Your wood flooring guide  
 

Wood Flooring
By Gary Ng
Wood can add a great traditional touch to any home. For an addition of elegance and time tested quality, hardwood is a great option. A high quality maple or oak wood can add tremendous value to a residence, while also building a base for an elegant atmosphere. Hardwood is available in a wide variety of shades, colors, patterns, and finishes. Finding the right wood for your home can be a little overwhelming, but the process is very much worth the time. Although carpet is definitely an alternative, wood has a traditional appeal that is hard to deny. The first step is in finding out whether your home is appropriate for wood flooring. When in climates that change temperature extremes every season, hardwood may have a tendency to crack and split with expansion and contraction. High humidity is also a significant problem when considering wood flooring. Excess moisture tends to be absorbed into the wood flooring, leading to warping and buckling over time. Crowning and cupping are common problems for wood exposed to moisture. When a floor crowns or cups, it bows out of shape,

CBC's Salto brand unveils Unica
CBC Flooring’s Salto Exceptional Flooring brand offers Unica, a recycled limestone tile with an impressive 80 percent recycled content.
Wagner unveils Rapid RH 4.0
The new Rapid RH 4.0 from Wagner Electronics combines their patented Smart Sensor and a redesigned Easy Reader with patent-pending Touch-n-Sense technology for easy-to-use, fast and accurate RH testing.
Ultra-Step SingleStep new adhesive from Bostik
Bostik introduces Ultra-Set SingleStep, a wood flooring adhesive that offers moisture protection, sound deadening, crack isolation and mold protection.
WELS Sheet combines beauty, performance and low-maintenance
CBC Flooring’s redesigned, technologically-advanced WELS Sheet, under the CERES PVC-Free Flooring line, responds to growing demand for durable PVC-free flooring products.
Anderson?s Tropical Reflections features LusterLock Ultra finish
Anderson Hardwood Floors presents Appalachian Tropical Reflections. The flooring features LusterLock Ultra, a new finish that offers “three times the resistance to scuffs and abrasion,” the company says.
CBC Flooring launches two new brands
<a href="http://www.cbcflooring.com">CBC Flooring</a> is two steps closer to becoming a single-source supplier of commercial flooring products by introducing two new brands.
USFloors' Navarre Timeless an FSC certified hardwood
USFloors presents Navarre Timeless Wood Floors, a 100 percent FSC pure certified, oil-finished hardwood flooring collection.
Dancik unveils Price List Manager
Dancik International introduces Dancik Price List Manager software version 1.0.The program is designed around the Floor Covering Business to Business Association (<a href="http://www.fcb2b.org">www.fcb2b.org</a>) standard for 832 Price Catalogs.
New Floor Heating "Learn & Earn" Webinar, by WarmlyYours
WarmlyYours announces a new training tool designed especially for flooring retailers &#8211; a 30-Minute "Learn & Earn" webinar. The webinar demonstrates how easy and profitable it is to add electric floor heating to your flooring projects... and for your selling efforts you can earn $50 cash on each sale! Click here: <a href="http://www.WarmlyYours.com/webinar">www.WarmlyYours.com/webinar</a>.
LG makes an Impression with commercial tile line
LG Hausys Floors has taken the wraps off the Impression collection of large-format commercial homogeneous tile flooring. The line offers a palette of 31 high-energy colors and an oversized 18" by 18" format. The vinyl enhanced tile is designed to offer twice the PSI resistance of traditional VCT, the company notes.
MAPEI redesigns floor adhesives line
Part of the redesign of its full line of floor covering adhesives, MAPEI has streamlined its Ultrabond ECO 20, 120 and 220 adhesives for multipurpose flooring.
Tile of Spain
Contact: Rocamador Rubio <br>Phone: 305-446-4387 <br>Email: <a href="&#109;&#97;&#105;&#108;&#116;&#111;&#58;&#109;&#105;&#97;&#109;&#105;&#64;&#109;&#99;&#120;&#46;&#101;&#115;">miami@mcx.es</a> <br>Website: <a href="http://spaintiles.info">spaintiles.info</a> <br><br>Innovation and design headlined the Tile of Spain pavilion at Coverings 2009. Manufacturers such as TAU, Apavisa, and Inalco, which earned a &#8220;Best Booth&#8221; award, unveiled the latest trends, products and technology to arrive from Spain. For more information, call 305-446-4387 or visit <a href="http://spaintiles.info">spaintiles.info</a>.
Quick-Step?s Allustra series aims for sophisticated tastes
New from Quick-Step, the Allustra series offers exotic wood looks with a smooth, glossy surface, the company says.
Wedi unveils Fundo Riolito prefab system for showers
Wedi Corp. presents the wedi Fundo Riolito, a prefabricated tileable shower system designed to drain water through a narrow gap between the cover plate and adjacent tiling. Featuring a linear or channel drain, the Riolito is available in three cover plate finishes in high quality stainless steel. The system is designed to drain at 16 gallons a minute, offered in 3" by 5" and 4" by 6" sizes, and ideal for installations where ADA requirements need to be met according to the company.
Keene's new Quiet Qurl mat features Muffler Technology
Keene Building Products' Quiet Qurl 55/025 MC MT Muffler Technology is a nominal 0.25&#8220;, &#8220;U&#8221; Groove entangled core mat designed to limit impact noise between floors. On the top side, a point bonded, moisture resistant fabric is laminated to the core so that gypsum concrete and other materials can be placed to create a floating floor. On the bottom side, a highly compressible polyester fabric is bonded. This &#8220;muffler&#8221; almost completely compresses when installed with a 1.25&#8221; gypsum concrete floor underlayment, according to the company.
Rotozip's Tile Dock designed with safety, performance in mind
The new Tile Dock tile cutting station from Rotozip provides the professional a convenient, lightweight, and safe method to secure tiles while making detailed cuts, bull nosing and edge sanding, according to the company. The system also minimizes cracking by providing support to the back of the tile. The Tile Dock Kit (part #TD1-10) includes a clamping platform, quick clamp, corner dogs, vacuum adapter, and tracing templates. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.rotozip.com">www.rotozip.com</a>.
Invista
Phone: (770) 794-4064<br>Contact Name: Sally Philson, Misti Moore<br>Email: <a href="&#109;&#97;&#105;&#108;&#116;&#111;&#58;&#115;&#97;&#108;&#108;&#121;&#46;&#112;&#104;&#105;&#108;&#115;&#111;&#110;&#64;&#105;&#110;&#118;&#105;&#115;&#116;&#97;&#46;&#99;&#111;&#109;">sally.philson@invista.com</a>, <a href="&#109;&#97;&#105;&#108;&#116;&#111;&#58;&#109;&#105;&#115;&#116;&#105;&#46;&#109;&#111;&#111;&#114;&#101;&#64;&#105;&#110;&#118;&#105;&#115;&#116;&#97;&#46;&#99;&#111;&#109;">misti.moore@invista.com</a><br>Web Address: <a href="http://www.stainmaster.com">www.stainmaster.com</a><br><br><center><strong>WE KNOW WHAT SMART SHOPPERS WANT<br>Performance &#8226; Quality &#8226; Value<br><br>We Can Help You Provide It</strong><br><em>with</em> <strong>STAINMASTER&#174; carpet <br><br><a href="http://www.stainmaster.com/about-stainmaster/surfaces_ad.jsp">Click here for details</a>.</strong></center>
EcoTekTiles, three-part modular tile system, new from Ustek
Ustek Inc., in partnership with China's Augin Team International, presents a new modular three-part tile system called EcoTekTiles. Comprising a patented engineered polymer interlocking base with a built-in underlayment and top surface tile, the product features easy locking installation, the company says. Tiles can easily be removed or replaced as needed, Ustek notes, and are offered in a range of looks, including "realistic marble, terra cotta, and wood patterned PCB as well as natural cork." For more information, visit <a href="http://www.ecotektiles.com">www.ecotektiles.com</a>.
Gem and Olympian are APC's latest
APC Cork offers the Gem and Olympian collections of cork flooring. The Gem collection features "progressive designs and shades," according to the company, and uses irridescent, metallic undertones to create a unique look. The company's Olympian range offers more traditional looks, with "subtle color variations and sophisticated lines and contours," APC said.
I.D. Premier LVT is Johnsonite?s latest
I.D. Premier LVT flooring is new from Johnsonite. Offered in 54 styles, I.D. Premier takes inspiration from wood and stone textures as well as brushed metal and solid colors.
ThermoSoft mats designed for easy installation
ThermoSoft offers its latest electric radiant floor heating mat. The UL listed system features zero EMF and offers a lifetime warranty. ThermoSoft&#8217;s 1/8&#8221; contractor-grade heating mats are designed to minimize floor height and lay flat for quick installation. Mats are easily manipulated on-site to fit any space. The 1/2&#8221; mat grid allows penetration of thin-set or self-leveling cement for one-step installation.
BOLYU Contract?s Savvy features green construction
BOLYU Contract, a Beaulieu Commercial brand, introduces Savvy, a commercial carpet tile made using Zeftron nylon 6ix fiber systems. The fiber features a minimum 25 percent recycled content. Savvy, which is available in 12 colorways, also includes Nexterra modular tile backing ? made using 85 percent post-consumer recycled content. <strong><em>For details, circle 298 on the Reader Inquiry Card.</em></strong>
Tarkett?s new laminates: Trek and Escapade floors
Tarkett Residential introduces Trek and Escapade, the first laminate flooring made in the company&#8217;s new production facility in Clarion, Pa. Designed to balance &#8220;North American style, superior performance and great value,&#8221; the products feature Americore, an inner core board made using only cherry and oak chips. Trek is a 7mm product offered in four looks. Escapade, an 8mm floor, is available in 13 patterns.
Vitromex goes for marble feel with Turkana
Replicating the veining found in soft marble, Vitromex&#8217;s Turkana is made using the latest state-of-the-art technology in ceramic tile, the company says.

most frequently in the middle of the floor. This can be a difficult issue to correct once moisture has caused the problem. Once you have decided that hardwood is the right choice for you as a homeowner, there are many options from which to choose. Maple and oak are more traditional species, while cedar gives a more rustic and natural atmosphere. A higher gloss finish will result in a more reflective surface, while a lower gloss fits in with a darker atmosphere. The thickness of the boards is also an important factor in selecting the right wood product. Thicker boards will be more durable and more resistant to moisture. Moisture is a big problem for hardwood flooring. Avoid exposing wood to moisture as much as possible. If storing wood outdoors before installation, be sure to cover it with a tarp in case of any precipitation. Clean up spills on the wood immediately in order to prevent eventual warping and cracking. If water beads up on the surface of the flooring, it is time for another coat of finishing on the flooring. Protect your investment, and wood can last for generations.
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