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.

Carlisle: A Sponsor of the Mountain Living Natural Dream Home

Posted by Megan Sprague

Carlisle's Denver Design Center has been participating in the sponsor festivities with Mountain Living at their Natural Dream Home in Cordillera, Colorado. Our FSC Certified Antique Ash floors (with a stain) were used throughout the first level of the home. The home is now open through November, for tours!

Here's a close up of the FSC Antique Ash with the brown stain, also check out the interview with sales person, Laura Leier! This article can be found in the November/December issue of
Mountain Living on page 70!

Posted on October 31, 2008 at 11:24 AM in Green Building • Home Building & Contracting • True Hardwood Story • Wood Grains & Styles • (0) Comments
Our friends at Classic Hardwood Floors

Posted by Megan Sprague

We've been working with Classic Hardwood Floors for over ten years now. Here's a nice letter from owner, Joe Boos.

Although it is my profession and can be challenging and stressful at times, I thoroughly enjoy being the owner/operator of Classic Hardwood Floors. In 1998 my brother Eric and I formed our business and had the best time of our life working together for 10 years. A person seriously could write a book about all of our experiences. We did have a few employees throughout the years, most notably our other two brothers and our father. Imagine a customers surprise after contracting us to work in their million dollar + houses based only on phone conversations and a written proposal; only to have a truckload of 18-24 year olds show up at their door on day one to install a beautiful, expensive wide plank floor. I cannot tell you how many times I have been asked how old I am, when my dad or boss was showing up, or where is the guy I talked to on the phone. Of course the outstanding results continue to be a testament to the beauty of Carlisle’s wood and our commitment to perfection. Eric has recently moved on to bigger and better things (design consultant for this company called Carlisle Wide Plank Floors), however I still enjoy installing floors with my employees Jeff and Eddie.

Originally our business was a general wood floor operation (strip flooring, sand and poly, refinishing, etc). Thanks to the expertise and knowledge of so many at Carlisle we transformed into specializing in the installation and finishing of wide plank floors. Many quickly conclude they are one and the same, and although wide plank flooring contains many of the same aspects of “wood flooring”, in my opinion it is in a league of its own. You could liken it to the difference between arithmetic and algebra. A mathematician cannot learn algebra before the groundwork or basics are laid (arithmetic,etc). I feel as if we went from being nailers and sanders to craftsmen and artists. We went from installing and finishing floors that looked good to creating timepieces that make a house.

The first floor we did with Carlisle was a face nailed, stained, and tung oiled eastern white pine for John and Randee Malmberg. Randee could not find the floor she had seen in a magazine picture. No one in the area could. After extensive searching we stumbled upon Carlisle. Todd Waterman and Chris Sy were tireless in their efforts to insure we gave Randee the floor she wanted. Thank goodness they were! What a difference this floor was from what we were used to. No conventional sanding? No way! Face nail the face of the boards with antique square cut nails? No way! However, it turned out great and because of our commitment to quality and a number of referrals from Carlisle and the Malmbergs our wide plank career took off.

Since the Malmbergs we have installed and finished 111 wide plank floors for Carlisle. We have done many eastern white pine and heart pine, along with red and white oak, hickory, maple, ash, walnut, cherry, antique woods, saw kerf surface, hand scraped surface, barnboard, and many others that I am likely forgetting.

Among my favorites are the antique woods. The warmth and character in antique wood cannot be beat. One of my all time favorites is probably the antique sweetgum (an extremely rare antique wood with grain and color being similar to a mix of hickory and cherry) we installed in Lakeside, MI. Beautiful!

We also, because of being specialists, have had the privilege of working a large territory and discovering so many great places to visit, restaurants, and wonderful people. Carlisle floors have brought us to downtown Chicago, many of the suburbs, on the lake in Michigan, and rural Wisconsin, and many other places.

Over the past 10 years we have worked with so many great people at Carlisle. I truly view it a privilege and honor to be a part of crafting your beautiful floors and working with you guys. Without your help and support we would never had made it, and we sincerely thank you for everything! The relationships formed through the years are far more than simple business ties. We view you all as friends and family. So here is to 111 or more outstanding works of art!

THANK YOU!

Here's a few photos of floors that Classic Hardwood Floors' has installed over the years!

Birch

Hand Scraped White Oak with Stain

Posted on October 28, 2008 at 08:57 AM in Customer Stories • Green Building • Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • Restoration Projects • True Hardwood Story • Wood Grains & Styles • (0) Comments
Carlisle meets up with Washington SPACES Magazine

Posted by Megan Sprague

I had the opportunity to meet with Angela from Washington SPACES magazine when at the Log and Timber show in Chantilly. In the Fall issue of SPACES, Carlisle was interviewed in the article "The Ground Game" about our FSC Certified Antique wood and pattern floors. Click here to read the full article and to see photos of our floors!

Here's a photo of me and Angela at the show!

Posted on October 28, 2008 at 08:36 AM in True Hardwood Story • (0) Comments
Carlisle Joins the Log and Timber Show, Chantilly, Virginia

Posted by Megan Sprague

We exhibited at the Log and Timber show over the weekend in Chantilly, Virginia! It was a neat show and we had the chance to meet with many people.

Before the show started, one of our preferred installers, Aaron Penney installed our wide plank Eastern White Pine and Heart Pine floors.

Here's a photo of Aaron putting the Antique Cut nails into the Eastern White Pine floor.

Once the show started, visitors stopped by the booth to look at our beautiful solid wide plank floors. Here's a photo of Janel from our DC Design Center chatting with one of our guests! They're talking about our hand scraped hickory floors.

Here's a few close up shots of the booth in between visitors stopping by.

This is the Custom Coat Pre Finished heart pine floor!

Here's a nice shot of our wide pine floor, this has our signature Gingerbread stain!

Posted on October 28, 2008 at 08:10 AM in Hardwood Flooring • Home Building & Contracting • Home Decor • True Hardwood Story • (0) Comments
Carlisle Sponsors The Fall Collection 2008 event in Chicago

Posted by Megan Sprague

Sotheby's Sudlers Realty The Fall Collection™ 2008 event is set for Wednesday, October 22nd, (7 to 10pm) at the Ann Sacks showroom at the Merchandise Mart.

This exclusive event will also have a raffle for a local charity that benefits underprivileged Chicago children, TOP. We anticipate about 200 persons to attend the event. The event is invitation-only and fully catered evening by a top caterer, J&LCatering.

Carlisle is a sponsor of the event!

Visit the event's website here.

Posted on October 21, 2008 at 08:18 AM in True Hardwood Story • (0) Comments