Information

Every now and then a truly revolutionary innovation comes around that transforms the wood flooring industry. The development of prefinished wood flooring is one of those innovations. It has provided home owners and businesses with the convenience of bypassing the entire sanding and finishing procedure on the job site. However, this convenience has come at a price. Manufacturers of prefinished wood floors do not offer any design options. Therefore, if someone wanted a decorative border or medallion, they would either have to choose unfinished or with another brand's prefinished design. The latter can be problematic for two reasons: the products may not come together flush and/or the tongue and groove will not line up.

Our latest cutting edge innovation in wood flooring – as represented in our "Prestige Prefinished Wood Flooring Designs" and "3D Sculpted Designs"- solves this problem! Our state of the art technology makes it possible to have custom designs in any brand of prefinished wood flooring. The sub surface light carving method produces a permanent design that is as durable as your floor. When you walk on the floor, you are walking on the "high spots" only, which is the original flooring. The design itself is slightly below the surface. We carefully hand seal and finish the design with high solids urethane or high solids penetrating-hardening oil for optimal protection.

Flat-Recess ("floor tattooing") vs. "3D Sculpted"

We have 2 styles of carvings to complement the style of the flooring and the design.

Flat-recess carving (also referred to as "floor tattooing") is a method by which we slightly recess the design just below the surface to a single depth. This method can be seen in our "PRESTIGE COLLECTION".

3D Sculpted technology is a multi-depth level process of introducing sculpted designs into the flooring. The latter brings amazing old world charm to any flooring, but most especially compliments hand-scraped, distressed and sculpted wood floors, as seen in our "3D SCULPTED COLLECTION''. With our innovative processes, custom designs like beautiful borders, custom accents, company logos, medallions and much more can now be incorporated into any brand, color or species of prefinished wood flooring. The design possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Prestige Collection

The designs in the "PRESTIGE COLLECTION" we slightly recess the design just below the surface to a SINGLE depth. This is called the Flat-Recess carving.

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Sculpted Collection

Our 3D sculpted borders and designs will bring old world charm to any space. It adds dimension to any standard "flat" flooring, and naturally lends itself to handscraped flooring, given the sculpted texture. The reliefs are well balanced for dimensional richness and easy maintenance by maintaining a shallow profile. The depth variations are similar to that of a typical tile floor with grout joints. The surface is completely sealed and finished against dirt and wear.

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Line Art

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FAQ

Q: Is this process done on site, if not, how can I get these designs on my next project?

A: All work is done in our studio. Simply ship some of the flooring to us prior to installation. We apply the design, then number the boards for ease of installation and ship it back to you. With certain brands and colors, it may be possible for us to get the material locally and then ship it to you. However, sometimes the same brand and color may be slightly different coming from two different batches. In those cases, it's best to ship to us from the same batch as the rest of the flooring.

Q: Will the carving create voids where dust, dirt and/or food can get caught?

A: The depth variation in our carving designs is often much less than the grout lines in an average tile floor, or the texture of a hand-scraped floor, textured tile floors or slate. These types of floors have been successfully used even in high-traffic locations.

Q: Can these carved areas be cleaned, and if so, how?

A: All areas are fully sealed and finished and can be easily cleaned just like the rest of the floor. Typically this means vacuuming and occasionally using a micro fiber mop with the proper cleaner recommended by the manufacturer of the flooring.

Q: Can these carved designs be sanded and refinished?

A: The main reason consumers choose prefinished flooring is to avoid sanding and finishing. Typically these floors are warrantied for 20-30 years or more, so this is a non-issue for a very long time. However, if and when sanding will be needed, most of our designs for prefinished flooring can be sanded once if a professional floor sander exercises proper care and technique. If the sanding is too deep, it may remove the design and replacement will be necessary.

Q: What happens if the carving gets damaged in one area? Is it possible to replace only one or 2 boards in the design?

A: Yes, we can generally reproduce those sections only. You will need to supply us with new flooring board(s) that will match the existing flooring.

Design Ideas Library

Our large library of images for new design ideas may be viewed HERE.