How important is customer service? Not improtant at all...until you need it. If you are buying a commodity item and it always works, like maybe a pillow, you may never need to ask anyone how to fluff it.
I was working on my 31' Model A Streetrod over the weekend, and I needed to find some information related to a special technique in the painting of "ghost flames."
After searching the internet without success, I decided to call the company I bought the paint from. Please keep in mind this paint is far from a commodity shelf item, and is very expensive, ($225.00 a quart). So I figured if anyone could answer my questions, they would be able to. They are involved with some of the nicest rods built today.
Calling on a saturday morning, I was a little nervous about not being able to reach anyone. To my pleasant surprise, I was able to connect to their "technical department" immediately. To my dismay, it was obvious that the person I spoke with could barely understand what I was speaking about, and knew nothing about my subject.
When clients are running into problems, or just have simple questions, customer service is the link between them and our product. One of the reasons we here at Carlisle Wide Plank Floors are so successfull is we don't have a "technical department." From the first day you call in, till the day you move your furniture on to your beautiful floors, you are always speaking with the same person. We have installed and finished our floors, we understand slabs, crawl spaces, sub-floors, acclimation, and just about anything else you may have questions on regarding flooring. If one of us is away, or busy, and you need to speak with someone immediately, one of my many co-workers will pick up the phone and help you. We also have someone on-call over the weekends, and I have been known to give my clients my home phone number in case they may need me in the evening. If you leave a message for me, I won't go home before calling you back.
How important is customer service? VERY IMPORTANT! There is nothing worse then not getting the answers, when really needed. Does anyone know anything about ghost flames?
Author's Name: Rick Menard
Posted Date: March 31, 2008 at 2:43 PM
Filed under: Customer Service, Rick Menard
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Tags: Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, customer service, finishing floors, ghost flames, hardwood, Hardwood Surface, installing floors, street rods, wide plank flooring
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In the June, 08', issue of TimberHome Living, on page 12, there is a section called "Ask the Flooring Guy." I was asked to contribute to this section with questions ranging from "What is handmade flooring?" and "How is it different from other hardwood flooring?" to "What is antique wood and how does it differ from reclaimed wood?"
I always find these sections very helpful in educatiing the consumer because there are so many myths out there about flooring, especially when it comes to wide plank. With the average price of homes rising every year, homeowners want to make sure they are going to have the floors they have always dreamed about. Additionally, they want to have confidence that the value and stability of the floor is everything they had hoped for.
Author's Name: Rick Menard
Posted Date: March 25, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Filed under: DIY - Do It Yourself, Rick Menard
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Tags: antique flooring, Ask the Flooring Guy, hardwood flooring, reclaimed flooring, Timberhome Living, wide plank flooring
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Recently, I was reading Domino Magazine. In the "Ask Dara" column a client was torn between "old-home charm and the low-maintenance appeal of newer structures." She was hoping to get some recommendations to give a new home the character and style of an older home. Dara Caponigro, style director of the magazine, suggested smaller "human sized rooms", 9' or 10' ceilings, and wide plank floors. She writes, "You'll be surprised how this can completely change the quality of an interior". (See the difference the wider boards make in the room above.) She also suggests staining floors a medium or dark color and installing baseboards and crown molding to complete the look. Well said, Dara! For more decorating tips, check out http://www.dominomag.com/
Author's Name: Molly Leatherman
Posted Date: at 2:45 PM
Filed under: Home Decor, Molly Leatherman
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Tags: Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, creative decorating ideas, hardwood floors, home decor, How to make rooms look larger, unique floors
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Carlisle is ready to take on Washington! The signs are hung, the paint is drying, and most importantly the floors are ready for inspection at our newest Design Center in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C. The new Carlisle team members, long-time residents of the area, are excited to get down to business:
We just opened our doors today at the new Carlisle Wide Plank Floors Georgetown Design Center! The different species of wood flooring are displayed so wonderfully throughout the space... our clients are going to love seeing them first hand while designing the floor that is best for their space!
We encourage everyone to swing by the Center to introduce themselves and see what makes a Carlisle floor so unique! We're located at 1666 33rd Street, Northwest in Georgetown.
We're anxious to meet you!
Janel Conforti on behalf of Hannah Greeley and Clare Williams
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: March 24, 2008 at 11:54 AM
Filed under: Guest, Regions
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Tags: 1666 33rd Street Northwest, Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, D.C., designing a floor, Georgetown, Hardwood Surfaces, New Design Center, Washington, wood species
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The new Design Center in Chicago is now up and running and our new team members are eager to introduce Carlisle Wide Plank Floors to the area. The staff is back home now after an extended training period here in New Hampshire and the Center still smells of fresh paint. Here's what they have to say about their experience so far:
Happy Spring! Being natives of the Chicago area we are all ecstatic about joining the family and sharing the rich Carlisle tradition with everyone in the neighborhood! Each of us spent a substantial amount of time in Stoddard, NH, and being there for three months gave me the chance to meet life long friends. The Chicago team has a diverse background, but we all treasure the importance of learning about and spending quality time with our customers, which is the essence of Carlisle's culture. Discovering as much as we have about Old Growth timbers, we are thrilled to share the wealth with everyone we meet! We hope you will visit our new design center, at 445 N. Wells Suite 1N in the heart of Chicago's design district, to see all that we have to offer.
See you soon!
Erin LaRose on behalf of Eric, Kate, Brian, and Katelyn
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: at 11:10 AM
Filed under: Guest, Regions
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Tags: 445 North Wells Street, Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, Chicago, Chicago Design District, Design Center, Hardwood Surface, Old Growth Timbers
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We received a question from a homeowner about installing our floors over a concrete slab in an earth contact built home. Although I am not familiar with this type of home, I am very familiar with installing our floors over slab as dipicted in the photo to the left.
Contrary to belief by many, you do not have to have a floating floor, or an engineered floor, if you are planning on installing wood floors over a concrete slab. What you do have to have is the best quality wood to start with, and the basic knowledge of how to do the installation, for your specific needs. So many of our floors are either glued directly to slabs, or installed over 3/4" subfloors on slab, especially in areas throughout the southeast. (Click here to see a video on the subject.)
Let's start with the wood itself. The best quality planks will come from the slowest growing trees, and from the center of those timbers. The more heartwood and the tighter the growth rings, the more stable the planks will be. A 4" red oak plank with 1/2" between the rings, will move more then a 12" plank with 1/6" between the rings. A plank with 10% heartwood will take on much more moisture then a plank with 70% heartwood. Then air drying these planks for a long period of time before kiln drying them will add tremendous stability.
Then the next decision is whether to glue directly to the slab or to use a 3/4" plywood or OSB sub floor which is then nailed and glued to the sub floor. The deciding factor here is what you have available for height. In other words, can I get away with 3/4" flooring and 3/4" sub floor, for a total of 1 1/2" height, or am I limited to 3/4". If you are limited, then you will want to glue directly to your slab. We can also mill your floor to less then 3/4" if you are really limited.
Checking for moisture in your slab is easily done by taking a sheet of newspaper and taping all of the edges down and then checking it a few hours later. If it is wet, your slab needs to be cured more.
To glue directly down to your slab, use a concrete sealer first. Bostik's MVP works great. Then the next day you can glue directly to the sealer with a full spread mastic.
Installing over a sub floor is always less expensive, and takes less installation experience. Seal your slab by covering it with a 6 ml poly, then cover it with a 15 lb. roofing felt, then nail your sub floor down using a concrete nail gun. Advantec makes a great OSB sub floor that is impregnated with a wax to help seal out moisture. Your floors can now be nailed and glued just like a typical installation.
If anyone has any questions regarding this process, please give me a call for further explanation.
Author's Name: Rick Menard
Posted Date: March 19, 2008 at 9:22 AM
Filed under: DIY - Do It Yourself, Rick Menard
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Tags: Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, concrete, earth homes, engineered, glue direct to slab, hardwood floors, heartwood, sealing concrete, slab, slow growing, stable wood floors, subfloors
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Hi, everyone! I'm Lesley and I have the privilege of working with the great folks at Carlisle to help with their new adventure in blogging. We're excited to announce Carlisle's first guest post, written by our resident 'Green Queen', Lindsay Barczuk over at the FloorTalk Blog! Lindsay took some time and crafted a really great entry for FloorTalk, discussing her journey at Carlisle from a newbie to a now seasoned employee with a deep appreciation for the wood that Carlisle offers and the methods used to produce it. Some topics you'll find in her entry include:
Choosing slow-growth wood
Antique reclaimed floors
Responsible and sustainable forestry and harvesting
Carlisle Wide Plank Floors' processes from forest to floor
The health benefits of hardwood floors
and more!
Basically, whether you're looking to purchase a floor or just want to learn more about wood flooring, this article takes you on an indispensable tour through the things to consider and how to achieve the best quality floor for your time and money. Congratulations, Lindsay, on a job well done!
Do you have a blog that you'd like to feature one of our bloggers on? Do you have a story you'd like to share with us to feature on our blog? Leave us a comment!
Author's Name: Lesley Anderson
Posted Date: March 17, 2008 at 1:23 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Hardwood Flooring, Lindsay Barczuk, Wood Grains & Styles
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Tags: green building, green living, hardwood flooring, lindsay barczuk, slow growth timber, sustainable forestry, wood flooring blog
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Carlisle is a "Green" company so it only makes sense that we'd host a "Green Drinks" event. The festivities took place February 21st in one of our newer Design Centers located in West Hollywood, CA (Avenues of Art and Design district). The event was a big success! People trickled in (as did the rain) around 7:30PM and several didn't leave until 11PM! People really enjoyed the size and scale of the place. Several small groups enjoyed the Carlisle DVD presentation near the sample room while others (like most parties) hung out in the kitchen.
The organic food and beverages were very popular and particularly enjoyed by several guests who were vegans. They remarked that the food choices showed a great deal of respect for their needs. Many people didn't realize how very "Green" Carlisle is - often asking "if we cut down old trees." (Click here to understood why we do indeed cut down old trees and why.)
The FSC certified antiques were a huge hit. Although many had seen recycled wood in the past, the quality of the milling and size of the boards were new and exciting for the visitors. I think the most impressive comments about the Antiques were our ability to provide a ‘chain of custody' history depicting how the original structure was used, where it was located, and its age. The Original Surface Barn siding on the walls in our Center also took people by surprise prompting these remarks:"Really looks great!" "I love the Gray side" and "I can't believe the floor in the other room is made from that wood!"
The Green Drinks organizers raved about the energy, size, and nature of our event and requested that we hold another one soon.
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: March 12, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Guest
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Tags: Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, Chain of Custody, earth-friendly floors, environmentally-friendly floors, FSC-Certified, Green company, Green Drinks, hardwood floors, West Hollywood Design Center
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Since the onset of Christianity, believers have shared the mindset to "use only what you need." This approach to living has recently been revived: Two Leaders in the Church of England are calling on worshippers to give up carbon, or reduce their carbon footprints, during the season of Lent.
I think this is an interesting concept and the article contains a few practical tips to accomplish this goal. Have any of you heard of anyone participating in this carbon fast?
Author's Name: Lindsay Barczuk
Posted Date: March 11, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Lindsay Barczuk
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Tags: carbon + fast, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, Church of England, give up carbon, green living, Lindsay Barczuk, penance for lent
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Over the past few weeks, I read about two very different approaches to green building.
The first type of green building are the green "McMansions", if you will. They triggered stark disapproval by an eco-terrorism group - who claim that the 4000 sf homes are oxymoronic to green building. Obviously, a larger home will require more initial building materials and ongoing resources for maintenance.
The other - more innovative and noteworthy - type I read about occurs in Luling, TX, where they really do use fewer natural resources. These tiny homes are only 200 sf to start!
Do you all think there is a limit to square footage for a green home?
Author's Name: Lindsay Barczuk
Posted Date: March 7, 2008 at 5:35 PM
Filed under: Green Building and Eco Friendly Products, Lindsay Barczuk
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Tags: 200 sf green home, eco-terrorism, green building, lindsay barczuk, McMansion, natural resource management, seattle, tiny homes
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China. Wal-Mart. Mass Produced. These are just a few words that come to mind when I think of most products on the market today. Now, I love Ikea as much as the next recent college grad, but when I am lucky enough to have my own home, I know I will choose something that will hold its value and be a joy to live on everyday. Something unique. Something like a Carlisle Wide Plank Hardwood Floor - designed to bring out the beauty of my home and last for generations.
I have a soft spot in my heart for unique handcrafts. For many summers I worked as a camp counselor in Western North Carolina and one of the activities I taught was called Folklore: The Simple Crafts of Yesteryear. The campers made candles, soap, yarn dolls, and other crafts that boys and girls would have enjoyed in generations past. There is nothing better than seeing a child's pride for the toy she crafted with her own hands. I now see my job at Carlisle as an extension of that love for personalized, unique objects. Every inch of your solid wood floor will be meticulously examined by our expert sawyers who maximize the beauty of each board and select boards specifically for the floor you have envisioned.
Do you want a lot of character? Great, we will pick boards to achieve that look. Are you going for a clean, modern look? Perfect, we can pick out boards for that project, too!
As you explore all the options for your solid hardwood floors on the Carlisle website I am sure you will come up with questions so please don't hesitate to call us. We love talking about our unique wide plank floors!
Author's Name: Molly Leatherman
Posted Date: March 3, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Filed under: Home Decor, Molly Leatherman
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Tags: carlisle wide plank floors, hand crafted, hardwood floors, molly leatherman, summer camp
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