The housing market remains stagnant across most of the country, and analysts are worried about rising interest rates as well as widespread subprime mortgage lending. Some observers are beginning to ask if a beacon of light may be found in the burgeoning field of green building.

In green construction, designers and builders commit to minimizing waste, improving a building’s efficiency in terms of energy and water use, using sustainable or recycled products, and protecting indoor air quality. Walter Molony, a spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors, said he believes green features may help homeowners stand out from the competition. “People definitely value energy efficiency,” Molony said via telephone from the NAR’s LEED-certified green office building in Washington, DC. “As utility costs continue to rise, it becomes greater value in people’s minds,” he added.

Molony said his industry doesn’t yet have a reliable way of breaking down sales of green versus conventional homes. But a number of trends provide insight into green building’s great promise. More than 97,000 homes have been built and certified by voluntary green building programs around the country since the mid-1990s, according to the National Association of Home Builders, representing a 50 percent increase from the group’s 2004 survey. Further, more than half of NAHB’s 235,000 members (representing about 80 percent of homebuilders) reported that they expect to be employing at least some green building practices by the end of the year.

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A number of realtors around the country have reported increasing buyer requests for green homes. Citing consumer demand, the Northwest MLS (Multiple Listing Service) recently announced that it is updating its database to allow for property searches based on a range of green features.

Maude Salinger, a spokesperson for the first residential green neighborhood in New Hampshire, Peterborough’s Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, explained in an e-mail that ten of the development’s 29 homes were sold before even a single foundation was poured. Eight additional homes were snapped up well before completion. Some of the neighborhood’s green features include an organic farm, a central pellet-fired heat plant, highly insulated structures, solar hot water collectors, natural and recycled materials, and perimeter parking (meaning there are no attached garages).

Owners of green homes tend to be happier than when they lived in more conventional digs, according to a recent NAHB/McGraw-Hill Construction survey. Perhaps another telling sign of the green shift in the building trades is the fact that almost 40 percent of Americans who recently renovated their dwellings did so with at least some green products.

Late this spring, the NAHB announced that it is working to create widely applicable standards for green home construction. The U.S. Green Building Council is also in the process of rolling out LEED certification (already well established for commercial structures) for the residential sector.

There may be no better time than now to invest in some smart energy efficiency and green improvements around your house.

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Salt Lake is fast becoming known not only for the 4 world class resorts nearby or the proximity to outdoor recreation all serviced by an International Airport 8 miles from downtown, but as a major metro city that offers nightlife, dining, entertainment, transportation. Along with that is a convention center and surrounding meeting space in the downtown area that many meeting planners and convention attendees find refreshing and enjoyable.

Installing a new floor is an exciting process for the homeowner. No where else in the home can such a dramatic effect be achieved than a properly installed hardwood floor.

Our installation process is unsurpassed in quality and thoroughness and we take pride in every job we do.

Here is a breakdown of our process:

• Consultation with the client to determine wood species, borders, inlays, colors, and other design consideration with our experienced and knowledgeable designers.
• Subfloor preparation including leveling, fastening and verification of structural integrity.
• Ensuring that climatic conditions on the job site are suitable to wood species used and that lumber stock is adequately cured prior to installation.
• Installation of hardwood using high quality fasteners and intensive quality control.
• Sanding of new floor to level and provide a smooth even surface for finish and walking.
• Stain and/or clear coat to desired tint and sheen.
• Zone maintenance of new floor to ensure high quality finish throughout the life of the floor.

Our Latest Work

Full Sanding – Before

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Full Sanding –After Coat

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Wood flooring can be a great asset to your home. It is very neutral in color and style, which makes it easy to decorate around, and it always compliments the current decorating trends. In addition to enhancing your home’s beauty, wood floors raise the value of your home. So refinishing your wood floors is a process well worth your time.

Repairs

Repairing damaged boards that are beyond restoration, filling in areas under carpet, tightening down boards to reduce squeaks and pops, and any other task that requires carpentry work prior to the restoration process falls under the category of repair.

We have a variety of special tools and methods that we use for repairing hardwood floors. We usually bill at an hourly rate when doing repair work rather than a square foot price.

Repairing a wood floor is an art form that requires great skill in order to create a seamless transition from the repaired area to the rest of the floor. Matching the wood species, grade and cut can often be tricky and may require special order for older floors. We will give you a ballpark hourly price on repairs but realize that due to a variety of factors including wood type, sub floor condition and extent of repair job the time it takes may vary. If we find that your floor is going to take longer than we anticipated we will let you know immediately.

Sanding

We use professional grade sanders to mechanically remove all of the existing finish off of your floor in addition to oxidized surface wood. Our sanding job’s are free of machine marks and always tight to the edges and corners. We use a professional dust containment system that eliminates 99% of airborne dust, and thoroughly clean all surfaces upon completion of the sanding job. We take pride in our ability to restore almost any wood surface, and it is part of our environmental mission to due so and reduce the amount of trees that need to be cut down.

• No swirl marks from edging, or drum marks.
• Corners will be scraped and sanded to seamlessly blend with the rest of the floor.
• Stairs, vertical surface and railings sanded to perfection.
• Highest quality paper giving you the smoothest possible finish.

Fine finishes

We offer a full line of earth friendly coatings.

Vermont Natural Coatings’ patented natural wood finish formula is an important advance over existing water-based finishes in application, quality, and environmental safety.

• VNC’s PolyWhey natural finishes are tough – scratch, chemical, and water resistant – dry quickly, and do not yellow.
• VNC’s PolyWhey natural finishes surpass the strictest In-Door Air Quality standards with VOC levels below 180g/L (grams per liter).
• VNC’s PolyWhey natural finishes have excellent flow, which makes them easy to apply with a brush, spray gun, or lambs wool.

Our cans are made with post consumer materials which can be recycled when discarded. If that is what appeals to you, in addition to a more traditional line of oil based finishes.

Click here to see how PolyWhey surpasses the competition.

We also offer more traditional coatings if that appeals to you.

Our finishing process:

We use only state of the art finishing processes and techniques to make sure your finish goes on smooth and even and remains hard and durable throughout its life cycle.

Here is a basic breakdown of our finishing process:

• Three coats of clear finish
• Screen between coats for maximum adhesion

Our green philosophy breaks down into the following elements:

• Restoring existing wood whenever possible.
• Using reclaimed wood whenever possible.
• Using sustainably harvested lumber that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• Using high quality low or zero Volatile Organic Compounds (V.O.C.) to keep your living environment clean.
• Using phosphate free biodegradable cleaners to keep our water supply clean.

We believe in setting the client up for success with their new floor. Every floor we finish, whether it’s a restoration or new installation of some of both is put on a maintenance program in order to keep the finish looking good and protect the wood for the life of the floor.

The number one cause of wood floor deterioration is lack of cleaning or improper cleaning.

We use zone maintenance in order to save you money and avoid unnecessary recoating in low traffic areas. Entryways, kitchens, and other high traffic areas should be recoated every 4 years, other areas can go as long as 10 years.

Proper cleaning is essential to keeping your hard wood floor healthy and performing at the highest possible level.

• Use only approved cleaners in order to not deteriorate the final coating.
• Clean often to avoid dust and debris buildup that can act as an abrasive on your floors finish and wear it down and dull the finish.
• Wipe spills immediately.

Read: How To Clean A Hardwood Floor