Carlisle Wide Plank Floors

Surface Blog

• Carlisle welcomed to Abode

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  Abode Builders of Plymouth, New Hampshire, specializes in the design and construction of custom homes that blend traditional style with the natural environment.

  So when principal owners Jack McBride and Sue Hawkes began their search for different flooring suppliers, they took special note of Carlisle ads in various magazines and contacted one of our Design Consultants.

  “He did an outstanding job helping us through the process. He was extremely knowledgeable, gave good recommendations and was very responsive to all our questions,” says Abode Director of Marketing Jason Maring.

  Impressed with the overall look and quality of the Carlisle offerings, Abode chose to install sustainably grown Hickory in their Design Center showroom using random widths of 4 to 12 inches with a Tung oil finish applied on site.

  For what would soon prove to be an award-winning model home, they opted for prefinished FSC Certified Antique Reclaimed Oak in 4-inch to 8-inch widths.

  “We really liked the character of the flooring, the knots and natural wood features, and these two choices defined that preference very well,” says Jason.

  As a company that is very involved with clients throughout both the design and construction phases, Abode is often asked about various flooring choices and doesn’t hesitate to recommend Carlisle.

  “Having examples of Carlisle floors on site instills a lot of confidence in our clients. The floors are one of the most talked-about features when we tour prospects through both facilities. They are a great complement to the overall building quality we’re known for,” notes Jason, who adds, “Carlisle has been a great partner to work with and has really helped us strengthen our position in the eyes of our customers. Branding is very important to Abode, so the quality and integrity of the Carlisle brand was a great fit for us.”

  Posted on July 8, 2010 at 03:13 PM in Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments

• A perfect dovetail fit

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  When Donna Carrigan of Damariscotta, Maine, started Dovetail Designs in 2002, she had already been successfully designing kitchens and baths for over a dozen years, and she had dealt with many different companies and product lines.

  

  A Certified Master Kitchen & Bath Designer, Donna has done many medium- to high-end projects throughout Maine and even as far away as Florida. These projects often involve flooring decisions, and she is always happy to recommend Carlisle. When first introduced to Carlisle at a trade show, she was immediately impressed and soon chose to work with us on installing a new kitchen floor in her in-home showroom.

  “The room was a real challenge: an uneven concrete floor with base cabinets already in place and nothing was level,” notes Donna. “Yet Carlisle worked with a professional installer and it wound up going down amazingly fast. I had selected the sustainably grown Eastern White Pine in 13- to 20-inch widths, with antique cut nails because many of the homes I get involved with are of that historic period. Then I applied the Indian Summer stain with Antique Satin Tung Oil finish myself.”

  “I vowed when I started out, I was only going to work with the best of the best,” says Donna. “In addition to Carlisle’s great reputation and knowledge, their customer service is incredible. And I have not seen any other product that offers such consistent quality, beautifully finished and incredibly wide boards. Customers walk into my kitchen, look at the floor and say they had no idea the building was so old! Yet you can achieve a lot of different looks – from antique to modern – depending on your goal.”

  Dovetail and Carlisle. A perfect fit in more ways than one.

  Posted on June 29, 2010 at 05:47 PM in Home Building & Contracting • Home Decor • (0) Comments

• Really high expectations met with Hancock Center project in Chicago

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  Getting 2,000 square feet of Walnut to the 92nd floor was definitely a tall order.

  Hagerty Construction, Inc. has historically been involved in several condominium renovations in Chicago’s towering John Hancock Center, but surely none represented a taller order than this one on the 92nd floor.

  To complement the killer view, Interior Designer Kara Mann specified a wide plank distressed Walnut floor, which eventually led Pat Hagerty to contact Carlisle.

  “We had checked a few local retailers, but either the products they offered or their pricing didn’t meet our needs. I went to the Carlisle website and the samples they sent were just what we were looking for. We specified unfinished Walnut in 8-inch widths that had received a surface treatment they call footworn.

  So how do you get 2,000 square feet of hardwood flooring up 92 stories?

  

  “Carlisle was very helpful because we needed maximum lengths of 10 feet in order to get the boards in the elevators. So we asked for 3 to 10 foot lengths, which they provided. The actual installation was a nail-down over concrete. We first put down a sound barrier, then used a layer of 3/4-inch plywood and nailed the flooring over that.”

  Of particular interest was the custom finish. The interior designer wanted a natural, unfinished look, but clear coats still darkened the wood. The final result was achieved after much trial and error with the application of a custom-mixed, subtle whitewash stain, which slightly lightened the Walnut while at the same time allowing the coloration and grains to fully show through. This was then topped with a clear matte finish that brought the wood back to its normal unfinished coloration.

  “Everyone was pleased with the results,” notes Pat. “In fact, the homeowner liked it so much he had some installed on the ceiling of his entryway.”

  

  Posted on June 15, 2010 at 04:47 PM in Home Building & Contracting • Home Decor • (0) Comments

• Bermuda? Bahamas? No problem

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  

  Okay, so the floors aren’t quite ready to be installed in this home in the Bahamas, but they are ready and waiting for when this project proceeds!

  Ultimately, Paula and James Coyle will have Carlisle’s Hickory, Ash and Eastern White Pine installed in various rooms of their house. Each will have a different finish, when all is said and done.

  Our Sales & Design Consultant Rick Menard worked with the Coyle’s on this project and has done at least one other project in the Bahamas a few years back.

  We’ll try to show you the floors in place, in the completed home, when it’s ready. The floors are being installed by Vlad Blashin, a Florida-based installer we’ve used many times.

  Posted on May 31, 2010 at 05:37 PM in Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments

• Glue wood floors over slate? Yep

  Posted by Christine Halvorson

  We are often mentioning here that it’s perfectly fine to glue our wide planks directly over concrete, but we don’t often get a chance to say that it works right over slate as well. Here’s proof.

  These two shots show the construction of a floor in Carlifon, New Jersey, a project we did in conjunction with Bellero Design Associates, LLC.

  The floor you see here is a 7- to 11-inch wide, original grade Eastern White Pine.
  

  Posted on May 9, 2010 at 07:14 PM in Home Building & Contracting • (0) Comments

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