Idaho House update

I thought I'd start with the last part of the project to be finished. This is the area I'm most excited about. Colby and I have some very interesting tiling in store for the master bath, I can't wait to see the finished project.

Working for R.C. Willey has given me the opportunity to show what fun things can be done in floor coverings.

Here are pictures of the upstairs wet bar and bathroom vanity. On this vanity we had to search for a light shade of green and gold that would match existing cultured marble and the new paint colors.

The great room before and after.

This is the travertine floor in the second master bath

To save cost we found product that would compliment the existing tile that was in great shape. I have always disliked the idea of getting rid of something because of its age. I really think you can incorporate old and new.

All the carpet in the house was purchased from

Tuftex and the tile and stone from Emser and Dal-tile.




Coming soon........................ powder bath, conference room, library, prep kitchen, staged furniture and that last master bathroom

TESTIMONIALS

In the many years I have had the opportunity to be in this business the biggest pleasure has always been the relationships I have formed. When we moved to the Treasure Valley in 1977 the first people I knew were installer and reps. As I grew into my own and watched how my parents conducted themselves in business they taught me how vital it is to befriend the people that allow you to serve them. Case in point are the people who will be posted under this title.

The first is Kole Mogel. Kole is a brilliant contractor who constructs some of the finest homes I have have ever seen.

In the construction industry, I know it is so critical to surround myself with the best of the best in their respective fields. I have had the extreme pleasure of working with Mr. Chance Hodgson for the past 7 years as my carpet and flooring provider. As a small business owner, Chance acquired the unique personal attention to his customers that is rare in this day and age. When Chance made the switch to partner himself with R.C.Willey, it provided a buying power of an enormous company, but what created the most value in that move; Chance still provides the same level of service and attention to every detail as if he owned the entire company. You will not find a more integrous, dedicated, and knowledgeable individual in the flooring industry in the Treasure Valley. My hat is off to Mr. Hodgson and I look forward to many years of continued success.

Kole Mogel
Paramount Custom Homes


Please now hear from Laree Goodman of Goodman Real Estate. The most passionate realtor in the business.


I am going to be honest: when I think of flooring RC Willey does not automatically come to mind, but the name Chance Hodgson does; he is a dedicated professional who considers custom service a priority and if he chose RC Willey as the company to back him up with pricing and products there’s no question he did so in the best interest of his clients.

As Realtors we often are faced with our friends and family asking us for professional referrals and there is never a hesitation in suggesting Chance when someone is looking for flooring.

Our most recent business experience with Chance involved a client of ours who was out of state, but needed some remodel work done on a home. Because he couldn’t be here to pick out carpet he gave us a budget and asked us to handle it. Now that is faith and when someone has that kind of confidence in you the one thing you know to do, is to turn to those people whom you can trust, which is why we called Chance immediately. I’ll make a long story short: We got Outstanding Service, Great Pricing and Super Product on Budget on Time. Chance is our flooring Go to Guy for life!


Laree Goodman
208-602-8403
Realtor ®
E-Fax 1-866-931-7566
http://www.buyandsellidaho.com/

Hard Surface

The other "hard surfaces" I wanted to cover are Laminate and Resilient

Laminate flooring represents the most significant flooring entry in the past twenty-five years.
The product we know today as laminate flooring was originally developed as another possible use of high-pressure melamine laminate. This occurred in Sweden in the early eighties. A product was created with a base of several layers of paper impregnated with special resins which were pressed together under high pressure into a highly wear resistant composite material. The decorative paper determined the design. The finished laminate was then glued onto a carrier and cut into sections with extremely exact dimensions.
Decorative laminate was a product that was widely used on kitchen countertops, tables or wall paneling, but obviously not as yet for floors. This clearly created an opportunity, but a flooring application brought new technical challenges. The initial concern to be solved was the wear factor. It is obvious that floors are walked on and therefore suffer a lot more normal abuse than furniture or counter tops. A laminate floor clearly had to be more durable. A reinforced laminate that was approximately ten times stronger than counter tops was created and the first flooring began to be sold. As research grew, the relative strength of flooring laminate increased dramatically to at least twenty times that of countertops.
Important parallel developments were also taking place during these early days. Packaging was one. Wood flooring at the time was normally sold in long strips of approximately eight feet and installed only by a skilled professional. Laminate flooring was different right from the beginning. It was packaged eight planks to a carton that was approximately half this length (about four feet). The easy to handle carton was fairly lightweight and could be transported by car or in an elevator with ease. Its carton contents equaled approximately twenty square feet (two square meters). Because of these revolutionary factors and ease of installation, a large do-it yourself market was created in Sweden that exists today. In fact, over ninety percent of laminate flooring in Sweden still is self-installed!
Reasons for Acceptance
The system of gluing, using a tongue and groove method that, when done properly, creates a single unit that is impervious to normal household spills or tracked in rain or snow. This single unit expands or contracts with changes in humidity. (This movement, by the way, cannot be seen). The strength of the bond in creating the single unit permits heavy objects, such as refrigerators or bookcases to be placed directly on the flooring.
Provided that the glue is applied correctly, there is no problem with gaping. This process of installation is called a floating floor. The laminate floor can be laid or "floated" over the existing floor without being glued to the surface. This system also encapsulates the original floor. In most cases, (with the exception of textile), the older floor is not removed. This further saves time and installation costs!
Both the professional installer and the do-it-yourself customer quickly embraced the floating floor method because of the simplicity of installation and removal as compared to a glue down (to the sub-floor) floor. An easy removal process replaces the laminate floor at which point it can be destroyed with no danger to the atmosphere. Laminate floors contained insignificant quantities of elements that affected indoor air quality, plus it could be installed in a minimum amount of time.
The final success ingredient (and an important one) is in the aesthetics of the floor. In the beginning virtually all the floors replicated were wood species. Why? Simply because these patterns were desired by the public. As laminate flooring grew in popularity, other looks were introduced, including marble and stone. One of the interesting aspects of laminate flooring is that the designs are limited only by the imagination of the producers. This has resulted in a product that is now recognized by the design and decorating community for its ability to create an atmosphere of great beauty along with durability.
The European Spread of Laminate Flooring
Three important attributes - durability, design and installation ease now assured the popularity of laminate flooring in Europe. Following the early success in Scandinavia, other northern European countries, primarily Germany and the Benelux countries began to market laminate flooring. Distribution then spread quickly throughout the rest of Europe and continues today. Standards in Europe are being created by the CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation or The European Committee for Standardization) group and will have the force of law. NALFA maintains a relationship with this important committee as well as EPLF (European Producers of Laminate Flooring). The interchange of ideas and technical data is viewed by NALFA as one of the most important areas of contribution.
Into North America
Laminate flooring crossed the Atlantic to North America in the early nineties and was brought quickly to the market. The results of this introduction surpassed even Europe.
The North American consumer discovered that she could have a product of beauty with incredible wear and unmatched stain resistance. American and Canadian kitchens quickly became the primary room for laminate floors. Our consumer found out that virtually nothing could stain this beautiful floor, nor would sun or ultraviolet cause fade; and wear patterns were a thing of the past. And yet there were more discovered benefits. The resistance to indentation from heavy objects or shoes was far greater than popular existing wood or vinyl floors. The floor was incredibly easy to clean - vacuuming or damp mopping are needed. There is no need for waxing or stripping of the old wax buildup.
The retailer enjoyed unexpected ease of stocking and servicing. Dye lots, found in ceramic or textile, are non-existent in laminate flooring. This retailer benefit also assured the consumer of exact match in tone and color, even if additional matching flooring was purchased and installed a year later!
Besides importers, US and Canadian manufacturing operations began to produce the product. Laminate flooring was on its way to another success. North America took to this new category of beautiful flooring with its remarkable qualities in unparalleled numbers.
Today, laminate flooring continues its remarkable growth. Virtually every room of the house, including bathrooms is benefiting from a laminate floor application. The commercial marketplace is now exploring the aspects of laminate flooring for its demanding situation

This information came from NALFA web site.

My Opinion:

Laminate is a very practical flooring. It is much more resistant to rips, tears, gouges and scratches than say wood or vinyl. However as I have said there are no perfect products. Always remember when you read a laminate warranty they only cover 3 things, wear(this means walking through the melamine layer into the photo), fade(bleaching by the sun), or stain(you cannot stain this product with anything). Some laminates will have a "water warranty",understand this is for only topical water, like a glass of water that you mop up in a timely manner. I do think the pros outweigh the cons. If you have pets and a family it will take the abuse pretty well.

The style and color is getting better every year with new technology. Some of the newer items include tile, handscraped looks, french bleeds, and piano finishes.

Resilient flooring

Resilient flooring refers to flooring materials which have a relatively firm surface, yet characteristically have “give” and “bounce back” to their original surface profile from the weight of objects that compress its surface. It has long been the most popular hard surface flooring in the United States
Resilient flooring materials are made in various shapes and sizes including both tile and roll form. Common types of resilient flooring include:

Vinyl composition tile
Vinyl tile and sheet flooring
Linoleum tile and sheet flooring
Rubber tile and sheet flooring
Cork tile and sheet flooring

Because of its durability, comfort under foot, aesthetic appeal, long lasting beauty, and cost effectiveness, resilient flooring is used in a wide range of commercial and residential applications. The ease of cleaning and removing spills as well as the overall moisture resistance are important reasons why so many homeowners and commercial building owners select resilient flooring.
In residences, resilient flooring is commonly used in kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, family rooms and increasingly in other areas of a house or apartment where rugs are used in conjunction with resilient flooring. In residences occupied by hypersensitive persons, resilient flooring is commonly used because these floors can be easily cleaned and do not tend to trap dust, which when combined with moisture, can produce microbial contamination.
Commercial resilient flooring has long been the most popular flooring used in schools, health care facilities, and mercantile settings. In schools, resilient flooring offers a cost-effective floor, which is easily and economically maintained and can last for many years before needing replacement. In health care facilities, resilient flooring is commonly used because it is impervious to water, resists stains, and can easily be disinfected, thus providing significant sanitary advantages over other types of flooring surfaces. Because of its durability and the availability of a wide range of colors and designs, resilient flooring has long been a favorite of stores and shops in creating design statements.
Because of its performance attributes and wide variety of colors and designs, resilient floors are frequently used in laboratories, clean rooms, computer rooms, lavatories, super markets, drug stores, lobbies, storage areas, spas, dormitories, libraries and restaurants.

This information is from the RFCI web site.

My Opinion:

Every style of floor covering can have it's place. In the past vinyl has gotten a bit of a bad wrap due to poor durability IE: ripping, tearing and gouging when you move a stove, washing machine or refrigerator over it. This is a simple fix, put down cardboard and move your appliances on that. Resilient can be really beautiful and very affordable. Overall, the types of products mentioned have their pros and cons. Remember they mimic natural product such as wood and stone and will never totally match them. But affordability, warmth, durability can be more important than having wood or stone.

NEW YEAR

Happy New Year!!

I am really looking forward to 2009! Yes the economic forecast is being reported as bleak. But I don't care. Life is still be great. Personally in times like these I like to focus on my family and the enjoyment I get out of those relationships.

Professionally now is a really good time to hone my sales skills. I can always do a better job in assisting my customers. I really love what I do and I thrill with the relationships that I get to form with the people who are willing to share designing their homes with me.

The following pictures are of project that I have the privilege of working on for the State Of Idaho.

This will be one of the two master bathroom. It was totally gutted. The Stafford Corps Tile division (Colby) and I have designed something really special here.

This is the second master bath. The tile on the wall and cultured stone in the shower were left. The colors really worked with the travertine that is being installed on the floor.

This is in an upstairs bathroom. Travertine is really pretty. R. C. Willey has a really good sale on 18x18 honed and filled only $2.99 per square foot!

This was a butlers pantry and now will be a prep kitchen. We left the existing tile on the floor.

Now on the cabinet tops there will be 24x24 tiles with a 4x12 brick pattern on the back splash.

The travertine is a Emser product. Have a great new year. Remember if you ever have any flooring questions just ask.

Our in house designer Dustin Seiler has done all the decorating for this project, It is going to look just awesome when it is completed.

Hard Surface Part 1

Under this category we in the biz include ceramic tile, hardwood, laminate flooring, and resilient flooring. In part 1 I will cover tile and hardwood.

Ceramic Floor/Wall Tile: These are commonly made of ceramic or stone, although recent technological advances have resulted in glass tiles for floors as well. Ceramic tiles may be painted and glazed. Small mosaic tiles may be laid in various patterns. Floor tiles are typically set into mortar consisting of sand, cement and often a latex additive for extra adhesion. The spaces between the tiles are nowadays filled with sanded or unsanded floor grout, but traditionally mortar was used.

Natural stone tiles can be beautiful but as a natural product they are less uniform in color and pattern, and require more planning for use and installation. Mass produced stone tiles are uniform in width and length. Granite or marble tiles are cut and polished or finished on the facing up side, so that they have a uniform thickness. Other natural stone tiles such as slate are typically "riven" (split) on the facing up side so that the thickness of the tile varies slightly from one spot on the tile to another and from one tile to another. Variations in tile thickness can be handled by adjusting the amount of mortar under each part of the tile, by using wide grout lines that "ramp" between different thicknesses, or by using a cold chisel to knock off high spots.

Ceramic tile is one of the funniest products available. The sky really is the limit when it comes to pattern you can design just about anything you can think of. There are so many patterns and colors, and styles, and materials, and, and, and...... What I will sometimes suggest when my customers are having trouble with design is to get some graph paper and colored pencils and draw out your ideas.

Tile can be used any where, but is you want it set outside in colder climates you will need to use a porcelain tile. Tile made this way are less porous so when it freezes the water the tile won't crack.







I've seen great styles at Emser, Dal-Tile, and of course R.C. Willey has a large selection of in stock tile.



































These are just a few examples of what can be done that I pulled of the web. I'm about to start a big tile project so I will post those pictures in the coming months.










Adding ceramic, glass, metals to stone tile can be very attractive and different.













Tile can be considered a "do it yourself project" but doing it yourself doesn't always mean you should do it yourself. I am all for saving costs, but tile is art and a great installer is an artist. Tile is an investment that will never wear out and if your careful with colors never go out of style.


Hardwood:Wood flooring is a made from the timber of hardwoods, or of spruce or hard pine. There are two basic manufactured types of hardwood. Wood flooring comes unfinished, and once installed is sanded, then finished on site. More modernly, the product is pre-finished in a factory. The products that are pre-finished are often a polyurethane finish that has added aluminium oxide, however some companies use titanium dioxide or other oxides instead. These metal oxide finishes are used in various types of floor coverings and increase the wear a hardwood floor can handle
Solid
Solid hardwoods are typically 3/4" or 19mm thick, although some do come in 3/8" (10mm) or 5/16" (8mm) thicknesses. Typically the wearing thickness, i.e., the thickness that can be sanded over the lifetime of the floor, above the tongue-and-groove portion, is approximately 7/32" approaching 1/4". This type of hardwood flooring can be installed with a nail-down installation method over wood sub floors. This type of hardwood is also very susceptible to the effects of moisture and temperature, because hardwoods expand and contract with moisture and temperature changes in the atmosphere. Since hardwoods expand and contract in the width of the grain, this type of hardwood flooring is not recommended to be installed over a concrete slab, unless otherwise stated by the manufacturer. There are some instances where 3/8"-thick solid hardwood can be installed on a concrete slab.

Engineered
Rather than having one solid piece of hardwood, the engineered hardwood method uses layers of hardwood veneer to create a product that can range in thickness from 3/8" or 8mm up to 9/16" or 14mm thick. The wood veneer can range in thickness depending on the manufacturer, as will the top wearing thickness. In order to create an engineered hardwood, these veneer layers are stacked one on top of the other with the grain of adjacent layers oriented perpendicular to one other. Once the desired thickness is achieved, the boards are then cut into the correct board width. From there, the boards are then manufactured to have a tongue or groove on the edges. The final step is to add stain if necessary, and add a finish. By doing this, the engineered hardwood becomes less susceptible to the effects of moisture and temperature change, because wood expands and contracts in the width of the grain direction. Therefore engineered hardwood is referred to as being dimensionally stable. Solid hardwood does not have dimensional stability because all of the grain runs in the same direction. Because of its dimensional stability, engineered hardwood can be glued directly to concrete above or below grade, as opposed to solid hardwood which cannot.



In my opinion Engineered is by far the best method. There is much less wood waste there by making the product more GREEN. Also just the ease of installation. The product can be glued directly to the floor, nailed, stapled, or even floated like a laminate floor. By the way, there is no difference in appraisal value for your home between sand and finish or engineered.






With the popularity of hand scrape and distressed wood if you purchase a engineered the warranty is at least 10 years but most start at 35 years on the wear. That doesn't mean your floor won't scratch or dent, it means the finish that protects your wood from staining will not wear off. My experience with sand and finish wear layer is that with normal traffic you will have to have your floor re finished about every 5-7 years. Every time you refinish you have to add the hand scraping or distressing. Now if you purchase a pre-finished engineered in a hand scrape or a distressed you have the same issue. when you re finish you lose the best parts you paid for.

Some of the manufactures I reccomend are Mannington, Anderson and Bruce(Armstrong). And of course R.C. Willey has a huge inventory

Carpet Styles-Residential

Most residential carpets will fall in to about 5 different styles. Now of course there are no absolutes so I will try to cover as many of the variables as I can think of.

Sculptures:

The multi color sculpture is still available, a little harder to find, but still a great style to choose for hiding stain and traffic. We have a really nice nylon style from Gulistan on our showroom floor in R.C. Willey Meridian, ID

Now ...... the newer updated versions of this type are called Loop Cut Loop (LCL). You can get vines, floral, basket weave, geometric, deco, and even palm fronds. It's crazy they have just about any pattern you can think of.



It is a cool style....I really love this type of carpet. The durability is awesome. In fact, I have this type of carpet in my own home.

FUN and FUNKY...................................... Some of my favorite LCL's are from Tuftex, Dixie Home and Masland.

Plush:

These have not changed much over the years. There are pretty much two kinds. Saxony and Plush(velvet).

Plush(velvet) has a really fine finish so all the fiber has a smaller denier yarn and no crimp to the yarn. That means the yarn is standing straight up. In the right area this is a very elegant style. Not for the kiddies though, because the fiber stands straight up it shows the light and dark sides of the fiber when you vacuum.

Denier:

a unit of fineness for yarn equal to the fineness of a yarn

The difference between the two styles is in a textured they give the yarn a crimp towards the top of the yarn. This allows for texture thus giving the carpet a better ability to hide traffic.

LOOP:

This style is commonly referred to as a berber, however a berber is a color reference. Loop can provide exceptional durability. There are drawbacks if you chose a full looped version.
When you have pets their claws can can grab and pull the loop. If this happens the beater bar on your vacuum can catch that yarn and run. Leaving a line in your carpet with no yarn. Like I said this can be a very durable style in the right circumstance.

Frieze:

This is about the most popular style right now. It gives a nice warm soft feeling, and a lot of texture to the floor.

You can find quite a bit of variation within this style due to the length of yarn and multiple deniers (or thickness) of yarn.

In this picture you can see the different yarn deniers.

When you pick a carpet style think about what best suits your circumstance. For example, if you have larger dogs, loop pile is probably not the best bet. However if you love that look consider a loop cut loop, you get a very similar look but the yarn is tufted(stitched) to where it won't run if snagged. If you want a carpet that hides the day to day traffic choose a frieze in what ever length you are comfortable. With this style the carpet will lay down when you walk on it, this is a good thing, walking on the sides of the fiber extends the life of that fiber. It is much harder for the yarn to untwist and wear.

The more conscious you are about your carpet style and the way it will perform, the happier you will be.

FYI: I don't think I will ever talk much about color. You the consumer will know more about what suits your home than I will. Just remember that carpet in general will install a shade lighter. Have fun; re-carpeting your home can be a great experience that can change the entire feel of where you spend a lot of time!

Carpet Fibers

Hello

With this blog I hope to answer all questions concerning floor covering.

I think for starters we should look at the various fibers used to create carpet.

Carpet can be made from many single or blended natural and synthetic fibers. Fibers are chosen for durability, appearance, ease of manufacture, and cost. The most important yarn constructions are:

Wool and wool blended with synthetic fibers:
Wool has excellent durability, can be dyed easily and is fairly abundant. Blended wool yarns are extensively used in production of modern carpet. Wool is relatively expensive, most wool is imported and the method of acquiring it is labor intensive. One recommended manufacture is Godfrey Hirst

Nylon:
This is the most popular synthetic fiber used in carpet production. Nylon can be dyed topically or dyed in a molten state (solution dying). Nylon can be printed easily and has excellent wear characteristics. As nylon is petroleum-based, it varies in price with the price of oil.

Polypropylene:
This polymer is used to produce carpet yarns because it is inexpensive, but it does not wear as well as wool or nylon. It is primarily used in outdoor(grass) or low pile commercial carpet.

Polyester:
Polyester, also known as "PET", is used in carpet manufacturing in both spun and filament constructions. After the price of raw materials for many types of carpet rose in the early 2000s, polyester became more competitive. Polyester has good physical properties and is inherently stain-resistant. Color is infused in a molten state (solution dyeing). Polyester has the disadvantage that it tends to crush or mat down easily. It is typically used in mid- to low-priced carpeting. It also soils faster than nylon or wool.

PTT:
PTT (Polytrimethylene terephthalate) polymer, also called Sorona or 3GT (Dupont). It is a variant of polyester and new to carpet production. At this point the durability in my mind is up in the air. But this is the softest fiber I have ever felt.

In my opinion the best all around carpet fiber is nylon. The durability is excellent, it is cleanable and you can still, even with the volatility of the petroleum market, find it in most price ranges.

Now for the most important tip I can give on the purchase off any new flooring.....find something you can love. Really, if you love your flooring you will be happy for years to come.