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.

Yes, you can lay wide plank flooring over concrete

Posted by Christine Halvorson

One question that comes up often around here is whether our wide plank floors can be laid over concrete slabs, and the answer is, “Yes!” (Above, we did it at the Oak Park Hyatt in Washington, D.C.)

But it’s a qualified yes. Yes, you can lay wood floors over concrete as long as you are using the superior products from Carlisle.

There are three essentials to laying floor over concrete. We’ve already covered No. 1—use Carlisle wide plank flooring. The other two essentials are:

2) The concrete must be dry.
3) A vapor barrier should be installed over it to guard against seasonal fluctuations.

Wood will shrink or expand, depending on the temperature and humidity conditions it’s exposed to. But the Carlisle wood will remain flat and stable because our wood comes from trees with tighter, denser grains; its sawn from the heart of the tree where the wood is dryest and most dense; and it’s air dried for a year before it’s kiln dried then milled under the high quality control conditions.

With 40 years of experience, in all types of climates from one coast to the other, Carlisle and its team of of highly trained sales representatives can offer advice and put you at ease.

And the guarantee to second to none: If there’s ever 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 complete information about this, check our the Installing Over Concrete section of our web site.
If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, check out these installation documents.

Posted on November 19, 2009 at 09:41 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Callison architects trust Carlisle to meet tight schedule for Philosophy stores

Posted by Christine Halvorson

“The pre-finished saved time and the baseboards meant we didn’t have to think about the floors at all. We could avoid any last minute hassles,” Tracy said. “With Sarah’s help, we knew we’d meet the production schedule.”

Philosphy needed floors that could, of course, withstand heavy foot traffic, but they also needed to withstood today’s heavy-duty strollers. The answer was Carlisle’s Ash, “perfect for any commercial application,” Bergren says.

The pre-finished, 10-inch planks would be sealed on all sides with Custom Clear Coat. “Callison wanted to leave the floor unstained so the natural variations would be very visible,” Bergren said.

Philosphy customers have said their stores have a “calm and clean” feel and Woods believes the wide planks contribute. “They really open up our narrow spaces,” she said. “Ash has a lot going for it. It works so well with the other store fixtures.”

The Santa Monica Philosophies store celebrated its Grand Opening in November of 2008.

“Carlisle exceeded our expectations on all fronts. We experienced no problems and it was done as seamlessly as we had hoped,” Tracy said. “Sarah was just outstanding. We can’t wait to work with her on future projects.”

Read More…

Posted on November 10, 2009 at 03:46 PM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Pre-finished and engineered Carlisle floors are excellent choices in commercial, retail projects

Posted by Christine Halvorson

…one floor, one board at a time. That’s how we make all of our floors. It’s also been a Carlisle motto from the beginning, meant to convey our process and our intense focus on customization and customer support. This focus extends to the many commercial and residential projects we get involved in as we attempt—and usually succeed—in meeting the demands of design and designers, of brand, of tight budgets and tight schedules, and of the high standards under which you do business.

Your project may call for an unheard of board width, a precise hue or a first-ever mix of wood types. Our design consultants are experts in wood species, wood grading and the almost infinite possibilities of various stains and finishes. They can recreate any look your project demands.

© Callison/Chris Eden 2009

Prefinished and engineered floors are relatively new to Carlisle, but they’ve already been discovered and relished by designers and project managers—with good reason. They’re easy to install, and they’re durable and adaptable. Carlisle’s prefinished options can be ordered with a Custom, Commercial Grade coat for heavy traffic areas, for example.

Engineered floors are easy to swap out when it’s time for a whole brand makeover or one tweak to one location. They’re our most popular choice for installing over concrete. And whenever we work on a commercial project, our design consultants make a free, on-site visit for consultation. Carlisle’s team of designers carry the same discerning eye and professional experience as your design team, which means a mutually agreed upon vision is easily realized.

Posted on October 16, 2009 at 03:49 PM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Beautiful Carlisle floors in a house for a beautiful boat

Posted by Christine Halvorson

We should all be so lucky as the boat housed in this boat house. What a place to be! Check out the photo album below to see what a Michigan family did with Carlisle’s premium wide plank flooring in Longleaf Heart Pine, 6-inch and 8-inch widths, prefinished with Amber.

The floor is a perfect shimmering complement to the wooden boat housed below. Many of our customers come to use with concerns about moisture and wood floors. No worries here! Our durable wood flooring can be applied beyond a house on terra ferma to a boat house over water.

Posted on September 29, 2009 at 08:58 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments
Carlisle floors make bold statement in Steamboat Springs “dream home”

Posted by Christine Halvorson

Jason Wolfe, an associate in our Los Angeles Design Center, got these great photos from Priya Garcia, a designer he recently worked with in creating the floors for a new vacation “dream home” for a family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Garcia had visited the Design Center and “fell in love” with Carlisle’s floors and so, when the opportunity came up with this project, she knew Carlisle floors would be the perfect match.

Three rooms in the vacation home were all finished the same way, with our antique Eastern White Pine, distressed with Carlisle’s custom Hit-or-Miss treatment and done in 8- to 12-inch widths. All were then finished with our Gingerbread Stain and Tung oil. The primary wall in the living room (below) is finished with Carlisle’s 400-year-old reclaimed brown barn siding.
Jason says this is the type of project he really loves to work on because he can see the vision of the client transformed into reality, step by step. “For this one, we had players on both sides of the Rocky Mountains involved!”

Posted on September 28, 2009 at 08:59 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments