Rick Menard Category Archive
Rick Menard, of our New York Sales Region, sent in a donation to benefit this charity and here's a letter we received from them...
Miracles On Main Street had their wine event to benefit Connecticut Children's Medical Center! The event was
was held Oct 10, 2008 at the Keeney Cultural Center, Main Street in Wethersfield.
We are pleased to report the event was a great success and we raised $11,000 for CCMC!
Thank you so very much to all our supporters; our sponsors, contributers, volunteers and those who attended our fundraiser! For additional details and event night photos, click here!
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: November 3, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Filed under: Customer Letters, Customer Service, Rick Menard, Sara Fritz
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Tags: carlisle wide plank floors, previous customer
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While bow hunting for whitetail deer in the beautiful
state of Illinois last week, I was reminded how it is a small world we
live in, and the genuine kindness of people stretches across our lands.
Having filled my tag, I had an extra day to kill so I decided to look up
a friend of an old client to ask permission to hunt his farm. I drove to
the road I had written down two years earlier, and knocked on the first
door I came across, without luck. I proceeded up the dirt road and
came across a large steel building, with the most beautiful view.
After knocking on the door, the gentleman that answered turned out to be
the friend of my client. I introduced myself as having worked with his
friend and before I could tell him what company I was with, he asked me
to step into the building, then he had me turn around to see the wall
behind us. He said, "look familiar?" It was a large wall of our
beautiful wide heart pine from end-to-end, leftovers from his friend's
home I worked on.
When Jim said to me, "I have been waiting for you to stop in, and you
are more than welcome to hunt here", I couldn't believe it. This is from
a conversation I had with a client two years ago, and this gentleman
still remembered! The genuineness and kindness the man showed me is just
another of the many reasons I do what I do, and enjoy it so much.
Rick
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: at 3:06 PM
Filed under: Customer Service, Regions, Rick Menard, True Hardwood Story
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Here is some feedback from a dinner Dana and I attended for
the Jersey Shore AIA monthly meeting.
Dana and I had the opportunity to present our floors at a monthly
meeting for The Jersey Shore AIA Chapter, in Spring Lake, NJ, with 40
architects and builders attending.
We started the evening with a meet and greet hour, having the chance to
answer many questions and just chat with their members. We answered
questions about floors close to the ocean, over radiant heat, over
concrete, and acclimation time needed, as well as what makes us
different from the mass produced flooring out there. We were very
surprised at how many of these folks have not heard about us, and they
were very happy to have a better understanding of what makes us
different and that we will work directly with everyone to make the
project go smoother. And that we have the knowledge and quality to
assure the clients floors will be done properly.
We also talked about putting together some lunch & learn meetings with a
few of the individual offices. I highly recommend any other chapters to
give us a call if they would like us to do a presentation, including AIA
accredited visits. It is always a pleasure to meet folks face to face.
Rick
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: September 19, 2008 at 10:50 AM
Filed under: Regions, Rick Menard
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Tags: AIA, AIA credits, AIA presentations, American Institute of Architects, Jersey Shore AIA, New Jersey, wood floors over radiant heat
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Driving to work this morning, I had an almost un-controlable urge to turn around and head back home to play hookie. Almost! Why today? To answer that question, let us go back to the last time we saw bare ground and 60 degree weather here in New Hampshire. It was late October, and I was deep in the woods scouring for deer sign, taking a vacation day with my wife while the kids were in school. We hiked areas that she had never been to, bringing a picnic lunch and a couple of cameras in case we saw anything worth shooting. The deep ravine, with the roaring brook running through it, was more spectacular to her then I described. Other then being spooked by a beautiful Great Horned Owl leaving a tree directly in front of us, it was a quiet hike.
Seeing ten deer grazing in a bare spot of an otherwise snow covered field this morning is what triggered these thoughts of delinquincy. This winter has been one of the longest in New Hampshire's history, topping over 100 inches of snow. It started in late October, and today being April 1st, it is a little discouraging to still have two feet of snow in most parts of the woods. Normally this wouldnt slow our family down, but the kids are at that age where they can't quite keep up with us snowshoeing, and late March sickness has taking over our household.
The good news is the ponds are opening up from being covered in ice, so we will be dropping the 1933 Old Town Canoe into the water very soon. And I can't wait to try out my new kayak. My wife is itching to get her hands deep into the soil, and the kids have already dusted their bikes off. Goodbye snow, hello green grass.
Author's Name: Rick Menard
Posted Date: April 1, 2008 at 8:48 AM
Filed under: Rick Menard
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Tags: biking, canoeing, Carlisle Wide Plank Floors, hardwood floors, hardwood surface, hiking, kyaking, outdoors, spring, whitetail deer, wide plank floors
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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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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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I had a client recently ask if it would be ok to install wood floors in a full bath, often used by kids in the home. It reminded me of a blog I visited a while ago asking the same question, and out of the thirty or so responses, it was a pretty good split between yes and no, ranging from "NO WAY" to "Yes, I have been living on them for over thirty years and I love them."
There really should be very little concern about putting wood floors in a full bath, just the way kitchens are perfectly acceptable today, as they both have been for hundreds of years. And your floors do not have to be a laminate or a pre-finished floor to make it work. To the contrary, a true traditional wood floor will be so much easier to maintain, and will stand the test of time, just as our ancestor's floors have. I grew-up in a late 1800's home with one bathroom, and six siblings. The floor was original wide pine, and it is probably still there today.
Here are a few things you want to think about when installing your floors in a bathroom that has a shower and/or a tub and a commode. Today's bathrooms are well ventilated with a ceiling fan that wisks away the moisture. You can buy commodes with an insulated tank liner to help the sweating pipes from leaving water around ANY bathroom floor, and if you are doing a bathroom remodel, now would be a great time to have your plumber add a mixing valve to your commode, mixing warm water with the cold, to completely eliminate sweating.
A few more things to think about with traditional wood floors in a bathroom are: finding the most suitable finish for your home from all that is available today, using the best quality flooring to ensure stability of the boards, and assessing your true expectations of your flooring.
For a finish, I would suggest using a high resin tung oil, as this not only seals the wood, but it is the easiest finish to maintain that I have found. You can also back-seal the flooring and the sub floor to help prevent moisture from getting into the wood. If you are replacing your sub-floor, look into the wax impregnated OSB board, such as Adventec, as this will help seal moisture out.
As for the material, work with a company that understands wood, that will work with you on the installation methods, and is known for using only the best quality timbers available today. The installation can be perfect, but if the material is low quality, your chances of having problems are greatly increased. I would prefer to have a floor I can let acclimate to the home, then install it and put a good finish on it, rather then a pre-finished floor I have less control over.
Finally, what are your expectations? Are you looking for that perfect laminated, linoleum look, or is a natural wood floor, with a slight gap here and there, more your style? The beauty of real wood is unsurpassed, especially in today's plastic world. And the wider the plank, the more real your floor will look. Don't let a little puddle from the kids shower scare you away from having a beautiful floor. (Click here for some other tips to protect your wood floor.) The way we live in our homes today, with throw-rugs, and wiping up after ourselves, there really is nothing to be concerned about. GO FOR IT!
Author's Name: Rick Menard
Posted Date: January 25, 2008 at 7:52 AM
Filed under: DIY - Do It Yourself, Rick Menard
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Tags: Bathrooms, Carlisle Wide Plank Flooring, Flooring, Hardwood Floors, Kitchens, Linoleum, Tile
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Hi all, My name is Rick, and I am an account manager for Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. I have been here for many years and I will be helping with discussions ranging from quality of wood, installation, radiant heat, concrete slabs, builders time tables, customer service, and anything else you want to talk about. Installing and finishing my own floors, and many of my family and friends' floors also, gives me a great appreciation for the trades, as well as the do-it-yourselfer. I have been a woodworker since 1980, building furniture for family and friends. One of my favorite tv shows is New Yankee Workshop, and I had the pleasure of visiting their studio and watching an episode being taped. Having lunch with Norm Abram and Russ Morash was a thrill I will never forget. I love wood, anything to do with wood, including antique woodworking tools from the 30's to the 50's. I have built a DN ice boat, a sail powered vehicle that skates across ice, one of the hardest woodworking projects I have taken on.
My passions now include, (beside my wife and two seven-year-olds), building a 31' Ford Model A Streetrod, hiking and snowshoeing the New Hampshire woods, wildlife photography, and many other outdoor activities including coaching little league baseball, hunting and fishing. I have started a photo collection of very unique trees I come across in the woods with the goal of making a coffee table book some day. Working here at Carlisle gives me the chance to work one-on-one with customers, fulfilling my need for helping out people and interacting with some amazing flooring projects. One of the biggest kicks I get is seeing photos of homes people have remodeled or built, using wide plank flooring.
I look forward to hearing from everyone,
Rick Menard
Author's Name: Rick Menard
Posted Date: January 9, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Filed under: Rick Menard
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Tags: carlisle blog, carlisle wide plank floors, concrete slab installation, DIY, do it yourself, first post, flooring contractors, hiking, hunting and fishing, new hampshire, nh, radiant heat, streetrod, wildlife photography, wood floor installation, woodworking
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