Meet the Future of Green Flooring at Surfaces 2009

Surfaces, here we come! From February 3rd–5th, 2009 we’ll be in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada bringing you the latest innovations in natural, quiet, eco-efficient, affordable, and fashionable flooring.

And we couldn’t be more excited this year, as we will once again present an exciting new portfolio of products that are sure to set new trends for the future of floor covering. Our designers have created new colors, patterns, shapes, textures and combination of materials that are guaranteed to leave a lasting impression. You will be thrilled with the elegant shapes and rustic charm of our new collections and will simply love the exotic contrast between urban design and nature’s touch.

Series 200 WRT Champagne

Series 200 HPS Secrets

So be sure to stop by and be one of the first to experience our gorgeous 2009 product line. We’ll be located in Hall A, at booth # 2854.

See you there!
Team Wicanders

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Wicanders Receives GREENGUARD Certification

Wicanders has done it again! The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) has recently awarded five product lines of Wicanders Cork Oak Floors with its prestigious GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified® product performance certification.

The GREENGUARD Certification Program is voluntary. It identifies specific products that have been tested to ensure that their chemical and particle emissions meet stringent indoor air quality pollutant guidelines and standards.

“We are pleased to welcome Amorim Revestimentos, as a participating manufacturer in the GREENGUARD Certification Program,” stated Marilyn Black, Founder of GEI.  “With the Wincanders Cork Oak Floor product achieving this certification, Amorim Revestimentos continues to show its commitment to good indoor air quality.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association, the World Health Organization, and other public health and environmental organizations view indoor air pollution as one of the greatest risks to human health. Poor indoor air quality can lead to allergies, asthma, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, and other health related issues. At a time when people spend over 90% of their time indoors, the GREENGUARD Certification mark is a valuable tool for architects, designers, product specifiers, and purchasing organizations that want to identify, locate, specify, and purchase off-the-shelf, low-emitting products for indoor environments.

Paulo Nogueira, Managing Director for the North American division of Amorim says “GREENGUARD Certification is another validation that Wicanders Cork Floors continue to meet and exceed some of the strictest guidelines for indoor air quality.”

A free, easy to use, online directory of GREENGUARD Certified products can be found at www.greenguard.org.

See you next time… And remember to keep it green!

Cheers!
Team Wicanders

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Installing Wicanders Cork Oak Floors

Installers! Soon there will be a section on our blog just for you…

Thank you for your questions and feedback. We are in the process of putting together an Installation FAQ’s section, which will be featured right here on our blog.

In the meantime, we thought we would share a video of DYI guru Bob Villa installing our Wicanders cork oak floors at a Miami Beach condo.

As stated on his website, “Bob looks at flooring options that included grinding and polishing the cement floors for a loft look, or ceramic Cuban tile, but the sound factor made both impossible. David Southard of DS WoodWorks explains that the building’s impact insulation class or IIC made using tile or hard-surface flooring difficult. To tile the floor would mean more than one inch of cork and plywood underneath and shaving all the doors. So, Bob opted for cork flooring from Wicanders, which is multi-layered with cork faces, a fiberboard middle, and a protective finish on top. Installed on top of cork underlayment for extra insulation, the cork floor is very soft underfoot and quiet. Installation is easy with an angle-to-angle fit. The planks are installed like puzzle pieces then tapped into place for a snap-together fit.”

Watch the video…

And if you have an installation question you would like answered in the meantime, please leave us a comment right here and we’ll be sure to post an answer. We always love hearing from you!

Best…
Team Wicanders

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A Portuguese Treasure Hunt

A Portuguese Gold Coin

A 16th century Portuguese trading ship was found off the coast of Namibia recently. It is “the most exciting archaeological discovery on the African continent in the past 100 years” according to Webber Ndoro, the project manager of the excavation. The excavation has lead to the discovery of priceless artifacts like gold and silver coins, elephant tusks, and cannon balls from Portugal. You can read more here.

Portugal has had an exciting month. Not only have 16th century Portuguese treasures been discovered, but the countries’ capital, Lisbon, is home to a modern day treasure! Cork, from the Cork Oak Tree, is one of Portugal’s very own natural treasures, and is being displayed at the Berardo Museum in Lisbon.

“Design Cork for Future, Innovation, and Sustainability” is the exhibition that displays 37 original Cork designs. But our “treasure” has been re-vamped! This exhibition is home to new and creative ways to use cork. Products like lamps, furniture and even handbags are on display!

Cork is an incredibly sustainable material. It can be used for so many things, and as we can see in the exhibition, we are just starting to use Cork to its full potential. The designers who have created the products on display are like the archaeologists who discovered the Portuguese shipwreck. They are pulling one great design after another out of their own ocean of creativity. And although the sunken treasure cannot be reused, cork can!

Innovative Cork Products

That is why we are so proud of Amorim for partnering with government and other organizations like APCOR, and INETI to develop and support this project. And as always, we love our Wicanders Cork Oak Floors. Cork flooring is just one of the great uses for Cork. Wicanders offers a healthy, sustainable, environmentally friendly option for green home design. Let us know what your next cork discovery is… we are ready to dive in!

Until the next treasure hunt…Team Wicanders.

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