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In on the ground floor
In on the ground floorAmissville couple subscribes to early adoption of flooring advances
By Bill Walsh
Times-Democrat Staff Writer
Sometimes in business, you just have to grab the bull by the horns.
Widespread recognition that leaking water fosters mold which, in turn, fosters health problems, has led many a homeowner and home builder to eschew ceramic tile in kitchens and bathrooms.
John and Lorraine Early, owners of Early's Carpet, Inc., in Amissville for the past 43 years, sell and install ceramic tile. In this economic climate, few businesses can afford to let one of their product lines come under unanswered attack.
The Earlys know that ceramic tile isn't the culprit...provided it is installed properly, so, in June, they invited builders and renovation specialists from the tri-county area they serve — Culpeper, Rappahannock and Fauquier — to a seminar at their 11,400-square-foot office, showroom and warehouse fronting U.S. 211.
The latest technology involves the installation of a non-porous membrane between the sheet rock and the tile. The builders who attended left the gathering with a new confidence in once again recommending ceramic to their clients.
"Usually, people don't find out that they have any kind of mold until they need a repair or the walls start deteriorating," Lorraine Early said last week. "If you do it right the first time, you don't have to worry about that.
"A lot of people didn't do ceramic for years, strictly because they knew they were going to have a water problem somewhere down the road — a pipe is going to burst, you'll get a leak, what have you. This is a whole new ballgame," she said of the Schluter Systems installation package that she sells.
"If you start out right, the water can't get through, and you are not going to have those problems. It will save a lot of money in the long run," she said.
The Earlys pride themselves on keeping up not only with the trends in home décor — mostly flooring, but also drapes and other window treatments and custom re-upholstery — but they also take pride in keeping current with the technology that underpins the trends.
She tells potential employees that coming to work in this industry is "worse than going to college."
"It takes five years for you to really start earning your way. Until then, you are just going to be learning all the different things," Lorraine said. "It is never-ending, always changing. It takes quite a bit to keep up with all the changes that have come in over the years. Nothing stays the same."
Trend-setting actually put the Earlys in business nearly a half-century ago.
Wall-to-wall carpeting, a standard feature in most homes these days, was just getting a toehold in the market when the Earlys launched their business out of their Amissville home in 1966. They built the office/showroom/warehouse facility next door two years later.
Expansion was almost immediate, in terms of product offerings, at any rate.
"All kinds of flooring came into play over the years," Lorraine mused — "hardwood, ceramic, laminates. The biggest thing that we see is that there is a product for every need. The first thing we have to find out from the customer is what they really need before we can suggest any products."
In the industry overall, wall-to-wall carpeting remains the number-one seller. It is the most economical flooring, but other options are coming on strong. "Most people are now having at least one room with hardwood," Lorraine said, "testing it out again.
"Fifty years ago, houses all had hardwood floors, but they weren't easy to maintain. Now, with the advances in technology, you just spray the dustmop with the cleaner and run over it."
Ceramic flooring is also gaining in popularity and moving from kitchens and bathrooms to other areas of the home. That migration is also driven by technology, with the introduction of thin electric heating elements that fit between the subfloor and the tile.
A good deal of the innovation in flooring is being driven by environmental concerns.
On one hand, products such as bamboo flooring are exploding in popularity. Bamboo is an easily renewable resource.
On the other, manufacturers don't want to be called on the carpet over recycling issues. That effort is twofold.
Carpet can now be made out of recycled plastic bottles. When its useful life is finished, however, the carpet has to be discarded.
Other carpeting is made from fibers that, at the end of the rug's useful life, can be liquefied and remade into new carpet.
Both Earlys are pleased with the response to the builders' seminar they sponsored in June, especially, Lorraine said, "from the builders who are interested in improving.
"We hope to have more classes on different things," she added. "This was a test run for us We started out with the builders, but we might do some with the general public down the road, probably after the first of the year."
Early's Carpet, Inc., is located on U.S. 29 in Amissville, and can be reached by phone at (540) 937-5500 or (800) 870-9098. The shop is open from 9 a.m. to six p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
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