January 2008 Archives

Another great 2008 introduction: Recycled Leather Flooring!!!

The diverse patterns and colors make this a really unique flooring option. I am even thinking of putting this in my office. It is cool! This floor is online and on display in most every iFLOOR store in the country now.

Robus Leather Floor Tiles are:

* A unique flooring that adds a touch of class to any space
* Environmentally friendly; made from recycled scrap leather
* Great for virtually any room in your home or workplace
* Affordable and durable
* Click for Robus Sealant Tech Sheet
* Click for Robus Adhesive Tech Sheet
* Click for Robus Adhesive MSDS
* Click for Robus Leather Floor Installation & Maintenance Instruction
* Click for Robus Return Policy

Steve,

My friend and I shopped for flooring in Utica last Saturday. I had come across the website earlier in the week and we decided to drive over and take advantage of the one day sale.
Matt and Amir made the one and a half hour shopping trip enjoyable. They approached us when we entered and then let us look with out pressure. When we
found a few selections they helped us narrow down our choices by asking us about our needs. They were very friendly.
I have already told a few people about the website and the store myself and will continue to do so.

Thank you,

Rachael

I am so excited to see the new line of solid hardwood flooring known as Exdura finally available on iFLOOR!

This solid 3/4" thick hardwood harvest with Appalachian certified and managed forests is truly amazing. With species like red oak, white oak, hickory, walnut, ash and maple in several widths and grades this series is sure to be one of the top new introductions of 2008.

Exdura is a floor that is MADE IN THE USA too! It has a North American made finish on it as well which is absolutely stunning. No worries about lead based paint or any of that other non-sense, only the finest materials are used to make the Exdura hardwood flooring. The finish is made in the USA and is 100% solid which means no VOCs. That shows a true commitment to taking care of the earth!

There is alot more to the Exdura story than I have time to share today, but I wanted to give you a quick preview to this powerful new MADE IN THE USA line of hardwood with a really tough finish and a 55 year warranty!

Personally I love the Ash and the Hickory - but I am a sucker for the 5" Red Oak and Walnut too. Mmmmm. An American made floor that is competitive with imports in terms of price often even lower than some of the cheap imports we have seen from online copy cats, but quality that blows away the competition.

A BusinessWeek article this week talked about the recent decision of Whole Foods to discontinue offering plastic bags.

Most people who have been in a Whole Foods fall in love with it. It is different. It is not a grocery store. It is special.

Making a moral stand to say no to plastic is about living their values from my perspective. I respect it and encourage anyone interested in seeing something special go check out a Whole Foods Market!

About 1 month ago I was all set to goto Manila the Philippines and about 1 week before my arrival a MINI-COUP unfolded at my EXACT hotel. Including the army storming into the entry way and ending the worldwide event. (to see pictures click on the link to the prior post.)

I am now days away from heading to Vegas for the Surfaces flooring trade show and more importantly our leadership conference that includes all district managers, store managers and many other key players in the iFLOOR team.

As we were planning yesterday and making all of the last minute "next day air" shipments to be prepared for our splendid event we got word that the EXACT hotel we are holding our event at plus that we are all staying in (around 60 or 70 rooms?) was on fire. Of course saying a major casino hotel is on fire seems crazy until we turned on cnn.com and watched the live feed of spectacular images.

Happily nobody was hurt and that in itself is alot to be thankful for considering the last major Vegas fire back in 1980 was devastating. The scale of the fire and the performance of the firefighters was amazing in itself. I am so happy that nobody got hurt.

But considering the pattern of things happening prior to my arrival I can say sorry to Monte Carlo and it's not you; it's obviously me. That said, they hospitality department assures us that they will take care of our group one way or the other and I am now about 24 hours from departure and we don't know where we are staying or where we are staging our event. But we do have faith in the team down there and expect a great event.

Here are a couple videos that talk about the blaze.

A common mis-perception that seems to have made it's way into the flooring market is that the thicker a product is the better it must be. I have talked about this before, but felt it was worthy of discussion again.

Although there are some benefits to thickness as a general rule; one should not automatically assume that because a laminate flooring is thicker that it is tougher; by the same token just because a floor is thinner doesn't mean it is worse.

Overall the durability of the floor is more reliant on the things your eye cannot see like:

What is the surface coverage of aluminum oxide? In other words: how many grams? Or an alternative source of that information is what is the Taber test result?
What is the quality of the surface wear layer and who made it?
What is the quality of the decor paper used (will it fade) and who made it?
What is the density of the core board?
What is the formaldehyde content of the core board?
The list goes on and on.

As always much of the process boils down to basic question of who are you going to trust? There are far too many things for an average flooring purchaser to keep track of, so you have to find someone your comfortable with and trust them. When you see 12mm for $1.59 you should ask yourself if that really is a quality product or not. We could sell 12mm for $.99 cents but it would basically be a crappy built product. Buyer beware!

I continue to see 12mm flooring that doesn't pass basic residential minimum standards imported by some companies that may or may not understand what the product really represents. I also see other products which are built to last that are great values overlooked at times because they are 8mm or similar thickness. Laminate flooring is a very dynamic product and I expect more fun and exciting developments (aka: additional confusion points) to launch soon!

For my colleague and friends: An inspirational real story about how people make a difference. I love the story. I put my name on it - will you?

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FLASH MOVIE

Dear Sir

I wanted to take a moment to let you know that the very high quality of store management and personnel in your Melbourne FL store and the skills of your installation teams are greatly appreciated by my wife and I (and everyone who has seen the new cork floating floor we purchased through you).

You are running a first class operation and we sing the praises of your Melbourne team to everyone who comments on our floors. Our installation team was Mark and Jay and Joshua and all the support team in your store have been extremely helpful

I am attempting to attach a few photos of the job. I hope it works, my computer skills are a bit shaky.

Thanks again

Helene and Frank

Viera FL

A wise writer and columnist in the Washington Post gave us a quick mention which my cool GOOGLE Alerts helped me notice.

The article titled, Good Deals Can Be Knotty but Nice, talked about how to start at the entry level of flooring you can spend a little extra labor, but get solid hardwood at a very low price. Firstly let me say that title is so clever I am bitter that I didn't come up with it myself! Then of course I realized I am not that clever and I am back to where I started on the bitterness trail.

The balance of the article talked about other higher end word options and the nice thing is that the mid and upper levels of flooring which they talked about both Somerset and Mullican are available online at iFLOOR.com as well.

Both lines are very high quality and have tons of options. See the additional link below for more information.

I noticed that iFLOOR is offering a handscraped laminate for only $2.49 this morning. That is a great break through price and something I am certain won't last long. This floor takes some effort to get started, but looks like gold when it is installed. The trick to installing it is to basically put stay nails in(if you put in the first row remove the screws when you are done and fill with putty) or behind the first row high enough so that the screws hold the floor stable as you add the 2nd, 3rd and 4th rows. Without the anchor point the floor is tough to get started. With this tip, you'll save a ton of frustration and come out with a spectacular floor.

And while I got excited about that, I was blown away to see HANDSCRAPED HARDWOOD that is normally a great value at the $8-$10 range being offered for only $5.99! The manufacturer has really stepped up on this offer. A great series of flooring with many choices and I have heard a ton of great customer feedback.

Happy flooring shopping!

It is always fun to have a big and vibrant web community notice your company. SlickDeals.com is one of the best known and active communities for consumers looking to maximize their dollars. ;)

iFLOOR was a DEAL OF THE DAY yesterday and even some of our past customers posted their recommendations.

The internet is amazing!

Some topics are so important that they deserve repetition and additional information.

Today's topic is underlayment for floating floors. A floating floor is such a great way to add flexibility into virtually any installation situation. Floors like Kahrs, Saso, Pergo, Alloc, Trueflooring and others are so versatile they can be installed on wood subfloors, existing vinyl or tile floors and even on concrete subfloors just about anywhere in the home including basements. (concrete with too much moisture shouldn't have any flooring on it without being properly sealed.)

The underlayment you choose can REALLY impact your investment however. I routinely see people select a really high grade of flooring and then select the cheapest underlayment like a 2-1 basic foam.

Yes, mechanically this covers the fundamental need of the floating floor and it is relatively cheap. However it adds a much higher likelihood of a "hollow" sound when you walk on the floor. The other likely side effect folks don't always think about is the way a floor feels underfoot. Typically there will be a some amount of "give" in a floating floor and the thinnest underlayments accent this side effect and they don't feel particularly comfortable either.

Whereas the premium 6mm cork underlayment addresses all of these issues and more with ease. Although the cost is higher than the cheap stuff cork underlayment in the 6mm or 12mm versions really can add tremendous value to the total package.

It reduces the sound impact to you as you walk on the floor and reduces the sound transmission to anyone living below you. THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD USE IN CONDOs for instance to meet most condo board requirements for ITC and or STC ratings.

Sound 6 Barrier is another alternative that meets the sounds requirements very well indeed and is thinner for the situations that cannot have a thicker underlayment installed.

My favorite is the 6mm or 12mm cork underlayment which really can help mask certain subfloor issues and has incredible solid sound as you walk on it and it FEELs better.

If you are investing in flooring don't forget to use the best underlayment. You deserve it!

(past blog entries include addition details)

Will cork underlayment void my flooring warranty?

underlayment for floating floors is a very important piece of the flooring puzzle

Absolutely a true CHAMPION. Great work Angela!!! Tempe, AZ is on the map! KUDOS!

________________________________________
From: Elizabeth H
Sent: Friday, January 2008 11:09 AM
To: Angela V
Subject: Re: iFLOOR.com

Angela,

The flooring that Jesse installed for me is great. The finish is not as shiny as my old flooring was; I think this finish looks more elegant and shows off the wood grain better. Jesse did an excellent job; I have already recommended both him and you at iFloors to some friends who are planning to replace much of their carpeting with wood flooring.

I was worried about the junction between the wood in the bedroom and the ceramic tile in the hall. Jesse joined the two perfectly and replaced the grout line between them so that no one can tell that it has been done over.

You have been most helpful throughout this project. I'm very glad that I found you on the internet. I will definitely do business with you and iFloors again. Many thanks for your help.

Elizabeth H

Well I have officially lost my mind. When marketing said they wanted to offer a long term financing program to help our customers invest in making their homes more beautiful without a big upfront cost I said, "Hey I like that idea."

When I heard they decided to offer 0% financing for 36 months I was shocked! Wow.

Imagine being able to invest $10,000 into your beautiful new Tigerwood flooring for your whole downstairs including top quality installation and only having to invest a mere $278.00 per month with NO MONEY DOWN! Man that is awesome.

The average flooring job of $5000.00 spread out at 0% interest through 2011 is only $138.00 per month on the iFLOOR card. That is affordable by virtually any standard.

Why not get the better floor rather than take your second choice based on budget? 0% for 36 months with NO MONEY DOWN is nothing short of remarkable. As always I am sure there are terms and conditions like on approved credit or on select items, but anyway you slice it this is really a ground shaking opportunity!

The only thing that maintains my sense of sanity is that our manufacturing partners and marketing at least agreed to limit the event to one day.

So Thursday is a big event both online and in stores. Check it out to get the floor today and spread your investment over YEARS at 0% interest. You can't beat that!

My attention was called to a article back from 2004 that was in Inc. Magazine that spoke in part of iFLOOR and some of our journey. In the article we are referenced as "SMOOTH CORP" which was our corporate name, but iFLOOR is the same. iFLOOR has the good fortune of being in the Inc. 500 three times in a row and probably will do it again in the future (if we remember to submit!)

I am pasting the link below for those that may be interested:

Inc. article that referenced iFLOOR

I saw some great photos the other day of practical jokes that some of the "crazy accountants" are playing on each other here at the STORE SUPPORT CENTER in Tukwila, WA.

Great team building gang! Kudos to each of you for having fun. Now I am just worried about what they might do to me. (I bruise easily.)

Another technology breakthrough from the IT guys and our partner Google.

Sometimes it can be difficult shopping online. You have potentially hundreds of login combinations for all of your favorite sites which can be hard to remember and when you are ready to make a purchase you have to go find the credit card and enter it every time.

Here at iFLOOR, we like to shop online too, so we take these concerns very seriously. Because of that, we have rolled out a new purchase option: Google Checkout.

Google Checkout can answer any question about trust, privacy, convenience and even security—so we wanted to make sure that YOU the customer have the option.

With Google Checkout, you get:
• One account for many retailers
• Quick one-page checkout
• Fraud protection from Google
• Your credit card and purchase history remain private
• Keep your email address confidential

Try it out today! To learn more go to the GOOGLE TOUR

(watch the video there - it is fun)

Jeanette and Carl from Troy, MI have recently submitted this great story about their new flooring:

As promised, here are our before and after images.
I've also included a photo from during installation (believe it or not our dogs love the floor too).
We found the installation simple - after prep it only took us one weekend.
Finally the outdated - green sculptured carpet is gone and our beautiful green choice Bamboo is in. Easy to clean and gorgeous to look at.
Thanks again for all your help.

Jeanette & Carl
Troy, MI

** PS - All of the artwork on the walls are original creations by Jeanette. It is nice to know that an artist's eye can appreciate the pure beauty of a eco-friendly bamboo floor!

Don't forget to check out the iFLOOR diagramming tool which will help you size your flooring project.

For more detail -CLICK HERE to check out a prior BLOG POST. It's worth it!

Top Direct Retailer, iFLOOR.com, Selects AlertSite for Web Site Performance
Monitoring

COCONUT CREEK, Fla., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- AlertSite(R), a leading
provider of web site performance management solutions that help businesses
ensure optimum web experiences for their customers, announced today that
iFLOOR.com has chosen AlertSite for its web site monitoring service.
iFLOOR.com is America's largest online flooring retailer and ranked #169 in
the Internet Retailer Top 500 ranking.

As a regular feature here I thought I would reserve each Wednesday for the KUDO's Corner. I get tons of messages from customers that report a really excellent floor buying experience. That is a big part of the iFLOOR mission. The traditional process is outlined here in an article called Steve's stages of floor shopping: http://www.ifloor.com/articles/gen/steves.stages.html

The KUDO's Corner will be a weekly feature to illustrate how the floor buying experience can be improved and the role of some of the iFLOOR superstars that deliver on the promise to serve.

For this starting week KUDOs to Tinley Park, Illinois and Rita Q & John for putting their name on it! Thanks to Bentley for forwarding this great experience.

=====================================================================

We almost chose the Bruce Engineered flooring for our home, but ran into problems with the availability. We went to iFloor in Tinley Park and recieved the best customer service from Rita Q. She was extremely informative and helpful (it was also about 5pm the night before Thanksgiving when many people at big box stores don't even want to help you). She showed us the Westhollow line and explained the benefits of the aluminum oxide coating. After getting a few samples in the mail and testing their dent and scratch resistance, we went with the Weshollow 3/8 Engineered Bubinga. We installed the flooring about 3 weeks ago and it is beautiful! The color was true to the same and the flooring has not even gotten surface scratches! We moved in all of our furniture and we couldn't be happier. It's a durable floor, great color, slight variance (there is one pattern that looks like wide tiger stripes, but there were only a few pieces of this type), and easy to install. I highly recommend this flooring and also the Tinley Park team. Rita provided us with more information than we could have imagined and John was also very knowledgeable and helpful when we spoke to him on the phone. One of our best retail experiences ever!

Big KUDOS to the Tinley Park team on the excellent service the day before Thanksgiving!

Bentley P
Marketing

It's that time of year again, the Orlando IBS show is almost here. This has been touted as the largest single trade show in the world boasting nearly 100,000 visitors. Speculation this year is that the show may run flat to down a bit in terms of attendance due to the US and UK housing markets which are in a state of shock at the moment. However, hot markets like Canada, China, parts of the EU and an explosion of development in the Middle East should keep things interesting. From a product perspective there are bound to be MASSIVE introductions in the earth friendly genre so that in itself should prove interesting. Perhaps even iFLOOR will unveil some of the super secret products that are in the works?

http://www.buildersshow.com/Home/

iFLOOR will be there to meet and greet lots of our customers and of course make new introductions to the many thousands of designers, architects, builders and remodelers.

So if you are attending that show, don't hesitate to stop by and say hi. We expect to have some great products to view as well as some fun for our customers.

IFLOOR BOOTH

I was in the EU this past year and watched a run of flooring coming off the production lines of Westhollow cork. Then I saw the same pattern installed in some photos and I wanted to share this front to back story. Those photos are here:

As you can see from the photos above the production process is highly automated and I photoed just a couple of the MANY quality control points. It is a great factory.

The photos below show a completed job in Tuscon, Arizona completed and photographed by Stephen Perrera. You can see the incredible detail work by the curved tile which is a key indicator of professional attention to detail. A masterful job to be sure!

iFLOOR was mentioned several times in recent public newspapers, magazines and even stock analyst research papers.

I thought I would share just a couple quick links:

Seattle Times and P&I
Southtown Star - Chicago Sun - Regardind Tinley Park opening

Wow - the 2008 introductions are coming fast!

I just got this memo for a new EU produced AC5 Commercial quality laminate WITH FSC certification. This is impressive and represents a really tough floor which can be used in commercial applications and imagine how tough it will be in residential settings too!

Here are some of the details from our product development team:

I am glad to announce that we just got in our first stocking order from True Flooring in Europe of there 12mm AC5 Beveled laminate. The True Flooring Commercial Collection is starting with two great looking decors for 2008 and a full line of moldings to go along with each project.

Also, True Flooring has agreed to help provide samples online and in all stores across the US. This is a High Quality product, but the introductory pricing is GREAT at only $2.99/sq.ft. There are several guys selling "AC5" from countries use their own standards to grade, which are not the True AC rating systems, so let's be sure we are comparing apples to apples. This product is true ELPF standard AC5 rated. True Flooring is even manufactured as a FSC certified product for the wood products used in it's laminate floors, which is a great selling point for customers concerned about using Green products. The post industrial waste is used to make the core of the floor!

Please click the link below to look at the decors and scroll down to see the specifications and testing reports on this brand, plus some room shots, Illustrated Installations Instructions, and the Product Packaging.

http://www.ifloor.com/brand_1675/laminate-flooring/true-flooring.html

INFO ON THE COLLECTION:

We invite you to a world of a new brand of laminate flooring - Commercial... The world of top quality and perfection

The Commercial Collection consists of flooring with the highest durability and abrasion class, and its stability is ensured by its 12mm base board. Imitation of true wood texture on the surface ensures the natural charm in all interiors. This line has the newest design trends in it's decors. They emphasize each and every detail. Sophisticated design aesthetics get beyond the general designs in flooring and get ahead of the current trends. The objective is to discover an ideal balance between leading edge design, top quality, durability and exquisite style.

Features:

12mm = thick base board for heavy durability of the floor and resistance to various loads

AC5 = Top level abrasion class with superior resistance to everyday use abrasion, which guarantees its longevity: 55 year residential and 15 year commercial.

Bevel = The 4 sided bevel, also called the V groove, emphasizes the panel lines and enhances the geometric design on the floor.

Texture = Texture matching technology rendering true wood texture.

Colors = Creating a mood and underlining the character with two exotic wood decors.

Technical Data:

Installation mechanism = Licensed Glueless Locking system

Highly Resistant = Wear, Stains, Discoloration, Impacts, and even Cigarette burns

Ease of Use = Simple Installation and easy care

Warranty = 55 year Residential and 15 year Commercial settings

INFO ON AC5:

All laminate flooring has a wear layer on the surface that protects it from wear and tear.The Wear Layer is often overlooked by the average consumer, even though it is the very thing that keeps laminate flooring looking new for many years. The quality of this wear-layer can vary greatly from product to product. The laminate industry has developed a rating system for this wear layer. Each flooring is given what is referred to as an AC rating. This stands for abrasion classification. This testing should be done by an independent lab. Basically, it tests the ability of the floor's wear layer to resist scratching and scraping. There are currently 5 classifications under which a wear layer can be rated.

AC hardness ratings are a standardized measure adopted by The Association of European Producers of Laminate Flooring (ELPF) . The AC measure rates the following qualities:

o abrasion resistance
o impact resistance
o resistance to staining and cigarette burns
o resistance to thickness swelling along edges

If a laminate flooring cannot meet the requirements for each of these ratings, approval for a given AC rating will be denied. The ratings can generally be translated as follows:

• AC-1: Residential, Moderate traffic, applicable for light use areas.
• AC-2: Residential, General traffic, applicable for light to medium use areas.
• AC-3: Residential/Commercial, Heavy traffic, applicable for all aspects of the home. Medium use commercial applications.
• AC-4: Commercial/Residential, General traffic, applicable for all aspects of the home. Offices, restaurants, shops.
• AC-5: Commercial applications only, Heavy traffic, applicable for Public buildings, stores, restaurants, etc.

Sent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 4:54 PM
To: Steve Simonson
Subject: BHK cherry laminate

Dear Steve--I tried the customer satisfaction response with your last email, but it was a check-the-box kind of thing. Your people at the Sacramento store said to email you direct.
First, we did a lot of shopping and liked your people and product the best.
Second, we installed the floor ourselves. Once we made the tool, the tapping block, which I later found out was available from BHK, it went in pretty simple. I did need an $80 table saw from Lowes to do the cutting. On a $2800 project, that is nothing, and you should let your do-it-yourselfers know that.
Third, do not hestitate to really urge your customers to buy the molding. When the floor went in, it looked great, but when we used that molding you sold us, it looked like a million dollars. I thought I wanted to reuse my old molding, but your people suggested I buy BHK's. I wish they had really urged me to do it, because my one regret would have been if I had used old molding or tried to make something from Home Depot look good.
So, thanks for everything. Tell your people to really urge buying the whole package and not trying to save on the molding, and that do-it-yourselfers can end up with a professional look for the price of a table saw. Have your customers call me if they want a reference. Doug

Hi Doug,

Thanks a million for your business first of all! We really appreciate it.

Thanks as well for your nicely detailed flooring story and sending Kudos to the folks in Sacramento. They are totally committed to making customer's flooring experiences as smooth as possible.

I also appreciated your important note about putting together a full package to really finish the job right!

Thanks again for everything and thanks for letting all of our customers know!

Ss

After watching every bloody TV news program run down the TOP 2007 moments, etc... I figured I would jump on the band wagon and show some top photos from 2007. (content re-purposing I think they call it)

Here are some of the top viewed photos from 2007 in no particular order: Around the world a couple times...

Alaska, Mexico, China, Philippines, Austria, Portugal, United States and more are all shown above.

Happy New Year to each of you!

We'll be back in the saddle this week with LOTS going on. Stay tuned for fun flooring facts throughout 2008.