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.
Some times you need a really hard floor--like when wheelchairs are involved. For this home in Cumberland, Rhode Island, the design firm Inclusion by Design, used Carlisle's 8-inch Brown Maple boards, which were finished at the home site with a Gingerbread stain and tung oil. Inclusion by Design, based in Providence, Rhode Island, specializes in making homes and businesses accessible to people with disabilities and they take on some projects where renovations need to be made because of new, limited mobility. The Carlisle Mill in Swanzey, New Hampshire handled making this floor with the design work of Crystal Knowles in our Stoddard, New Hampshire offices. The Brown Maple is a great option for those who like the look of an older pine, but need to have a much harder floor.
Randy Harris came to our Atlanta Design Studio nearly a year ago, when his ultra-modern home in Atlanta was just in the conceptual phase of drawings. He wanted a very contemporary look and--well--he certainly achieved it! His home was featured this past weekend on the "Modern Atlanta Home Tour" and he dropped Carlisle a note to tell us about it. He wrote to Caitlin in our Atlanta offices:
Caitlin:
Hope you are well! I just wanted to tell you that our home was on the Modern Atlanta home tour this past weekend, and we got many compliments on our floors! ...Thanks again for all your help!
Randy Harris
Even while constucting this very contemporary house, Harris wanted to showcase the natural characteristics of Carlisle's wood floors and he chose our Old Growth Hickory, with an Antique Farmhouse stain. We think the contrast is quite awesome.
One of our customers in Virginia completed the installation of an Eastern White Pine floor, pre-finished with Plymouth Pumpkin. The floor is 6" to 10" widths. We were a little late with the delivery of the floor because of a massive ice storm the state of New Hampshire had right around the holiday season. (You may have heard about it? Click here, if not). We're grateful that Mr. Young was incredibly nice about the whole thing and that he sent along this note and photo featuring his new floor. Thanks, Mr. Young!
The floor is beautiful, we cannot imagine a better color, and with all those long boards it went down soooo fast....The folks living here clearly did NOT measure the floor but quoted the size from memory - and it is 15x16 not 18x16, so we have quite a pile left over. With luck, we might get a small bedroom re-floored.-- Russell Young
Dan O'Neill from our West Hollywood Design Center in California sent us these shots he got from one of his clients, Greg Stewart, up in Regina, SA, Canada. Greg had a random width floor installed in his cabin using 4" to 8" pre-finished CG Hickory with a BU stain. Dan says a random width floor can really have a special look and these photos show that off.
Beautiful northern Minnesota just got a little more beauty added to it, with this floor that was installed in a small cabin there. Scott Ogden of our Midwest offices sent these photos along from his client, Richard Fursa, who had a 4" - 12" Hickory floor, pre-finished in our mill with Amber poly. Though Richard did a great job with the photos, Richard says-and Scott agrees-that the photos just don't do the floor justice. Here's what Richard had to say about his new floor:
We like the floor very much and are happy that we chose hickory. Its grain patterns are very striking. That coupled with the wide/long boards give the floor a look one will never see in the flooring sold at the various home improvement centers.
The photos, however, don't really do it justice. If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon and have taken photos, you will know what I mean.
Lauren Power of our New Hampshire design team received this photo and letter from her clients in Walpole, NH! The floor is unfinished… but GORGEOUS just the same. We hope to get some additional photos once the finish is applied!
Hi Lauren. Hope this email finds you and the baby in good health. Thought I would send you a small section of the floor. As of yesterday, it is all in. Moe and I are so pleased. It is absolutely beautiful!! Thank you so much for your time and your help through the process. We will never forget all you did. Are you all settled into your house?
Here's a nice letter and photos that Dan O'Neill of our West Hollywood Design Center received from his clients in Los Altos, California.
Hi Dan, How are you doing? We moved into our place this past summer - the floor looks great and everyone that comes in admires how it looks. Thanks, Mike
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!
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.
Here's a note from Lauren Power of our Midwest Sales team:
Thought you might like to take a look at this amazing PREFINISHED floor we made for homeowners in PA.
It's a mix of 4-8" 'country' White Oak and all 8" 'country' rift and quarter sawn white oak with gingerbread stain!
The best news is that the builder is now needing about 2000 SF of prefinished Cherry for another home he's working on. This is a builder who was VERY hesitant about our terms and didn't want to pay for the floor before he saw it. I guess we proved ourselves the first time around- thank you to everyone involved in crafting this beauty!
Lisa and Keith Hatch purchased their Brown Maple floor (with hand scraped edges) earlier this year. They received the floor and proceeded to stain it with one of our custom stains, to match a sample that we had sent them. After a few rounds of the stain, it was turning out way too light.
Sales Manager Kevin Crowder remembers, "They were having trouble getting the same dark color on their floor that we had sent them in the sample. They called me with their concerns and I took good care of them. I paid them to have it sanded back down to raw wood. Once they did that it took the stain darker as the photos show."
Lisa and Keith are very happy with their floors! See this note that Lisa sent earlier this year:
Hi Kevin,
Our floors turned out great! It was a pleasure working with you and the rest of the Carlisle Wide Plank Floor staff. I will certainly recommend your company to others interested in exceptional wood floors.
I’ve attached pictures. I apologize for not sending these photos sooner. If you need additional ones, please let me know!
Over the years, we've partnered with Deltec Homes of Asheville, NC on many projects. One of the largest was the sponsorship of an Extreme Makeover Home Edition Home in New Orleans last year!
We received this letter and photos from David Ide of Deltec Homes this week. Our floors are featured in their model home!
Glen, I need some more Carlisle literature to put on display. We have handed out all that I had left over from my parade from last year. We have had so many people asking about the floors, they are truly the highlight of the house.
I have attached some photos for you. I can’t tell you how happy we are with how the floor came out.
David Ide Director of Customer Relations Deltec Homes, Inc. 69 Bingham Rd Asheville, NC 28806 1-800-368-7401 www.deltechomes.com
Mark Nichols of our New England sales team, visited with his clients Elena and Lynn of Jewett Farms. We highlighted Jewett Farms last week on the blog with their newest studio in Newburyport, Massachusetts having Carlisle floors throughout. Lynn and Elena got the grand tour of Carlisle and nestled in at our design center and sample shop to talk about wood.
Here's Mark, Elena and Lynn chatting about the tight grain in this slice of Heart Pine.
This is the letter that Elena sent us following their visit:
Yesterday my colleague Lynn and I traveled from northern Massachusetts into the beautiful woods of New Hampshire – we lucked out and enjoyed a beautiful New England fall day. Our company, Jewett Farms, has become an exclusive partner with Carlisle and is distributing its wide plank floors from our new design studio in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It was very gratifying and educational to visit the Stoddard operation. We gained useful knowledge about the species, craft, and artistry of Carlisle flooring – so much of the language used to describe the work there resonated for us: it is the same language we use about the craft and art of our cabinetry. We were reminded each step along the way about the very special fit that seems to exist between Jewett Farms & Co. and Carlisle.
On a personal note, when I returned to my home in Massachusetts I realized I did not have my wallet and knew that I may have left it at Fiddleheads Cafe. I did not remember, in my panic, the full name of the Café so called Carlisle and explained my situation. Pat answered the phone – not only did she find me the contact information for the Café but offered, if my wallet was found there, to pick it up for me and send it back to me overnight. Previously I had remarked more than once about the friendly, courteous, and professional voices on the phone when I call Carlisle and Pat’s effort to ease my anxiety was above and beyond and much appreciated.
Hannah Greeley of our Georgetown, DC design center sent me this note and photos!!
So, I had a customer that wanted me to meet him at a new house because he LOVEDthe walnut floors they had and he wanted to match them... so I took a drive out and as soon as I walked in the door, I KNEW they were our floors, absolutely gorgeous!! Turns out after some digging, these ARE our floors and even sweetened the deal to my customer after knowing that!
Thanks to the mill for these gorgeous floors and to Glen for selling these particular floors that the customer can’t stop raving about, we got the sale!
I wanted to share the pictures I shot with everyone (sorry, not the best lighting) but I can’t stop staring at these pictures, absolute beauty!
A client of ours in California shares these photos and letter with his sales person, Dan O'Neill, of our West Hollywood Design Center:
Dan, We're just about done with the remodel. Here's some photos of the floors about a week after install. Sorry!, didn't dust floor before these were taken. Noneless, they still look great. Charles.
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: September 24, 2008 at 4:03 PM
Filed under: Hardwood Flooring
In response to a few questions on the NWFA Listserve:
Your question regarding radiant heat is a great one. This type of heating continues to grow all over the country. Currently close to 30% of our solid hardwood floors are installed over radiant heat and in some markets the numbers are even higher than that. I would have all the confidence in the world putting our Antique Oak over radiant heat as we do it every day; however, you do have to be careful as the Antique Wood Market is very fragmented and the quality can range drastically.
Radiant heat—in and of itself—is not bad for wood floor. All floors, including antique wood, should be kiln dried and during this process they are subjected to much higher heat than any current radiant heat systems, especially given the radiant heat systems of today. You have the advantage of running your tubes closer to the floor which means it should be able to run at a lower temperature and still achieve the heat your require.
However, there are still many variable that will affect the temperature of your system: how close together are the tubes? How high are the ceilings? How many windows are there? Etc. Often people cut costs and reduce the tubing/wall insulation which forces the system to run at higher temperatures, which may cause a variety of problems if the temperature is too high.
All in all, I see the problems with wood floors and radiant heat falling into the following categories:
1. Far and away the most common problem is that the radiant substrate is not acclimated (allowed to come up to the temperature you plan to live at) prior to installing the floor with the Radiant Heat system turned on after the install. When the heat comes on it will push any excess moisture out of the substrate and into the finished floor. This will cause the floor to temporarily expand and potentially buckle. However, if the radiant system is turned on in advance of installing the floor it will eliminate the moisture before the wood is installed. Regardless of having radiant heat or not…the moisture content of your subfloor should be within 2% of the moisture content of your finished floor before starting the installation. This can be achieved by turning on the radiant heat.
2. The second most common problem is Improperly dried wood flooring. This is especially common with antique wood as people think kiln drying is not necessary given its age. However, we have 200 year old wood that still has a moisture content of up to 18%. The trick is how to get all of the pieces at an even moisture content. Simply kiln drying it won’t work as it will dry some of the boards to the proper moisture level of 8%, but the higher moisture content material won’t be dry enough. To fix this problem, we actually introduce moisture into all of our antique wood to bring it up to the highest common denominator and then dry it down, to guarantee consistency. Without using this technique, you may put boards into your floor with a 15% moisture content that, when they dry out, will cause large gaps to appear.
3. The third most common problem is using a poorly engineered radiant systems. People cut initial installation costs and spread the tubes out. The systems then have to run water through the tubes at a much higher temperature (120+°F) where, in a system that is properly engineered and installed, would run at 90°F.
Simply put, heat is not the “enemy” of wood, water is. If heat is causing excessive drying then gaps will appear, but if subfloor and finished floor achieve “live in conditions” prior to installing the floor the heat will not move any moisture and therefore will not affect your floor.
Acclimate your subfloor. Acclimate your system. Use a well designed radiant system and —most importantly—use a high quality wood floor that is properly dried and you can have the same successful results we have in over 1200 radiant heat install per year.
Carlisle's Wide Plank Walnut in Wisconsin Lakeside Home Featured in the October issue of Architectural Digest!
Architect Thomas R. Jones designs his parents, Ray and Janette, a cabin of their dreams on shores of Lake Superior. A beautiful combination of elaborate floor to ceiling windows, curved timber frame roof and other natural materials such as Carlisle’s wide plank walnut floors. Seen on page 170, the walnut floors are a natural fit with the Douglas fir beams and ledgestone.
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: September 12, 2008 at 4:02 PM
Filed under: Hardwood Flooring
Joshua Bodwell is a Maine writer and the Associate Editor of Maine HOME+DESIGN, a magazine dedicated to “capturing the interiors, exteriors, and heart of Maine homes.” From Revolutionary War-era farmhouses to rehabbed industrial lofts in downtown Portland, Josh Bodwell has seen and written about them all. The Surface caught up with the ever-busy Bodwell to get his thoughts on wide plank flooring.
You've seen a lot of great homes in your position as associate editor at Maine HOME + DESIGN, have you noticed the increased use of wide plank flooring?
Wood flooring is almost ubiquitous in great Maine homes. In a state that is so valued for its forests and connection to the outdoors, it is not surprising. Many Maine designers—whether they are architects or interior designers—use wood flooring to re-knit a home to the land beyond its walls.
Why do you think wide plank flooring is becoming so popular?
I think the rise in wide plank flooring’s popularity can be attributed to several factors.
First, I would note the obvious: it looks great. From a design standpoint, the long, continuous lines achievable with wide planks can be used as a room’s key design element.
Next, I would have to speculate that the power of nostalgia plays a big part when homeowners in Maine—whether they are year-round residents or second home owners—select this type of flooring for their project. This theory is based upon the dozens of conversations Maine HOME+DESIGN staff has had with countless people in the home building and design field. We hear time and again that there is just something so warm and memorable about wide plank flooring—I personally always relate it to the wide pine floors in my grandparent’s 150-year-old house.
Lastly, in a time when “sustainability” is on the tips of many tongues, using pine flooring that comes from forests that are being forested with sustainable practices is very appealing to consumers. Utilizing reclaimed wood for flooring is even better—this is not recycling, but upcycling, by which I mean, taking something that is already made and giving it a new, more valuable and sustainable life.
Statistics show that demand for antique flooring has doubled over the last ten years. Are you seeing more homes with reclaimed wood, antique floors, as well as more recycled or salvaged materials in general?
Yes, we see homes all the time with reclaimed wood, antique floors. In fact, two weeks ago I was visiting with the wildly talented furniture maker Eric Ritter of Ritter Furniture and we spent a long time talking about the reclaimed wood floors that he had laid in his 175-year-old colonial farmhouse.
Recycled and salvaged materials are constantly popping up in Maine homes. I think the state has a long history of this sort of smart frugality. These days, there are reasons beyond frugality to use such materials. Again, as I stated previously, consumers are becoming more savvy about where the components of their home come from, how they are manufactured, and how they impact the earth. Antique flooring scores high with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, or LEED, and many people give serious credence to their advice.
What kind of aesthetic do you find wide plank flooring giving homes on the coast? In the interior of the state?
As I said earlier, wide plank flooring seems to be a perfect fit for the Maine design vernacular—in the interior of the state, it offers echoes of old barns and farmhouses; along the coast, it epitomizes our ideals of the perfect beachside cottage.
The aesthetics possible with wood flooring are, as I also said earlier, limitless. A few examples of homes we’ve featured in Maine HOME+DESIGN come to mind:
Back in May, 2007 we featured a home in a piece entitled “Island Elegance.” In that home (which included Douglas fir walls and ceilings) the antique southern yellow pine floors gave the small island home an added level of sophistication.
In June of that same year we featured an early 1880s farmhouse in South Freeport where the homeowner (who is also an interior designer) picked old wide-pine-board floors and gave the space an almost French countryside aesthetic.
Lastly, a Goose Rocks Beach home featured in our new issue, “Land of Leisure” (August, 2008), has gorgeous wide pine floors throughout. While some could argue that pine isn’t “strong” enough to withstand the wear and tear of sand-covered feet, the homeowner and architect felt strongly that the natural aging of the wide pine would add beautifully to the beach cottage-meets-farmhouse aesthetic that they were aiming for.
Krista Stokes is one of Maine's hippest designers and the proprietor of Favela Chic Salvage Boutique and Design. She was of 14 professionals chosen to work at the exclusive Hidden Pond Resort in Kennebunkport, ME, where she created the "Lazy Days" cottage. Her work there was pictured in the Boston Globe and chronicled throughout New England.
The Floor
No Knock on Wood
Krista: Go for the hardwood, wide plank floor because of "the feel" of it. And the way it sounds. The feeling of wood is what I go for-everything else is secondary. You can do anything you want with it. It's a really versatile tool. You're not pigeon-holed into anything.
Taking Wide Planks One Step Beyond
Krista: I love going into a place that has a floor laid in an unexpected way. It gives people a chance to make the statement: "You know, I actually thought about my floor." Anytime you can say that in your home in a nice and easy way, it's great design.
For example, you can always take what one would expect a hardwood floor to be and change it. This ranch I'm doing now is really long. It already goes on forever. So instead of doing the floors lengthwise, we said let's cut the room in half and lay the planks short-wise. You enter through the French doors and on the other side of the room is York Harbor. The floor takes the distance of your eye and shortens it. Now you walk in the door and the wood takes your eye outside to the harbor because the floor is pointing you that way.
If I were a Carpenter:
Krista: Carpenters can lay your planks at an angle, do an original design, a compass rose, or parquet your floor. You can do anything you want. The sky's the limit if you can find somebody who likes to work with wood for wood's sake or craft's sake.
The Décor
Come Together:
Krista:Hardwood flooring is the most versatile thing in your house. It will do whatever you want it to. It's all about the décor.
You can take the same heart pine wide plank floor and:
Put a chrome table, with chrome and black leather seats, on that floor. Paint the wall bright red and hang motorcycle parts on it. Place a juke box in the corner. If you like that sort of thing, you'll be thinking, "Sweet." You've got a floor that is perfect for the room.
Then take all that away, and hang ship wheels on the wall. Place an old farmer's table in the center of the room, and put up a fireplace mantle with a boat on it. And wow, the floor's perfect for that room.
Clear those pieces out and bring in some Angela Adams elements like an area rug or print, an espresso nut dark wood table with white leather chairs, and a bowl of fruit and a side board. Now you're contemporary and funky, yet traditional. And the floor is still perfect.
As long as you are following other rules that balance out your design and balance out the objective of what you want the room to feel like, you're going to be successful with a wide plank floor. Everything adds up to create the atmosphere you want.
Krista Stokes is one of Maine's hippest designers and the proprietor of Favela Chic Salvage Boutique and Design. She was of 14 professionals chosen to work at the exclusive Hidden Pond Resort in Kennebunkport, ME, where she created the "Lazy Days" cottage. Her work there was pictured in the Boston Globe and chronicled throughout the region.
The Surface sat down with Krista to discuss aspects of decorating for spaces with wide plank flooring. For the record, the interview was conducted in a public place. It was also repeatedly (and pleasantly) interrupted by a number of Krista's clients who couldn't pass by without saying hello and talking about their homes. It's clear that Krista has the makings of a fan club on the Maine coast. And she has a philosophy when choosing flooring materials:
It's the Wood:
Krista: For me, it's the wood. It's part of the earth. When you walk into a room and see beautiful hardwood floor, it's a feeling that you get. I love the light reflection of it. I love the sound of hardwood. It's a great way to give a space energy. The wood has traveled long and hard. Regardless of its history, whether it came out of an old farm in Ohio or a forest in Brazil, it's traveled. Just to bring that into the home means a great deal.
Floors Tell Stories.
Krista: I recently went through a big debate with some clients. The wife really wanted a wide plank floor. The husband wasn't thrilled. They have a dog and he didn't want the dog's nails to scratch the floor. I said, "Listen guys, it's life. Let life screw up your floors. Don't get your floors and then want them to stay the way they are."
Floors all tell stories. It's getting harder and harder for us to instill history with the next generation. A lot of people want to leave a history for their children, but don't want to relinquish the control of modernity.
But, it's okay. Don't sweat it. It's a floor. It's supposed to be walked on. Kids are going to run across it. It's supposed to have dogs' paws on it. The wood has survived this long and it will survive much longer than us humans. The first thing you notice when you walk into a room with a wide plank floor is, "Wow, what a great floor." If you see where a child's toy car left a skid mark, then you might think, "Hey, what happened?" It's family history.
Carpenters often refer to salvaged materials as coming from "the industrial forest." This somewhat comical slang indicates a growing awareness in the building industry of the importance of recycling classic wood and lumber. The US Forest Service reported:
"The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the equivalent of 250, 000 single-family homes is disposed of each year in the United States. This represents nearly 1 billion board feet of salvageable structural lumber per year, equivalent to about 3% of the current US softwood harvest. Much of the lumber available for salvage through deconstruction is from decades of old-growth harvest and represents a resource largely unavailable from any other source. As a result, much of the wood is of higher structural and aesthetic quality (higher density, slower grown, fewer defects) than is the lumber produced today."
Hardwood used in wide plank flooring can be salvaged from a wide range of sources. It has come from turn-of-the-century homes, old hotels, dilapidated mills, and even a 120 year-old, decommissioned 15 story grain elevator containing "the equivalent of an entire forest of antique, old-growth white pine in its walls." Where once this wood might have been seen as junk and discarded or burned, it is now recognized for what it is: An extremely rare natural commodity.
The wood salvage industry has expanded to harvest this bounty. The 2005 Forest Service study identified approximately 1400 businesses involved in salvaging, restoring, and building with reclaimed wood. It is a number that has steadily climbed.
Demand for reclaimed antique wood has also grown as homeowners have become aware of the look and ambiance it can provide. A National Hardwood Floor Association survey found that 56% of decorators and designers noted an increase in the demand for antique wood flooring over the past two years.
To meet this need, the hardwood flooring industry looks to the industrial forest. It's there that they can glean materials that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else. The American chestnut tree is nearly extinct, but one can enjoy the warmth it offers a home through salvage and restoration. Old growth pine harvested from a turn-of-the century farmhouse will show a dense wood grain with a tight ring pattern that just doesn't appear in virgin lumber. The aesthetics offered in reclaimed antique flooring are inimitable.
Barns that were once left to fall and rot are now seen as a valuable resource. Old houses that may have crumbled in disrepair are mined for irreplaceable flooring and fixtures. If one wants to create a period feel to a room or home, the most effective way to do so is with the materials of that period. Thanks to the industrial forest, the floors of the past live on today-and look as beautiful as ever.
(Survey results are available from The National Hardwood Floor Association:
If a homeowner is environmentally conscious and chooses to install a wide plank hardwood floor, it's easy for them to remain consistent and "go green" when caring for that floor and keeping it looking its best. Whether one has chosen a responsibly forested white pine or an antique reclaimed hickory, a green approach to upkeep and cleaning will benefit the homeowner and their wood floor.
When considering how to maintain and clean hardwood floors,
Place floor mats and throw rugs at entrances to trap dirt.
Sweep floors weekly with brooms that have fine, exploded ends.
Weekly vacuuming will also keep hardwood floors clean.
Wipe up spills, pet accidents, and other liquid mishaps as soon as possible.
It is important to remember that water exposure can harm a hardwood floor.
Instead of relying on commercial floor cleaners that may have toxic ingredients, the consumer has green alternatives when choosing materials to keep a wood floor clean and lustrous. The first step is to determine what kind of finish is on the hardwood floor.
For hardwood floors finished with polyurethane, Greenerchoices.org, thedailygreen.com, and Martha Stewart recommend damp mopping with a solution of one cup of vinegar per gallon of water. The mop should be barely wet, just enough to pick up dust and dirt, but not enough to leave water streaking on the floor itself.
For wide plank hardwood floors and soft wood floors with a penetrating finish, such as Carlisle's Tung Oil Finish, water should be avoided during maintenance. In addition to sweeping, dry-mopping, and vacuuming, Care2.com's Live Green Producer
New green cleaning products are being rolled out on a daily basis and there's no doubt that consumers will have more choices in green floor care in the coming years. But the tips offered here (and now) are safe and effective. Through these simple practices, a homeowner can preserve their floor and protect their planet at the same time.
I'm not a big Do-It-Yourself guy. Generally, my DIY activities are limited to painting, wallpapering and unclogging the toilet. Other than that, my main handyman skill is writing a check. It's no surprise, then, that the thought of installing my own wide plank hardwood floors seems about as doable as building the space shuttle.
However, after a little research, I've come to think this is the kind of project that even I could handle. At the very least, it's less life threatening than other home improvement projects like:
Plumbing – Plumbers use blowtorches. Can you say, "burn unit"?
Electrical – They use electricity to execute convicts. No thanks.
Roofing – I'm not afraid of heights; I'm afraid of falling from heights.
So far as I can tell the odds of installing hardwood floors and living to tell about it seem relatively high!
If you're thinking of installing a hardwood floor yourself, there's lots of helpfulinformation out there about it – even videos tutorials! After careful review, I get the feeling that, with a little patience and free time, I could actually handle it.
For starters, nowadays you can buy prefinished flooring – even for wide plank flooring – eliminating the need for sanding, staining and sealing. Since using a drum sander sounds about easy as operating a Zamboni, this reduces the project complexity – and potential medical co-payment costs - quite a bit.
Next, the tools involved aren't all that complicated. They include – among other things – a hammer, a crowbar, a floor nailer and a miter saw. Now, sure, a power saw sounds a little dicey, but I figure you can lose a digit or two and still maintain a high quality of life.
As for the actual hardwood floor installation, it sounds quite reasonable, and has been described as a weekend project. It involves some variation of the following basic steps:
Remove any existing baseboard – Heck, even I can take stuff apart.
Prepare the floor base – You can put hardwood flooring on top of a plywood sub-floor, an existing hardwood floor or even concrete! Usually, you put down a plastic or felt vapor barrier to keep the moisture out.
Install the floor - Start laying planks or boards from one wall, nail them in place using said floor nailer (try not to do this) and work your way across the room. Be sure to stagger the seams where the boards join!
Edge special room aspects - If the room has floor vents, fireplaces, or some such thing, make sure to edge them, which requires a few extra cuts, no biggie.
Replace baseboards, sweep up and enjoy your new floors! At this point you may want to enjoy a celebratory beverage of your choice (in my case that'd be beer).
The more I think about this, the surer I am that I'm going to have give this project a go! Now I just need to convince my wife that I won't maim myself doing it …
Wise investment isn't limited to the trading floor of Wall Street. According to realtors and designers across North America, hardwood flooring adds to a home's value as well as its charm. Aesthetics and economics converge, and the homeowner reaps the benefits.
It's clear as to what a hardwood floor can bring to a space in terms of warmth and style. The Denver Business Journal reported that Colorado designers and homeowners are opting for more hardwood flooring than ever, as it is seen as "timeless," "classic," "elegant," and "adding style to any living area." The DBJ was also quick to note the accompanying increased resale value of a home with a hardwood floor. Home décor columnist Rose Bennett Gilbert of the San Diego Union-Tribune and RealEstate.com's renovation guide came to similar conclusions on the investment value found in hardwood flooring.
99% of real estate professionals indicated that having hardwood floors either "greatly" or "somewhat" aided a home's salability.
90% of realtors suggested that homes with hardwood floors will sell for more money than homes with mostly carpet. (25% of the realtors stated that hardwood floors would add 6 to 10% to a home's resale value, while 12 % believed hardwood flooring would add more than 10% to the sale price.)
82% of realtors believed that homes with mostly hardwood floors will sell faster.
84% of home buyers who have lived in homes with hardwood floors are more likely to buy another home with hardwood floors.
By choosing hardwood flooring when building or renovating, homeowners can add to the attractiveness of their house, something they will be able to enjoy every day. They can also view their floor as an investment: When the home is sold, that hardwood flooring will pay real dividends.
Now that you've had your home beautifully appointed with the wide-plank hardwood floor of your dreams, you're probably thinking of showing it off. And, of course, you've done all the arrangements: you've chosen some matching plants, arranged all the furniture just so, and that long, ornate oak table blends in just perfectly. All you need are guests.
We're not about to tell you what to cook, how to entertain, or where to place your guests' shoes when they come to visit; if you've consulted our blog, after all, you've probably already done your homework. There is, however, one final garnish to top off your hardwood piece de resistance, and you've already got it-it's that big, beautiful brain of yours.
Hardwood flooring has a history you may not be familiar with, and what better topic to bring up when doing a little well-deserved showing off?
In the 17th century, back when the idea of flooring was still pretty luxurious, Europeans settled for the most immediate surface available-the dirt, pounded to a hard, cement smoothness. This, of course, was an enormous hassle: when their guests came 'round, tracking dirt, dust or mud into the house was more than just a cosmetic no-no-as you can guess, it's even harder to get out of soil than linoleum. It was only the upstairs area of the home-sometimes a converted hayloft, if your budget permitted-that featured any surface not pre-designed by the hand of nature. On these floors, you'd find trunk-like joists and broad, heavy planks of solid oak or elm, normally over two feet wide.
With a French influence during the Baroque period, wooden floors finally got their day. Artisans and craftspeople would cut intricate patterns out of contrasting wood tones, designing flowing, elaborate parquet patterns that, when stained and polished, were the paragon of elegance. While the resulting designs were typically seen only in the homes of European aristocracy, their increased use would eventually bring the style to the American colonies.
The use of these patterns continued through the 19th century, but, even then, they typically appeared in only the wealthiest of homes. Unlike Europe, however, America had a vast wealth of timber and other natural resources, skyrocketing the availability of plank floors. With the ease of tongue-and-groove installation, America's new timber mills responded to the demand. By the early 20th century, tongue-and-groove was everywhere, praised for the stunning grace of its simplicity.
Today, the hardwood surface is experiencing a Renaissance of its own. Environmentally-conscious lovers of good design need a simple, gorgeous, ecologically-responsible way to support themselves and their families. With the explosive availability of synthetic alternatives, homeowners turned to wide, glowing planks of reclaimed timber, discovering that the best choice is to go natural.
By now it's evident to everybody with a pulse that America's current housing crisis is one for the history books. This is, to put it mildly, a serious situation that's severely impacting much more than just the housing industry.
That's why it's reassuring that one segment of the industry is still holding up its economic head, namely, the $1.5 billion remodeling market. For obvious reason, this news is significant to readers of Surface with their interest in wide plank hardwood flooring, home remodeling, etc.
Back in 2006, during the early innings of the housing crisis, Marcia Jedd reported for HGTV (in "Remodeling Market Adjusts to Housing Slump") that remodeling was not only surviving but quite possibly thriving. "Remodelers," she wrote, "take heart: In a housing downturn that is exceptional in many aspects, remodeling is holding its own. In fact, by some accounts, business is booming." She quoted Kermit Baker, Ph.D., director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, as saying that while the remodeling market was definitely feeling the pinch, small remodeling projects of the home improvement sort, such as windows, roofs, flooring, decks, and small additions, would experience strong demand.
That was two years ago. In hindsight it's apparent this projection was fairly accurate. The most recent information presented by the National Association of Home Builders in its Remodeling Market Index (RMI) shows that after declining only slightly in the fourth quarter of 2007, remodeling activity held steady during the first quarter of 2008, showing only minor weakness in tandem with the overall housing slump and appearing poised for a recovery in 2009-long before most economists are predicting anything similar for the overall housing market. And between then and now a slew of reports and articles, many of them easily obtainable by Googling combined search terms like "housing slump" + "remodeling," has indicated that while spending on remodeling projects has slowed, in many cases the wider housing bust is actually driving the remodeling market, which in any event shows strong growth prospects. Needless to say, we'd love to hear from readers about their own experiences and observations in this area.
It's no secret that radiant heat is one of the fastest growing green trends in the construction business. Its location underfoot means it transfers heat directly to the individual instead of dispersing it into the air. Radiant heat systems also reduce the amount of heat lost when external doors are opened. And as anybody who has walked on a heated floor can tell you, they're unbelievably wonderful in cold weather.
Now it turns out that radiant heat combined with hardwood flooring results in an especially efficient heating situation that dramatically reduces a building's carbon footprint. We're not talking about some sort of special voodoo between the wood and the heat that makes them act differently. We're just talking about simple common sense. As documented and explained copiously by Carlisle and others, hardwood flooring is the only type that's 100 percent ecologically sustainable. The green benefits of radiant heat, for its part, are undisputed. So pairing them is a simple matter of 2 + 2 = 4.
As described in an April 15 press release from the National Wood Flooring Association, "Eco-conscious consumers can reduce their carbon footprint even further by installing radiant heat under wood floors. Because wood floors are sustainable and renewable, they increase radiant heat's benefits." Of particular interest to people thinking about going this direction is the fact that radiant heat can work with wide plank floors. A Google search combining them turns up many recommendations to use strip flooring, but these are a bit like the old saw that you can't install hardwood floors over concrete, when in fact you can. Using radiant heat effectively beneath wide plank flooring simply calls for an installation process involving a floating plywood subfloor.
Note that Carlisle has an FAQ about wood flooring choices where the first question deals with this very issue. Readers who are interested in both hardwood floors and environmentally sound living could do worse than to consider Carlisle's emphatic assertion that radiant heat is "our favorite heat source with our floors!"
Believe it, or not, there’s a very simple way to make your own wood floor cleaning solution—right in your own kitchen!
Next time you wash your wood floors (after you’ve vacuumed or swept them clean), try adding a few cap-fulls of white vinegar to your bucket of hot water. It’s that simple! There’s no need to add any soap or floor cleaners to the solution, simply the vinegar and water.
I have even heard of some people adding 8-10 drops of an essential oil to the vinegar/water solution—this gives the room a nice, fragrant smell without adding any harsh chemicals like some of the store bought cleaners. Consider peppermint or lavender!
Choosing to make your own wood floor cleaning solution is very cost effective, simple and great for the environment. Try it out the next time you are doing your weekly chores.
Jani and Scott Casto first found Carlisle while they were building their family home in Wheaton, Illinois. They decided to give Carlisle a call for their flooring needs and met design consultant Jason Wolfe. After sharing multiple samples of our custom floors, Jani and Scott settled on our beautiful wide plank birch floors—in widths of 6”, 8” and 10”. “Scott loved birch’s fire and Jani loved the watery flow of it’s grain”, as Jason thinks back to his wonderful talks with the Casto’s.
When it came time for the floors to be installed, the Casto family decided to use Joe and Eric Boos of Country Hardwoods—a preferred wide plank installer of Carlisle. Eric recollects, “The overall experience on the jobsite was wonderful. There were some tough aspects to the install, a couple of funny fireplaces with built-in cabinets that made things a little tough. I would have to say my favorite part of crafting this floor was the freedom the Casto’s gave us to craft the floor the best way possible.”
The Casto’s have since had a few years to live on their floors. Our marketing team just had the opportunity to visit them! During the third week of June, the marketing team and photographers took a trip to Wheaton and shot some beautiful photographs of their home (seen below). The Casto Family was very generous to welcome us into their stunning home—thank you!
Author's Name: Megan Sprague
Posted Date: July 22, 2008 at 11:04 AM
Filed under: Hardwood Flooring
For Peter Glidden, a long and busy work day begins at sunrise -- and he wouldn't have it any other way. For him, there is no typical "day at the office" -- he and his father Larry operate a small, family owned sawmill in rural Maine. And that means Peter's work days are as unique as each of the eastern white pine timber planks he mills alongside his dad.
"We sort of stumbled into this business about four years ago, and it's been nothing but busy ever since," he explains. "My dad, Larry, he came home with the first portable mill. He used to say he couldn't saw enough wood in a year to make a picnic table . . . but not anymore!"
So, what's the best part of owning and operating your own sawmill?
"I really [enjoy] going out to view and buy the wood," Peter says. When the big trees come down, local foresters contact the Gliddens to come out and take a look at the timber. The premium pine is chosen from trees that have fallen naturally, a process known as selective harvesting. This is an environmentally friendly practice that provides perfect timber, while remaining sensitive to the natural growth of the forest and avoiding deforestation. Peter has no problem scouting out choice timber from these fallen pines.
"I hand pick everything, based on the quality of the wood and what I know we need," Peter explains. To create the handcrafted wide planks for Carlisle, he personally selects the wood he knows will provide the perfect finished product. The Gliddens operate two small sawmills, and while the work can be a bit noisy, the job also allows for plenty of time outdoors in the natural wilderness.
"The actual sawmills are indoors, but we do a lot of our work outside," Peter explains. Whether heading out into the forest to survey some potential timber, or admiring the finished boards outside of the workshop, the Gliddens are truly connected to nature -- and their craft.
Peter's genuine love of the land and the wood is clear from the moment he starts talking. When asked about his favorite part of the job, he answers without any hesitation, "The craftsmanship, definitely. I take a lot of pride in the grading of our wood. It's all hand done. Eastern white wide planks are a great quality wood, and I take a lot of pride in the work that we do."
Until very recently, it was something of an oxymoron - two irreconcilable opposites - to look at cleaning products as environmentally friendly. Many of us are accustomed to thinking that clean equals germ-killing, and killing germs might not be compatible with preserving all other life forms. When you go into a hospital, you smell bleach; when you pick up clothes at the dry cleaner's, you smell...well, we're not sure what the smell is, but it definitely connotes a pristine wardrobe, even if it's not an aroma found in nature.
In other words, in the past it was almost taken for granted that in order to rid surfaces and substances of pollutants - whether the item to be cleaned was wood flooring, dishes, household appliances or clothing -- a certain amount of eradicating might be necessary. Sometimes you have to prioritize, we believed then, and let your ecological principles lapse a little if it meant getting your home germ-free.
Fortunately, that kind of thinking has changed. With more and more people feeling guilty about pouring chemicals into the groundwater every time they mop a floor or polish an antique, the demand grew for environmentally friendly cleaning products, as this article on green cleaning explains. So now, it really is possible to do both: preserve the environment and protect your home from germs and dirt.
Of course, the best way to keep things clean is not to let them get dirty in the first place. Your most environmentally correct choice when it comes to a cleaning substance is to avoid cleaning substances altogether. In the case of floors, there is a lot you can do to prevent the need for stringent cleaning. Bearing in mind that the three most powerful foes of wood flooring are dirt, sand and water, consider these very easy tips that promote "holistic" - i.e., non-chemical - cleaning:
Encourage the removal of shoes as people enter your house by placing a mat or a durable runner made of indoor-outdoor carpeting just inside your front door. Even more generous is to have extra pairs of slippers handy in a basket by the door for visitors.
Sweep your hardwood floors regularly, using a natural or nylon bristle broom with slightly frayed ends. Doing this every day if possible will make a huge difference in terms of the quantity of grit that gets ground into your wood floors on a regular basis.
Clean up liquid spills right away, including water, which often comes into the house in the form of snow clumps.
Dry-mop with a terry-cloth dust mop. Dry-mopping provides the benefits of buffing and polishing without the harshness of cleaners.
If you have pets, keep their toenails short.
Avoid dragging heavy objects across your wood floors.
Place felt casters under furniture legs.
When you do need to go the extra mile and wet-mop or polish, there are several environmentally friendly products designed for use as wood floor cleaners. For example, Floor Kleener from Earth Friendly Products has been specially developed for cleaning a variety of flooring, including sealed hardwood floors. Another good example is Envirorite Hard Floor Cleaner, which uses soy in place of chemical substances and can also be used on sealed hardwood flooring surfaces. Envirorite boasts the added advantage of being safe for people with allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivities, which is also important if you have babies or toddlers crawling on your floors. You can find these products and more at the Floor Cleaners and Kokopelli's Green Market websites.
There is something really amazing about an antique floor. If the wood beneath your feet could tell a story, what would it have to say? Who has walked these boards before us?
To find out exactly how exactly these wide planks get from an old barn to our bedroom floor, I spoke with Rich Marilla at Old Dominion Antique Lumber. The company purchases materials that are salvaged from old barns or antique structures and repurposes the wood for use in new homes and buildings. This practice has the added bonus of being environmentally sustainable, which means Carlisle's antique timber floors are FSC 100% Chain-of-Custody certified. But before this antique wood can be resettled in a new home, it must first get a mini-makeover.
It was allegedly the Duchess of Windsor who said that no woman could be too rich or too thin. The Duchess probably did not do her own decorating, but if she did, she might well have added that no house could be too tidy or too elegant.
A lot of homeowners would agree that there's no such thing as a too-perfect home. Don't we all want our abodes to look ready for the photographers from Architectural Digest to arrive at any time? Hardwood floors gleaming, fresh flowers perfectly arranged in their cut crystal vases, glossy magazines at just the right angle on the coffee table.
Except that many of us who have attended upscale house tours or even realtors' open houses would concede that there is such a thing as a forebodingly beautiful house. Remember the grandmothers of previous generations who would put plastic slipcovers over the "good" furniture - making them completely unusable? Most interior designers agree that the tradition of museum-quality home décor is long gone. Just as many homes now forego formal dining rooms in favor of well-lit, welcoming kitchens with a center island around which hosts and guests alike can cluster, the trend in home décor is veering away from the too-perfect look.
So suppose you already know how to do the hard part: the beautiful presentation. Your hardwood floors gleam with a burnished glow, your end tables stay clutter-free, and no one ever leaves coffee mugs or sports bottles in the foyer. (Really? Maybe you'd consider doing an on-site neatness training for my family. But I digress.) Now that you've accomplished that challenging goal, it's time to make your home look not just magnificent but also used and enjoyed - by a real live family. Below are a handful of decorators' tips:
Small rugs accent polished hardwood floors nicely, breaking up the perfect-ness with a splash of color and texture. But you can also get color and texture by choosing a wide plank hardwood flooring style with so-called "imperfections." Note the knotholes and wavy lines in these examples (Chestnut and Heart Pine) and how they keep the floor from looking overly formal.
Window treatments light enough to react to a passing breeze or circulating fan acknowledge nature in a way that cordoned swags do not. Curtains made of light, gauzy material, or lightweight blinds, make a room look much more "alive" than drapes so heavy that they never move. Good advice on choosing a window treatment is available here.
Oversized oil paintings can work well in a large formal room, but smaller drawings or artsy photos can be very effective in breaking up the formality. For example, in this picture, note how quickly the cluster of framed pictures draws the eye.
Use books as decorations. We've all seen the coffee tables with the perfectly arrayed copies of Town and Country or the tomes on Impressionism, but books such as favorite collections of poetry, memoirs and biographies, and travel guides look both pretty and "real" - as if someone has read and savored them, rather than just arranged them there.
Memorabilia: Too much of it can multiply into clutter, but placed carefully, it looks unique and clever. Favorite high-quality trophies or medals, vintage sports accessories, antique jewelry or purses, your grandfather's cigar box, your great-aunt's perfume bottle. The authenticity of well-loved objects will show through. And authenticity is ultimately the goal. Your home should reflect your personality, not your decorator's talents. So enjoy that beautiful home - and let your guests see that there are real people living inside!
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: July 11, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Filed under: Hardwood Flooring, Home Decor
British comedian Eddie Izzard once quipped, "I'm from Europe-where the history is," and then went on to parody how short a time span Americans consider "historic." And many people, both Americans and foreigners, seem to share that view-that the U.S. is too young to have acquired much history. But if there's one place in the U.S. where the accumulation of history can be felt, it's in New England, in the old-style architecture, the surviving examples of colonial houses with their sturdy hardwood floors and rustic, endearing ambiance.
In my own community, I was surprised to discover how many examples survive of this colonial era architecture, many with most of their walls and floors still intact. One of the best examples is the Balch House (just see the history soaked into those well-worn floor-boards!) once thought to be the oldest surviving wood-frame house in the United States until dendrochronology dated the oldest timbers to 1679. But it just so happens that Massachusetts has quite a few colonial-era wooden houses, including three in Ipswich and three in Salem (including the famous House of Seven Gables). Just walking around in these houses, hearing the wide-planked hardwood floors creak comfortingly under your step, can convince you that you've traveled back in time to the colonial era: you're standing on floors that someone's hands painstakingly built, and built well.
One of my favorite colonial houses is the 1640 Hart House in Ipswich, not least because it's been turned into quite a nice restaurant. And what makes it so nice? It's not the food, although that's good, or the air conditioning, which is sometimes on too strong for my taste; no, it's the ambiance, the atmosphere of a house that's steeped in history, that's witnessed centuries of inhabitants and guests walking over its still sturdy floors. And it's remarkable how much of that atmosphere is literally grounded in those hardwood floors, from how they feel underfoot to how they look and even how they smell. If I just wanted a nice meal, I could go to any number of restaurants, but if I want to have a historical experience, nothing beats the 1640 Hart House.
Interestingly, there are a number of historic buildings that have been refurbished with Carlisle wide plank floors in recent years. One example is the Jethro Coffin House in Nantucket. Another is the Saugus Iron Works in Saugus, MA, and a third is the Milleridge Inn in Jericho, NY. These three structures, while not quite as venerable as the Hart House, give examples of how even modern remodeling efforts can retain that historic feel, and a comprehensive list of such buildings restored by Carlisle is available on the Historic Wood Floor Restoration Projects section of the website.
Does anyone else have stories of colonial houses in their area, and what it feels like to walk around (or eat lunch!) in them? I'd love to hear them, if so! And for anyone curious to learn more about colonial architecture, I'd recommend Within These Walls, a virtual exhibit offering various interactive activities and explaining all about colonial house construction, from their hardwood floors to their rooftops.
Author's Name: Guest Blogger
Posted Date: at 10:43 AM
Filed under: Guest, Hardwood Flooring
We have partnered with Deltec Homes of Ashville, N.C. in order to build a new home in New Orleans to replace those destroyed by Katrina.
Carlisle has donated 2,500 square feet of its traditional Southern Heart Pine flooring as part of a participating effort on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". The popular TV show has asked builders and suppliers from all over the country to help out in New Orleans continuing road to recovery.
The program will air at 8/7c on ABC Sunday, May 18, 2008.
Deltec homes and buildings are of a classic round design, noted for their beautiful cathedral ceilings. So ironically, that is where Carlisle’s Heart Pine flooring will be featured.
“We say we craft our floors one board at a time, but in this case it was a ceiling,” says Don Carlisle. “We’ve known the folks at Deltec for quite a while and have partnered with them on other projects, but this one was really special. The whole Extreme Makeover: Home Edition effort to help Katrina victims is a very worthy cause and we’re proud to have contributed.”
Joseph Schlenk, Deltec’s Director Of Sales and Marketing adds: “To build a home in four days was an impossible task. We accomplished our mission because a lot of ordinary people exerted extraordinary efforts. It would have never been possible without the help of our builder coalition, the volunteers and our sponsors, especially Carlisle Wide Plank Floors. The heart pine Carlisle provided was stunning and anyone who entered the was amazed by its beauty. We thank them for their generous contribution.”
Author's Name: Chad Cassin
Posted Date: May 9, 2008 at 3:09 PM
Filed under: Hardwood Flooring
Longleaf Yellow Pine used to be the dominate species in Southeastern United States. It was the Driving force behind the South’s post Civil War industrial revolution Established the social status of hard wood floors Primary wood used in early 1900s Southern homes, mills, and factories. Not to be confused with Shortleaf Yellow Pine, a fast growing timber that is used today for plywood, pulp and pressure treated lumber.
What makes Longleaf Heart Pine so special and prized by our customers is the deep amber-colored patina which darkens and becomes more beautiful as the wood ages. If a floor rich in history, family tradition, and color is your idea of the perfect surface for your home, ask for a sample of Carlisle's Old Growth Heart Pine today. It will be a floor that grows with your family for generations.
John Crosby and Don Carlisle on the Crosby Alabama plantation.
For more than 40 years, Carlisle Heart Pine has come from a 30,000-acre plantation in Alabama, owned and operated by the Crosby famliy.
This is the first in an on going video series we are calling All About Wood, highlighting the history, facts and thoughts about our most popular wide plank hard wood flooring.
A few weeks ago while browsing the Garden Web forums, I came across a concern we hear from time to time regarding durability.
Posted by mamadadapaige
Hi, Please help me get to the bottom of this...
We are renovating our house and putting in hardwood floors which will run continuously through several rooms, including the kitchen and butt up against some existing vertical grain fir floors.
I want something that will work harmoniously with the fir but be much more durable since this will be in the kitchen and since we have young kids in the house.
I would like to go with old growth Cherry from Carlisle (www.wideplankflooring). They have assured me that because the cherry is old growth it will be hard enough to be durable in a kitchen. The architect (albeit a young architect) also assured me of the same thing (said that if it were cherry from anyone else he would say no, but that the Carlisle cherry is denser). The contractors are saying there is no way this is hard enough to be durable in a kitchen and are STRONGLY advising me against it.
I love the look of it and really want to go with it but I also trust the contractors and am afraid.
If we don't do this, we will go with quartersawn white oak and deal with the fact that where the oak meets up with the fir the contrast is great (and probably not very pleasing to the eye). Unfortunately where they meet is very visible as you enter the house so not an ideal situation.
Anyone with specific experience with Carlisle Cherry floors?? or even if not, any advise for me?
thanks!!!
I've grown up with traditional wood floors as my parents loved them and made this there passion to bring to others to enjoy. Now I am carrying on the tradition and would love to help share some thoughts on your decision.
Its very interesting to me to see what others have said about your desire for Cherry flooring, good quality cherry will last for generations and there definitely are not any durability concerns. Pine flooring still remains in good condition in many of the Early American architecture and is a highly sought after and beautiful floor. Cherry is much harder and every bit as durable. If you aesthetically love the look of Cherry you shouldn't change this direction. Cherry has been used in homes all over the country for a long time with fantastic results. Your children will add character to the cherry, the extent to which this happens will directly correlate to the finish that is used. I am a proponent for a softer finish that allows the normal aging process and doesn't look like plastic plus maintains the beauty of the Cherry. There is no issue regarding the floors durability, yes you can use Ash or Oak but make your decision based on the look you want. The difference in the wear and durability will be negligible to you and both floors will be there for another generation to enjoy!
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!
Check out this link to my sister's Denver Victorian Renovation blog. She has been converting a multi-apartment Victorian house in the Baker neighborhood into a single family home. She and her husband had originally hoped to salvage the existing floor, but they concluded the original floors were past the point of repair.
They came to Carlisle wanting to match the grain and color of the wood. They are restoring most of the original woodwork throughout the home and wanted a floor to complement the rich mahogany finishes. We custom crafted a handful of samples and ultimately found that this Old Growth Heart Pine with Autumn Leaf stain and Tung Oil finish was the perfect combination.
Check out the link and some of the other cool antiques they discovered along the process. Any of you have experience working on a similar type project?
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Jani and Scott Casto first found 
