Amy B, Bulington, ON

Wondering if you can help me?  I live in a condo with concrete floors and like the look of hardwood.  I was told that I cannot put down solid woods because of the concrete, is this true?

 Yes Amy that is true, you cannot put solid strip woods directly on concrete because it would be impossible to nail it into the concrete.    It is however possible to install solid hardwoods if you install a layer of plywood over the concrete.   It’s a rather expensive undertaking and would mean a noticeable difference in the height of the floor.   There are lots of other products that will give you that look of hardwood that are designed for concrete installations.

Laminate floors as the name would imply are layers of thin plywood or other material laminated together with the top layer being a laminate of hardwood or a melamine type of material.  Laminates are designed to go over concrete as they don’t need to be nailed in.   They have the look of solid plank hardwood and come in a large selection of colours, species and qualities.

Laminates can be installed directly over concrete floors by gluing the floor down directly or “floating” the floor.   A floating floor is installed by laying a thin underlay then applying the laminate boards directly on top.  The floor itself is not attached to the concrete thus the term floating.  Laminates are also stable, so they don’t move like solid wood floors depending on humidity conditions which can be a problem in some situation.   

Another option to consider is parquet flooring, with is glued directly over the concrete.  Parquet is small pieces of solid hardwood made into pattern; it comes prefinished or raw and finished on location.   There is a huge selection of different patterns and species of parquet in varying qualities.  

Brad D, Oakville, ON

We would like to be more Eco-friends in our next choice of flooring.  We would like to know what is available on the market that would be considered eco friendly?

Over the past decade the industry has been developing many new innovative products that can be considered Eco Friendly.

Bamboo has been available for a number of years but never caught on until recently.   Bamboo is actually a grass, and can grow 3-4 feet in a day depending on conditions making it abundant and very renewable.   It’s harder than some hardwoods and usually finished with a water based UV cured finish.

There are a number of polypropylene carpets on the market that are made from recycled pop bottles.  We carry a selection of these products and have been pleased with their performance.   When you’re finished with the carpet it can be removed and recycled to make new carpeting.

Cork is another option and is available in tiles and strips.  Cork is harvested from the living trees without having to cut it down, making it renewable.

Natural stones tiles are also eco friendly but not always suitable for every application due to their hardness.

Another product that has been on the market for over 100 years is linoleum which is basically made from lien seed oil, rosins and cork and/or wood dust over a burlap backing.   It was used on ships for many years and was commonly called battle ship linoleum.   It’s very durable and hypo-allergenic.

There are host of other less popular products recycled from post consumer products like rubber, glass metal and plastics.   We would be happy to assist you in finding the most appropriate eco-friendly product to suit your needs.

Marianne S,  Hamilton, ON

I have a few small children and a large dog.   We would like to replace the carpet in our family room but I’m confused about what carpets are most stain resistant?

Yes it can be confusing because of all the claims manufactures make with stain resistance.  

Basically what it comes down to is what the carpet is made from and if it has been treated to be stain residence. 

·        Nylon a common product for carpeting has to be treated with a stain protector like Stain Master™ as nylon is porous and stains.    But is softer and harder wearing.

·        Polypropylene is naturally stain resident as and hard wearing.

·        Polyester has also made a comeback, is been reengineered to be hard wearing and is very naturally resident.  

The selection is endless when it comes to carpeting.  If you come and visit our showroom we can help you sort out the best choice for you.