Hey Everyone - Rob Jones here.
Just to let you know, we’ve moved the posts of this blog to blog.builddirect.com. And this is also where future posts will be published. Really, it’s like we’ve moved next door - not too far away.
So, if you’re a subscriber to this blog, please subscribe to our new feed to get the latest posts to your Google, Yahoo, MSN, or other homepage or the RSS reader of your choice.
Thanks a lot, and I hope to hear from you in our comments section!
Cheers,
Rob.
I’ve recently become something of a regular on the FloorTalk blog by fellow flooring blogger Shannon Bilby, the blog sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association. Shannon always has something interesting to say about the practicalities and design elements of all kinds of flooring, including hardwood.
Recently, she posted her findings about using Murphy’s Oil Soap on a hardwood floor. In recent years, I’ve found that a lot of people out there on the ‘internets’ are asking the question about best uses of this product. A lot of people have been concerned about reports of a filmy residue left on the surface of their floors after cleaning them using the product. But, I’ve not found a definitive answer to the question to determine whether this is the case, or if it is, that the product has been used correctly.
Take a look at Shannon’s post to see what the answers are, direct from the Murphy’s technical support team with whom she consulted before posting.
Thanks FloorTalk!
Cheers,
RJ.
We’ve banged on and on here on this blog about how solid hardwood flooring is a big resale asset for a residence. But, according to this article in Construction Week Online, commercial contractors and designers are also gravitating towards solid wood.
Basically, the choice for flooring in commercial spaces have been largely driven by practicality. And you can understand why this is so in some ways. Floors in commercial spaces see more foot traffic than those installed in a residence. So, tile and natural stone have been the go-to choices for this reason. But, tastes have shifted as such that many commercial locations want a warmer feel, a more ‘homey’ atmosphere. So, wood flooring is beginning to pick up a bit more attention.
The prevailing issues of course are in place. Designers are still having to ask themselves ‘which species should I choose?’, just as homeowners have to do. Some of the solutions that they’re coming up with involves choosing natural stone and tile floors as accent pieces, to bolster the durability angle which I think is a great idea. But, there are a number of floors out there which are virtually comparable to stone for durability, particularly among exotic species like Jatoba and Ipe, among many others.
I should say that the article is a little harsh on laminate flooring as a solution to the question of atmosphere and visual effect. It puts forward that laminate is a ‘temporary solution’, only good for less than five years. This depends entirely on the laminate product in question, of course. There are plenty of choices in laminate floors which are designed for commerical foot traffic, rated AC4 and higher, with extensive warranties that are good for decades, not just years.
I dunno. This angle the article takes may or may not have to do with the fact that the interviewee owns a solid hardwood company who doesn’t sell laminates. You be the judge.
To that point, I know I work for a building materials company that sells a lot of wood floors and everything. But, I’m really encouraged by this trend on an aesthetic level. I really do think that wood flooring adds a certain warmth to an interior. As beautiful as a lot of tile and natural stone flooring is, wood communicates a unique first impression that says ‘welcome’.
Cheers,
Rob.
This may be considered a blogging equivalent of nepotism, or perhaps more accurately split-personality since I’m involved. But a new blog has been launched by myself and Marc McPherson who also blogs here at BuildDirect.
The blog is called Watch Us Wreck a Floor. Check it out!
As many of you already know, every laminate flooring worth its salt is held to international standards, using controlled tests that burn, scratch, whack, stab, and drown a laminate floor.
The reason they do this is to figure out whether a laminate floor is worth selling, and if so where it should be best installed - a residence, a store, only in low-traffic rooms, and more. The rating it gets is called an AC rating, where AC3 is the all-purpose residential floor.
Here’s what we had in mind, which is explained in greater detail on that blog. Basically, we’re going to do a version of these tests ourselves, even if we’re not German guys in lab coats with clipboards. And we’re going to invite as many people into the fun as possible in seeing just how much damage a laminate floor can take. Once again, you can get the details here on where we’re going to install our test floor and what we’re planning to do.
Visit the site and submit your suggestions. And we’ll be filming everything, so we hope you’ll tune in.
Cheers!
Rob.
Happy New Year regular readers and first-time visitors too!
We’ve been a bit quiet here since just before Christmas, shopping, worrying about the right gift, coordinating plans to see loved ones, and negotiating our way through some of the most persistent snowy weather here in rainy Vancouver since 1964! We’re reeling from a White Christmas.
But, now that we’ve kicked off 2009, I’ll be posting here regularly about wood flooring, and about bamboo flooring too. In the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling up our individual product blogs into one big happy product blog that will pull in contributions from all of our department heads. So, watch out for that. I’ll be making an announcement on this wood flooring blog, and on the other blog to which I contribute - ‘Bamboo for Flooring’.
In the meantime, thanks for reading us in 2008. And I look forward to hearing your opinions and getting your feedback as we march into 2009 together.
Cheers!
Rob.
As the Christmas special says, Christmas time is here. And this being a blog concerned with wood, and by virtue of that , trees too, I thought I’d post some facts, and some personal thoughts, about the history of the Christmas tree. This is a festive post!
Christmas is a Judeo-Christian holiday, of course. But, like nearly everything in that tradition, it borrows heavily from other traditions too. This is certainly the case with the Christmas tree, although there are several apocryphal stories about it originating from Christian traditions.
Trees have been a part of religious traditions since civilization began (and probably before that!). As religious symbols, they’ve featured heavily in the cultures of Egyptian, Roman, Norse, and of course in ancient Celtic traditions before Christianity came to the British Isles. And as such, appropriating some of the imagery of those traditions into the idea of Christmas can probably looked upon as shrewd marketing by missionaries.
For instance, the placement of Christmas in December corresponds quite nicely the pagan Winter Solstice holiday, where trees feature heavily. And bringing the imagery of trees into Christmas meant that no one really had to give anything up when it came to celebrating the season, if they converted. There have been all kinds of stories about how Christmas trees became so entwined with the original Christmas story. There’s a lot of controversy around this, apparently.
But, maybe the most important thing of all of this for me is the physical presence of a real tree in the home. I grew up with the fake tree, since it was convenient not to have to lug a whole tree home every year. But, when I got married, the presence of a real tree was fundamental and non-negotiable in our house.
And rightly so. There is a lot to be said for a real tree - the feel of it, and the lovely pine aroma too. I like that my daughter will likely associate Christmas with the smell of pine. Maybe this is the most important part of the history of Christmas trees; the histories of Christmases we make with our families that shimmer in our memories for years afterward.
Merry Christmas, good people!
Cheers,
Rob.
Recently, the snows came to beautiful Vancouver where we at BuildDirect are situated. As such, our sales team flashed into action. And in between talking with customers and making sure everyone gets what they ordered, they decided that the best way to expand the sales force is to get in a new member of the team in place. So, being creative types, they made one.
This is of course, nonsense.
What they did do of course was to go out on our east-facing balcony and make a good, old-fashioned snowman. Take a look:
I’m not sure if he’s got a name by now. But, we’re open to suggestions.
Yay! Snow Day!
Cheers!
Rob.
I’ve been reading about a local firm in Massachusetts which has brought together a love of woodworking with green building practices. And their main tool for this? A portable sawmill.
An upcoming feature on the This Old House program, Woodpecker Industries is the brainchild of Michael D. Moore and Noella M. Senecal. Their vision was to allow local builders to draw their resources locally, and to therefore add something of green building principles to their local area at the same time.
Here’s an article that talks a bit more about Woodpecker Industries and their upcoming appearance on This Old House.
The wood they cut is used for framing, custom wood flooring, and crates, and is cut on the building site with the use of a portable sawmill. This saves the cost of shipping from bigger lumber distribution sites, seeing as all the wood is local, and is cut to order locally too. It’s kind of a neat innovation that subverts the traditional way of getting building materials to a job site, which we at BuildDirect can appreciate.
When I think of a sawmill, I think more of a location than I do a piece of equipment. I guess I’ve watched a lot of movies where there are epic struggles at the old sawmill, dodging this way and that to avoid getting chopped up by the giant bandsaw. Maybe I watch too much TV. That’s another post on another blog.
Yet, there are many different varieties of portable sawmills in use today, all derived from equipment used since human beings first decided it would be a good idea to build things using wood. Portable sawmilling has a unique history that has evolved from two men with a big saw, to gasoline powered portable sawmills used on woodlots and major lumbering sites.
I guess the ultimate in green building using this kind of equipment would be a portable sawmill that runs on bio-diesel. But, one step at a time.
Cheers!
Rob.
Last night, myself and our CEO Jeff Booth attended a special event for local bloggers in Vancouver - the Best of 604, which was organized and hosted by local blogging superheroine Rebecca Bollwitt. It seems that people really like us around these parts. And considering how vibrant our community is, and how talented, it’s nice to be acknowledged.
We won a runner-up prize for best business blog, under which this wood flooring blog falls. Thanks to everyone who voted, and congratulations to Raincity Studios who won first-prize in our category.
And to boot, the event raised $1845 for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.
I am so pleased to have taken part, even in my own small way. I am proud of our local business community here in Vancouver, and all who sail in her!
For those about to blog, we salute you!
Cheers!
Rob.
There are loads of reclaimed wood stories out there, and some of them are downright incredible. One of the most attractive aspects of reclaimed wood of course is how it enables good stewardship of natural resources. It minimizes waste. Another big aspect to this is how it also ties a new interior to an historical tradition. But, some of the most incredible stories are the one which show how resilient hardwood really is under some very harsh conditions, and how suitable it is for second use afterward.
Here’s a story about reclaimed wood which tells the tale of wood that was buried in the depths of time, as well as in the literal depths - it was underwater for centuries in some cases!
In the 1800s, before a modern network of shipping and railroads for transporting commodity goods like timber existed, a lot of these materials were transported exclusively using river systems and lakes to float the logs to where they needed to go. This is still a practice in many remote areas, of course. And many logs still find their way to the bottom of water systems. Some of the more dense logs, being as they are so heavy, are usually the ones that sink while on their journey downstream. In floating to the bottoms of rivers and lakes, the icy waters actually help to preserve the wood over long periods of time.
Flash forward to today. A trend with reclaimed wood operations has seen fit to salvage these logs, cut in the 1800s, yet planed and cut into flooring planks using modern methods today. And voila! A seasoned wood floor that adds character to interiors, where before the wood only added character to the bottom of a river bed or lake.
The innovation and imagination involved in an operation like this is truly impresssive to me. An important aspect of green building seems to be identifying sources of materials in places that are largely taken for granted or forgotten entirely. In this, I really think the creativity of building materials companies are the future for the industry, and play a big role in preserving the future in general.
Cheers,
Rob.
Logging image courtesy of miguelb. This shot was taken in Prince Rupert, Northern British Columbia.
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