I've posted about engineered hardwood floors before, but now that I'm setting in to do it...

[Adsos Letter]

...what is the best way to purchase the material to ensure the highest quality, without getting gouged on the cost?

Anyone have any experience with purchasing hardwood flooring material? My wife's patience with living on bare concrete is certain to wear thin eventually...

[randr]

1. You generally get what you pay for

Check out Lumber Liquidators.
They provide a lot of information comparing solid vs. engineered vs. laminates.
Choose you level of quality and budjet and shop for the best price.

[Adsos Letter]

2. Thanks. Someone suggested Lumber Liquidators to me a few weeks ago.

But I've heard some very negative stuff about them. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a more highly rated outfit to deal with. I'm looking for premium material but I don't want to over pay...hopefully... Thanks for your response!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. I wonder if you could buy direct from a mill?

Depends on where you are located I suppose??

I might consider a run to Michigan when I decide to re-do our floors. I'm in Chicago so Michigan is a day trip.

I build cabinets as sort of a hobby so I've been scoping out mills in Michigan to get some nice quarter-sawn lumber for a project. I see a lot of them make floors to order.

[Adsos Letter]

4. I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I hadn't thought of mills. We used to have quite a few here in Northern California, but mostly for Redwood (too soft) and Pine and Fir. I'l have to chek on where the nearest hardwood mills are, though I don't know if they will have engineered flooring products.

It's worth a shot! Thanks for replying.

EDIT: ...spelling...

[ohheckyeah]

8. I had a great experience with Lumber Liquidators.

We bought oak, hardwood floors from them and had no problems whatsoever. The flooring is beautiful!

[Adsos Letter]

9. Thanks for sharing a positive experience.

Most of the complaints I read were with customer service, especially on unsatisfactory orders. I suppose I'm a bit (more than a bit, really) concerned about how I'll be treated if the material in a $7-8,000 order has issues.

Did you have any reason to deal with their customer service, other than ordering and pick up?

[ohheckyeah]

10. Not really.

I ordered samples from them. Picked out what flooring I wanted and then ordered and picked it up. All of the flooring was in perfect condition so I had no reason to deal with customer service.

[Major Nikon]

5. I did a lot of research on engineered flooring materials several years ago

I finally settled on bamboo, and haven't been sorry. I installed my flooring about 10 years ago.

Engineered flooring, at least some of it, solves some significant problems with solid wood flooring material. Solid wood floors that are hard (like maple) are extremely durable, but tend to expand and contract quite a bit with changes in temperature and humidity. Softer floors (like pine) don't expand and contract as much, but are obviously softer. Engineered flooring solves these problems by using a hard top later (like maple) under sublayers which are designed to prevent as much expansion and contraction.

However, bamboo is extremely hard (about as hard as maple) and it has the expansion/contraction rate of softer woods like pine. The downside of bamboo is that it can't be stained. You can buy darker versions, but these have been steamed until they darken, which does remove some of the hardness. I like the look of natural bamboo and I get a lot of compliments on it.

One thing you want to do when you buy is either make sure the product has been stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. If it hasn't, you'll want to store the boxes (unopened) in your home for up to about a month to get the wood acclimated to your environment. If not, you can get warping after the product has been installed and/or it will increase the rate of material that will have to be culled. If you are having the product glued down, buy the very best glue you can get.

[Adsos Letter]

6. Thanks Major Nikon. My wife likes the fact that bamboo is an easily renewable resource.

And she likes the look. I've been hoping for something darker than natural bamboo but I need the hardness factor (some of which will be in the topcoat). So...maybe that is the best choice.

One factor is refinishing: I'm told that wear layers of 4mm and greater can be refinished at least once, as long as the guy running the sander knows what he's doing. I'll have to check on how bamboo works in that scheme of things as I would like to be able to refinish whatever we put down, should we ever decide to sell this place.

Thanks for the response, and the advice on acclimating the product.

[Major Nikon]

7. Here's a couple of other things

The aluminum oxide finish that some floors have is much more durable than what can be done on-site. A good aluminum oxide finish should not need refinishing for decades.

If you do go with bamboo, go with a reputable brand. I've heard some of what is being imported uses faster growth bamboo, which isn't as hard. Make sure they list the Janka hardness rating.