Armstrong’s acrylic-impregnated hardwood floor line, in Alexandria, Virginia

Why choose Armstrong acrylic-impregnated hardwood flooring?

Acrylic-impregnated products are exceptionally durable—twice as resistant to indentation as non-impregnated wood. Acrylic impregnated floors are the toughest, most durable hardwood floors ever made. Stain is injected through the wear layer, for consistent color that lasts a lifetime. Liquid acrylic
fills and supports the open cells of the wood for an unprecedented level or indentation and wear resistance. Acrylic impregnated hardwood is over 50% more crush proof than un-impregnated hardwood flooring. Armstrong acrylic impregnated floors feature a 25-year commercial wood layer wear warranty.

Armstrong injects stain pigments completely through the wear surface of each acrylic impregnated hardwood board. The result is brilliant, consistent through-color that stays true over time. This is color that won’t wear down, walk out or wash off. It’s color you can count on for the life of the floor.
Acrylic-impregnated products are exceptionally durable—twice as resistant to indentation as non-impregnated wood.
For the toughest end-use applications… even your foyer or kitchen… this cannot be beat.
Call or email for more information. We have what you need and provide certified installation service to back it up.

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Here are answers to some frequently-asked questions about hardwood floors:

Should I expect color variations in my floor?
Yes – wood is a product of nature; therefore, you will see variations from board to board in all categories. No two boards are ever the same.

My wood is denting. I thought I was buying hardwood?
Hardwood contains a cell structure; therefore, if enough pressure is applied, the cell wall will collapse and a dent will appear. Acrylic impregnated products help reduce indentations in wood.

I moved our area rug and my wood is lighter where my area rug was. What happened?
Wood goes through a natural aging process called patina. Bright sunlight can also accelerate this condition. Moving area rugs or other items that may cause this effect from time to time is recommended.

When I walk across my hardwood floor, I hear popping sounds. Why?
There are a number of reasons for this condition. Usually it is caused by uneven sub-floors (see manufacturer’s instructions for sub-floor tolerances). Improper trowel or improper adhesive could also cause this.

Can I have hardwood installed in bathrooms?
It is not recommended, due to the high moisture associated with those areas. It may cause unfavorable conditions for hardwood flooring.

What does “edge treatment” mean?
Edge treatments refer to the amount of reveal on the edge of each board – square, micro or eased edges, or beveled edges.

Removing furniture indentations from carpet

If you have carpet installed over pad in your home, chances are you’ve moved your furniture to find indentations that just don’t go away. You may have tried to rub it with your fingers, vacuum it, all to no avail. Before giving up, try ice cubes.

I’m not kidding… a simple ice cube allowed to sit atop the indentation will almost always do the trick.

Check out this video by Martha Stewart showing just how easy it is.
Good luck!

Mohawk’s SmartStrand and Shaw’s R2x… get ready to laugh

I get inquiries daily regarding this or that fiber and specific end-use applications. As a US Green Building Council LEED AP, my favorites are the ones looking for balance between stain resistance and eco-friendly attributes.  Of course, past posts have shown my bias for SmartStrand, but I had no role in the production of the following video clips.
But oh, how I truly enjoy them and hope you do too!

SmartStrand and R2x

SmartStrand & Bleach

R2x floats… big deal!

For more information on SmartStrand, check out this post:
SmartStrand and Sustainability

Masland carpet sales in Northern Virginia, Metro DC and Maryland

Masland Carpet and area rug styles at Alexandria Carpet One Floor & Home… just outside DC off 395.

Masland Carpet style Bellini

Chris Moline, LEED AP

At Alexandria Carpet One Floor and Home, we know buying carpet can be fun or frustrating.  Masland has made it easy to find the right style when you are looking for just the right piece. Consider the tight weave of Twist and Shout or the remarkable character of the Westminster.  Masland carpets provide a rich elegance to any room and we show the complete line. Celebrate your style with Fretwork and let Broadcast tell your design story as the colors and textures of Masland carpets decorate your life.

We are premiere dealers with over 36 years experience in the DC area. Our guarantees and warranties make buying from us worry free. Combine this with the buying power of over 1,000 stores and you’ve got a recipe for fashion success in your home or office.

What’s in it for you?
 – Nationwide service from a nationwide company with nearly 40 years in the flooring business
 – On-site supervisors to monitor the progress of your installation
 – Certified flooring professionals with years of experience
 – The unsurpassed buying power of Carpet One and CCA

We’ve got your peace of mind in mind when working with you on your flooring project.

All the best!

Chris

Following is a complete list of available Masland styles:

Alhambra

Americana

Annaka

Ardenne

Argiro

Bandala

Barbabos

Barcelona

Basis

Belize

Bellagio

Bellini – Wool

Bombay

Braided Touch II

Brighton – Wool

Broadacre

Broadcast

Cabaret

Cadence

Capstone

Carib

Carino Wool

Cartesian

Casablanca

Casbah

Cashe

Catalan

Ceylon

Chakra – Wool

Charmant – Wool

Confections

Confections2

Connection

Crosstown

Dumaine

Espresso

Foulard

Frankfurt – Wool

Fretwork

Fusion

Gotham

Gramercy

Gravitas

Groove

Grosvenor

Harlequin

Harlequin – Wool

Harrison

Harrison_

Hemingway

InSight

Kalahari

Karakul

Kinetic

Lindley

Linea

Londonderry – Wool

Longfellow – Wool

Madison

Madrid – Wool

Maroc

Metro

Mica

Mirabel

Montego

Montserrat

Mumbai

Naples – Wool

Novellino – Wool

Panache

Park Avenue

Parkway

Pebbletex

Preswick

Quadrate

QuadrateII

RadioWave

Reggae

Reverly

Rhythm

Samba

Samsara – Wool

Sandia

Santorini

Satori – Wool

Savannah

Sea Island

Sea Pearls

Seurat

Shangri-La

Shanti – Wool

Sicily – Wool

Solid Impact

Sotheby – Wool

Stria

Subway

Suede

Surrye

Tangier

Taza_RS

Toccare

Topline

Trelliage

Trends

Tresor – Wool

Twist-and-Shout

Urban

Venice – Wool

Veritas

Verve

Vibe

Wavelength

Westminster – Wool

Wexford

Wexford – Wool

Whitney – Wool

Zone

Smartstrand Rhino challenge… OMG!

I’ve wondered about many things over the years in the flooring business, and have seen some very-trashed carpet that made me wonder how anyone “could live like that.” But this takes the cake:

At Alexandria Carpet One Floor & Home, we specialize in SmartStrand carpets by Mohawk – Horizon, Aladdin, Karastan, and have installed it in our showroom to make a point.
What’s the point?
We wanted to put it to the test in our very-busy showroom in the DC area to see if it stands up. And, to make it a “deal with teeth,” I installed multiple pad types underneath it.
How’s it holding up?
Well, while we don’t have a 2800-lb rhinoceros named Ricko trouncing around on it, we do give it a run for its money… and it’s holding up very well. In fact, when my rental property is up for a re-carpet, no other fiber is going to be installed except SmartStrand.

Stay tuned for more videos from Ricko the Rhino.

Enjoy the show.

Following is the Mohawk press release with more information:

” The grudge match is over and the winner has been crowned in the battle between Mohawk(R) SmartStrand(R) carpet made with DuPont(TM) Sorona(R) renewably sourced polymer, and Ricko The Rhino. The beige carpet emerged victorious in the SmartStrand Rhino Challenge… after two weeks of exposure to Ricko, the 2,800 pound black rhinoceros, the SmartStrand triexta carpeting came clean.

This revolutionary carpet stood up to everything Ricko the Rhino could dish out: the constant tracking in of mud, dirt, and even nastier stains, as well as being trampled on by the animal who weighs in at a staggering 1-1/2 tons.

“I never had a doubt,” said David Duncan, Mohawk’s Vice President of Marketing. “SmartStrand’s stain resistance and durability is no match for any stain-maker, whether it’s a rhinoceros or your own pets.”

After more than 14 days, the light-colored carpet showed some severe staining. The Birmingham Zoo’s Ricko, a 12-year-old, Eastern Black Rhinoceros, soiled the carpet in many ways. In the last two weeks, a tropical storm had passed through the Birmingham area, forcing the very muddy rhinoceros into spend an extended amount of time in his enclosure for safety reasons. It was during that time Ricko generated some of his most difficult stains.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect it to come so clean,” said Billy Cochran, a zookeeper who helps care for Ricko. Billy witnessed the cleaning by a crew from Issis & Sons Carpet, a Mohawk Floorscapes retailer from nearby Pelham, AL. “This carpet was really a mess but now the cleaned sections look like new,” Cochran said.

Using only hot-water extraction and Mohawk FloorCare Essentials Carpet Stain Remover, the dingy, dirty spots washed away. Time-lapse video from the cleaning will be provided later this week in updates on SmartStrandChallenge.com and YouTube.com/MohawkFloors.

“We used the same formula, at the same strength, available to every consumer who purchases Mohawk FloorCare Essentials from their local retailer,” Duncan said. “Because this was designed to be a true test of our carpet, we didn’t clean it using any extraordinary means. And it didn’t need anything outside the norm because SmartStrand triexta proved itself to be that amazingly stain resistant.”

The entire piece of carpeting was not cleaned. As will be visible on the video, sections of carpet were selected for “before and after” displays so that the clean sections would be clearly identifiable.

“We tried to choose areas where you could see a distinct muddy footprint,” said Bart Rich, Mohawk’s Director of Brand Management. “It will be the same piece of carpet, just half of it cleaned and the other half not so you can see the distinct different.”

During the two weeks experiment, one of four webcams broadcast the adventures of Ricko the Rhino living on carpeting live at SmartStrandChallenge.com. During that time, tens of thousands of visitors witnessed every stain and stomp by the Rhino. A Facebook page for Ricko also garnered thousands of fans who became friends of the Rhino.

“Sure gonna miss watching you play around,” wrote one fan. Another asked, “Are you just going to go away now that the carpet’s gone?”

Ricko the Rhino’s Facebook postings will continue, promised Michael Cheek, Mohawk’s Manager of Internet Technology. “We’ve got a lot more to hear from Ricko and the SmartStrand Challenge.”

SmartStrandChallenge.com will continue to be updated with videos, as will Mohawk’s YouTube.com account. A highlight video from thousands of hours of webcam footage will be assembled for posting along with a wrap-up showing the entire project, Cheek said. Additional information will continue through “tweets” on Twitter.com/MohawkFlooring and postings to MohawkFlooring.com.

There are currently less than 500 Eastern Black Rhinos left in the wild and Mohawk is committed to helping Ricko’s brothers and sisters. To support rhinoceros conservation efforts, SmartStrandChallenge.com will continue selling the popular “Save the Black Rhino” t-shirts and “Ricko the Rhino” stuffed animals. Profits from both products will be used to benefit The Birmingham Zoo and the International Rhino Foundation.

“We are proud of our preservation efforts in combination with providing a compelling demonstration of SmartStrand’s attributes,” Duncan said. “Just because the Challenge is over doesn’t mean everything ends. Mohawk has a lot more to tell about this extraordinary carpeting.”

Supporting the American Cancer Society

Alexandria Carpet One is proud to be a long-time supporter of the American Cancer Society, as well as many other charities.

As is now tradition for the flooring retailer, Carpet One welcomed spring this year by introducing designs for its cause-related welcome mats created to support its continued fund-raising campaign: Carpet One Welcomes Your Support.

More than 700 Carpet One stores across North America will donate all April and May profits from sales of these specially designed welcome mats to their local American Cancer Society chapters and Canadian Cancer Society community offices. There are four designs to choose from — Leaves of Life, Dreaming of Spring, Eternal Ivy and Daffodil of Hope — each also emblazoned with a pink ribbon design.

Carpet One has committed to raise a minimum of $250,000, specifically earmarked for breast cancer research and awareness through this grass-roots initiative, which began during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

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