Hardwood Flooring Guide

St. Louis, MO, May 14, 2010–President Obama’s Home Star program, commonly called “Cash for Caulkers,” has been amended to recognize wood products, including wood flooring.

The program is aimed at kick-starting the construction industry and creating green jobs through rebates for energy-saving home improvements.

The amended legislation is receiving support in both the House and the Senate.  In the House version, Representative Stupak (D-MI) introduced the legislation and has won the support of the House Energy Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA).

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) supported the legislation in the Senate.  Final passage is expected to take some time, but having the wood provision in both bills is a positive move for home owners and businesses looking to add wood flooring to their homes and businesses.  Wood is recognized by many environmental groups as the only renewable flooring option available, making it a green building material.

The legislation was supported by the Hardwood Federation, a coalition of more than 30 associations, including the National Wood Flooring Association, representing the interests of the U.S. hardwood industry.  The industry employs millions of families throughout the country, representing thousands of jobs in nearly every state and hundreds of Congressional districts.

Armstrong Increases Wood Flooring Prices

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Lancaster, Pa., February 17, 2010 – Armstrong Hardwood Flooring clarified today that it will initiate a five to seven percent price increase in the United States and Canada on solid hardwood flooring products effective with shipments on April 1st, 2010.  This increase is an adjustment to the previously announced increase, originally planned to take effect March 15th, 2010.  Engineered hardwood flooring products will receive an increase in the 1-4% range.

“As we communicated in January, lumber and energy prices are rising.  Significant  saw mill capacity was taken off-line during the recession and the impact on lumber costs in the second half of 2009 have been significant.  Since our announcement in January, weather conditions in logging regions have worsened and log shortages have become severe.  This has been compounded by an increase in demand from flooring mills that have previously reduced their yard inventory levels.  We believe further raw material inflation is likely in the coming months,” commented Daniel Call, vice president, Wood Product Management.

Hardwood Flooring Shortages are Here! and Prices On the Rise!

It is hard to believe that in this economy that any sector of business would dare to increase the cost of their goods to the consumer. But it is true and it is real.

Let’s face it the economy has been terrible for the last 3 years, in particular the housing and home improvement industry which has really been hit hard.  Because consumers are not buying new homes or remodeling existing ones it creates a chain reaction where the manufacturers slow down, lay off employees and order much less of their raw wood.  If manufacturers slow down then the Loggers do not go into the forest to harvest the trees.

Producing lumber for hardwood flooring does not just happen over night, flooring manufacturers have to try and guess what they expect their orders of hardwood flooring will be at least 9 months ahead,  then they have to have independent loggers go into the forest to harvest selected areas. That lumber then has to be transported to the mill where its air dried for several months and then kiln dried and processed into whatever the wood is being made into. This process takes months and with the troubled economy no one wants to have millions of dollars of raw wood stock piled sitting around.  So what this means is whatever material is on hand goes up in price and whatever comes in to be milled costs more.

So either buy your flooring now or be prepared for higher costs for hardwood flooring in the very near future. One advantage we have here at Hosking Hardwood Flooring is that we purchase our flooring by the truck load and as of right now we have a lot of quality hardwood flooring in stock in our warehouses where we plan on keeping our prices down for as long as we can, Check out our IN-STOCK specials website at www.floorspecials.com for quality flooring at below wholesale prices. While our supplies last!

Mannington Adura Luxury Vinyl Tile (Vinyl Tile | Vinyl Planks)

Luxury Vinyl Tile from Mannington (Adura) is not your typical LVT — it’s easy to install for DIY, stylish and durable. Mannington Adura LVT stands out in a crowd with their new LOC n GO innovations. The LOC n GO products from Mannington feature pre-glued tabs which interlock for a durable and secure floating installation. This LOC n GO attribute on Mannington Adura Luxury Vinyl Tiles gets rid of the need for messy adhesives and cuts the installation time in half — saving you both time and money.  Mannington manufacturers a Distinctive Plank Collection and  Luxury Wood Plank look

Homeowners have fallen in love with the option of using a grout for installation with the Mannington Adura LVT tile collections. During installation, a gap would be left between the vinyl tiles which can be filled in with grout specially designed by Mannington for use with their LVT tile collections (more flexible than grout for ceramic/porcelain tile). This grout feature creates a more realistic appearance of a tiled floor. The tiles can also just be butted edge to edge .

For more information on Mannington Adura Luxury Vinyl Tile

Armstrong Luxury Vinyl Tile ( Vinyl Tile | Vinyl Planks)

Armstrong created the perfect solution to hard to install, boring sheet vinyl — Luxury Vinyl Tiles. From wood patterns to tile patterns, to solids, cork and retro — homeowners can find exactly what they’re looking for in a vinyl flooring from Armstrong Luxury Vinyl Tile. These vinyl tiles are easy to install yourself, they are stylish and durable, and if anything does happen to damage a portion of your floor, a single tile can be lifted out of the floor and replaced.

For more information on Armstrong Vinyl Tile

Alloc Laminate Flooring

Alloc Laminate Flooring is a laminate manufacturer internationally famous for their top of the line laminate floors and constant innovations. Alloc Laminate offers both High Pressure Laminates and Direct Pressure Laminates. They also offer a unique aluminum locking system in the Alloc Original Collection, the Alloc Commercial Collection and the Alloc Domestic Collection. Homeowners also love the wax-impregnated edges found on Alloc Laminate flooring products, which increases water resistance. In a move to make installation even easier, Alloc has created a Monotrack for quick installation of the matching moldings for their laminate floors. Alloc Laminate floors are becoming harder and harder to get in the United States, as these products need to be shipped from overseas — but can afford to wait the longer than usual shipping times, Alloc is a product well worth it.

WilsonArt Laminate Flooring (WilsonArt Laminate Floors)

While most of laminate flooring manufacturers make their products with direct pressure laminate (dpl), WilsonArt is famous for creating their entire collection with high pressure laminate (hpl). HPL offers superior impact resistance, heat resistance and excellent sound reduction. Although most HPL laminate floors are saved for commercial settings, WilsonArt shares these designs with homeowners, who love WilsonArt for their superior laminate flooring products. WilsonArt has created quite a variety of options with their collections, 3-1/2 inch Classic Styles, 5 inch Classic Planks, 5 inch Classic Styles collection, 5 inch wide Silken Collection, 7-3/4 wide Estate Plus Planks. They even offer a Special Value Collection called 7-3/4 Classic Standard Planks for consumers on a tight budget.

If you desire the Tile look WilsonArt offers a Classic Tile collection.

For more information on WilsonArt Laminate Flooring

WILSONART NEWS UPDATE

WILSONART ANNOUNCES TWO INDUSTRY EXCLUSIVES:
RESIDENTIAL IMPACT WARRANTY, NEW ENHANCED PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY
Amplifying performance, beauty of design & finish for HPL Flooring

Temple, Texas (August 31, 2009) — Wilsonart Flooring takes the lead with two new laminate flooring industry exclusives. For the first time, effective September 1st, the company’s residential flooring products will be covered with a warranty for impact resistance, reinforcing the High Pressure Laminate (HPL) advantage over low (direct) pressure laminate (DPL) and wood products. On the technology front, the new Clarilyst™ Enhanced Performance creates a stronger surface that also amplifies the beauty of design and finish.
“Wilsonart Flooring’s performance and durability have reached new heights with these new developments, which will provide consumers with innovative new ‘reasons to believe’ in our HPL laminate flooring,” said Marketing Communications Manager Tammy Weadock. “Our new Residential Impact Warranty reassures our customer that everyday mishaps won’t hurt her Wilsonart floor, while the Clarilyst technology assures its ongoing beauty and wear resistance.”
RESIDENTIAL IMPACT WARRANTY: WILSONART FLOORING PASSES THE TEST OF TIME
By introducing the industry’s first impact resistance warranty, Wilsonart Flooring reinforces the superior performance attributes of HPL, with a surface 3 to 5 times thicker than low pressure laminate that consistently outperforms hardwood and other flooring surfaces. The Residential Impact Warranty clearly demonstrates confidence in HPL’s superior strength and durability.
The Classic collection will be covered for 5 years, while Estate Plus, Red Label and Professional Studio will have a 10-year Impact Warranty. The existing wear, fade, stain and topical moisture guarantees remain.
So dealers can dramatize Wilsonart Flooring from a performance standpoint, the company will provide a new Impact Demonstrator, which replicates the result of a weight equivalent to an 8-ounce can dropping on flooring from a standard, three-foot countertop height. Consumers will make an emotional, real-life connection when they see what happens to samples of wood and DLP products when subjected to this falling object – and how Wilsonart Flooring performs.
CLARILYST ENHANCED PERFORMANCE: AMPLIFYING THE BEAUTY OF DESIGN AND FINISH
In an industry breakthrough, Wilsonart applied R & D advancements from the laminate countertop side of the business to flooring products with the new Clarilyst technology, to address scuffing and marring on smooth finishes. Beyond heightening wear resistance and strength, Clarilyst also provides the ability to intensify the realism, beauty and longevity of Wilsonart’s Silken and Fine Grain finish flooring.

Tarkett Laminate Flooring ( Tarkett Laminate Floors)

Tarkett Laminate Flooring is a reliable choice for your home. Currently, Tarkett Laminate has five collections in their laminate line: New Frontiers (featuring exotic wood species), Journeys, Cross Country, Trek (Value Collection) and Escapade (Value Collection). Many of the collections from Tarkett Laminate come with a Lifetime Warranty (Value Collections are 25 years) and feature the Tarkett Americore — meaning that their laminate flooring collections (except for Value Collections) are produced with 100% hardwood core boards (Cherry & Oak), ensuring superior durability and indentation resistance.

For more information on Tarkett Laminate Flooring

Solid White Oak Hardwood Flooring ( Solid Hardwood Floors)

Ever kick yourself for not purchasing something you have seen when it’s at a great low price and later find it’s no longer available or at that same low price? I know I have and it hurts when I could have saved 50% or more.  If you have been looking for quality  2-1/4 wide solid oak flooring for your home now’s your chance to save big! We have this solid wood flooring in 2 popular colors for the low price of  $3.49 SQ.FT

We also have many other great deals on 3-1/4 wide solid oak flooring available in 3 popular colors for $2.99 SQ.FT you will not find this quality for this low price.

Take advantage of this huge sale before it’s all gone.  White oak flooring is harder than red oak, more stable, has a more gentle graining than Red oak flooring and is more a light to medium brown- gold color in the natural color.

There is simply no better or easier way to buy your White Oak Hardwood flooring. We ship it directly to your Home!

QuickStep Laminate Flooring (Quick Step Laminate Floors)

QuickStep Laminate Flooring is known all over the world as a premium manufacturer of top quality laminate flooring products. Not only do they offer a wide array of laminate flooring styles, textures, colors and patterns, but they do it better than most other brands. One of the newer collections from Quickstep, the Sculptique line, is growing in popularity because of its wide single board construction and it’s cozy, rustic appeal.

Other hugely popular collections from QuickStep Laminate are Perspective 4, QuickStep Quadra Stone & Slate, QuickStep Elegance and QuickStep Classic. QuickStep Laminate is the first laminate manufacturer to introduce a 3-strip laminate with 2 movable strips on each board. This Linesse Collection allows the installer to stagger the strips on each board, making the end result look even more like a traditional hardwood floor. Also included in the QuickStep product showcase are Arte Medallions, which are squares of patterns, which add an interesting intricacy to any laminate floor. Quicksteps entry level laminate flooring called Steps is still a quality floor.  Their Home collection is the most popular collection among many.  For those who desire that tile look but don’t want that cold hard feel of actual real ceramic tile, Quicksteps Quadra Ceramic tile look would fit the bill and add durablity.

For more information about QuickStep Laminate Flooring.