Surface Blog

“Breathtakingly FANTASTIC” is what we like to hear when a customer installs a Carlisle floor

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

Jim and Colleen Woodcock found Carlisle Wide Plank Floors through our Washington D.C. showroom and sales consultant Janel Conforti there. The Woodcocks were set to install a new floor in a game room they were creating out of what was once unused space in their home. These customers turned out to be very happy with their new floor and they made a special trip back to the Washington D.C. showroom to drop off some samples so that our staff there could show them to potential customers.

The Woodcocks had ordered 525 square feet of Carlisle’s prefinished Hickory, in 5- to 10-inch widths. At first, when the floor was delivered to their home, they were quite concerned that not enough boards had been delivered. Turned out, it was fine! The installers who did the job know just what they’re doing to fit the floor with very little waste.

Jim reports, “One guy put down the glue, one guy sawed, selected and set the pieces, and the third hammered them tight and then stapled them. It must be nice for them to work with such quality product. They swiped your big catalog so with luck they may give you some future customers.”

After four months, from conception of the project to its completion with the addition of the two “retro” chairs you see in the photos, the floor is ready and being used.

Jim wrote, “And of course it looks breathtakingly FANTASTIC. The trim has not been purchased yet but the vents are so cool. We are in hog heaven walking around with big smiles.”

Learn more about Carlisle’s prefinished floors here

Posted on Nov 09, 2009 AT 01:16 AM in (0) Comments

Carlisle participates in Greenbuild show November 10 in Phoenix

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

Carlisle is gearing up for the last trade show of the year, the Greenbuild Show from Nov. 10 through 12 at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, AZ.

The Carlisle booth is #5107 and will feature a floor of Old Growth Eastern White Pine with a blend of grades, 13-, 14- and 17 inch- face widths, and 7/8 inch thick, slight block planed edges. It’ll be refinished by the sample shop with Copper Mine stain, two coats of trans and two coast Satin Tung Oil, and finished with antique cut nails.

In addition, there will be an extensive display of wood panels — Brown Maple with Clear Original Satin stain, Footworn Walnut with Sturbridge Brown stain and Antique Heart Pine with super rustic stain to name just a few.

Former Vice President Al Gore will be the keynote speaker at the expo and singer Sheryl Crow will perform.

Registration information and general information about the show can be found at the Greenbuild 2009 web site.

Looking ahead a bit, Carlisle’s first show in 2010 will be the IBS/National Builders Show in Las Vegas, Jan. 19 to 22. More information on that one later.

Posted on Nov 06, 2009 AT 12:38 AM in News & Events • (0) Comments

A word about engineered floors, from Don Carlisle

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

And because our engineered boards are also the longest and widest in the industry (sound familiar?), they’re amazingly strong and stable—without the “jigsaw puzzle look” that’s typical of most engineered flooring.

Best of all, they’re right in terms of the environment. Our construction and installation adhesives are virtually VOC-and formaldehyde-free, as are our traditional Custom Coat™ stains and topcoats. So there’s no “off gassing” and degraded indoor air quality, either during installation or in the years to come.

Because Carlisle Engineered Floors are amazingly stable and moisture resistant, they are ideal for both concrete and radiant heat applications—both of which are fast-growing markets for us.

So what’s it all mean? Simply that we now are able to offer the cost-effectiveness and ease of installation which have become synonymous with engineered flooring, plus all the solid advantages that Carlisle has long been noted for.

Pretty exciting stuff, if you ask me.

Don Carlisle, president

Read more about Carlisle’s engineered floors here.

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Posted on Nov 05, 2009 AT 01:17 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (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.

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Posted on Nov 04, 2009 AT 04:59 AM in Green Building • (0) Comments

J. Crew turns to Carlisle’s reclaimed wood to make its retail stores stand out

• Posted by
• Christine Halvorson

agreed and Peter got the Carlisle mill crew on the task of meticulously grading the boards. “I’m thinking some 35 pairs of eyes probably inspected and re-inspected the board choices for the first J. Crew floor,” Peter said.

In the end, no one could tell the difference between the two woods, thanks to the grading and to the WOCA white oil. “The guys in the mill just love this type of work. They love the challenge of it,” Peter said.

Carlisle completed the Madison Avenue floor for J.Crew—done up in 4-inch wide planks and installed in a Herringbone pattern—in August of 2008.

Shortly thereafter, the project manager for the Madison Avenue store contacted Peter again. This time they were thinking of J. Crew’s Malibou, California location and wanted a pre-finished floor to save time. Peter agreed that Carlisle would apply the stain at its custom shop and ship the floor ready to install.

“But it turned out to be tough to get the hand-rubbed look they wanted using a pre-finished stain,” Peter explained. Again, they mixed two woods to keep costs down—Premium Old Growth White Oak and Antique White Oak, for a total of 6,000 square feet.

“We just worked through all the problems,” Peter says, “and that’s what makes this a good relationship.”

Which takes us back to New York City. Carlisle was enlisted for two more J.Crew stores—one at 1200 Madison Avenue and one at 44 Broadway. For 1200 Madision Avenue, they chose a mixture of Antique Oak and White Oak, and for 44 Broadway, a hand-graded Milled Barnwood was used. Another store planned for the Stroughton/Hampton area will also use Milled Barnwood.

Peter says the J. Crew stores are a challenge he relishes. “You have to work fast. You have a short time period to get in there and get it installed right,” he said. “When retail is closing for remodeling, they’re not making any money, so there isn’t any down time.”

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Posted on Nov 03, 2009 AT 04:46 AM in Hardwood Flooring • (0) Comments