Archives for October 2015

A Stroll Through Hardwood in Autumn

A Stroll Through Hardwood in Autumn

Another season is upon us and like you, we cannot believe it is Autumn already. It is such a beautiful time of the year when everything seems to burst with its last beauty. As you stroll outside you can’t help but capture the warm tones of the colored leaves on the trees. You can feel the cool air on your skin as a slight breeze brushes by. As you inhale the beautiful day, you can smell the rich earth as it decomposes the bountiful vegetation of the summer.

Our topic for today is hardwood and there is no better time to talk about it than the present.

As the leaves fall from the trees you can’t help but notice the hardwood much more than the season before. The different bark on the trees are more apparent showcasing the many hardwood (and softwood) options that are available locally. But most of us aren’t Arborists and cannot distinguish the difference of the tree species just by the bark. So just as mother nature saved up all year for the grand finale of the Autumn color burst, we have saved up a few of our best hardwood floors to show you the different hardwood installations we have done in the past few months. Exciting times!!

Solid hardwood adds warmth, character and value to any room in your home. There are a variety of finishes, colors, widths and options to match your style – rustic to modern. Let’s talk about some of those options.

Back in September, we installed a lovely Baltic Oak hardwood floor in a large family room in Kittery, Maine. The method of installation was a floating floor. Unlike traditional solid wood planks that are nailed down, a “floating floor” is where the planks are snapped together. Our customer had a cement sub floor instead of the usual plywood underlay. This was the best method to transform the cold modern look of cement to that of a rich, warm classic floor. No matter what angle we shot the photo or the time of day we took the picture,  the new hardwood floor works beautifully in this space.

October Blog Baltic Oak 1

Another hardwood floor project we did last month was in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The customer chose Sommerset 7” engineered wide plank hardwood floor Color:Mist for their kitchen, dining area and staircase. The hardwood floor installation was the standard method of nailing the hardwood to the wooden subfloor instead of using the method used above.

The look and feel of these new spaces are light and airy. Have you ever noticed that walking into a brightly colored room can lift your spirits? In the same way, flooring design elements like colors, styles, textures and finishes influence the way a room feels. Vast rooms can be made to feel cozier with matte, warm tone floors. Add sophistication with a dark hardwood floor. Use light colored floors to make a room feel more spacious and airy as was done with this project.

Autumn Hardwood 2

The third hardwood floor we would like to share with you was in a home in North Hampton, New Hampshire. This month we worked closely with the Powell Builders in Hampton, NH (http://powellbuildersllc.com) and our customer on this hardwood floor project. Our customer chose Maple Natural Bistro, Coastal Grade 3 1/4” wide throughout the foyer, kitchen, dining room, 2 bedrooms, 2nd floor hallway and a sitting room.

Autumn Hardwood 3

Autumn Hardwood 4

Your Carpet Installation Was Perfect. Now What? – Extending the life and quality of your carpeting

Your Carpet Installation Was Perfect. Now What? – Extending the life and quality of your carpeting

carpet-photo-01a You selected the carpet for your home, and it’s now been installed. You are excited about the end result, and now you want to maintain it. Just how do you go about extending the life of the carpet in your home and protecting your investment?

What are the four types of cleaning?

There are four different types of cleaning that the carpet requires. The most basic form of cleaning is vacuuming. The carpet has to be regularly vacuumed to remove the dirt regularly. In high traffic areas, the carpet may need to be vacuumed more often. If done regularly, up to 95 percent of the dirt could be removed from the carpets. Spot cleaning is performed when there is a spill. This could involve blotting a spot with a damp white towel. Spot cleaning should never include rubbing or scrubbing because this could cause the stain to settle further into the carpet. Interim cleaning is another form of cleaning. This form of cleaning targets soiling, and the equipment used is capable of targeting dirt buried deep into the carpet. Restorative cleaning is a deep cleaning treatment process that is performed by professional technicians as well. Households with pets, young children and members with allergies may need restorative cleaning more often than other households.

How to extend the life of the carpet in a home

There are several things that one can do to extend the life of the carpets in the home. How long the carpet lasts in a home depends on how often the flooring is cleaned. In following these tips, one can extend the life of the carpet.

Carpet Installation & Maintenace (Maintenance) Tips

Deep cleaning should be done periodically. Periodically deep cleaning should be done on a semi-annual schedule. Annually to semi-annually is the recommended cleaning schedule for most households.

Eliminate spots and spills immediately. The spots are removed immediately with a spot cleaning solution. These cleaning solutions are available at most grocery stores and are often quite effective in removing the initial stain.

Use carpet padding throughout house. Carpet padding in homes is used to absorb some of the impact created with regular traffic. The impact of daily traffic causes the fibers to become weaker, and padding addresses this by limiting the impact from walking and running.

Use matting near entries. Every area should have matting at every entry in the home. Giving people the opportunity to wipe their feet at each entry point offering access to carpeted areas limits the amount of dirt an area is exposed to over time.

Upgrade the vacuum in a home. A quality vacuum protects the piling in the carpet from wear and tear. More dirt can be removed on a much deeper level if the right vacuum is used. Generally speaking, the more expensive vacuuming systems are much better at targeting dirt well beneath the surface.

Establish no carpet zones. In preventing people from wearing carpet in a high traffic areas, oil, dirt and grime is less likely to make it to the carpet. The carpet is cleaner because it is exposed to dirt far less often.

A professionally installed carpet is the first line of defense in protecting the flooring. The real work comes with regular maintenance. Regular maintenance includes vacuuming, spot cleaning, restorative cleaning and interim cleaning. All forms of cleaning are necessary to keep the flooring looking its best for a longer period of time.

photo-carpeting-thumbnail Daughter's Bedroom