Content about Floors

An off-duty police officer in central New Jersey was convicted of shoplifting in a jury trial on June 14, according to a press release issued by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s office. 

Darnell Esdaile, 46, a Freehold Borough police office, was arrested at Home Depot in Freehold Township on Nov. 11, 2010. He was detained by loss prevention officers after exiting the store with laminate flooring he had not paid for. The merchandise was valued at approximately $500.

Edison, N.J.-based Starborn Industries, a manufacturer and distributor of fastening products, introduced Deckfast Metal for the fast-growing market of steel joist deck framing systems.

The company said more architects and deck builders are using metal joist substructures when creating decks. Deckfast Metal is a fastener that can be used to attach every type of decking -- PVC, composite, capstock and hardwood -- to steel and aluminum substructures.

MarJam Supply Co. has acquired a Lainhart & Potter, a 119-year-old Florida hardware and LBM dealer, with locations in West Palm and Juniper. These two locations will expand MarJam’s current Florida yards, which include Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers and Wildwood.

A group of plaintiffs seeking class action status have filed a lawsuit against decking manufacturer Fiberon over its Portico wood composite line. The lawsuit, filed March 14 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Hagens Berman, a Seattle-based firm, claims that the decking has a defect that results in the growth of mold, mildew and other fungal growth. Furthermore, the complaint claims that Fiberon refused to repair the decks under its 20-year warranty.

The Empire Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of New Zealand-based Tenon LTD, has been selected as the exclusive distribution partner for Eastman Chemical Company’s new Perennial Wood decking product into Lowe’s stores.

Eastman is a Fortune 500 company with more than 80 years of history in acetylating wood pulp, according to the announcement. In 2010, 13% of Eastman’s total revenues were derived from sales of raw materials to the building and construction industry. 

Choosing material for a new deck used to be a simple proposition: There were pressure-treated lumber, which most people used, or fancier woods such as cedar, redwood and mahogany. Then came Trex, and a bunch of other composites, and the alternative decking market exploded. Cellular PVC, capped versus non-capped, decking made from recycled nylon carpet, special fasteners, not to mention all those railing systems.

Floor and Decor Outlets of America has opened another unit, this time in the Chicago market, according to an article in the Chicago Daily Herald.

The 90,000-sq.-ft. warehouse store in Lombard, a suburb of Chicago, opened Nov. 3 and carries hard-surface flooring such as ceramic tile, hardwood, bamboo, stone and laminate.

A new state law that requires carpet manufacturers to add five cents to every square yard of carpeting sold or shipped into California went into effect on July 1. The purpose of the new fee is to incentivize carpet recycling and encourage the production of products made from recycled carpets. 

Mannington Mills, a 96-year-old flooring company headquartered in Salem, N.J., has found a way to incorporate vinyl tile scraps and recycled drywall into its manufacturing process in an effort to generate less waste, according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Westfield, Mass.-based Kleer Lumber, manufacturer of extruded free foam cellular PVC building products, has introduced Kleer Decking, a seven-color array of PVC decking that has the natural look of wood and features cap stock technology on every deck board within the line.

Kleer Decking is packaged in smaller 48 piece units in lengths of 12 ft., 16 ft. and 20 ft. Fascia boards are available in 24-piece bundles of 12-ft. lengths in the five solid colors. 

An unfair-competition complaint by U.S manufacturers has led to preliminary duties on multilayered wood flooring from China. 

The Commerce Department Tuesday announced a 27.01% duty rate on multilayered flooring imports -- a move described as a preliminary decision, based on evidence of Chinese subsidies.