Carpet Express' Flooring Blog

Here’s some of the pictures we took at the International Builder’s Show in Las Vegas this year. Hope you can come see us in 2010!

It seemed to be business as usual at the Surfaces Convention this week. Mannington had moved from the main showroom to a prime spot in the Venetian hallways, and Armstrong had moved from the Hotel of Mandalay Bay to a nice spot just off the main hallway in the Venetian. The net effect of their booth moves and others were a plus for the convention.

The attendees were supposedly over 50% off from last year, however this was not evident to me. It is probably true that the decision makers were there. There’s no doubt that many areas upstairs in the main showroom seemed empty, however there were many booths upstairs that always seemed very busy.

Downstairs the story was a bit different, with lots of small booths and a grid layout that kept even the most seasoned attendees a little bit lost. The traffic was very steady and very good. Our booth was downstairs, showing primarily residential sheet vinyl and hardwood flooring, and we were extremely pleased with the show.

The show definitely had a California slant for attendees. This would seem normal since Las Vegas is so much closer to the west coast versus the east. Besides west coast dealers, there seemed to be lots of attendees from Canada. This surprised me, but customers from anywhere are good to see. The Canadians seemed very interested in our programs and hopefully will do some business.

The Chinese were definitely there in force, but only seemed interested in selling, not buying. I priced several 12 mil, high-gloss laminate products, and always got a similar answer. The prices ran $.95 to $1.20 landed in Dalton, Georgia. They had no US warehouse, and basically no customer services. They spoke broken English, but I think they tried to explain they had good German manufacturing equipment and their locking systems did not infringe on anyone’s patent.

All in all, Surfaces is an excellent industry show. They have made a go of it without the support of Shaw or Mohawk. Our industry needs an annual show, and I wish these two industry giants would support it. I would also like to see Surfaces move to an east coast location like Orlando or Atlanta, but Las Vegas is fine. Las Vegas is always a fun place to visit, and I guess the powers that be think it is the best location, and maybe it is. A Las Vegas show is a whole lot better than no show at all.

If you missed Surfaces 2009, you missed a great show. I only hope next year will be bigger and better. We’ve got to work hard and work smart to get through this difficult year. Do your business a favor and don’t miss out next year.

If you haven’t visited our Grand Illusions page lately, you may want to take a look. Armstrong recently added five new colors to the line. The color names are American Apple, Canadian Maple, Eastern oak, Heartwood Walnut, and Southern Hickory. These colors bring additional choices to an already stunning line of premium laminate flooring. With its piano finish and 12 mil thickness, you can’t go wrong with Armstrong Grand Illusions.

Question: When you say “prices listed are cut prices,” what does that mean? Does that include the pad and installation? For example, I see a Stainmaster saxony carpet for $38.95 a sq-yd. Is that just the carpet price or does it include installation and pad?

-Russell

Answer: Cut pricing means buying less material than is on the standard roll. For transparency in our prices, materials and installation are priced separately. Roll sizes from most manufacturers are between 134 square yards and 200 square yards per roll, depending upon the style and weight of the carpet. As a rule, higher end carpet usually has only one price.

If you have a style in question, please call me at (800) 922-5582 or email jim@carpetexpress.com and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best regards and thanks for the quesion,
Jim Young, Jr.
Carpet Express, Inc.

Question: Should an installer check for moisture before installing Dura Ceramic on a concrete basement floor before installing?

-Jeanette

Answer: Installation issues should be checked out by the installer before any product is installed. Without knowing if the store you purchased from sold the installation with the job, or if you paid the installer directly, I can’t say if the company that sold the product is responsible or not. The installer should have used a moisture meter before installation, I believe, to make sure the product could be installed on the floor.

-Jim Young, Jr.
Carpet Express, Inc.

Question: Which product, ceramic tile or laminate flooring, will survive in a house in Wisconsin without heat in the winter months? We go south in the winter.

-Eileen
Fennimore, Wisconsin

Answer: Without heat in a home in Wisconsin, I really could not suggest ceramic or laminate. Any moisture that gets into these products could freeze and cause the tile to break or the laminate to buckle. A porcelain tile would be the best product to use, since it should not crack in freezing weather.

Thanks for the question!
Jim Young, Jr.
Carpet Express, Inc.