Launstein Hardwood Floors

Launstein Has Wood Floor Answers

by Dan Perfitt

– June 2006-

Launstein Hardwood Floors

The Phones usually start ringing about 6 am every morning here at Launstien Hardwood Flooring Company. The answering machine will pick them up until 8 am when the sales staff and radiant test guys come marching through the door with coffee and doughnuts; ready for another long day of fielding questions, offering advise, and sometimes solving problems that occur with wood floor over radiant heat. The calls come from all over the country, even a few from Europe and Canada. From contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and homeowners all with different questions and situations.

One of the more popular questions is, “what’s the best radiant system to use in our house?” Warmboard, Watts, or Wirsbo? Or should be go with electric or hot water? Sorry folks – we do not test the efficiency or quality of the systems – that has already been done. Nor do we promote one system over the other. We only test how wood floors can react to the heat they put out. You can get your questions about efficiency and quality answered from the manufacturer’s page and the radiant partners pages of our website.

We welcome all of these questions, even if they do not use our wood floors, because we feel it is our job to educate and offer guidlines to folks who want radiant heat and wood floors in their homes. There has been much written about wood floors over radiant heat, most of it is good information, but on the other hand, some of it is vague and often confuses people to the point of frustration. Realistically, there is a right way and a wrong way to complete the job.

Just returning from the RadFest West in Tacoma, WA and talking with many contractors and distributors, reaffirms our thoughts that the radiant industry is growing by leaps and bounds. An indication of this is attending any home show and seeing a radiant company there. Two or three years ago this wasn’t happening. With the increasing demand for radiant heat, there is an increasing demand for wood flooring over radiant heat. We are here to help meet that demand and answer andy questions that we have learned the answers to with testing in out radiant lab.

With the continued support of the RPA and it;s board of directors, along with the radiant companies and businesses (RPA members) that have teamed up with the RPA, we feel that the technical knowledge gathered by support companies can only further the advancement of the industry.

Go to www.launstein.com for more information.