Hi Dana,
Thank you for providing such a wonderful product for our home. You were a true professional throughout the entire process of the flooring purchase, delivery and installation. The tung oiled oak floor is the highlight of our condo.

Please use these photos as a given reference of the high quality flooring of Vermont Plank Flooring.

Thank you many times over,
Peter,  Newton, MA.

ps: If you or anyone in the area wants to take a tour we are open.

Hi Jess,
That’s great. We are really happy that everything worked out. It was a long
haul. Anyway….The longer you  let the floor cure the better. I know there
is a lot of pressure to move in. If you can at least hold off on the
heaviest furniture and not put rugs down that is helpful. Also, keep  the
shoes off, is advisable for a week or so. The longer you go the better.
That’s true with ANY finish.
All the best,
Mark

Enjoy the photos and hope they can be helpful in

displaying your product which now appears alongside Vermont Soapstone Counters from Perkinsville. Trying to keep as much business local and traditionally Vermont as possible.
Peace & Blessings,
Rev. Ted Newcomb, Pastor
Congregational Church of Mansfield
A United Church of Christ Congregation

I’m not sure you know that we’ve had a catastrophic fire at our house and the renovation construction is underway.  That is our home and office (Wheelgate Farm).  The house next door where you dropped off the samples is our daughter’s, where we are staying while our house is empty. (the renovation includes a Vermont Plank wide pine floor in my husband’s office.)

More important than samples… I think you’ve recently redone your website and it’s fantastic!  (maybe I just hadn’t looked at it in a while) I think it should be VERY helpful to people deciding about their floor material and finish.

We have been recommending and using Vermont Plank ever since a client alerted us to you a year or so ago.  We have been very pleased with your pricing and your responsiveness and will continue to recommend you. You are our first choice when we can persuade people to use wide planks, and we have switched from specifying Carlisle to specifying YOU!

Thanks for your interest.

Nancy R. Hoit, Associate
Roger O. Hoit  AIA, Architect

1175 Main Street
Hingham, MA 02043
781-749-5563
Fx:  749-5638

nrhoit@capecod.net
www.rogerhoit.com

Sustainability has become a very popular aspect of today’s lifestyles and has expanded to virtually every aspect of society…including flooring. Sustainability is also closely related to another popular trend, that of buying local…as buying local helps sustain out communities and our lifestyles and minimizes the amount of energy (embedded energy) it takes to make and deliver products to consumers. It also is closely tied to the “green trend” as local+sustainable (has been proven to) = green.

Another important aspect of your floor selection is how well it insulates your space and how comfortable it is. Does it allow the use of radiant heat? Can it be installed over existing concrete floors? Will it remain stable (and flat) for generations? Does it add value to your home? Interestingly enough, these questions also relate closely to sustainability.

Red Oak Wide Plank Solid Wood Floor

Most customers have a limited knowledge of the varieties of wood floors that are available to them. Many don’t know or consider the amount of energy it takes to make each type of  floor and to get the floors to their homes or businesses. This energy and is something everyone will need to consider more and more in the coming years as the cost of energy continues to increase. But most importantly…it determines, in many cases, the difference between a floor that will last a generation or three (A.K.A “sustainable”)…and one that will be worn out as soon as the first time the walls need to be repainted.

From carpets, to laminates, to engineered, to solid wood (both strip and wide plank)…flooring options range from cheap to easily installed (and thrown away) to green to floors that will last several lifetimes and many more options in between. Depending on your needs…it’s important to consider them all before you buy.

Ash Wide Plank Solid Wood Flooring

American Modern Living
offers a helpful comparison between solid wood floors and laminates. “Natural hardwood floors enhance the overall value of your home. Real estate ads will always include mention if the house has natural hardwood floors, because the lasting value of these floors far surpasses the laminate wood flooring alternative. Keep in mind, too, that laminate flooring is not guaranteed to last the entire life of a home’s mortgage. This can be a pitfall if you’re trying to sell.”

The Green Building Floor Library offers a good overview of floors that we suggest you consider before you purchase. It helps dispel some of today’s more tradition viewpoints that aren’t necessarily true.

Cherry Wide Plank Solid Wood Flooring

For example, bamboo floors…considered very “green”, primarily due to the rapid regrowth of the bamboo tree, actually have a very high embedded energy due to where they grow (primarily Asia) and the amount of energy it takes to ship them. Stone and tile floors are also interesting studies. Most consider them very sustainable due to the seemingly endless supply of the earth’s resources needed to make them (e.g. sand). However, their weight alone adds greaty to the cost of shipping and a large majority of the floors come from Asia or Europe…again increasing the transportation costs.

Wide Plank Whte Oak Solid Wood Flooring

Solid wood floors continue to offer the best solution for sustainable flooring. By choosing a solid wood floor made by a local flooring manufacturer who adheres to strict FSC guidelines and who sources their wood from local, sustainable forests that are logged by equally sustainable logging practices consumers will get the most sustainable, green flooring money can buy. Plus you help sustain your local community.

The bottom line (or floor) is to buy locally made and sustainable products.

The dream home of James and Susannah Bowers is almost done. We reported earlier this Fall they had chosen Vermont Plank Flooring for their rift red oak wide plank floors. They’re pretty thrilled with their decision.

It’s a funny thing about floors. As much thought that goes into the millions of other design details of a new home…when you choose floors made by Vermont Plank Flooring…like Jim and Susannah have…when visitors enter…they will be  immediately and completely captivated by the floor.

Some may even request a moment alone with the floor. Or maybe permission to lie on it. But we’ll let James and Susannah tell you their stories once their visitors arrive.

Here are some recent images of their Vermont Plank Flooring rift red oak wide plank floors being installed. Once the whole joint is complete well have more shots for you.

Rift red oak being installed in the Bowers home

Rift red oak being stickered (to better acclimate the wood to the home's environment) prior to being installed

More wide plank flooring installation shots

The sustainable house Marc built uses what he calls “old style practices” that have been all but forgotten by today’s builders. From its solar panels (supplying hot water and heat), the massive Russian Stove in the kitchen (more heat), double felt in place of Tyvek (heat, moisture protection), full rain walls surrounding the exteriors walls of the home (more heat and moisture protection) and a massive passive solar collection system (even more heat)…every aspect of the home’s heating efficiency has been well thought out. Including the radiant heated floors.

Wide plank hickory flooring surrounds the polished concrete top of the passive solar collection system that collects and transports heat to the portions of the home that face away from the sun.

The house design called for a solid wide plank wood floor that would not only fit the desired look of the home, but also be an active contributor to the house’s totally green ecosystem. Marc also wanted a floor that was “easy to install, would bring value to the home and last a life time”. The exact fundamentals Vermont Plank Flooring has built their business on for more than 20 years.

“Since the home included a radiant heating system integrated into its floors, it was important to carefully choose the right wood flooring to optimize the heating system,” states builder Marc Hovde. “Along with being beautiful, the flooring had to be fully dried and stable. This seems simple, but not all wood is created equal.”

“The stability and durability of wood flooring is heavily influenced by where its cut from the tree, how it’s milled and how well it’s dried before it’s installed,” states VPF sales manager Mark Nichols. “The closer it’s cut to the center of the tree the more stable the boards will be…especially with wide plank flooring…and especially over radiant heat. In addition, the slower the wood is dried the more stable it will be. This is how we make floors at Vermont Plank Flooring.”

Working together with Mark Nichols, Marc Hovde chose hickory, one VPF’s most stable and durable floors…and one of their most dramatic looking floors. Their experience told them that Hickory fit all the needs. It’s one of the hardest species, the local sawyers VPF uses for its hickory cut it from the center of the trees producing a stable, durable grain structure and VPF dries it very slowly. “This is exactly why I chose VPF for the floors here,” States Marc Hovde. “Plus, Mark Nichols has a ton of experience with floors and that makes my job easier.”

Mark Tarmy (yes there does seem to be way too many Marks and Marcs in this story!!!!) owns Vermont Plank Flooring and has been running it for over 20 years. His Dad Jack started the business over 50 years ago so Mark has been “into wood” for his entire life. It is this experience that makes his wood the right choice for builders in general and earth friendly builders in particular. “There’s not much Mark Tarmy hasn’t seen, figured out or doesn’t know,” continues Marc Hovde. “And that’s a comfort to builders like me.”

“My experience dealing with VPF was great from start to finish,” concludes Marc Hovde.” “They’re straight to deal with, the quality of their floors is great, the price was the best around, the service was tops and my clients love the floors!”

Marc Hovde can be contacted at mhovde@maine.rr.com or 207.361.7115

Her are some photos of the finished home. It. Is. A. BEAUTY!!!

The exterior of the earth friendly home Marc Hovde created in York, ME

A Russian Stove used to heat the home surrounded by gorgeous Hickory wide plank flooring

Another view of the spacious yet efficient kitchen area

Getting to the second floor is equally beautiful. The first floor has radiant heating beneath the hickory floor.

A dramatic view from the top of the stairs. Warm, comfortable and sustainable living.

The stair treads were also supplied by Vermont Plank Flooring

Hickory wide plank flooring in the master bedroom

Jim and Susannah Bowers stopped by the showroom the other day shopping for tile for their new home in Wellesley, Mass. We got talking about their choice of floor and they told me that they had fallen in love with the rift red oak wide plank solid wood floor from Vermont Plank Flooring. They said most of the wide plank wood they found on the market was grossly over priced. The wood from Vermont was not only the most beautiful of any they saw…Susannah said, “it had the most character by far of any other suppler we visited”…but “it was cheaper as well.”  Most importantly, it met their tight budget. A PLUS was that it is also well within the LEED certification mileage qualifying it for being local.

Congratulations Mark…a plus on all accounts indeed.

BTW..they’ve also have purchased Trikeenan tile for their bathroom walls and floors, mud room floor, and kitchen walls…for the very same reasons they bought your wood. “Great values!”

These folks indeed have good taste.

Dave