Merle B. Smith

Hardwood Flooring Remains A Healthy Choice

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:45:48 +0000

DO you or someone you know suffer from Allergies? The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America recently conducted the Annual U.S. Prevalence Statistics for Chronic Diseases study, which concluded 60 million Americans-One in five people – suffer from asthma and allergies. According to the study, this condition affects more people than stroke, cancer, coronary heart disease and diabetes combined. A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive indicate that the majority of homeowners believe that wood floors are most effective at improving indoor air quality.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports wood flooring for promoting healthy indoor air quality as well. The EPA conducts numerous studies related to air quality and concludes that wood floors do not harbor allergens, microrganisma or harmful pesticides that can be tracked in from outdoors. EPA also concludes that dust, mold and animal dander contamination – the most common causes of airborne allergies – is minimal in homes with wood floors because these substances are not embedded in the wood. This article was in the National Floor Trends February 2012 issue.

Loba Ceramic AT finish.

admin — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:35:03 +0000

The Ceramic advance technology finish, also known as AT, is very durable and has a coefficient rating of 0.715. This means the slip resistance when wet is above average. You can use the finish over Wood, Vinyl, VCT and LVT. The finish is much harder because of the ceramic particles in the finish. Longer wearability than the average finish. You can recoat or apply to new flooring with Loba Ceramic AT finish.
It is very easy to maintain. Most companies will not tell you about this finish as it last longer, and yes it is a little more expensive. This is a great product for residential or commercial. Call us to find out more about this product and how you could benefit by it. It has no voc’s and is Green. Loba is the way to go in today’s world and in the future.

You really think you get free installation?

admin — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:06:23 +0000

Well, we keep getting complaints about these large in home shopping companies and yet people keep buying there. It is amazing! They advertise free installation and most people know that is not true. The other thing I would question is this, if there is a hidden cost in the price of the product to cover the labor are you paying sales tax on that amount. There is no tax on labor so now you are paying even more. This makes no snse. No one installs for free, there is a cost burried somewhere to cover it. I cannot believe what the are charging for wood floors and laminate flooring.
Wake up people you are being over charged and you are buying into it. Call and get quotes from your local flooring dealer before you sign the dotted line. Become educated and don’t be forced into something because they tell you they can reduce the price because of a promortion they are having. So let’s review, they give you free installation, or 70 % off, but then they have a promtion on top of that???? Come on people stop and think before you buy into it. They are making two to three times more than your local dealer and you think you got a great buy. Check out other souirces before you sign and if they push you to buy the more you should back off.
If you like spending more for less then you are doing the right thing. We really want to help the consumer, but the TV ads are much stronger and if they are giving you such a great deal how do they pay for the high cost of TV ads and commission to their sales people? Hope we can help you before you are taken.

Engineered real wood flooring

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:08:18 +0000

As of today we have had many people ask us about engineered wood flooring. Please don’t confuse this with high pressure laminate flooring. This product is real wood and the selection is wide. This product is very stable due to the cross laminations in the core of the flooring. The wear layer varies from company to company. This product is gaining popularity due to the stability and allowing for at least one sanding. Some can get two sandings if needed. You need to concern yourself with the wear layer and over all thickness of the flooring. You can have this flooring glued, nailed or floated. The choices of speices and colors has grown over the last few years. Hallmark in our opinion leads in quality and selection. Some say since 3/4″ is solid it will last longer and can get more sandings. Well the truth of the matter is that you can only wear the floor down to the tongue on a solid floor so the wear is about the same. Keep in mind the engineered flooring is more stable so contraction and expansion are reduced drastically. Hallmark offers a great warranty and is commited to high quality at very competitive pricing. They have Domestic and Exotic woods. For more information visit our web site at www.merlebsmith.com

Here we go again!

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:03:30 +0000

We have had people call us and tell us their experiences with in home shopping companies. Let me just say this, in most cases you are over paying for the products they sell. Think about it, they have to pay a person to come to your home, and that means a salary plus a commission. If you think you are getting a great price then I would ask you to do this, call the nearest Hardood flooring dealer in your area and talk to them. In our opinion we do not think they have hardwood flooring people with a lot of knowledge. You may think you are saving money but here is what we know from our end. You pay $12.00 sq foot for a low line product through them and that same product that we look into would be $6-$7.00 per square foot through a dealer. Just because they come to your home does not mean they have better product and pricing. In some cases I would not put that stuff in a dog house let alone my house. Shop around do your homework. This is your money. Watch out for the big box stores and in home shopping companies. This is your money spend it the right way. You work hard for your money so whay not take the time to look at other options that may be better for you.
We get the calls after the fact and that is sad. There are some good companies out there and if you have any questions contact us and we will help you. We can direct you to a dealer in the Illinois area to help you make the right choice. Don’t settle for less and pay more. If these companies can afford to pay millions of dollars to advertise then you must ask yourself where do they get the money? I know you understand this and I feel bad for the people who were oversold on a lower quality product. We can tell you many sad stories that really happened to people when they dont take the time to look into this. We know people have paid for things they did not need or get. Remember the sales people are on a salary plus commission plus bonuses. You pay more for all of this and you get in many cases less. Watch out for the products coming in from China. Dealers are a good source and most of them are very knowledgable when it comes to wood flooring and high pressure laminate.

Sorry for the spelling errors and do you have questions?

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:39:34 +0000

I know many words are not spelled correctly. The problem is that after typing the Blog I go back and try to catch the errors but here is what happens. As I proof read the blog if i dont hurry up it goes back to the beginning and you have to scroll back down to where you left off. It moves so quickly that it is hard to correct. I apologize.
If you have any questions on anything pertaining to Hardwood flooring or Laminate flooring please ask and I will be happy to answer it on my Blog. I think it would help others that may have the same questions. Thank you for reading my Blogs and look forward to your questions.

Slip Tech

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:52:00 +0000

We are now carrying Slip Tech. What is Slip Tech? It is technology from the computer chip industry. Slip Tech Floor and Safety treatments make tiled surfaces extremely sip resistant, when wet, by micro-etching. It does not look rough to the human eye, but with a high powered microscope it looks like the Himalayan Mountains with millions of peaks and valleys. When a shoe makes contact with the wet tile, water is evacuated, forming a suction that greatly decreases slipping on wet tiles. Basically it works well on any form of ceramic tile and most stone surfaces. Anything with a silica molecular base, including concrete responds very well to the treatment. Unfortunatley the process does not work on wood, vinyl or epoxy floors. Slip Tech has a guarantee and a warranty. With the exception of some marble, the change in apperance is rarely a factor, especially considering the reduction in legal liabaility so any reduction in gloss is insignificant. In many cases, insurance companies have been willing to negotiate a lower rate. This is especially true with workmens’s comp coverage. This product exceeds ADA recommendations.
This product is a must for many commercail sites including hospitals, schools and many fast food facilities. Call us for more information and please keep in mind that we are part of the original Slip Tech not a knock off company and this is really important fro you to remember. Slip Tech has been around since 1986. Must be trained to apply Slip Tech.

Loba gets compliments from the consumer

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:33:04 +0000

Loba has commercial finishes at residential pricing. Since taking the Loba line on ,our contractors have received calls from their customers telling them how great the floor looked. This is something that many flooring contractors don’t hear. We feel that Loba because of the high technology that they are beyond the nearest competitor. Ask yourself can you get a commercial finish for residential pricing with other companies? The answer in most cases would be no. We want the consumer to become educated on finishes not just to be sold on marketing strategies. Finishes are a very important part and should be looked into before signinig a contract. Ask what the brand name is and why are they using that particular product. In most cases they over charge for an all right finish, and don’t look at the overall performance. They, like the consumer, have bought into the marketing of the product and feel it is the best out there. Not true in the majority of the cases. We have been doing this for many years and have heard it all, and in our opinion, we go buy the durability, look and cost of a product. We want the consumer to get the best product for the least amount. Chek out Loba and the next time you need your floor finished ask for Loba and you will not regret it. Don’t forget they have a Ceramic finish that is extreamly durable and long lasting.

Choosing Daelers and Flooring Contractors over in home shopping

admin — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:41:44 +0000

We have been told how high priced the in home shopping companies are when it comes to hardwood flloring. First of all when they can advertise 50% or more discount there is something wrong. This would tell me they are high priced to begin with. The other bigger issue we here about is limited selection. When you go to a dealer or call in a flooring installer you get a wide variety of products to choose from. You need to watch how you spend your money. Dealers and installers offer more than the others. Example we had a person wanting Tigerwood flooring and thought he was getting a great price through another widely advertised company and come to find out he bought it for less through a flooring contractor. Many of these companies need to be watched as far as we are concerned, We here about problems all the time with these other companies and hardwood flooring dealers and flooring contractors can help you. Granted some dealers are more expensive than others but they do have, in most cases, their own installers where the other comapnies have to subcontract the work to people they don’t know until they use them. Be careful and don’t let the TV advertising get you. If they can give hefty discounts how much profit are they getting. Consider their overhead and you will soon see they have a very high mark up on their products. Some companies ahow all their low end products at a cheap price because most people think everything is lowered priced, and this is not so. You can buy a high quality product for less or the same when you buy from a flooring contractor or hardwood flooring dealer. We would be happy to provide dealers and flooring contractors in your area. Most good quality Flooring Contractors will not subcontract for the other companies because they feel the quality of their products are not that good and some of them wont do it because they feel the consumer is being ripped off by high prices and low qaulity product and installation.
When you are limited in your selection you are not getting to see other products that you may like better than what is being shown to you. Some of our flooring contractors offer zero % finance for 6 months just like the other companies do. Call us so we can help you make the right selection and have the right product for your home, after all it is an expense and you will have to live with your decision for a long time.
Questions like should I purchase a laminate floor or real wood? Should I nail it, glue it downd or float it. Each one has its own application so understand the differences rather than looking at the lowest price. Do you know you can glue a 3/4″ solid floor down? Most people don’t know that and you can with some mastics glue up to 12″ wide. Let a hardwood flooring dealer or flooring contractor help you make the right decision.
I had one of these compaies come to my house just to see what the knew and I must tell you this person knew very little about hardwood flooring. All he knew was price and financing. Scary thought when the person selling knows very little about hardwood flooring. I think they are probably very good with carpet but not with Hardwood flooring. Takes a long time to really learn about Hardwood Flooring and the training given to most of the sales people are by people who know very little about hardwood flooring.

Loba Finish is Green

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 14:52:05 +0000

Loba not only has the best finishes in the market place they are also Green. Loba WS 2K Supra and WS Easy Finish and has a Gold Certification. This is an air quality seal for indoors.
The LEED products are WS 2K Supra, WS Easy Finish, Ws Viva, WS Easy Prime, HS GlobaSeal, HS Impact Oil and HS Select 100 oil/wax. Certified EC1(low emission) WS Easy Finish and WS Easy Prime. Certified EC2 (low emission) WS Viva.
As you can see Loba is not only high tech but green and has low emission. The Impact Oil is 100% natural as is their Select 100 Oil/Wax.
Loba has a great product line and before you use another finish check Loba out first, and you will see the many benefits Loba offers.