! But now everyone involved in the project is quite happy, as you might guess from the looks of these photos, below. The Mundkurs wrote us:

“The floors are in, finished and look spectacular! …Thanks for your patience and guidance in selecting the floor and stain. We love them and it was well worth the effort. Raj.”

Posted on February 17, 2010 at 02:59 PM in Green Building • (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
Reclaimed barnwood becomes work of art for Robert Talbott stores

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Peter Switzer of our Stoddard offices worked with Emilia Rich and Bridget Lennon of Insite Development in New York on a project out in Gilroy, California using reclaimed barn wood.

The project was for the retail clothing store Robert Talbott, which has four high-end shops selling luxury and tailored clothing. This was the second time Insite Development and Carlisle teamed up on a Robert Talbott project. In the two photos to the left, you’ll see the end results at the Gilroy store, which was completed in October of 2009.

Now, it’s certainly not unusual for us to be working with reclaimed barnwood, but these two interior designers really turned our heads with the first Talbott project early last year. When they did a redesign of a showroom on Madison Avenue, they came to Carlisle on the advice of another vendor. When the store was all done, Emilia and Bridget sent Peter photos to show him the barnwood in place. Normally, anyone using the wood we reclaim from old barns and other structures uses only the INTERIOR of the boards—the walls or floors as one would have seen them while standing inside the building. For the showroom project last year, the Insite Development designers had asked for select grading of the boards to show the usual gray and brown tones, and Peter certainly saw to it that the grading met their specifications. But, as it turned out, the designers ended up using the boards all mixed up—a mix of the exterior and interior boards to make paneling that served as backdrop to the clothing displays. The result was not just the usual gray and brown tones from barnwood, but now there were hints of red and orange in the boards as well. You can see the New York showroom project in the photo below.

Well, Peter says he thought the treatment they gave the barn wood was fantastic—and we do, too. It was an unusual thing to do and he said he just loves it when designers can run with an idea and make a beautiful product even more beautiful. “I really love how they take the wood for what it is,” Peter said, explaining that some people are surprised by all the color variations that are to be expected in old barnwood. “They took it for what it is and they maximized the yield on it,” he said.

Putting all the color tones together created a stunning effect and Peter predicts, now that Insite Development has done this, we will be seeing a lot more of this type of artistic creation.

What do you think? Write us with your thoughts by clicking “COMMENTS” just below.

Posted on January 15, 2010 at 03:27 PM in Green Building • (0) Comments
A closer look at some antique floor options

Posted by Christine Halvorson

When we set about reclaiming wood from old buildings, Antique Ash and Antique Elm are two types of woods we come across. Throughout the northern regions of North America, these two types of wood were used in early buildings because of their strength and durability.

Antique Elm, top left, has a soft but dramatic grain structure. It comes with reddish undertones and a good sampling of character markings such as knots and variations in the color. For that reason, we consider it a very special antique wood to offer. Read more about Antique Elm here.

Antique Ash, on the other hand, does not have as many defining “character” marks. (Bottom left.) The color tone is a rich, golden brown and it is fairly consistent.

Usually we don’t find this wood with a lot of knots, nail holes, checks or kerf marks—maybe just enough to be reminiscent of its previous life as a supporting beam, for example. Because of the tremendous strength of Antique Ash, this wood was often used in early buildings in Canada. In New England, it was used to make bows, baseball bats, baskets and ax handles. Despite its strength, it is extremely pliable.

Because this antique wood lacks character marks, we consider it an excellent, recycled option for a formal design style. See more about Antique Ash here.

See more about our reclaimed woods here.

Posted on January 13, 2010 at 11:39 AM in Green Building • (0) Comments