Hardwood floors are a great choice to consider when renovating your space. They are a timeless and elegant option that adds value to your home. Solid and engineered hardwood flooring are the two main types of hardwood. Both types are made from wood and look the same once installed – can you tell the if the photo to the left is engineered or solid? But there are some differences between them in how they are manufactured and their features.

Solid Hardwood
As its name suggests, solid hardwood is milled from wood. It can be sanded and finished many times to stay in pristine condition. Solid hardwood is not recommended for rooms where moisture from daily activities or the ground could damage the floor. This includes kitchens, bathrooms, and any areas below grade such as basements. Homeowners should be prepared for solid flooring to expand and contract as moisture changes in each season.

Engineered Hardwood
Each plank of engineered hardwood is made up of multiple sheets of either hardwood, fibreboard or plywood laminated together with a final layer of hardwood on top. Each layer is put on top of each other in the opposite direction to create a dimensionally stable floor. Using this method called “cross-ply construction” creates a dimensionally stable floor that withstands changes in moisture better than solid hardwood. It is suited to kitchens, bathrooms, or basements. Engineered floors can even be sanded and refinished.

In addition to your budget and personal preference, consider the rooms you will be installing hardwood in before making your flooring decision. The research is worth it when the end result is a beautiful hardwood floor for generations to come.

Our highlight of the month of October was the Vancouver Home + Design Show. All members of our sales team had a chance to be at the booth and meet with new customers. Our featured supplier for the event was Creative at Home. We always receive great feedback from customers on their products at every event we show their products at. Their hand crafted wide plank hardwood makes a lasting impression.

Home shows and conferences are our favourite events (Aside from hockey games. But those aren’t flooring related!). Our plans for November, include exhibiting at the BC Non Profit Housing Association Conference.
Know of a home show or industry conference you think we should be at? Tell us about it!

We’re excited to say that we now carry cork and vinyl floors from Cork Art! With the new display in our showroom, we’ve been asked a lot of questions about this lesser known flooring option. Here’s 5 main reasons why you’ll love cork floors in your home:

1. Comfortable
Cork Art floors have forty million cells per cubic centimetre that are filled with air. These cells allow the floor to reduce the conduction of temperature and sound. Your cork floors will stay warm and comfortable underfoot and reduce noise.

2. Healthy
If you love the warmth of carpet but suffer from allergies, cork floors are a great solution as they are safe for asthma/allergy sufferers. It’s anti microbial and resists mold and mildew. One of the substances cork is composed of, suberin, is a natural insect repeller that keeps bugs and termites away.

3. Easy to install
While most cork floors are known to be easy to install, the patented Uniclic system of Cork Art floors makes it even simpler.

4. Resistant and durable
Cork is known for being very resistant to wear. Its flexible nature means cork is less affected by impact and friction than other similar surfaces are.

5. Sustainable
When cork is harvested, the trees are not cut down. Instead they are stripped. This process doesn’t harm the tree and allows it to continue renewing itself naturally. Cork oak forests will continue to flourish even as the popularity of this amazing floor continues to grow.

When we found out that the BCAOMA Golf Tournament and Easy Care Restoration’s Lee Dobbs Charity Golf Tournament were on the same day this year, the decision was obvious. Let’s be at both. We sponsored a hole at both events, and sent half of our team off to University Golf Course for the BCAOMA Tournament and the other half to Morgan Creek for the Easy Care Tournament.

To keep things fun, we had a contest where participants had the opportunity to putt on new surfaces: carpet and hardwood. With it’s obstacles and turns, the MIRA Carpet Putt challenge was no easy feat. Congratulations to the winning teams at both tournaments who won a bottle of wine from Neck of the Woods Winery for each member of their team!

The team had a wonderful time at the tournaments meeting many great people. Thanks to BCAOMA and Easy Care Restoration for putting on amazing tournaments. We hope to see everyone again next year!

Tonight, a team from Langley represents Canada in the Little League World series. They’ll face off off against Hamamatsu City, Japan and if they win, they’ll continue on to the semi finals.

We’ll be cheering hard for team Canada tonight, and their second baseman, Trevor Alcos. Trevor is the son of one of our installers, Mike, pictured below. On August 9th, Trevor hit a a homer in the fourth inning that cleared a 210 foot fence and secured a 4-3 win over Quebec. It was the first home run BC has hit in the national championships. (More about Trevor’s homer can be found here)

We wish them luck in their game tonight. Go team Canada!