Franklin Interiors was founded in 1945 by the Franklin family with an emphasis on residential interior design.  Over time, The business evolved into commercial interiors and became an Authorized Steelcase dealer. From this foundation, the company moved into commercial flooring.

Franklin Interiors has grown around a vision of being the leader in providing innovative and effective solutions that exceed clients’ expectations. Their product and service offerings have grown to accommodate a broad spectrum of clients’ needs, whether it be carpet, hardwood flooring, rubber flooring, and vinyl flooring solutions.

With General Manager of Commercial Flooring, Jack Fraser, overseeing a dedicated team for business growth and working closely with Starnet Preferred Vendors in the Pittsburgh market, they recently were able to launch a maintenance business in December 2011.

To learn more, please visit www.franklininteriors.com.

The turf, manufactured by XGRASS, was delivered to Consolidated’s warehouse in 10 pieces, prefabricated with Velcro seam fasteners and Tostitos® logos and football field lines painted on them. Delivery by Consolidated to Times Square took place in the early morning of December 16, at 1:30am, and was picked up after removal at 12:00am Saturday morning.

While on site at Times Square, the Tostitos® branded turf represented the end of a football field, complete with yard lines and an end zone featuring an installed goal post. When installed, it was positioned based on the location of the goal post, with several specific cuts made to accommodate unique features on site. Consolidated’s installers ensured that the proper cuts were made around the structural framework, street light poles, subway emergency exit hatches on the sidewalk, and subway ventilation grills. Finally, cuts were made to adjust the size of the field and logo to meet on site conditions formed by the goal post, and the logo paint was then touched up and sealed by others. Overall, 20 hours of carpet mechanic labor was required for this unique installation and removal of the turf, with two installers completing the job.

Thousands of participants took their turns on the turf, attempting to kick successful field goals. In setting the new Guinness World Records® title for the most people to kick successful American football field goals in 6 hours, 181 field goals were completed and $200,000 was donated from Tostitos to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City. With celebrities and athletes like Nick Lachey, Jim Kelly, Antonio Pierce and Robert Peete in attendance, the turf became a gathering place for nearly 100 Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors and their mentees, marking a successful day.

ABOUT CONSOLIDATED CARPET: A NATIONAL LEADER WITH A TRADITION OF SERVICE

Consolidated Carpet is the nation’s premier full service flooring and carpet contractor, with headquarters in the New York. As a third generation, family‐owned and operated business we are hands‐on, accountable and driven to satisfy our client’s needs. As one of the nation’s largest and most recognized full‐service floor covering contractors, we serve our clients from planning and specification through installation and maintenance. Our prestigious clients include Fortune 500 corporations, professional service firms, luxury hotel properties, institutional properties, real estate owners, and general contractors. The firm’s website can be found at www.consolidatedcarpet.com.

• Concrete Moisture Testing
• Floor Material Acclimation
• Floor Prep and Substrates
• Jobsite Considerations

For more information, click here!

Supreme Nop combines three unique fibers to create one of the most effective matting products in the industry, and is available in ten distinct colors. Celebrated for its large nop design and outstanding scrubbing action, Supreme Nop will stay more securely in place with the improved Elephant Backing™ and can now be loose laid in applications where glue-down installation would typically be considered. It is Green Label Plus certified and provides the same ease of maintenance, superior quality, and variety of colors that customers have come to expect from Mats Inc.

“For the first time since January 2008, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) indicated a growth in design activity in September, increasing for the fourth straight month. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the September ABI score was 50.4, up from a reading of 48.2 the previous month. This score reflects an increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was also up sharply, moving from 54.6 to 62.3 – the highest mark since July 2007.

“This is certainly encouraging news, but we will need to see consistent improvement over the next few months in order to feel comfortable about the state of the design and construction industry,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “While there has been increasing demand for design services, it is happening at a slow rate and there continue to be other obstacles that are preventing a more accelerated recovery. Still, the strong upturn in design activity in the commercial and industrial sector certainly suggests that this upturn can possibly be sustained.”

Key September ABI highlights:

Regional averages: Northeast (56.7), Midwest (51.0), South (47.0), West (44.5)

Sector index breakdown: commercial / industrial (56.3), institutional (47.9), multi-family residential (47.0), mixed practice (44.2)

Project inquiries index: 62.3″

Wonderful news!

“We are pleased to announce that Natural Creations luxury vinyl tile can now be installed using the recently introduced S-543 Premium Plus adhesive. This expanded recommendation allows Armstrong to offer customers a solution for installing Natural Creations luxury vinyl tile on concrete slabs with moisture levels up to 90% relative humidity, as measured by an in-situ probe, or 7 lbs. CaCl.

Along with increasing the allowable subfloor moisture on an installation, the S-543 adhesive has an excellent working time of up to eight hours. This working time provides more flexibility in large commercial installations. Furthermore, S-543 is solvent free, easy to trowel and is ready for light traffic in just 24 hours, causing less disruption to the space. Having zero VOC emissions also means that S-543 complies with LEED Credit EQ4.1. The applicable substrates and porous vs. non-porous installation recommendations will be the same as S-288, and the back-roll procedure will still be required, when using S-543 to install Natural Creations luxury vinyl tile.

This is another step toward expanding Armstrong’s portfolio of products to offer solutions for high-moisture installations. We continue to develop the necessary installation products needed to make it easy to shop one supplier. That supplier is Armstrong – our name and our reputation is synonymous with consistent quality, innovative design and customer satisfaction.

Available in either a 1-gallon or 4-gallon size, and positioned under the Armstrong brand, S-543 Premium Plus Commercial Sheet Flooring Adhesive can now be used to install Armstrong commercial vinyl sheet and Natural Creations luxury vinyl tile flooring products. S-288 will remain in the offering as the recommended adhesive for standard Natural Creations luxury vinyl tile installations.

Updated S-543 Quicker Hits and a new comprehensive Armstrong Moisture-Resistant Adhesives Brochure are being distributed now. These two selling tools will provide additional details about the expanded S-543 recommendation.”

Part one is here

Part two is here

Part three is here