Flooring Questions & More: January 2008

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Hardwood Flooring Trivia: Red vs. Yellow Birch

Want to stump a friend with some flooring trivia? Ask him or her to explain sourcing and manufacturing differences between "Red Birch" and "Yellow Birch" hardwood flooring. Below, you will find some background on birch--a fine choice for residential hardwood flooring--and of course the answer to this question.

Birch trees grows in the northern regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. In pre-colonial and colonial times, Native Americans stretched birch bark over the frames of their canoes. Birch is a straight-grained product that takes stain quite well. In turn, this attribute allows hardwood flooring manufacturers to offer birch flooring across a relatively wide color palette. Perhaps for all of the above reasons, birch is an increasingly popular choice among consumers looking for something "a little different" in their hardwood floor. Birch offers both beauty and mystique.

At times, hardwood flooring marketeers refer to "birch," "Red Birch" and "Yellow Birch." Faced with this noise, consumers incorrectly may infer that the terms distinguish among physical staining options. Indeed, the terms "Red Birch" and "Yellow Birch" have nothing to do with stain color. In its natural state, "Red Birch" is the pinker of the two whereas "Yellow Birch" presents a more creamy or golden hue. However, the terms "red" and "yellow" are relevant only in the sense of a relative comparison as neither hardwood's visual appearance closely approaches the primary color for which it is named.

So, if not stains, what do the terms "red" and "yellow" designate? Consumers familiar with oak hardwood flooring might guess that the different birch names represent product from different species of birch trees. Such is the case with oak hardwood flooring, where, as the American Hardwood Export Council's fine website makes clear, red oak and white oak reference product harvested from two entirely different species of trees.

As applied to "Red Birch" and "Yellow Birch," however, the oak-derived two-tree hypothesis proves false. It turns out that "Red Birch" and "Yellow Birch" derive from the same species of tree, albeit from different parts. The older, stronger, non-living central wood or "heartwood" of the tree carries a more "pinkish" hue reminiscent of a cherry--hence, the "Red Birch." The younger, living, creamier-looking sapwood is the "Yellow Birch." Indeed, to be truly technical, "Red Birch" is really the heartwood of what is commonly called the "Yellow Birch" tree.

Flooring Stain of the Month--Mustard

Colonel Mustard often is a doer of dastardly deeds in Clue. His namesake condiment is among the most heinous of flooring staining agents.

This month's "Flooring Stain of the Month" is good 'ole mustard. Mustard has been around for centuries. It is mentioned specifically in several instances in the Bible, for example. Most mustards, e.g., the traditional yellow (a.k.a. "ball park") varieties like Plochman's, French's, Heinz and the like, contain a substance called "turmeric." Turmeric essentially is a dye, which means if mustard containing this dye contacts flooring there is a strong chance that the product literally will change the color of the flooring. Obviously, factors such as the length of contact and type of flooring (e.g., carpet + mustard = bad news as the mustard literally can dye the product a new color) also impact the damage done.

Here are some tips to consider when confronting that dastardly mustard stain on your flooring.

First, remain calm. While, the stain--particularly if set in--may look unsightly, it is possible that acting too rashly may make the problem worse. Remember, we are dealing with floor covering, not life or death!

Second, review very, very carefully any and all instructions and ingredients on the cleaner you intend to use. You should almost always use a cleaner or cleaning agent specifically approved by the manufacturer of the flooring (more on the manufacturer below). This is critical not only to ensure you do not void potential warranty coverage but also beacause certain cleaners may contain components that actually will make your flooring stain worse. For example, with regard to mustard specifically, other sources report that chemicals such as ammonia, often found in household cleaners, will set a mustard stain more thoroughly into fabric. Rather than helping the situation, you may be hurting it. This tidbit about ammonia and mustard being a bad mix is especially scary given that one of the most popular responses to a Google Search (if not the most popular) regarding mustard stain removal from flooring actually recommends (as of this date) using ammonia. Yikes! The lesson here is you cannot be too careful. EVEN IF YOU BELIEVE YOUR CLEANER IS ACCEPTABLE, BEFORE MOVING FORWARD, PROCEED THROUGH THE NEXT STEP!

Third, if at all possible, contact the retailer who sold you the floor as well as the flooring manufacturer. While this may seem like overkill, no one will be able to address nuances that may be involved in stain removal better than the product's manufacturer. At a minimum, hop on the manufacturer's web site--you obviously are comfortable enough with computers and the Internet as they relate to floor covering to be perusing this blog. There generally is no excuse for not likewise checking out the manufacturer's specific recommendations. Need help finding the proper site? Keep in mind that an earlier entry to this blog contains a host of links to helpful flooring manufacturer web sites. To jump there, click here.

With regard to mustard stains, you will find that hard surface flooring manufacturers, such as Armstrong, have specific products they recommend and (unfortunately) that for mustard stains in particular that they emphasize the stain may not be entirely removeable. Other suppliers, such as Crossville--a porcelain tile manufacturer--provide more general guidelines, grouping mustard together along with a series of culinary staining agents but at least referencing specific cleaning products to attack the problem.

Furthermore, when it comes to carpeting, the fabric manufacturers may have specific recommendations for removal of particular stains. As an example, Stainmaster--perhaps among the more famous fabric providers--offers a specific set of instructions for mustard stain treatment on its own Stainmaster web site.

Certainly with certain hard surface products and a fresh stain in particular, you may believe that the "need for speed" outweighs expending significant research time on removal techniques. Ultimately, that judgment call is up to you and neither I, this post, nor anyone else can take responsibility for the consequences either way. Keep in mind, regardless of when you reach this point, that with regard to fresh stains always blot, never rub.

If your mustard stain has dried and set, you may have little chance of resolving the stain completely if at all (again, depending upon the floor covering involved). Your best hope is to utilize some type of tooling (even your finger) to scrape away (do not rub or grind) dried portions of the mustard stain prior to applying any liquid or liquid cleaner.

At some point, you may decide to "go MacGyver" on your stain. Particularly if you eschew the flooring manufacturer's and retailer's recommendations, you are on your own and may even void warranty coverage that otherwise might help you (this would always depend on the circumstances--product, timing, etc., yet another reason to always investigate prior to acting rashly).

Cool Flooring References in T.V. & Movies

gleFlooring. It is everywhere and nowhere it seems. Ask yourself, "how many cool flooring visuals or cool flooring references have been made in movies or on television shows?" Home improvement pieces don't count--flooring is often the subject there.

Certainly, there have been famous references to surfacing, perhaps none more so than the "Yellow Brick Road" in the Wizard of Oz. Of course, that is a road and not a floor, so it does NOT count.

Over time, this entry hopes to capture any and all interesting flooring visuals or references in cinema, television, and music videos. Feel free to post your suggestions--any that make the cut will be edited into this entry with full credit given to the submitter. While not required, any links to the image(s) that you can provide always will be appreciated. All decisions of the elite FQ&M editing staff are final!

1. Dance Floor, Saturday Night Fever.
2. C.I.A. Lobby Seal, featured in movies such as The Bourne Ultimatum and Patriot Games, along with various episodes of the X Files.
3. Rotating Stairwells, Harry Potter films (various). Also flooring kudos to the chess scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which featured a life-sized chess board. (Check out that chess link, some pretty neat games).
4. Transporter, Star Trek. Okay, this is a bit of a stretch, especially since the flooring does not appear absolutely necessary for the function of this fictional device. However, most folks presented a picture of a transporter room would recognize it in large part due to the flooring design. This fact along with the fact that producers of television and film generally have ignored flooring merit the inclusion, at least on a temporary basis.
5. Yellow Platforms, Nancy Sinatra's, These Boots are Made for Walking. Younger readers may not realize this theme song was not originally created for Full Metal Jacket. Watch and learn. Now that you have finished, let's admit that as neat as Nancy and her dancers were in their time, they cannot compete with today's technology.

Sports Themed Flooring Ideas For Super Bowl Week and Beyond

As the New England Patriots and N.Y. Giants prepare to lock horns in Super Bowl LXII, readers may wonder what options, if any, exist for them to express their sports allegiances, NFL or otherwise, through floor covering.

Certainly, myriad options abound and I am not going to attempt to catalog or critique them all at this time. One area I will touch concerns sports-themed area rugs. When considering this option for expressing one's undying loyalty to a college or professional franchise, readers should understand that there is a wide variance in the beauty and quality in the marketplace. Quite frankly, the offerings that home centers, discounters, and on-line purveyors hawk to the public are often (but not always) of inferior color, quality, and construction. My advice is, wherever possible, try to inspect an actual example or sample of the product. As I explain below, the qualitative advantages of the better-made goods are well worth the additional investment of time and money.

One group of sports-themed area rugs to review and strongly consider are those from Milliken & Company. Milliken is among the world's leaders in developing innovative textile/fabric-related products. Few people realize that Milliken, among other things, produces the "fuzz" on tennis balls, the fabric for car seats, or the innards of automobile air bags. Milliken Carpet, is a division of this company that is among the leading providers of patterned carpet--whether broadloom, carpet tiles, area rugs, or other related items.

What makes Milliken's products different quite frankly is their printing technology. Milliken's use of color and design is tremendous and really makes a visible difference in the finished product versus many knock offs. Likewise, Milliken's general manufacturing process results in a quality construction worthy of the design element.

Milliken's sports themed rugs include a host of offerings from both the collegiate and professional ranks. Officially licensed, these products include options featuring a single team logo on coordinating-colored backgrounds, a team logo superimposed over a football field, multiple/repeating examples of the team logo, and even holiday-related variants of the team logo. This link points to a pdf file featuring these rugs. In addition to the NFL-licensed product, Milliken also offers college-themed rubber mats. What strikes me most about these products are the colors. The "Carolina Blue" is in fact "Carolina Blue," not some washed out (or worse pseduo-fluorescent) variant. True fans will value and appreciate the difference. Milliken even has a program where they will turn a .jpg file of any photo into a custom rug or mat; the pricing generally is extremely reasonable especially given the company's willingness to create a single rug or mat at a time (quantity discounts may apply for local elementary or high schools). The photo does not even have to be sports-related, it can be almost anything. Of course, all such options and programs would need to be worked through your locally-authorized Milliken retailer.

Of course, the themed rugs are only a start for those developing a "sports cave" of their very own. Dozens of other NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, PGA, and NCAA related merchandise options such as puffy chairs, posters, penants, memorabilia, penants, and the intriguing (and perhaps disturbing) line of monster-sized products from fathead, can be combined with themed flooring to complete your masterpiece of design.

Good luck! Anyone caring to submit images of their finished denizens of sports worship may find them subsequently posted in this entry.

Allergy Sufferers: Ways to Avoid Carpet Yet Have Soft, Comfortable Flooring

Allergy and asthma sufferers are keenly aware of indoor (and outdoor) air quality. General advice regarding reducing exposure to indoor allergens abounds. Indeed, over the years, many commonplace home furnishings have become tainted, whether deserved or not, by a perception that they contribute to allergy problems. General advice regarding reducing exposure abounds. Among them are mattresses and indoor carpeting, each often portrayed as dust, dust mite , or other allergen magnets.

Homeowners desiring to eliminate carpeting, either for aesthetic or health-related concerns, often face a quandary. While options such as hardwood, laminate, or ceramic tile offered maintenance advantages, these hard surface flooring solutions also carry certain "baggage"--namely their "hardness" and, especially in the case of ceramic/porcelain/stone, a "coldness" as compared to carpeting. What is an allergy or asthma sufferer (or anyone else for that matter) who wants to eliminate carpeting yet maintain that soft, cushion-like feel to do?

One relatively recent solution available in the U.S. market are various lines of fiberglass-backed resilient flooring. Products such as Armstrong Cushion Step or Tarkett's FiberFloor, afford consumers what is almost a hard surface-soft surface hybrid floor that offers advantages of both. The products generally offer a urethane wear layer, meaning they are a snap to maintain and clean. Visually, the printing technology available today means that these products can offer design-minded folks an enormous palette of color and pattern. Further, unlike some of their hard surface siblings, these fiberglass-backed products are extremely soft underfoot. Thus, they address consumer concerns over "hardness" and "coldness" that often arise with other hard surfacing options.

The fiberglass-backed flooring products also offer installation flexibility. Unlike many felt-backed resilient products, the fiberglass offerings generally do not require a full-spread adhesive-based installation. (Certainly, that method typically is available as an option and likely will result in the best overall performance of the finished product; however, do-it-yourselfers are not necessarily obligated to adopt this methodology). Rather, fiberglass products typically also may be installed via (a) a loose-lay method; or (b) a modified loose-lay that involves strategic use of double-sided tape in specific areas. Of course, these are only general parameters--consumers and installers need to consult the specific installation instructions from each manufacturer to be sure they follow proper procedures. The nature of the installation may dictate that only certain of the otherwise generally permissible methodologies are available (e.g., often, if more than one seam is required, the fiberglass product must be full-spread adhered).

Given the options of loose-lay or modified loose-lay, fiberglass flooring provides yet another advantage to consumers---relative ease of change as compared to most alternatives. Because the flooring essentially is floating above the subfloor or is taped down, it can more easily be removed as the homeowner's design tastes change. This means that, years down the road, there will be far less time and expense required to change products or design as compared to most alternatives. Moreover, the relative ease of removal means that these products at times can "be saved" from in-home disasters that might sink alternative surfacing, hard or soft. Their are anecdotes, for example, of cases where a refrigerator/ice maker/basement floods a fiberglass-backed floor and the owner has merely pulled up the product, hung it outside/otherwise dried it, and then reinstalled it. Obviously, such an option would be unavailable with carpeting, most other resilient, and hardwood. Also, while some laminates promote their ability to be "disengaged" that attribute likely is of little relevance in cases of small to mild flooding as the water is likely to damage the underlying product.

Thus, fiberglass flooring offers an exciting option for people seeking an allergenic, soft flooring alternative. Keep in mind that the products are not without their potential drawbacks, however. Perhaps the most common issue that leads to consumer frustration involves a tendency of these products to buckle as the ambient environment's temperature and moisture levels change with the seasons. Keep in mind that not all such floors will buckle and that the issue's propensity may vary depending upon not only the region where it is installed but also based on manufacturer and installation methodology. Consumers concerned about this possibility should consider giving up some of the "ease of removal" flexibility associated with the loose-lay/modified loose-lay installation options (if available) and instead opt for a full spread. Consumers and/or owners ultimately should consult their local flooring professional for specific advice regarding the recommended installation methods and product use most suited for their particular needs and application.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Industry Trade Magazine Links

The following are some of the more useful links to sources of flooring industry news:

Floor Covering News: http://www.floorcoveringnews.net/

Floor Covering Weekly: http://www.floorcoveringweekly.com/

Engineered Hardwood Flooring

The Benefits of Engineered Hardwood Flooring

Engineered hardwood flooring consists of various layers of hardwood veneers, with each veneer placed perpendicular to the direction of the veneer above and/or below it. The manufacturer adheres the veneers to one another utilizing various adhesive compounds. The final product generally ranges in total thickness from as little as 1/4" to 3/4" thick , with the majority of engineered hardwood flooring being approximately 3/8" thick. Only a portion of this total thickness, generally ranging from 1mm to 4mm represents the "top" or "visual" layer of the flooring. This layer will consist of the species of hardwood the consumer desires in their installed floor.

Wood is a natural product--it comes from trees, of course. The origins of the product have a significant impact on its ultimate performance for even though a hardwood floor is no longer "living," the wood in the floor will still react to temperature and moisture interacting with the product on a cellular level. Specifically, all hardwood flooring will tend to expand or contract along the width of the grain's direction. With solid hardwood floors, this process of expansion or contraction often results either in visible gaps along each of the "long sides" of individual strip or plank boards during winter months (when heating and dry conditions pull moisture out of the ambient environment) or in peaking, cupping, "overwood", etc. along those same "long sides" of the strip or plank boards during summer months (when the wood begins to absorb some of the excess moisture from the ambient environment).

With engineered flooring, the finished product is far more dimensionally stable than solid counterparts. The performance advantage results from the manner in which suppliers manufacture the product. Specifically, by placing an individual veneer perpendicular to the direction of the veneer immediately above and/or below it, the manufacturer plays on the property of hardwood that it only expands or contracts along the width of the grain's direction. Placing veneers at perpendicular angles to one another causes one veneer to try to expand and contract in one direction while the veneers immediately above and/or below are expanding or contracting in the opposite direction. What results is a system whereby the individual veneers work to keep one another from moving much if at all relative to similarly-sized solid hardwood. Yet another tactic manufacturers can use to limit movement is to utilize different species of hardwood in the veneers themselves. While the top or "visual" layer may be oak, maple, jatoba, walnut, cherry, or any of dozens of other desirable species, the internal veneers may be completely different species, such as birch. Because different species of hardwood will react slightly differently to the same environmental conditions, utilizing a combination of species in the finished product only enhances the benefits available from the perpendicularly-placed veneers.

So, what does all this jargon mean to the end user or consumer? Simply that the finished engineered hardwood floor generally will perform better, all else equal, to a solid hardwood flooring counterpart. Keep in mind that no flooring product is indestructible and certainly engineered hardwood can and will react visibly once environmental conditions are harsh enough. However, a solid floor under similar stresses would expand or contract more violently.

Yet another advantage of the engineered hardwood floor is that it is far more eco-friendly. As noted above, engineered flooring often involves use of veneers from different species. While there are performance benefits involved in selecting veneers from a host of species (see above), there are also significant environmental benefits. Specifically, certain desirable hardwood visuals such as American Walnut, Santos Mahogany, and other exotic species are in short supply and thus quite expensive. Moreover, some of these species come from trees that take up to 200 years to reach maturity. Utilizing a mere 2 mm of such relatively rare hardwoods (along with veneers from other species) for the construction of a final product in engineered flooring thus conserves significant natural resources. By comparison, a 3/4" solid piece of the same rare species would use over 9 times the amount of the same rare hardwood species. See http://www.convertunit.com/distance_length_converter.php (converting .75" to metric, over 19 mm). Because there often will be no visual difference in the installed product (especially if the manufacturer creates the "top" or "visual" veneer of the engineered floor via a dry, solid-sawn technique), the engineered hardwood option thus offers the same visual quality and design satisfaction while conserving natural resources. Add to this benefit the floor's superior performance attributes and engineered hardwood flooring stands head and shoulders above its solid counterparts.

Yet, despite all of the above, undisputed information, consumers routinely select 3/4" solid hardwood products, particularly in northern U.S. markets. Several factors motivate such choices, including: (a) consumer perception that engineered hardwood flooring is "fake" whereas solid flooring is "the real thing"; (b) price (in many but not all cases, the added steps of constructing an engineered floor may result in a higher-priced product vs. a solid hardwood flooring alternative in the same species; (c) ignorance--consumers who otherwise might select engineered flooring due to its performance or environmental advantages may leave the choice to a flooring contractor or installer who selects product based on habit; (d) availability--there are often large quantities of inferior-graded 3/4" solid products available at lumber yards, home centers, liquidation outlets, and the like and these are often selected by someone other than the ultimate consumer (see also (c) above). Moreover, historically new home construction in northern climates required use of 3/4" solid hardwood flooring to provide structural integrity to the finished dwelling. Hence, all the stories about folks renovating older homes who pull up carpeting to reveal "beautiful hardwood floors." Those floors may not necessarily have ever been intended as anything other than a subfloor!

In sum, regardless of the ultimate source of the motivation, many northern U.S. market consumers experience of seeing, walking on, and living with 3/4" solid flooring, creates a comfort level with that profile. Whether part of their conscious or subconscious, that comfort level ultimately motivates the consumer to select 3/4" flooring for their new home or remodeling product. While there is nothing inherently wrong with the choice--particularly in regard to relatively plentiful and easily renewed species such as oak--the engineered flooring advantage remains undisputed. Hopefully, this article creates more interest in this environmentally friendly, superior-performing option for beautiful hardwood flooring.

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