Defining The Time Machine The Museum of Alfa Romeo History just as a museum is simply reductive. The renovation and new exhibition installations by the Camerana&Partners studio transformed into a brand centre this historical museum in Varese dedicated to Alfa Romeo, opened in 1976 and designed by brothers Vito and Gustavo Latis.This is an outstanding case history forIris Ceramica Group, presented during theMipim of Cannesin March 2017 with an exclusively developed product,Alfa Romeo Black by Fiandre. These are slabs with a size of 100x100 cm and a thickness of 6 mm faithfully reproducing the original flooring installed in the 1960s in the building in Arese. They have all the advantages of a high quality porcelain stoneware, and are made using the Maximum Fiandre Extralitetechnology, ensuring an unalterable state over time and high resistance to chemicals, abrasion etc.

The project by Camerana&Partners, preserved the layout of the building, but included new functions, symbols of the contemporary world. An example of this is the new construction erected in the original building, painted in newAlfa red, and clearly visible from the motorway. The colour, a symbol of the brand, stops being an urban landmark to become a welcoming sign, guiding people from the car park to the exhibition where it becomes, once again, the staircase building we can see from the motorway.Today, the historic museum is complete with a bookshop, a caf, a documentation centre, test roadways, areas for events and show-rooms. The exhibition installations by Camerana&Partners do not fail to highlight the identity of the brand, whose DNA is symbolically represented by a light installation: a helical element comprising lights, words and signs, inserted into an ideal transparent volume. The installation vertically crosses the entire building, and links the three museum floors, representing the brand principles: timeline, intended as industrial continuity; beauty merging style and design, and speed, as a synthesis of technology and lightness.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Renovation and new exhibition installations: Camerana&PartnersLocation: Arese (MI), ItalyImages courtesy of Museo Alfa Romeo

http://www.museoalfaromeo.comwww.irisceramicagroup.comwww.granitifiandre.it

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The Time Machine The Museum of Alfa Romeo History of Arese - Floornature.com

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From project inception to final punch lists, we manage every detail of your flooring installation to ensure a smooth project and a quality floor. Project planning, material procurement, logistics and installation our experienced team oversees it all. We provide a dedicated project manager and experienced, highly trained teams on every big project.

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Whether you require expert assistance specifying the best flooring materials or already have complete specifications, we can meet any design vision. Well show you samples of different materials and ensure you start your project with the right solution. We keep a close eyeonthe latest flooring trends and can guide you in selecting materials that look great and offer the best of whats available today.

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As the largest commercial flooring contractor in the U.S., weve established partnerships with manufacturers nationwide and can quickly procure flooring at the best prices. We provide a dedicated manager to oversee procurement on your project and source materials in time to meet your schedule. Throughout your project, we keep every stakeholder up to date and eliminate any uncertainty.

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Before installation, we have a dedicated superintendent survey your job site and determine how materials will be staged. Then, our highly trained crews follow a clear plan to rapidly install your flooring. Depending on the complexity of your materials and installation, our crews can train specifically for your project.

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At Spectra Contract Flooring, were constantly searching for ways to innovate during the flooring installation process. One powerful way we reduce costs and streamline project schedules is our vertical installation technology (V.I.T.). For projects in active facilities, we can use V.I.T. to quickly and safely hoist furniture off the ground, allowing our professional crews to rapidly install flooring. Upon completion of a project, our team uses V.I.T. to safely and carefully place furniture back in its place. You get a finished installation in a rapid timeframe with minimal disruption to active operations perfect for offices and other high-use spaces. Learn more about our exclusive V.I.T. services.

To attain the greatest value from your flooring, youll need a dedicated maintenance plan. For some flooring materials, quarterly or bi-annual cleaning is enough to ensure your flooring lasts and looks great for years to come. Other materials require a more comprehensive, dedicated plan. We help you determine whats best for the long-term value of your flooring. Depending on your location, flooring and facility, we can coordinate your flooring maintenance and product care. Learn more here.

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Abbi Matheson

The original completion date for the critical Thompson school addition is Friday, Aug. 18 and the general contractor, GTC Construction, now says only the existing classrooms will be finished by then.

"I don't know if I have a lot of faith," Brian DeFilipis of PMA Consultants, the Owners Project Manager for the Thompson School project, told Permanent Town Building Committee (PTBC) members on Aug. 15.

The six-classroom addition is meant to alleviate overcrowding at the school.

Final push on existing classrooms

The only construction work remaining on the existing classrooms are installation of dry-erase boards and doors and flooring at the connectors to the new addition. The existing classrooms also need to be cleaned before they move furniture in and teachers move their supplies in.

On Aug. 15, there were only six men working on the site, all cleaners.

"[It] doesn't feel like the end of a job," DeFilipis said.

Burt Barachowitz, also of PMA Consultants, told the committee the existing classrooms had to be finished by Aug. 25 so teachers could move in and set up their classrooms. Teachers who were supposed to be in the new classrooms would remain in the modular units.

Facilities Director Ruthy Bennett told the committee town janitors can finish the cleaning and, if need be, the town can use their own facilities workers to finish the remaining work in the existing classrooms, freeing up contractors to work on the additional classrooms. Since town workers are not specialized contractors, Bennett expected it would take them about four days for her crew of five to finish the work.

"It's not a lot of work," she told the committee. "You just have to do it."

Flooring and furniture timing

According to DeFilipis, flooring in the addition is scheduled to begin Aug. 21, the same day furniture is scheduled to be delivered. He told the committee the classrooms in the addition would be floored first so furniture could be moved out of the gym, where it is being constructed.

The schedule GTC Construction provided to PMA at the beginning of the month was supposed to look ahead three weeks. It stopped at Aug. 18, DeFilipis told the committee, only looking ahead two weeks.

"It has to be a perfectly oiled machine," said DeFilipis.

DeFilipis told the PTBC that he had requested two teams from GTC Construction to install flooring in the addition. Barachowitz said he hoped the flooring contractor will come to the site this week to assess the workload.

Discussing damages and moving forward

On Aug. 18, Defilipis told the committee PMA would make a list of everything at the site that is not completed. Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine and Bennett will also be at the site on Aug. 18 to asses the progress. If they are not comfortable with it, they will discuss how town facilities workers can be used to finish the existing classrooms in time for the start of school.

PTBC member John Maher noted that at some point the town will have to consider damages resulting from the delay in construction. These damages come in the form of monetary compensation and are based off of financial setbacks that may occur if the contractor is late finishing the project. One such damage, Bennett noted, could be the cost of having to move furniture multiple times because of delays in flooring installation.

Maher added that damages are tricky because the town don't want to send the wrong message to other contractors, like ones coming in for the Arlington High School project, that they will be charged for being a few days late. The dilemma, he said, is where town officials should draw the line.

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Thompson addition will not be done by start of school - Wicked Local Arlington

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Plank flooring has come a long way from the frontier days when rough-hewn boards were nailed to floor joists, resulting in rugged, and somewhat uneven, walking surfaces. Todays hard-surface flooring is smooth and level, due in large part to the way its installed. Tongue and groove, a method of connecting board planks, creates a uniform floor surface thats durableand attractive. Whetheryoure considering a new floor or youre just curious about tongue and groove construction, read on for the 411 including tried-and-true installation tips if youre planning on laying your new floor yourself.

Developed in the late 1800s, tongue and groove flooring took off as manufacturers began mass-producing interlocking hardwood planks that eliminated the need for exposed nail heads had been a mainstay in wood flooring. Tongue and groove technology has expanded to include different types of flooring, yet it remains the best way to get a great hardwood floor.

Heres how it works: One side of a tongue and groove board has a protruding ridge (the tongue) that runs the entire length of the board, while the other side of the board has a groove from end to end. During installation, the ridge side of one board is fitted into the groove side of an adjacent board, creating a snug seam. The short width sides of tongue and groove flooring planks also feature either a ridge or a groove, which creates a fully interconnecting floor when installed.

Nearly all hardwood flooring today is tongue and groove because it solves the pesky problemssuch as shrinking, warping, and working loosecommonly experienced by face-nailing planks to floor joists. Because the boards interlock, theyre less likely to heave or show gaps between the planks if the flooring swells or shrinks, which wood has a tendency to do over time and as humidity levels change.

While smooth, level tongue and groove flooring is widespread, you still find plain board planks to recreate the look and feel of an old-time, rustic floor. Non-groove planks are rarely seen in interior residential flooring today (unless its part of a historical restoration project). They are better suited to exterior decking applications where a space between the planks is desirable for drainage.

In the past few decades, tongue and groove flooring assembly expanded from hardwood to engineered flooring, which opened up a world of new choices for consumers. Engineered flooring features planks made from layers of compressed wood fibers, resins, and polymers, which is then topped with a thin layer of surface veneer. Consumers can choose from dozens of textures, patterns, and colors, including veneers made from real hardwood and bamboo, in addition to styles made from other laminate products designed to mimic the look of wood, cobblestone, or tile. Unlike hardwood flooring, engineered flooring can be installed over concrete or existing flooring, such as tile or linoleum.

Photo: istockphoto.com

Although tongue and groove solid hardwood flooring does fit together, it must still be nailed to a subfloor. Engineered tongue and groove planks, however, snap together to create a floating floor that is not physically attached to the floor below. This results in engineered flooring being more DIY-friendly than hardwood flooring.

Engineered flooring comes with installation instructions in every box of planks, but solid hardwood flooring, often installed by flooring professionals, does not. If you plan to install your own solid hardwood, its a good idea to observe the installation process in person before attempting to lay your own floor.

Hardwood Flooring Pro Tips

Prevent wood squeaks by using a sound-absorbing underlayment between the subfloor and the hardwood flooring. The most common underlayment is 15-lb. felt paper, which effectively muffles sounds that occur when wood rubs against wood. Skip theunderlayment and youre bound to hear loud squeaks and creaks loudly when someone crosses the room!

Rent a hardwood flooring nailer from a construction rental store to make installation easier. The traditional method of nailing hardwood tongue and groove flooring is to drive nails at an angle through the tongue of a plank and into the subfloor below, but this is time-consuming and can result in poorly inserted nails. A hardwood flooring nailer is a power tool that shoots nails through the tongue at the correct angle while driving the hardwood plank snugly against the previous plank. Hardwood flooring nailers rent for around $40 to $60 per day and are well worth the cost.

Engineered Flooring Pro Tips

Photo: istockphoto.com

Use the underlayment specified by the flooring manufacturer. Like solid hardwood, engineered flooring requires sound-absorbing underlayment, but because engineered flooring can be installed over concrete or existing flooring, the manufacturer may recommend a cushioned polyethylene-type barrier that also resists moisture.

Snap, dont force the planks together. The tongue ridges and groove channels are narrower and deeper in engineered flooring than they are in solid hardwood flooring. The sides of the planks fit together by positioning the tongue of one plank against the groove of the previously installed plank at an angle and then pushing downward and inward at the same time, which causes the planks to snap together.

Tap the ends of the planks together using only an installation block approved by the manufacturer. Installation blocks sell separately, and theyre designed to protect the ends of engineered planks. Attempting to tap the planks with a mallet (which is done when installing hardwood) is likely to result in damaging the end of an engineered plank.

Keep in mind that installing engineered flooring over existing flooring will raise the level of the floor between 3/8 and 5/8. This may result in the need to cut off the bottom of a door if the floor is too high for the door to open and close easily. If the floor in an adjoining room is lower, install a transition floor threshold between the rooms. A transition threshold acts as a gentle ramp down to the lower floor to eliminate a lip that can cause tripping.

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Tongue and Groove Flooring 101 - BobVila.com

Posted: Aug. 18, 2017 12:01 am Updated: Aug. 18, 2017 11:20 pm

Just because school is out during the summer doesn't mean work on campus shuts down, too.

Both Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., and Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal, Mo., have spent the summer making renovations to their campuses. New and returning students and their families will notice an updated feeling on both campuses when the fall semester starts next week.

Culver-Stockton College

Updating residence halls was a goal for the college this summer.

C-SC's largest construction project has been the new $3 million suite-style Carolyn L. and Robert W. Brown Residence Hall. Each suite includes four beds, a kitchenette, private bathrooms and built-in closets. It also will have four classrooms in one wing.

Shannon Hall underwent nearly $500,000 facility upgrades, including new windows, bathrooms, drywall, paint and LED lighting.

"Due to increased enrollment, the new residence hall and Shannon Hall renovations were a high priority," said Mike Bringer, C-SC director of campus security and facilities. Updates to Weldon, Gerlach, Clough and Stone halls were made, as well.

As for academic buildings, the Carl Johann Memorial Library was outfitted with new windows, and the Herrick Center has new flooring, lighting and paint.

"The replacement of over 120 windows in this building has improved its look from an interior and exterior perspective, not to mention it creates a more energy-efficient climate," Bringer said of the library.

The recreation and wellness center has new paint, bathroom vanities and resinous flooring, and the Joe Charles Field House was converted to a football locker room. Outdoors, an archway featuring bronze lettering and the college seal at the main entrance of campus has been added.

The college also is installing new aluminum footboards, walking surfaces and seating with backs at Ellison Poulton Stadium. Capacity will be expanded to 1,006, which includes eight wheelchair spaces with companion seats. Installation is expected to be done by the Wildcats' first home football game Sept. 9.

"These renovations and improvements have a direct effect on everyone's experience at college," Bringer said. "With that being said, the Hill is home away from home for students and their families. The projects completed this summer will enhance the overall student experience, and current feedback includes very positive comments."

New students checked in to campus Friday, and classes start Monday.

Hannibal-LaGrange University

Multiple changes were made to the HLGU campus over the summer. Most noticeable were renovations to Kleckner Hall and the L.A. Foster Student Center.

Kleckner, a community-style women's dormitory, had minor repairs made to it in the past, but this year it was time to do more than that to better serve students, university officials decided.

Kleckner had significant updates to its lighting, flooring, lobbies and restrooms. The building's heating and air-conditioning system also was replaced.

"In an ongoing effort to provide quality housing for our students, we created a master plan to remodel and upgrade where needed," HLGU President Anthony Allen said in a statement. "After performing some scheduled maintenance, it became clear that more work is needed."

The amount of work the dormitory required placed it at the top of the renovation list, he noted.

New in the student center is the snack shop the HLGU Loft, which will serve personal pizzas, smoothies, coffee and more. The center also had new lighting, flooring and furniture installed.

In addition, the University Bookstore and student life offices moved into the student center. The public safety office, which used to be in the student center, has moved to the Burt Administration Building.

Move-in day for new-students at Hannibal-LaGrange was Thursday. Classes begin Tuesday.

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As students return to college in Canton, Hannibal, they'll see several renovations to campuses - Herald-Whig

Wood wins the prize as Americas favorite hard-surface flooring type, outselling vinyl, porcelain tile and every other option, according to market-research firm Mintels 2016 report on residential flooring. But wood can be a loser in the kitchen, where a dropped can of peas can literally leave a lasting impression. Or in the laundry room, where a splash of bleach can blemish its finish.

Consumer Reports analyzed key areas in a typical home and chose the top flooring materials to meet the challenges in each.

Though wood remains a widely used aesthetic choice, it wont stand up well to that assault: Consumer Reports tests show that, in general, wood floors are far more prone to denting than other materials, and, with very few exceptions, foot traffic is tough on the finish.

Top choice: porcelain tile. A natural fit for high-traffic areas of the home, porcelain tile outperformed every other flooring material we tested for resistance to scratching and denting, says Joan Muratore, Consumer Reports lead test engineer for flooring. Plus, porcelain tile comes in a range of styles to fit any decor. Tile is also low-maintenance, never requiring more than a vacuuming and mopping, and itll last a lifetime, says design-and-build contractor Rob Wennersten of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

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These floors dont face the stress of foot traffic or the constant sunlight that can fade solid and engineered wood. Rather, the flooring threats in these rooms come in liquid form. Bathers splash, showerers drip and toilets overflow.

Top choice: porcelain tile. Even purists who refuse anything but real wood should seriously consider porcelain tile for their bathrooms and laundry room. After all, tile is a traditional choice in these rooms because it holds up well in wet places, says architect John Cole of Fryeburg, Maine. Porcelain also allows for design-forward, barrier-free showers, where the bathroom floor extends straight into the shower without any lip. To avoid slippery-when-wet floors, choose a more textured product rather than one with a highly polished surface.

Though its true that furniture feet, pet claws, stiletto heels and kids toys with wheels can damage a wood floor, any other material can feel substandard in these cozy common areas.

Top choice: solid wood. By this, Consumer Reports means prefinished wood flooring, as well as unfinished wood flooring, which gets sanded and finished on site.

There are plenty of reasons to opt for prefinished planks: You wont have dust from sanding or fumes from finishing to contend with during installation; depending on how its installed, you might be able to walk on the floors right away; and prefinished flooring also tends to be less expensive. Perhaps most important, the factory-applied finishes are significantly tougher-wearing than what your contractor would be likely to apply once the floor is installed.

To learn more, visit ConsumerReports.org.

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Consumer Reports: Choose the right flooring for every room - Daily Local News

Robert Dennis has mined coal in West Virginia for 10 years but a recent evening found him in a classroom at his local community college. He came to learn about opportunities in fracking, a drilling technique used to produce natural gas the very fuel that is threatening coals future.

I know mining inside and out, said Dennis, a 41-year-old shift foreman from Wetzel County, adjusting the black Adidas cap on his head. But now, I just want more doors to be open.

He has earned a certificate in chemical and industrial operations, diligently searched job boards and filled out applications. So far, no luck.

Dennis is learning a hard lesson of fracking: While it has created a bonanza of jobs, displaced coal miners and their communities are sometimes left out of the boom. Thats because many of the jobs require highly technical skills and are often going to experienced workers brought in from out of state who then move on to the next job without sinking roots.

There are positive employment and wage effects,said Timothy M. Komarek, a professor of economics at Old Dominion University in Virginia. But, he said, they are not as big as first thought when the boom first started.

Komarek concluded in a 2016 study that total employment in a county rises by 7 percent and wages by 11 percent in the three years after fracking comes but the gains then taper off.

When the shale galehits, hotels, trailer parks and restaurants get a boost. And some landowners make money for letting drillers extract oil and gas from their property.

In that way, fracking has created a lot of millionaires in West Virginia,said Jeff Kessler, a former state senator from the states northern area that has both coal and natural gas. But it has not created the employment opportunitiesarea residents had hoped for, he said. The ongoing benefits are relatively minute compared to the amount of land under lease.

Thats bad news for towns like Wetzel Countys New Martinsville where Dennis attended the community college session. While coal mines provide decades of steady work and sustain communities, a crew can frack a well in a month and leave behind automated machinery to recover the oil and gas.

The process, also known as hydraulic fracturing, involves injecting water and chemicals deep underground to break up rock and free trapped oil and gas.

Its unlocked vast stores of previously unobtainable fossil fuel and spurred a renaissance in energy production in states that had once been coal bastions. Coal, oil and natural gas are formed from the same plant matter and other forms of prehistoric life and can be found in the same places.

But fracking has eroded the status of coal, which used to generate more than half the electricity in the U.S. but had slipped to just 30 percent last year. If there was a War on Coal, it was really declared by natural gas,said Robert Godby, an economist at the University of Wyoming.

While some miners are hoping President Donald Trump will rescue their industry West Virginia gave Trump 69 percent of the vote in 2016, the greatest share of the total in at least a century and a half others are eyeing gas as an alternative employment opportunity.

Jobs associated with oil and gas extraction have grown in recent years while coal mining positions have declined.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics doesnt specifically count fracking jobs, but says there were more than 422,000 jobs directly associated with oil and gas extraction in the U.S. at the end of 2016. That has far eclipsed the number of jobs in underground coal mining: about 50,000 nationwide, down from 200,000 in the 1970s.

In West Virginia, there were 11,404 coal miners last year, about half the 23,000 who were working in 2011. There are about 6,000 working in oil and gas extraction.

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To be sure, the fracking boom provided a much-needed economic boost in the years following the Great Recession. Fracking supported more than half a million jobs across the Marcellus Shale, an energy-rich geological formation that stretches from New York state to Virginia, according to a report commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, a trade association. The groups numbers exceed the Labor Department estimates because they include workers at natural gas distribution facilities, petroleum refineries, petroleum product wholesalers and gas stations.

And much as coal and the Ohio River once lured steel plants and manufacturers to the area, cheap natural gas may bring chemical and other manufacturers to areas near shale drilling. Residents of New Martinsville, for example, are rooting for an ethane processing facility that may be built on the site of an old coal plant nearby.

In North Dakota, for example, the fracking boom allowed it become the fastest-growing economy in the nation by 2014. Even now, it has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation at 2.3 percent. But a downturn in the oil market brought drilling to a crawl and slowed investment in training and education programs.

The boom was so quick and dropped off so quickly afterwards and the bust came so quickly that they really didnt get it done,said William Caraher, an associate professor of history at the University of North Dakota, of the states education push.

Don Riggenbach is the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Wetzel County, where New Martinsville is located, and the owner of a tile and carpet installation company. He measures the economic effect of fracking in square feet of new flooring installed. So far, he says, something has been missing.

In my business I need houses being built,he said. Youd think that because of the gas and oil business theyd be hiring people. They do, but theyre out-of-state workers ... Theyre not putting down roots.

Still, former miners who have made the transition to fracking, often with the assistance of government or industry-funded programs, say they are happy.

Robert Walker says he was shocked when he was laid off from his job at a Murray Energy Corp. coal mine in Marshall County in April 2015.

Flash forward a couple of years and Walker is working for The Williams Companies Inc., a company with extensive operations in the oil and gas field. He is making less money, down to $24 an hour from $30 when he was working in the mines. But he likes the work, and prefers his new coworkers. He says he is a lot happier now.

Gene Everly, right, of Greensboro, Pa., in a training classroom at the Penn Commercial Business/Technical School. Everly built long wall mining equipment at Caterpillar Global Mining for 20 years before industry declines led to massive layoffs.

Photographer: Stephanie Strasburg/Bloomberg

Curt Hippensteel, the director of the West Virginia Community College petroleum technology program, said miners have skills that transfer well to other trades, including safety training, welding and electrical work. Plus, miners are used to working long hours in austere conditions, which fits the profile of roustabout work quite nicely, he said.

But fracking, which requires the application of precise measurements of chemicals, sand and water applied under extreme pressure at specific times, requires its own set of unique skills.

And its job outlook is far from certain.

Technological improvements to fracking processes and practices have made the industry more efficient. In late 2016 and early 2017, more gas was produced using fewer workers in West Virginia than ever before.

Since 2014, gas production in the state has grown 50 percent while oil and gas employment has fallen from 9,000 to less than 6,000, according to West Virginia University Bureau of Business and Economic Forecasting.

Small gains in oil and gas jobs havent matched the loss in coal mining jobs in West Virginia.

The recent recovery in prices has spurred companies to begin exploring for gas again, which may mean more hiring soon, according to Brian Lego, a West Virginia University assistant professor of economic forecasting. But the overall level wont be a substantial amount,he said.

Dennis, the coal miner looking for fracking work, hopes to gain a few years experience in the oil and gas fields near New Martinsville until his children finish school.

After that, hes ready to give up on energy altogether and seek employment in North Carolina, where he feels there is more opportunity.

What I want is a chance to move out of the area,he said. Theres more industry down there.

With assistance by Jim Polson, Tim Loh, Daniel Levitt, and Catarina Saraiva

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Fracking Jobs Prove Elusive for Coal Miners Looking to Switch ... - Bloomberg

One of the best ways to bring warmth into your kitchen is to install wood floors. This idea is especially appropriate in small kitchens where white or light-colored cabinets are chosen to visually expand the space. Wood floors provide a beautiful, natural contrast without visually paring down the space. Regardless of which material you choose solid wood flooring or engineered flooring the flooring surface is typically installed prior to the installation of the base cabinets. Doing so is particularly effective in cases where furniture-type base cabinets are selected. Because these cabinets stand on legs, they allow a view of the wood floor beneath them. The resulting look is much like that of a formal dining room.

Wood flooring has made a major comeback as builders and homeowners look to increase the charm, value and comfort in new and remodeled homes. Another reason for woods return is the increasing prevalence of open floor plans, in which kitchens and family rooms blend together. Wood floors offer a warm, seamless look for such designs.

PRO TIP: Whether applied on-site or in the factory, penetrating scalers like polyurethane help ensure that wood floors in the kitchen will resist spills.

For more information about your flooring options, visit the showroom at Quality Home Center our name says it all! We are located at 1249 Rt. 9 S. in Cape May Court House. For more information, call (609) 465-5029 or visit http://www.qualityhomectr.com.

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A Warm and Cozy Kitchen - Cape May County Herald

If youre thinking of replacing the flooring in your home, then youre probably faced with a difficult decision.

Deciding whether your budget will cover laminate, wood or carpeting is only one decision. Homeowners must also choose the best flooring for durability, style and color.

For Tony Cruse, owner-operator of The Tile Company in Beaver Lake, the answer is simple: a quality tile that will endure many years to come.

Wood floors can get scratched and damaged from water. Carpet is easy to ruin and vinyl flooring tears and can also buckle, Cruse explained. Tile does add value to your home and really lasts forever. Its the grout that goes bad. Its important to get a stain-proof, crack-resistant grout, especially if youre using a light colored tile.

Cruse has been in the tiling business for 25 years. He is especially expert at installing custom-designed tile showers and flooring.

Decorating with tile is especially popular not only for interior flooring but outdoor kitchens, lounge areas, patios or decks. Tile is durable, but you need to choose a type that will endure the different elements. For outdoor use, I recommend thaw-proof porcelain tile, Cruse said.

Ceramic tile frost resistance or thaw-proof porcelain tile has the ability to withstand freeze/thaw conditions during the winter months with minimal effect. The frost resistance of ceramic tile is dependent on the tiles porosity and water absorption levels.

Porcelain, granite, slate, marble, travertine, limestone and quartzite are good options, depending on the climate in which a person is having it installed.

Whether its an interior or exterior installation Cruse said gray is one of the most popular color choices. Gray is big and so is white. Patterns are especially popular and herringbone patterns are very big, Cruse explained.

Cruse stressed the importance of choosing quality tile when doing a project. Dont go cheap on tile. Its usually uneven and doesnt look as nice when laid out. Fads are hard to replace, he said.

Although many people opt to install tile themselves, if they do not have an expertise in laying tile they need to hire a professional.

Its not as easy as it looks. Many people do it on their own, but dont understand the importance of keeping it level. Unlevel tile causes the grout to crack. Also using the proper grouting makes a big difference, Cruse said.

Poured showers can be especially challenging. They are hard work and, if not done right, can cause leaking later, which means it has to be torn out. Do not hire based on price. Paying cheap usually means the work you end up with will cost you more in the end when it has to be redone.

Cruse may be contacted through The Tile Company by emailing Crusetile@yahoo.com or calling 402.690.7153.

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Local expert explains how to get the best tiling results - Fremont Tribune

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One of the oldest flooring materials is still among the most desirable. Whether your style is classic, contemporary, or eclectic, a hardwood surface can complement your dcor and add value to your home. Durable, natural, and renewable, hardwood flooring is available in a variety of colors and grain patterns to suit your individual design and lifestyle needs.

Five hardwood species (oak, walnut, hickory, maple, and cherry) are among the most common choices for residential flooring and each has its own properties. But before you select a species, you should understand the pros and cons of both types of hardwood flooringsolid and engineeredand consider finishing options, too. Read on for everything you need to know so youll wind up with the finest flooring for you!

Traditional hardwood floors feature solid wood boards while engineered hardwood flooring offers the look of the real thing with increased application options at a slightly lower cost.

Solid hardwood flooring boards are milled from a single piece of wood, while engineered hardwood boards feature a multi-layer base topped with a layer of real hardwood. Prefinished solid red oak flooring runs about $5 per sq. ft., while engineered red oak flooring runs $1 to $2 less (the thicker the hardwood layer, the higher the cost). Price aside, consider the benefits and drawbacks of both.

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Solid hardwood flooring

can be refinished many times, and so has the potential to last for decades.is designed for installation over a wood subfloor, with each board positioned and individually nailed to the subfloor. Since it requires nailing, its not suitable for installation on a concrete substrate.is not recommended for below-grade installations, such as basements. The increased humidity and residual moisture below grade can lead solid hardwood to warp.can develop cupping if exposed to high humidity. Because each board is nailed on the edges, if the wood swells, the boards press on one another and they can push upward slightly at the seams, creating a cupped depression along the center of the board.can develop gaps if the wood contracts. If the moisture level in the wood was higher when it was installed, gaps between the seams can occur as the wood dries and shrinks. To prevent gaps, allow boards to acclimate to the room climate for at least two weeks before installation.

Engineered Hardwood Flooring

is made of multiple thin layers of compressed wood, resin, and polymers, and then topped with a layer of real hardwood.can be installed over a host of different flooring, including wood, tile, or linoleum as long as the existing floor is level, and can even be installed concrete. Instead of being nailed to the subfloor, engineered flooring planks are fitted and snapped together via grooves on the sides of the planks. A floating floor, its not physically attached to the floor beneath.can often be installed in basements. The resins and polymers in engineered flooring withstand higher humidity. Check the individual brands, however, because resistance to moisture can vary.can sometimes be refinished. A few manufacturers that use a thicker layer of surface hardwood claim that their product can be refinished once or twice. The majority of engineered hardwood flooring will not hold up to refinishing.will not cup or cause gaps between seams. An engineered floor is installed with an expansion space around its perimeter. Its less likely to swell or contract, but even if it does, the expansion space will accommodate the movement and the floor will remain flat and level.comes prefinished; once its installed, nothing more is required.

Until recently, solid hardwood flooring was installed unfinished, and then the installer would apply stain and a durable finish coat to protect the surface. Today, hardwood flooring is also available in a prefinished product, with stain and topcoat already in place.

Unfinished hardwood flooring

is the smoothest flooring option. Because its installed and then sanded, theres no board-height discrepancy.allows for custom colors. If you want a unique shade, install unfinished flooring and have the stain custom-mixed at a paint store.is more time-consuming to install. Since the floor is finished in phasesinstallation, sanding, staining, finishingit can take three or more days to complete.entails mess and potentially toxic fumes. Sanding an entire floor is a dusty prospect, and some stain and finish products produce disagreeable fumes that require ventilation during application.means lower material costs. On average, unfinished hardwood flooring runs about $1 per sq. ft. less than prefinished. For example, unfinished Red Oak flooring runs about $4 per sq. ft. while prefinished Red Oak runs about $5 per sq. ft.but higher installation costs. The extra labor required to stain and finish the floor makes unfinished hardwood more expensive when professionally installed. Depending on labor costs in your area, you may end up paying more for a flooring pro to install and finish the floor than you would to have a prefinished floor installed. A professional installer may stand behind defects in workmanship during the application and finishing process, but if you install the floor yourself, you wont have any recourse if the finish doesnt hold up to normal wear and tear.

Prefinished hardwood flooring

is available in a few dozen colors, but cannot be customized in your shade of choice.has higher initial material costs but lower installation costs than unfinished types of hardwood flooring. Since no staining and finishing are necessary, a professionally installed prefinished hardwood floor is often less expensive than a professionally installed unfinished hardwood floor. In the long run, youll probably pay less for a prefinished hardwood floor.has no exposure to dust or toxic fumes.comes with manufacturer warranties that often guarantee against defects in stain and finish coat.

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Now that you know the score on floors, you can begin to choose your species, based on color tones, wood grain patterns, and overall durability. The Janka Hardness Scale, named for Gabriel Janka, an Austrian researcher who developed the scale in 1906, is todays industry standard for determining wood hardness. The higher the rating number, the harder the woodand the more durable your floor.

Oak: This popular hardwood features two distinct types, both highly desirable for flooring options.

Red Oak: The most common hardwood flooring choice available today, it has a Janka rating of 1290 and is well suited for most flooring needs. Its warm tones range in color from creamy pink and golden red to rusty brown. It features graceful swirled grain patterns throughout and has a tendency to vary slightly in color and grain pattern from one board to the next. Red oak complements diverse dcor styles, including classic, rustic, contemporary, and country. White Oak: Chosen for its fine grain patterns and cool hues, white oak is harder than red oak, coming in at 1360 on the Janka scalemaking it a good choice for high traffic areas. White oak has gray undertones and no hint of red. Its grain and color vary only slightly, producing an overall floor effect of smooth elegance, which is suitable for many design styles.

Cherry: Prized for its warm brown hues and smooth grain pattern, cherry is slightly softer than some hardwoods, ranking 950 on the Janka scaleso best for lower-traffic spots, such as bedrooms and formal dining rooms. Cherry has a tendency to darken slightly over time, especially if exposed to bright sunlight. For optimal visual impact, consider installing wide flooring planksup to 8 inchesto showcase this hardwoods beautiful grain pattern.

Walnut: Its deep, rich, chocolate tones and large straight grain patterns make walnut a top choice for drama and sophistication. With a Janka rating of 1010, Walnut is suitable for medium-to-light traffic, but may show wear in high-traffic areas after a few years. Color variations from board to board are slight, giving walnut floors a smooth, consistent look.

Hickory: With a Janka rating of 1820, hickory is very durable, ideal for high-traffic zonesin fact, it was once a top choice for school gymnasium floors. Hickory features mocha-tones, ranging from creamy beige with a hint of red to warm brown with dark brown streaks. With large knots and color that can vary substantially from board to board, hickory is well suited to rustic and country style.

Maple: Another highly durable choice, maple ranks 1450 on the Janka scale and is suitable for most rooms. Its a fairly light-colored wood, with hues that include light cream, beige, and tan, and it often features a slight reddish tint. Maple has a fine grain pattern, with occasional dark streaks and specks that add visual interest to the wood. This hardwood complements many styles, including contemporary, transitional, and eclectic.

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New Floors? The Types of Hardwood Flooring Every Homeowner Should Consider - BobVila.com