FloorTalk – for all the latest flooring fashions

Shaw Floors Selected for Good Housekeeping Green House

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Dalton, GA, September 17, 2008- With gas prices rising and global warming on the minds of so many Americans, ideas for greener living are becoming increasingly important to consumers. In July, Good Housekeeping, the magazine that helps 25 million readers a month make informed choices on a wide range of products, unveiled The Good Housekeeping Green House, which will be the first LEED-certified single-family home in Harlem and the most environmentally-friendly private residence in New York City. The home features Shaw Floors including recyclable Anso nylon carpet and recycled Grand Canyon hardwood.

To ensure the interior design was as eco-friendly as the structural modifications, Good Housekeeping partnered with established eco-home lifestyle and design expert Robin Wilson, who specializes in providing the smartest and most efficient solutions for a healthy home. As the magazine prepares for the 100th birthday of the Good Housekeeping Seal in 2009, the house is the physical manifestation of Good Housekeeping’s commitment to “green”, according to the publication.

“The Green House is the tangible evidence of the work we’ve been doing for several years to advise and help our readers make sense of the green—and green-washing—products in the market today,” said Rosemary Ellis, editor in chief of Good Housekeeping. “The Green House also delivers ideas and examples of the changes our readers can make in their own homes that will have a substantial impact on the environment.”

The Good Housekeeping Green House is a stunning four-story brownstone on Harlem’s West 122nd Street — a chic, urban example of the newest lifestyle trends and family-friendly home design complete with all of the key environmental hallmarks, including low-flow plumbing, skylights with solar panels, denim insulation, tankless hot water heaters, no-VOC paint, recycled hardwood flooring and recyclable carpet.

The house features a full-floor master-suite, which includes a spacious terrace, lavishly designed bathroom, and his and hers walk-in closets, as well as a “children’s floor” with two bedrooms, two baths and space for playing and schoolwork. The parlor floor features an open kitchen and living space, including French doors that lead to the back yard, designed by a landscape architect specializing in truly “green” gardens.

The magazine sought input from non-profit environmental organization Global Green and oversight and third-party verification from Steven Winters Associates, one of only 18 LEED residential consultancies in the U.S.

The Good Housekeeping Green House is filled with beautiful Shaw Flooring. The entire first floor and master suite features Shaw’s Grand Canyon hardwood. The first wide-width solid made 100 percent from mill byproducts that would have normally been burned or sent to landfills, Grand Canyon utilizes a technologically advanced manufacturing process. The process alternates the solid grain pattern and combines it with a state-of-the-art gluing process which creates this 8” premium solid wood flooring that is less susceptible to cupping, crowning and warping during and after installation. Grand Canyon has hand beveled edges and ends, Lifetime Structural Warranty and 5 Star, 25 Year Finish Warranty.

The bedrooms, stairway and area rugs within the home utilize Shaw’s Anso nylon recyclable carpet from the Style Solutions collection. Style Solutions embodies the appealing look of high-end carpet styles that are created to coordinate with exotic hard surfaces so popular today. Species, plank widths, trims, stone’s colorations and surface texture all work together with luxurious carpeting to provide beautiful flooring combinations. The collection showcases rich two-toned carpet colors such as chocolate and blue, velvety fabric-inspired textures and upscale sculpted patterns. All Shaw Anso nylon products contain recycled content and can be recycled back into nylon again and again at the company’s Evergreen Nylon Recycling Facility in Augusta, Ga.

For more information on Shaw Floors, visit www.shawfloors.com.

The size of the grout joint can dramatically change the way your overall tile installation looks. It is important to use the right size grout line for technical reasons and also for aesthetic reasons. For example, if you are using a marble or natural stone tile and the grout joint is too large, it can make the marble look fake. Natural stone is cut with such precision that the typical rule for natural stone is to set the tiles with a 1/16″ grout line. When each tile is more uniform, you have the luxury of using a smaller grout line. When tiles are fired in a kiln, there is no guarantee of the precision and uniformity of the edges.

Often, the size of the grout line is left up to the interior designer or the tile contractor. With their experience, they generally know the appropriate size grout joint for each different tile. Larger grout lines are needed for tiles with less than perfect edges so sometimes you can ask for a certain size grout joint, but your tile contractor may recommend that it be a little larger for a more professional looking installation.

There is no right or wrong answer for what size your grout line should be, but below are some guidelines:

• Natural stone – 1/16″ or 1/8″
• Tile with a rectified edge – 1/16″ or 1/8″
• Regular tile – 3/16″, 1/4″ (safest bet) up to 3/8″ or 1/2″
• Saltillo or Mexican tile – 3/4″, 1″, 1 1/4″

Also, it is important to know that there are two different types of grout: sanded and unsanded. Sanded grout is used in joints that are 1/8″ or larger and unsanded grout (natural stone and glass mosaics) is used in joints that are 1/8″ or larger. Salitillo or Mexican tile has its own type of grout.

For advice on how to choose a grout color, click here.

 There are many different edge treatment styles when it comes to solid surface countertops (granite, Corian, marble, quartz, etc). These edge treatment styles can give definition and personality to a countertop and the room the countertop is in.

When shopping for solid surface countertops it is important to look at actual samples of countertop edge treatments. It is also important to know that more detailed countertop edges may come with a higher cost and longer lead time.

Some examples of edge treatments are:

• Demi Bullnose
• Full Bullnose
• Eased
• Quarter Round
• Ogee
• Custom Edge

Before making a decision on your countertop, be sure to see the different samples of edge treatments as well as pictures of installations with those treatments to help make the most informed decision possible.

Floor Talk! is celebrating its 1 year anniversary!

The mission of the floor Floor Talk! blog is to offer another valuable tool from the WFCA (World Floor Covering Association) that helps consumers make informed and smart choices when it comes to flooring.  Our goal is also to help those that have made flooring purchases learn more about what they have purchased as well as how to maintain their purchase.

Over the past year, Floor Talk! has offered:

• Answers to reader questions
• Maintenance tips and hints
• Advice on color trends for the year
• Findings from trade shows
• Green products and information

The most popular blogs of the past year have been:

• How to choose a grout color
• The right way to clean ceramic tile
• 2008 color trends
• The difference between vinyl and linoleum
• How to maintain hardwood flooring
• Exotic hardwood

We have thoroughly enjoyed finding the latest products to share with you, reporting on what’s hot and what’s not, sharing pictures of beautiful floors from around the world and more. We love hearing from you and writing about what you want to know -so keep the comments and questions coming!

Thanks for all of the support for a wonderful year and we look forward to another great one!

Question:

“What should I know about the manufacturers of area rugs? In the purchasing mode, I would like to find out who are the ones I should be looking at because of their quality and reputation. For instance, what are the differences between Karastan and KAS?”

Answer:

How long a company has been in business is often a good indicator of the quality of their product, and reputation for customer service before and after the sale. Most vendors offer a range of price points, but please do not confuse price with value. Natural fibers like wool and cotton, and the labor intensive processes of hand dying and hand knotting are time consuming, and therefore more expensive than many of the synthetic products and automated processes. The adage “You get what you pay for” still holds true and an accurate indication of value requires and apple-to-apple comparison.

I wanted the opinion of someone in the rug business for this question and I trust the opinion of rugsale.com to answer the question because: they are a division of Kaoud Oriental Rugs which has been in business for over 54 years and have found the following vendors to be there; Nourison, Momeni, Dalyn, Kas, Shaw, 828 International, Couristan, and Chandra. The broad range of styles these vendors offer have gotten many favorable comments from their customers.