Tag: Engineered Hardwood Floors

Urban Floor Highlights of the Year – Looking Back at 2014

With the arrival of the New Year, it’s always nice to take a step back and reflect on important events that happened during the year. It allows you to see what achievements have been made, goals that have been met, etc. We can then use this information as a guide to direct us in becoming better the next year. Without further ado, Urban Floor would like to take you back in time to review our highlights of 2014.

#SELFIE Parody

Earlier in the year there was a viral song that went around known as #SELFIE by The Chainsmokers. We like to think we’re down–to-earth individuals over here at Urban Floor, hence why we decided to ride the train and create a parody of the video – it wasn’t necessarily “viral” but it did receive over a thousand views!

TOP BRAND OF THE YEAR!

best hardwood floor brandTowards the middle of the year, we were named one of the top brands of 2014 for two select categories: price and product availability. This was a huge highlight of 2014 for the whole team here at Urban Floor. It let us know that the hard work, time, and effort is paying off – similar to how it feels when you see results from hitting the gym after a few weeks!

Rowhouse Showdown – An Exciting New Show

rowhouse showdownAround the same time, we became promotional partners with A&E Television Network’s Rowhouse Showdown. This was an exciting opportunity for Urban Floor to get our name out there on a broad platform. The best part – some of our floors were actually used in the show!

Chêne by Urban Floor

chene european oak by urban floorDuring the summertime, we released a new line of engineered hardwood floors: the Chêne collection – a collection of fine European oak flooring. We’re very proud of its release, as it has been well received. European flooring truly a fantastic look!

New Youtube Videos to Highlight Collections

Come Fall, we were eager to showoff the newest videos that were added to our collections playlist on Youtube. These videos give a quick, simple rundown of what our flooring collections offer with plenty of visuals for you to soak up!

Giving Back to the Community

urban floor gives back to the communityTo close the year off, we’re proud to say we gave back to our community by hosting a charity event where tons of gifts were donated to a total of 27 families, as well as to the “Door of Hope” organization. What can we say… We love putting smiles on faces!

New Resolutions

All in all, it’s been a great year for everyone here at Urban Floor. We’re happy we can provide hardwood floor enthusiasts with quality-made hardwood floors from start to finish. It is always our goal to continue providing both quality flooring options and excellent service to our customers. Thank you for a great year!

Here’s to a wonderful new year from your friends at Urban Floor! 🙂

Go Behind the Scenes with Urban Floor

Are you one of those “visual learners” that would rather watch a video than read text? We don’t blame you, which is why we have proudly made a set of 5 new videos that aim at enhancing our user’s browsing experience.

We take you a little behind the scenes at what goes on here at Urban Floor and the values we stand by, as well as elaborately describing certain collections that we take pride in because of rigorous effort to obtain some of the most sought after ecologically sourced woods, on top of delicate craftsmanship that leaves no room for error. It sounds like a mouthful, but that’s what we’re all about here at Urban Floor – true quality.

What’s even better? We’re affordable! We were just recently voted in as one of the top hardwood flooring brands for both product availability (we have a wide variety) and of course, price.

So what are you waiting for? Be sure to check out our short videos made specifically for you. And by short we mean less than 3 minutes.

What Urban Floor is All About

A Truly Diverse Collection, Urban Lifestyle

A Popular Collection, Royal Court

An Artistic Collection, Composer

Our Newest Collection, Chêne

Instructional Videos Also Offered

In case you’re looking for a quick, short video on how to clean your hardwood floors, then be sure to take a look at our care & maintenance videos all offered on our Youtube channel. Of course, these videos also will not exceed 3 minutes because nobody has time for any video that lasts more than 3 minutes, right?

You’ll find a simple collection of short videos that tackle some of the most common hardwood flooring questions including moving furniture on wood floors, removing minor marks, cleaning your floors, as well as other topics. Who knows… you may learn something in less than 3 minutes!

Urban Floor is Proudly Featured on Reality TV Series Rowhouse Showdown!

rowhouse showdown
Image provided by Rowhouse Showdown cast member, Kathy Kuo.

What is Rowhouse Showdown?

Rowhouse Showdown is an exciting new reality TV series that features a well-known renovation expert and the show’s host, Carter Oosterhouse, who has renovated roughly 500 homes. Carter has been featured in other home-makeover shows such as Trading Spaces and Million Dollar Rooms.

The show is actually a contest that consists of three separate teams competing against each other to see which team can renovate a house the best. The show takes place in Cincinnati, Ohio, using rundown homes in distressed neighborhoods for the teams to compete with.

Have You Seen Our Floors Yet?

If you have been tuning in to the shows on Wednesday nights and have a sharp eye, then you’ll be able to notice some of the engineered hardwood flooring – by your very own Urban Floor – that has been used in the show. We’ll give you a few seconds to guess… did you guess the Downtown Series (located in the Urban Lifestyle Collection) or Royal Court Collection? If so, then we’re going to have to call you the real winner of the show!

Eco-Friendly Living

The show’s host, Carter, is a huge fanatic of eco-friendly living – something we love here at Urban Floor! This is why we source our raw materials from ecologically well-managed forests and suppliers.

In a blog post featured on GLAMOUR, Carter was interviewed and asked: “Are there any easy little ways everyone can be more eco-friendly at home that people might not have considered?” In short, he suggested that people compost more often. You can read the whole interview with Carter for more tips on eco-friendly practices on their blog.

If you’re in to shows involving home makeovers or renovating homes, then you’ll definitely enjoy Rowhouse Showdown! You can find the show featured on the FYI Television Network on Wednesday nights starting at 8ET/9PT.

Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter if you were able to spot our beautiful hardwood floors! We’d love to hear from you.

Urban Floor Releases Brand New Hardwood Flooring Line

Urban Floor is proud to unveil its recent addition to our beautiful collection of hardwood floors: Chêne. Urban Floor now offers 90 spectacular hardwood floors to choose from, spanned across 8 different themed collections.

The release of the Chêne flooring line is a great way to celebrate the recent news of Urban Floor ranking in as one of the top hardwood flooring brands for both price and product availability.

Chêne By Urban Floor – European Oak Hardwood Flooring

chene european oak by urban floor

The brand new collection boasts 7 different selections to choose from that vary in shade: ranging from very light to very dark depending on your preferences. We’re certain that anyone interested will find a flooring choice that perfectly accompanies any existing furniture and colors within your home.

We’re huge advocates of engineered hardwood flooring, and our Chêne new hardwood-flooring line fits the bill. Engineered hardwood floors offer benefits that other flooring choices simply cannot provide.

Plank size is certainly something to consider in selecting a hardwood floor and we took a middle ground approach by carefully crafting the Chêne hardwood floors to feature 7.5-inch wide planks.

All of the Chêne hardwood floors are wire-brushed meaning an industrial grade wire-brush is used to selectively remove the soft grains of a wood’s surface, leaving the hard grains showing. This creates a luminous rustic texture that reveals a hardwood floor’s inner beauty – it’s grain, streaks, grooves, and knots.

The flooring collection is also constructed using fine European Oak, which happens to be one of the most popular wood species used in our culture. European Oak is known for its rich design and functionality – using a special technique that results in a product featuring wider planks and tighter grain patterns.

Whether you’re browsing our new Chêne oak flooring collection or one of our other timeless collections, we’re sure you will find a hardwood floor that exceeds your expectations on both quality and value.

Happy Flooring from Urban Floor!

Ever Wonder Exactly How Engineered Hardwood Floors Are Made?

Over here at Urban Floor, we’re big proponents of the engineered flooring movement. Here’s a question for you: What comes into your mind when you hear or see the word “engineer”?

Perhaps it’s something along the lines of man-made construction using skills, knowledge, and science? If so, this is exactly what we’re referring to when we say, “engineered hardwood floors” – hardwood floors that are constructed using skills, knowledge, and science to create a product tailored a specific way.

How Engineered Hardwood Floors Are Made

It all starts with beautiful trees that are carefully cut down, loaded, and sent to a factory where the engineering magic begins. There are a wide variety of tree species that engineered hardwood floors can be made from, each with varying degrees of strength!

First, the large chunks of tree must be de-barked using industrial machines for preparation. A question lurking in the wood flooring industry is what to do with the bark chippings from this mandatory process. So far the best use is for bark mulching – which is used for gardening and landscaping for various purposes. One example of bark mulch’s benefits is that it can hold in moisture for plants, effectively slowing down the time it takes for them to dry out.

After the trees have been debarked, it’s time to turn large chunks of solid wood into fine-engineered hardwood floor planks – the ones that are actually installed in your home. The tree is shaved into slices of real wood known as veneers. This veneer is what will be featured on the top of your engineered floor, giving it the hardwood appearance you seek. Below this veneer contains multiple layers of strategically placed plywood. It’s strategically placed because these plywood layers are stacked on top of each other in opposite direction. This is what gives engineered hardwood floors the benefits they have over solid hardwood flooring options: dimensionally stable and more resistant to changes in temperature and humidity reducing expansion, shrinking, and warping, as well as reducing the tendency of split wood.

The final step of the process ends at a finishing factory where your wood floors are prefinished with different sealants for added protection and longevity. Your engineered hardwood floor may also be sent through a distressing process that involves hand scraped finishes or wire brushed finishes for customizability-sake. It all depends on what you want your floor to look like – old, modern, exotic, etc. It then ends up carefully laid into your home (often by a professional), waiting to receive compliments from your family and friends.

engineered hardwood floors

The process of how engineered hardwood floors are made is truly fascinating. Hopefully you begin to see exactly why we love engineered hardwood flooring so much. Really though, we love all hardwood floors!

 

Urban Floor Engineered Flooring Article Featured on the LA Daily News!

Engineered Flooring to Become New Leader in Hardwood Floor Market
engineered flooring

Very exciting times for us at Urban Floor with a new article that was covered in the LA Daily News on the topic of engineered flooring and how they have risen from the bottom to a fierce, reputable contender in the wood flooring industry.

Just how much of a contender are engineered hardwood floors? Well they currently hold just close to 50% of the total hardwood floor market, and will soon surpass solid hardwood flooring options as the market leader.

We’re strong believers in hardwood flooring options that keep the environment in mind, but options that also make sense. The benefits of engineered hardwood floors do outweigh other flooring options in many ways. Sure, solid hardwood flooring and laminate hardwood flooring have their benefits. Solid hardwood flooring can be refinished and re-sanded multiple times, while laminate flooring is typically the most cost-effective choice.

So back to making sense… just how does engineered flooring “make sense”? No brainer:

Environmentally conscious – for each square foot of solid hardwood veneer, you can make up to 24 square feet with engineered hardwood. Talk about saving trees.

Installation – Engineered hardwood can be installed in just about any place, including above concrete, which we believe is quite impressive. Now who would be installing hardwood over concrete? People who have basements that do not want carpet and do not enjoy walking over concrete.

Have it your way – The many different ways engineered hardwood floors are manufactured is truly amazing. Different sizes, colors, thicknesses, width, styles, patterns, you can customize your engineered hardwood the way you want it.

Basically, we love engineered hardwood floors, which is why many of our collections are indeed just that – engineered hardwood floors! Read the full article on why engineered hardwood floors are gaining market share.

Engineered Hardwood Floors for the New Year

With the New Year here, we’re proud to show off two of our premier Engineered Hardwood Floors Collections: Composer and Royal Court. These collections offer an illustrious approach to hardwood flooring.

Engineered Hardwood FloorsThe Composer Collection aims for a classical approach with its natural splits, mineral streaks, and unfilled knots. Finished with a strong Klumpp German finish combined with unique technics of wire brushing and sand blasting, this collection is very resistant towards scratches and dentation. This 11.5” wide engineered hardwood flooring collection is a combination of classical craftsmanship with modern technology, which makes for a perfect balance of harmony in your home.

A sub-collection includes our Composer Orchestra Collection. This 7.5” wide Collection boasts a vintage feel that combines the beauty of European oak with unmatched durability. Our inspiration comes from driftwood, capturing the atmosphere of the ocean. By selecting the Viola, Cello, or Piccolo variants, your home will feel one step closer to the relaxing vibes of the beautiful blue ocean. View The Composer Collection 

engineered hardwood flooring


The Royal Court Collection offers a prestigious approach to your hardwood flooring needs. With a bold overtone, this collection craves the attention of anyone who steps in to your home. Like the Composer Collection, engineered hardwood floors are used to enhance the style of any room by giving it the eye-catching elements that a King or Queen would seek. View The Royal Court Collection

We know many people have New Year’s Resolutions, perhaps switching to engineered hardwood floors is yours.