We're Floored!

“Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Life’s Little Instruction Book

When we long ago began to think about what to use for flooring, Vince and I discovered that there were a lot of Issues to discuss. Even though this beach is extremely humid with an average humidity about 76%, I like to have doors and windows open when the weather is nice. That means the floors need to be made from something that will remain dimensionally stable, especially since it is common to have the problem of wood floors “cupping” in humidity. This discussion ranged for many years, until Vince and I agreed on using engineered flooring, which has worked out well both in appearance and in function and will allow me the freedom to have the house open from time to time without dire consequences.

SO, what exactly is engineered flooring?

Engineered wood flooring is comprised of two or more layers of wood that are attached in the form of a plank. Laminate, vinyl and veneer floors are often confused with engineered wood floors, but are categorically not an engineered wood floor - laminate uses an image of wood on it's surface, vinyl is plastic formed to look like wood, and veneer uses a thin layer of wood with a core that could be a number of different composite wood products (most commonly, high density fiberboard).Generally, each engineered wood board consists of three or four layers of real wood, which are fixed together in a cross-ply construction. This means that it is more stable than one solid piece of real wood, and will withstand varying temperatures more effectively than solid wood.

After reading up on different manufacturers and speaking with some of the technical folks about the beach environment, we chose Wilsonart as the engineered flooring that would be most likely to survive the humid environment, the dogs, and sandy feet. The Wilsonart flooring is beautiful and looks like a natural hardwood floor, and that was as important to me as the performance. Other issues to consider were scratch resistance slip resistance stain resistance, and strength. Just as with tile, engineered flooring has been tried and tested to specific requirements for business and residential use. The measurements are available from any manufacturer, but it sometimes takes some effort to either find the information on the web-site or to speak with an engineer or technical support person who can clearly related the answers that you need. Just like anything else, it makes a big difference if the homeowner does his homework before venturing into asking questions about a product. After all, there is a need to know what to ask. This product is a floating floor that is glued together but not glued down. Each piece is fitted together and glued with a specific adhesive both for strength and also to help maintain the dimensional stability. Additionally, the flooring was not installed until after the air conditioning was turned on and the planks had been acclimated for 72 hours. We have every reason to believe that the floor will not cup, and we will see how it wears over time.

Once the decision about the type of flooring has been made, the next step is to find a knowledgeable retail store that uses excellent installers. The most wonderful product imaginable can be ruined by a poor installation. After a few bad experiences on the beach, Karl recommended that I sit down with Elizabeth at A and B Carpet One in Kitty Hawk. When I went to the store and asked her about Wilsonart, she said, “Honey, they call me Mrs. Wilsonart around here, because I love the stuff.” Elizabeth has attended several corporate seminars and knows the product and its applications well. When the time came to do the on site measurements for the flooring, Elizabeth came up the beach with Karen, who calmly measured and explained about how long the runs could be before there would need to be a break and which way the flooring should go. She also had some great ideas about products that we could use in the rooms that will have Wilsonart later on. I very much appreciated both of these ladies, both for their great personalities and approaches to me as well as for their knowledge and expertise. This Carpet One store has been owned by Frank Adams for about 35 years. His son, Chris, works at the shop. They were both supportive and helpful when working around the inevitable issues that come with building a house. This is definitely a great place to go for flooring.

Our Wilsonart, carpet, and vinyl flooring was installed by A and A Custom Wood Flooring, owned by two brothers, Art and Andy Garza. I was so impressed with these men. They did beautiful work, but the best part of meeting them was simply that they are such good people. I have said that same thing so many times while writing the blog, but it has been true for so many pieces of the house. Vince and I have met some truly wonderful people, and I am so pleased to have that kind of positive energy throughout the thousands of pieces and parts that have made up the house.

What can I say? We’re FLOORED!