Check out this link from fxcb001.com.
Great explanation on why Torlys differs from Big Box Stores!
http://fxcb001.com/1331/concise-torlys-smart-floors-discovery-tou
What is the difference between a $1.99 laminate and a $3.39 laminate if they appear the same?
April 11th, 2010
No Comments
What is the density of the core board?
A true High Density Fibreboard should have a density of at least 800kg/m3. Anything less than this would be classified as a medium density fibreboard and will not perform as well structurally overtime. Warping and cupping become real possibilities. TORLYS Laminates have a core density of 800kg/m3.
What is the swell rate?
The swell rate is determined by how much the flooring material has swelled up after being submerged in water for 24 hours. The European Producers of Laminate Flooring allow only an 18% swell rate while North American manufacturers may allow up to 50%! TORLYS Laminates standards are less than 8% on all of its 8 and 9.5 mm flooring. Swell rates determine how well a laminate floor will cope with humidity fluctuations and water spills. Remember, there is no such thing as a waterproof floor.
What is the pattern repeat?
Laminate floors are meant to mimic the real thing, wood or tile. A pattern repeat refers to how many different visuals can be expected in the floor. The more visuals, the more realistic it looks. The industry average on laminate floors is 1 in 4 pattern repeat. TORLYS Laminates start at 1 in 10 pattern repeat and goes as high as 1 in 34! Would you want your laminate floor to look like a $1.99 laminate, or a real wood floor?
What is the joining system?
It is now common to have a glue-less joint on a laminate floor, but not all systems are created equally. The UNICLIC system used by TORLYS is the original glue-less joint that is defended by worldwide patents, because, it simply works better. It would take more than 1000 lbs of pressure per linear yard to pull apart two TORLYS planks, yet is warranted for up to 3 times removal and re-installation. It can be installed by 3 different methods, making it very versatile for either professional or the ‘do-it-yourself’ installer. If it does not say UNICLIC on the box, it is not UNICLIC in the box.
FLOORING REPAIR 101 With DAVE
April 6th, 2010
No Comments
How can I repair a deep scratch on both my cork and hardwood floors?
It is important to be very patient when doing a repair. There are 4 separate properties that you must work on.
1. The colour must blend into the surrounding area naturally.
2. The repair must follow the surface contour.
3. The sheen of repair must not be too glossy or too flat.
4. The grain must look natural.
Using TORLYS Fill Stick.
1. Trim and clean the damaged areas.
2. (Optional) pre-colour around edges.
3. Fill in damage by rubbing fill-stick over damaged floor rub.
4. Remove excess fill with a leveler card supplied in kit. Use a paper towel wrapped around card and rub across surface to remove excess filler.
5. Remove excess by rubbing the area with a clean rag.
6. A darker marker can be used to apply grain marks to floors with obvious need of grain lines.
Decorating Rules you’ll be happy to break
March 24th, 2010
No Comments
Article taken from: http://virtual.brantfordexpositor.ca/doc/Brantford-Expositor/home-improvement/2010031901/10.html
Lots of helpful decorating hints, tips and rules have been published over the years. But for every rule written, someone has invariably decided against it and has had fantastic results. Gone are the days of holding true to the line. You can wear white after Labour Day and you can break the rules of decorating. Today’s interior design should be a personal statement. It should reflect who you are, what you love and how you want to live. Here are a few decorating rules from the past that can be ignored.
Old Rule: Wide-plank flooring is best suited for a larger open space.
Wrong. Wide-plank flooring looks great in a large space, but it can also make a smaller room appear larger. Plank width should be selected according to the effect you want. Narrow plank (2″ to 3″) offers a retro feel, adding significant texture to a décor. Wide plank (5″ to 7″ and up) adds large-scale drama, while providing a cleaner look through minimal texture.
Old Rule: Never paint over natural wood.
Wrong. Often old wood paneling, wood trim or furniture pieces can look dated. No amount of stripping and refinishing will lend a clean, modern edge. If you love your wood trim or moldings, but the wood stain depresses the overall décor, paint it white and watch the room come alive. Don’t tear down that paneling or throw out that old dresser. Refinish with a soft, matte, neutral paint. Add new hardware and voilà -you have a brand new look. Natural wood baseboards and door jams can break up the overall look of a room. Paint the wall trim to blend with the interior walls for better balance and flow.
Old Rule: Stick to one type of flooring for consistency.
Wrong. You can mix different types of flooring to add character and texture to a room. Just ensure the colour matches to maintain a consistent flow and keep your space open. Cork, hardwood, leather, laminate, tile and broadloom combinations work well within the same space. Often extra large spaces (Great Rooms) need to be “cozied up”. You can add that warmth and even define the use of the room by inlaying different types of flooring. Take a look at a Canadian flooring company, TORLYS for flooring ideas.
So go ahead and break a few rules. Create your own interior design statement. The results can often add that special wow you’ve been looking for.
7GRYBKEBQZDJ
Recycled condos: More than the sum of its parts.
March 21st, 2010
No Comments
Excerpts taken from an article by Stephen Weir of The Toronto Star on February 6, 2010.
(http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/green/article/760277–recycled-condos-more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts)
It looks new. It smells fresh. It has a new home warranty. Yet, some of the parts of its sum have been around at least once before. Recycled materials are beginning to be used in the construction of new condos, not to save money but to save the planet.
When it comes to constructing Toronto condominiums everything old, from broken glass to discarded animal skin, is new again. Developers are using recycled materials in almost every aspect of the building cycle. There isn’t a totally recycled condominium in Canada … yet. But a number of new building projects offers a glimpse of the future fast approaching.
Flooring
Nice new floors in your condo? Nice maybe but probably not 100 per cent new. Builders targeting areas within their projects where recycled materials can be effectively used need only look down. The rubber undersides to carpeting often contain rubber that has been literally around again – recycled car tires are plentiful and cheap. Recycled tiles using everything from recycled wine bottle corks to reclaimed porcelain and clay are finding their way into condos.
At the Clear Spirit building in the Distillery District, century-old wood, harvested from one of the project’s soon-to-be torn down rack houses (buildings where barrels of liquor were stored) is being converted into flooring. Wood used to hold up barrels of booze is now lining the condo’s lobby walls and the floors of suites. “It is more a philosophical statement than a business decision,” says Jamie Goad, one of the principals of the Distillery District. “We are trying to promote the experience of living in the Distillery … The Rack House has to come down so we are really glad we can save the wood.”
New homeowners in Tridel’s Renaissance of Richmond Hill (Major Mackenzie Dr. and Yonge St.) can upgrade flooring and wall coverings in their new units with tiles made from recycled leather. “We have had an amazing response from architects who like the look and durability of our leather flooring (tiles and planks),” says Karen Deel, brand manager with Mississauga’s Torlys Smart Floors. “It is interesting that in terms of Canadian consumers, only a small portion are totally green. They are coming to our leather flooring for other reasons. The floor has a certain high-end style. There are health reasons, too; the floors do not emit VOCs (volatile organic compounds that affect air quality) and the cork underlay is also environmentally sensitive.”
Christian Nadeau, a Montreal lawyer who now operates EcoDomo Recycled Leather Tiles in Maryland, is credited with launching the product in the United States. EcoDomo works with Torlys in Canada and their tiles are used on floors, walls and elevator interiors. “I get my cowhide leather in South America. Most of it comes from car-seat manufacturers. I buy up the leftovers, the leather that would normally end up in a landfill site,” Nadeau says. “We tear the material into a fibre, blend with water, tree bark and latex, the product comes out 100-millimetres thick, and then is compressed to three-millimetre thickness.”
Select your floor from the comfort of home.
March 15th, 2010
No Comments
The shop-at-home concept has been around for some time, and now you can select the floor you want without getting off the couch.
TORLYS Smart Floors offers a consumer-friendly, informative package that includes up to three samples of any TORLYS floor and product literature for just $15.
Sample selection can be made for hardwood, cork or laminate, and is done easily and conveniently through the TORLYS website, torlys.com. The TORLYS At-Home package is delivered to your door and you don’t have to travel to a flooring store until you are ready to shop. Colour schemes that will match, wall colours, fabrics, and furniture are readily visualized when you have actual samples from which to select flooring
Not all floors are created equal.
March 3rd, 2010
No Comments
When shopping for a new floor, you’ll soon discover that modern technology is changing the way hard surface floor planks are connected together. This new flooring is specially “engineered” and comes in a variety of styles and finishes, using joints that may not require glue or nails. Retail flooring sales people might overlook the importance of joints connecting planks or tiles, but they are key to understanding floor quality and integrity. For example, “click” joints are often lumped together without proper explanation of their differences.
The fact is all joints are not created equal. Some companies, like TORLYS Smart Floors of Mississauga, Ontario, use only the patented Uniclic joint – for good reason. Uniclic joint technology ensures an ultra-tight fit, to 1/1000 of an inch gapping tolerance; and is supremely strong, pressure tested to 1,000 lbs per linear yard. Compare that to other “click” joints and you’ll see a noticeable difference. TORLYS floors with Uniclic are made in Europe and the USA to exacting patent and quality specifications. Make sure you ask your flooring sales representative to explain the difference in joints. If the answer doesn’t including testing results, you may want to keep shopping. For more information on TORLYS Smart Floors, visit their website at torlys.com.
TIP
Ask about joint technology for any engineered flooring system. Specifications can be compared. Make sure the floor joint is tested and passes European standards for gap-resistance, stress pressure and water-tightness.
NALFA Presents 2009 LAMMY Awards
February 23rd, 2010
No Comments
The North American Laminate Flooring Association (NALFA), the voice of quality laminate flooring in North America through the NALFA Certification Seal, announced the winners of the coveted 2009 LAMMY Awards at a press breakfast at Surfaces 2010.
“The recipients of the LAMMY Awards made exceptional contributions to the industry in the previous year and deserve to be recognized for their efforts,” says Bill Dearing, president of NALFA. “We would like to thank this years recipients and encourage others to follow in their footsteps.”
2009 LAMMY Award Winners
• Member of the Year: Tino Couto, TORLYS
• Associate Member of the Year: Bob Cummings, PLI
• Member Company of the Year: Mannington Mills, Inc.
• Associate Member Company of the Year: Toray Plastics, Inc.
• Distributor of the Year: B.R. Funsten & Co.
• Retailer of the Year: Nebraska Furniture Mart
The NALFA Board of Directors anonymously nominates individuals and organizations for each category. The nominees are compiled, listed on ballots and sent for voting to NALFA members as well as the editors of Floor Covering Installer, Floor Covering News, Floor Covering Weekly, Floor Focus and National Floor Trends.
Pictured in group photo, from left to right: Gary A. Scheuermann, Nebraska Furniture Mart, David Sheehan, Mannington Mills, Inc. (Black Suit), Gary Cissell, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Bill Dearing, President NALFA, Mitch Stock, B.R. Funsten & Co., Curt Thompson, B.R. Funsten & Co., Bob Cummings, PLI, Tino Couto, TORLYS
*NOT PICTURED: Toray Plastics, Inc. – WINNER ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE YEAR.
For more information on the LAMMY Awards, please visit www.nalfa.com.
(ref: Date: 2/9/2010 8:47:22 AM/ Written By FloorBizMedia [http://www.floorbiz.com/BizNews/NPViewArticle.asp?cmd=view&articleid=5267])
Keep your hardwood floor looking new.
February 18th, 2010
No Comments
The bulldog tool being used on the uniclic flooring.
It’s hard to think about floors in a new way. When it comes to buying a new hardwood floor, for example, it can be difficult to ask all the right questions at the time of purchase. We tend to select floors for their quality, style and their fit with a desired interior design. Rarely do we consider the events that may occur after installation.
In every home, simple accidents do happen, and some of them will be severe enough to cause unsightly floor damage. We know this could happen, but prefer not to think about it. Even if the damage is localized, we believe that board replacement will be difficult and expensive and the floor will never look the same. For anyone with hardwood floors in their home, it’s a situation we’ve all dreaded.
At one time that was true, but not today. Progress in “joint technology” has created new hard surface floors in hardwood, cork and laminate. The Uniclic joint in particular – found in floors made by TORLYS Smart Floors – makes it easy to repair floors by replacing planks. “Because the Uniclic joint process is reversible, we can explore possibilities for renewal that other companies can’t,” said Karen Deel, brand manager for TORLYS Smart Floors. “We’ve invented a tool called “The Bulldog” that allows for unclicking a joint anywhere on the floor, remove the damaged plank and insert a new plank in minutes, without hassle or mess .” Not only does easy plank replacement assure peace of mind for homeowners, it means that environmentally-friendly renewal can be done instead of environmentally-costly floor replacement. For more information visit torlys.com.
Tip
Any new floor looks great when first installed. But what about three months later, when it gets gouged by a dropped toaster? Be sure to ask your retailer about the ease of plank replacement, and what assurance is offered that the floor will look great after any repairs.
Cork: quite possibly the perfect floor.
February 17th, 2010
4 Comments
Be honest. The first time you heard about cork floors you thought about a wine bottle or perhaps a bulletin board. But a floor?
The truth is that cork floors have been around for centuries. They are well known in European homes for their stunning designs and durability, and for natural air-cushioning that adds
warmth and comfort to any room. And now cork floors have been “rediscovered” in North America. With good reason. Cork is an entirely renewable resource and cork floors are made without destroying a single cork oak tree. Cork is grown in managed forests in Portugal and Spain, where the bark is carefully harvested, once every nine years, in a centuries-old tradition with hand tools. The eco-friendly nature of cork is catching on with Canadian consumers. People who have discovered cork floors rave about them – the quiet, the warmth, resilience and great looks. Some flooring companies are just now adding cork, but only a few companies can touch TORLYS Smart Floors (torlys.com) for design experience and product selection. TORLYS offers beautiful cork floors in the widest range of colours and styles available, in tile or plank formats. TORLYS Cork is installed without messy glues or chemicals or fumes, or nails of any kind. All pigments and varnishes are water-based, solvent-free and have no VOCs. Cork flooring is an easy way to add warmth and beauty to your surroundings and feel good about the environment at the same time. When you know all the facts, it’s hard not to give cork a second look. For more information visit torlys.com.
Interesting Fact
Everything related to cork harvesting is done responsibly to ensure that entire forests remain undamaged. It is not unusual to have a 200 year-old tree still producing cork bark.
Tip
Indoor air quality actually improves with cork flooring. It is hypo-allergenic and insect resistant. Mildew, and mold, mites and even termites are repelled by cork due to a naturally occurring substance in cork called Suberin, which is also a natural fire inhibitor.
Tip
Take off your shoes and walk on a cork floor sample. The comfort and warmth is immediately apparent. Cork maintains a comfortable ambient temperature, never too hot or too cool.
