Hi all,
Just a quick heads up to DYI and contractors alike that a price increase on foreign made products, particularly Chinese, is coming down the pipe.
Many in the industry have been expecting these increases due to the growing strength of the Yuan Renmibi in relation to the struggling USD. They are now beginning to trickle in. While current supplies of foreign made flooring in North America should hold todays pricing, look for a price increase as that stock depletes.
Cheers,
Tom
Hi all,
Hand scraped hardwood is the most dominant trend in wood flooring in recent years. So what exactly is it? Well, it’s just as it sounds. There are different styles of hand scrap but essentially long grooves are scraped, or sculpted into the wood. The grooves are not spread out generally but rather closely aligned, running parallel to one another. A traditional hand scrap tends to be rougher and wilder. However, there are more subtle versions where it is more of a gentle rolling between grooves.
Though generically refered to as hand scraped floors, many are actually machine scraped. A general criticism of machine scraps is that they look less authentic than a floor that was trully scraped by hand. This may be true, but machine scraped is certainly more affordable. Though usually found in more traditional species to the North American market, we’re begining to see hand scraped exotics as well. This example below is a very subtle hand sculpted Brazilian Cherry, handly noticeable really:
Here’s a great room scene of a dark hand scraped floor:
Cheers,
Hi all,
Here’s an article from the San Franciso Chronical documenting the proposal of new stringent green building codes:
“San Francisco moved a step closer Wednesday to imposing the country’s most stringent green building codes, regulations that would require new large commercial buildings and residential high-rises to contain such environmentally friendly features as solar power, nontoxic paints and plumbing fixtures that decrease water usage.” Click HERE for full article.
As usual, California is leading the way with regards to environmental initiative. However, I was surprised that no mention was made of the direct health benefits for those occupying the green commercial/residencial buildings. As discussed in a past blog, the products that make up our Built Environment have a direct effect on our health. As such, Aaron Peskin’s comment, “The greenest building that exists today is one that is already built”, dosen’t exactly ring true for me.
Be sure to ckeck out the comments posted in response to the article. There are some intriguing comments about the governments role in dictating product selection in the construction of private residences. Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Tom
A reader, Greg, brought up a very important issue yet to be discussed in this blog: Moisture. Dave is correct when he writes that moisture is the number one problem issue as relates to installed wood flooring. It is particularly necessary to stress this point when discussing Engineered flooring since this is what many turn to having discovered that solid hardwood is not appropriate for their application and/or environment. As often repeated here, Engineered flooring is designed to have greater dimensional stability than solids. This is true, however, it is not a cure all- far from it. Every brand and type of Engineered floor has a particular range of allowable temperature and moisture be it in the air (Relative Humidity) or subfloor (Moisture Content). The definition of Relative Humidity and Moisture Content according to the National Wood Flooring Association:
Relative Humidity: Ratio of the amount of water vapor present in the air would hold at saturation at the same temperature. It is usually considered on the basis of the weight of the vapor, but for accuracy should be considered on the basis of vapor pressures.
Moisture Content: the amount of moisture in wood expressed as a percentage of the weight of oven dried wood. National Oak Flooring Manufactures Association hardwood flooring is manufactured at 6 to 9 percent moisture content, with a 5 percent allowance for pieces up to 12 percent moisture content. Five percent of the flooring may be outside of this range.
National Wood Flooring Association “Technical Training Manual” 2007, Section V, p.5.
It is imperative that you refer to the installation manual and warranty papers provided by the manufacturer for the particular floor in question. Far too often, home owners and even installers carelessly over look this criteria. Worse, some assume that the temperature in their region is acceptable. For example, customers in Arizona often assume that due to the dry climate they couldn’t possibly have moisture issues. Remember, a moisture issue does not necessarily mean too much moisture. It can just as easily be too little. That said, though very dry on the surface, Arizona has a high water table with moisture sitting just below what appears to be excessively dry ground. As you can see, there are many variable to consider…it’s never safe to assume!
Canadian maple, known as hard maple or sugar maple is one of the hardest North American types of wood used for hardwood flooring. Select and clear hard maple flooring is often compared to ivory. It is creamy white and with closed grain and no blemishes. On the other hand when you look at hard maple flooring in rustic grade you will see the flooring with all shades of ivory, amber and reddish brown color.
There is a sharp contrast between almost white heartwood and brown sapwood, which makes it look like a hand-made carpet made with a lot of imagination.
The Janka hardness scale is a common reference for judging the hardness of each hardwood species. The scale is based on a test that presses a .444 inch steel ball into the tested hardwood species at a constant pressure. In the simplest terms, the measurement of the scale rating is in accordance with how deep the ball is embedded into the wood - the deeper the ball, the softer is the wood. Listed here are some of the more popular species of hardwood used in flooring that have been rated according to the Janka test.
If you’re not from the industry, it’s difficult to know how to distinguish the Good, from the Bad and the Ugly. Sourcing an installer through word of mouth is usually good. As is contacting your local Better Business Bureau. That said, there are ways to take matters into your own hands. For starters, asking the right questions. Let’s start with the obvious: “How many years experience do you have?”
This question is too general and not necessarily indicative of true expertise. While taking the National Wood Flooring Association course Introduction to Hardwood Flooring in Long Beach, CA, in February, I met many installers of varying experience. As the name suggests, this was intended to be an introduction to wood flooring installation. Yet there I was working with professional installers with 9, 11, and 15 years experience respectively. And believe me, we were all learning, asking questions and often surprised by the answers. Kudos to them for investing in themselves and their craft. The thing is, the industry is always changing; new flooring products, new subfloors, new heating systems, all of which directly affect their livelihood. As such, they continually need new knowledge. One question as relates to experience was raised throughout the course: “Does an installer with 25 years in the industry actually have 25 years experience or do they have 1 year of experience repeated 25 times?”
When sourcing an installer this questions translates into “Are you a member of the NWFA and, if so, which training courses have you participated in and when?”
Hi folks,
Here’s a link to a Green Building article in a little know rag called the Wall Street Journal .
Tom
…and why would I want one on my floor?
A natural question and one that deserves an answer. A French Bleed is a blackened bevel. This dark colour usually draws a contrast between the color of the planks and the bevel serving to outline each board. This style is incredibly popular right now, 75% of the Engineered floors I sell carry one. Lots of folks love the French Bleed bevel but few know where it comes from. Essentially, a French Bleed is intended to give the look of a very old wood floor that has collected dust and dirt between the boards that no amount of sweeping will remove. Not a pleasant thought but I think you’ll agree the results are stunning…
Vanier Cosmopolitan Trendy Collection Oak Bourbon
Often, but not always, a French Bleed is paired with a Hand Scraped surface, a feature we’ll go over soon.
Cheers,
Tom
Hi all,
A good source for all things Green Building is the Healthy Building Network . This organization does a good job of staying on top of the green building landscape and is even making an effort to help consumers “grade” building materials based on their environmental merits. This project is called Pharos. Still very much a work in progress but a great initiative.
Tom
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