February 2007 Archives

You know I routinely see flooring companies (both online and offline) claiming to have products "in stock" or "we have 200,000 feet in stock", but too often they really don't have much stock at all.

At iFLOOR we operate our own warehouses over 23 nationwide and we use manufacturers warehouses at times as well to drop ship certain orders. Our suppliers that we use and trust operate at a 93%-94% + fill rate which is consistent with our own warehouse performance as well.

I am not saying we are infallible - there are 6-7% of orders that face some kind of backorder. (that could be 1 day to several weeks; or longer depending on the situation).

I must also say rugs are the worst fill rate. There are so many rug sizes, colors, etc... that they have a mid 80% range for fill rate. We stock only about 500 rugs in stock - but we do ship them quickly when orders come in.

My point is that iFLOOR actually has warehouses and people dedicated to packing and shipping your order quickly and securely. Our largest facility in Washington state is about 60,000 square feet and is filled with flooring stock! Our next largest facility is in Dalton, Georgia and is around 30,000 square feet and filled to the rafters with products!

Additionally we have 20+ other locations with inventory around the country. In our own warehouses we have more than 20 million dollars worth of inventory TODAY. Through our 3rd party suppliers there is another 200+ million in ready to ship inventory. We have more stuff. We stock more stuff - and unlike the guys who just talk about it we in fact can walk into the warehouse and touch it. That is a difference between making the claim and backing it up.

So when you see people claiming to have 100,000 feet in stock, but you can't actually see it or touch it - then beware that message may be more about slick marketing than accurate claims.

So for the record as of Today we have 6,400,000 square feet IN OUR WAREHOUSES!

Below are some photos and a quick video that demonstrate we are real and when we say we got it - we got it.

*The quick video stars one of our warehouse gurus' SCOTT! - Now imagine 100-200 of these each day being loaded.

I was talking to a builder friend of mine and we were thinking about all of the wierd situations that seem to arise on large scale production job sites with missing materials.

Often suppliers will deliver materials, get signatures from site personnel and leave the materials in the designed areas, but when it is time to install the materials sometimes they are MIA.

It is unfortunate that job site theft remains an issue, but as I have discussed this with many developers and contractors that I know, unless the materials can be secured we should expect continued losses.

I have had a couple customers recently ask about FloorMuffler as a underlayment option, however, i have not worked with that particular brand yet.

I have used and recommended a similair synthetic solution called The Sound 6 Barrier Acoustical Underlayment which has performed with awesome results including in condo situations. (even high rise developments in New York City (NYC) which have some of the most rigid standards.)

For folks who wish a more green underlayment i typically recommend the 6mm Cork Tiles.

Technically the synthetic is a bit more sound resistant for downward transmission, but I think the comfort of cork along with the earth friendly attributes can be a big reason to consider that.

After more than 600 installs during our pilot program with some amazing reviews the iFLOOR installation program is now officially permanent.

We now are live in dozens of cities nationwide offer comprehensive installation services for contractors, homeowners and designers that need a turn key job.

The team running the installation program has done wonders and we are so thrilled with the results. Tad Amell is our project leader and he and I have worked together for nearly 15 years. Tad and his former partner did hundreds of jobs (maybe thousands?) for me at my prior store Midlakes Carpet and Interiors in Bellevue, Washington. They along with some of my other labor partners were at the top of class in terms of talent! The level of personal committment from the entire team is so impressive and I feel so confident that as we continue to expand our reach that we can meet our customers expectations.

Thus far we have successfully onboarded hardwood, laminate, cork and bamboo installations across the country with some further pilot programs in various parts of the USA being conducted.

Additionally the professional organizations that are executing each job are amazingly talented and VERY dedicated to quality results. I can't believe some of the responses from customers which rate the installation success even above our 5 star grade. We have had several customers add 2 additional stars and one customer even added 5 additional stars!

iFLOOR is now licensed in California and some of the professional partners there are folks that we have known and done installation business with since the mid 90's. It is nice to have such a great talent pool available!

More on this in the near future.

Laminate flooring is made up of a surface similar to that of countertops. However, the scratch and dent resistance is much higher on laminate floors than on laminate countertops.

Laminate floors wear well and many have more than 20-year warranties. It is a good low-maintenance option for an active household. Often the laminate flooring is referred to as a hardwood look with the maintenance of vinyl flooring. Families, homes with pets or other active situations can be ideal matches for laminate. Also rentals, basements, work shops and even light commercial usages are very common with laminate.

One tip - make sure you get a really nice flooring underlayment to help combat the "echo" effect that laminate can have as a result of it's floating installation application.

iFLOOR.com's informative and educational articles have received industry-wide recognition. To see all of the articles currently available on floors, click on the link below:

iFLOOR.com Articles

People need to have general understanding of Formaldehyde when buying flooring and what products are more prone to formaldehyde emissions.

Some things NATURALLY emit formaldehyde so you can't automatically say just give me the stuff that is formaldehyde free.

However, you can make good decisions about which products are more likely to have higher levels of emissions.

Mondays are always busy for me, but my flooring tip for today is about floating floors.

I will go into more depth later on different flooring installation methods and their benefits and why each one exists, however for this brief tip I wanted to talk about floating floors.

The upside of floating floors is that you can install it over a number of different subfloor types including wood, concrete, gypecrete, radiant heat traditional or heat pads, vinyl, tile and more.

Before installing new floors sometimes professionals will recommend acclimation of those floors. Firstly, it should be EVERY TIME for almost any floor. Acclimation is good for most building materials since there can be dramatic differences in temperature & humidity between the products' origin and the job site.

So especially for hardwood (solid or engineered), bamboo, cork, laminate acclimation of 2-7 days is recommended. Here are my own timing recommendations:

* Pre-finished solid hardwood 2 Days minimum, 4-7 days preferred.
* Unfinished solid hardwood 2 Days minimum, 6-7 days preferred.
* Pre-finished or unfinished engineered hardwood 2 days
* Solid Bamboo 2 days minimum, 4-7 preferred.
* Engineered Bamboo 2 days
* Cork 2 days
* Laminate 2 days
* Carpet 1 day if possible (mostly a temperature issue)
* Tile 1 day if possible
* Any Radiant Heat job sites should double the preferred time and the heat must be maintained at constant room temperature the entire time of acclimation AND the flooring should be on a pallet or something not directly on the heated floor.

How you acclimate a floor is as important as the concept itself. Here are my guidelines:

* Leave the product in the cartons or package. Do NOT open.
* The product must be in the room(s) that the intended installation will occur in or nearby.
* The temperature of the job site and specifically of the installation area should be normal room temperature.
* Acclimation CANNOT occur in a garage when the installation is inside the home.
* The interior Relative Humidity (RH) should be as close to normal as possible.
* Check the sub floor moisture level and the product moisture level when you start acclimation. Inexpensive Wood Meter
* Prior to installation check the moisture levels again on the sub floor and product to make sure that the original differences are closing in on each other.
* Do not have a non-heated job site put the floor in the room, install it; then tape and texture walls (which adds massive humidity) and then turn on the heater. Your floor will fail.

The whole point of acclimation is to normalize the moisture levels between the product and the sub floor/job site as much as possible. Humidity is everywhere is is changing constantly. Your interior humidity is also always changing especially as you run heat or air conditioning.

Despite all of these words the concept is simple: Get the product into the rooms that they will be installed in a couple days or a bit longer for best results.

BTW - There are exceptions to every rule, Kahrs for example doesn't require acclimation time, however, I would still recommend having "normal living conditions" inside the installation area.

Cork flooring has been growing in popularity and for several good reasons:

1. The aesthetics are unique and beautiful
2. It is a green or earth friendly flooring option
3. It has flexible installation options including floating and glue down.
4. Now more than ever it is priced right and available.

Customers often ask where can I use a cork floor and the answer is that you can use it almost anywhere.

I personally don't recommend it for bathrooms or laundry rooms, but it can be tough enough to withstand kitchen, dining room, living room and other primary living areas normal usage.

There are more and more cork options out there which on one hand is very good, but it can make it tougher to tell the difference between quality levels. I find that even experts in flooring, architects, designers and contractors still are hard pressed to visually detect differences between similar looking flooring options including cork.

Long story short - cork is cool and it can be very tough too, but let's be clear - it does require maintenance. The surface that is applied to cork generally allows for additional applications or coats of finish to be applied in the future which can increase the lifespan of your cork floor.

RECOMMENDED READING: Is that a Cork on your Fork? (yes a thinly veiled reference to the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.)

One of the most compelling, yet nearly unknown, flooring options on the market today is Mesquite hardwood flooring. The deep inner beauty of this floor is almost unparalleled. The pillowed edges combined with hand scraping make for a truly unique floor.

One cool thing about Mesquite is that it is actually a bush rather than a tree and in fact ranchers in Texas often think of it as an annoyance. They have tried to clear it in every conceivable way: cutting, shredding, grinding, pulling and even burning. But the Mesquite is so resilient that it comes back stronger and thicker than before. (Sounds just like the weeds in my yard.) This resilience, however, is what makes the flooring so sustainable. Throughout Texas in the United States as well as many parts of Central and South America there are supplies of Mesquite to last thousands of years even if there was no new growth.

For only being a bush it can grow very large over a several decades. Large enough to have 7" wide planks that are 3/4" thick with planks that are typically about 30"-36" in lengths. Homeowners can choose between a random width look which combines 3", 5" and 7" planks with a custom finish or they can simply go for the style pictured to the right which is a 4" standard width with random lengths from 1' to 5' in length. (avg length 32")

The floor is incredibly stable which allows you to glue down the 1/2" thick Mesquite hardwood planks right down onto concrete! That is amazing in and of itself, but when you combine that with the rich beauty that goes from top to bottom in the plank so wear and tear only make it look more natural.

There are a number of old style missions in Mexico and other parts of Central America with 100 year old Mesquite flooring that is still looking strong today. Other examples of this unique lumber being used as a floor are found throughout the South West of America as well as Mexico.

Keep your eyes out for Mesquite Hardwood. This could be an emerging fashion choice for flooring especially for those with an eye for building green.

Over the years I have worked with thousands of people from around the world who are in the midst of a flooring project and need help. I have tried to help these folks who are stuck in what I call Steve's Stages of Floor Shopping. Hopefully I have been able to reduce the frustation levels for these homeowners that seems almost unavoidable when buying floors.

I have been to at least 100 factories in countries like the United States, Canada, China, Germany, England, France and more. My time each day besides running a company is to continue to advance my own knowledge of flooring. I do whatever I can to be a knowledgeable and credible flooring expert. Some of the best minds in flooring are contributors to my own education and I am thankful for that.

My focus on flooring combined with my interest in technology has developed into a business that I started in 1998 called iFLOOR which now includes both online products and services and well as local iPUPs. (iPUP = Internet Pick Up Point)

I am starting this blog as a method of sharing my flooring journeys with you in the hope that by sharing information in an objective open way your projects will be more successful.

It's About Flooring!

-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 8:25 PM
To: steve
Subject: Question re iFloor, laminate & t-molding

Mr. Simonson,

I visited your store in Dalton this morning and have a couple of follow-up
questions before I take the plunge to install laminate (currently looking at
the Westhollow 10.3mm) throughout the first floor of my house. I know you're
very busy, but I'd feel much better about the plunge I'm about to take with
just a little more information.

First question: Is it imperative that I place t-moldings in the doorways
between rooms? Or, with proper attention to detail (i.e., expansion spacing)
can you safely do without the t-moldings between, say, entrance foyer,
living room and dining room and allow the laminate to extend seamlessly from
room to room? (The first floor off my house is 25'x37' and is divided into
three rooms and an entrance foyer.) I'd love to have the "new- house" look
where the flooring continues uninterrupted from room to room throughout the
entire first floor. Moreover, I worry that having t-molding in every
doorway/opening (there are five such openings) throughout my first floor
will impart the feeling of premanufactured housing. I don't want to spend
that much time and effort to end up with a look that is obviously not
hardwood and reminds people of living in a trailer park. I saw on the Pergo
web site where they state unequivocally that you *must* use t-molding in
every doorway. Your thoughts?

Second question: Pergo's web site says only that you must take off the
quarter round before installing their flooring; the WestHollow instructions
at iFloor.com say to take off the quarter round *and* the floor molding. Is
it really necessary to take off the floor molding? If so, it would seem that
makes the installation considerably more difficult and will require touching
up all the walls when done. Is this requirement unique to WestHollow, or is
it really best to take off all the molding no matter whose flooring you're
installing?

Last question: Am I losing anything in quality by considering the WestHollow
brand instead of a more well known brand such as Pergo, Mannington, or
Armstrong.

Thanks in advance for your help.

David

________________________________________
From:
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 3:27 PM
To: ceo
Subject: RE: Westhollow
Steve,
Thank you for your prompt response.
My husband and I have tentatively decided to order the Westhollow prefinished Maple Natural Select, 3/4 in. by 3 1/4 in for our entire house. The main reason for the selection is the light color of maple. We hope it will brighten our house inside, esp. during the dark Seattle winters.
However we are confused by the grade of wood used. From the sample and pictures the Westhollow maple select appears to be creamy white. Is it made from sapwood or heartwood? I understand there are color variations. According to NWFA heartwood is creamy white to light reddish brown while sapwood is pale to creamy white. Also many trade publications indicate that the sapwood is much softer (950) while heartwood (1450) is harder. Janka scale of 950 is quite soft in our opinion.

Your staff at Ifloor.com gave us different answers. Some say it is sapwood while others say it is "hardwood". We like to have a strong wood. But sapwood may be too soft.

We know many basketball in-door courts have maple floors. Are they of different grade?
The internet data portion also does not show how many coats of finish it has. Do you have that information?

Thank you. We look forward to your answers.

Julie

-----Original Message-----
From:
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 2007 17:47:49
To:
Subject: inquiry

Steve

I have been trying to get some answers to my question about radiant heating in the floors of the home we are preparing to build. I checked out the bamboo flooring at iFloor and found a note that radiant heating is NOT recommended with the Ming Dynasty Bamboo Stained: Burnt Mocha Horizontal. I'm very interested in the product due to the color, and was disappointed to find that it's not recommended for my application. I intend to use the radiant heat, so I guess your product is out. I looked on line at bamboo flooring in general and found comments that the material is a very good match for radiant heat.

What's the deal? Why is your product not recommended?

We are going to make a decision real soon, so if I don't hear back from you right away we'll just have to go elsewhere.

Thanks in advance for your response'

Mike