I installed century solid red oak 10 years ago in 1/2 my house. First wood install and asked salesman if I should be spending more for a better quality floor. He said no. Floor looks ok but found milling was not consistent and some boards with cracks slipped by my inspection. I am completing the rest of the house with 3/4" red oak 3" wide eased edge PREFINISHED. What brands are best. What brands do you use and why. Thanks...
prefinished solid red oak brands
- Thread starter mikeroc
- Start date
Help Support Flooring Forum - DIY & Professional:
A solid factory-finished board with an end split or end check slipping past an installer is what it is. It's not a surprise to me and you should not beat yourself up over that. It's going to happen.
The end check or split is commonly already there, but concealed by the finish. Sometimes they are revealed upon nailing. Other times it takes a bit of shrinking and swelling to move the boards so you see it.
This is normal. I understand, not desirable, but normal. The only remedy is board replacement, which is done by installers all the time.
The end check or split is commonly already there, but concealed by the finish. Sometimes they are revealed upon nailing. Other times it takes a bit of shrinking and swelling to move the boards so you see it.
This is normal. I understand, not desirable, but normal. The only remedy is board replacement, which is done by installers all the time.
It's a rare day when I install wood flooring so what I do is always floated. I did my first staple down floor around Christmas time and it was from lumber liquidators. I think they've changed their name so everyone will forget that name.
I've yet to hear lumber liquidators praised for their quality. They are only praised for their low price that is known that they sell shorts and lesser quality woods, possibly seconds. The lady I installed the wood floor for of course bought materials at lumber liquidators.
From all I've heard about that place it scared me to death thinking about the problems I'd run into. That said, there were no defects in the entire 400 square feet of flooring but there was at least one board per box, sometimes two or three that were virtually unusable because the grain was so wild which made the colors go weird.
The lady bought one of their high-end products which actually had mostly longer boards instead of a bunch of shorts. With all that said I still don't trust their products because of their prior reputation. I also wouldn't shop online. For me personally if I can't look at it, touch it and feel it, I would never buy something that costs so much money without knowing exactly what it was by seeing it in person.
I wish I could be of more help but most of my work is carpeting and products other than wood flooring.
If you find something you like Google it and find reviews on the product.
Compare prices for similar products. If one is 3.50 per square foot and the other is 9.50 per square foot and most are $6, that alone will tell you a lot.
I've yet to hear lumber liquidators praised for their quality. They are only praised for their low price that is known that they sell shorts and lesser quality woods, possibly seconds. The lady I installed the wood floor for of course bought materials at lumber liquidators.
From all I've heard about that place it scared me to death thinking about the problems I'd run into. That said, there were no defects in the entire 400 square feet of flooring but there was at least one board per box, sometimes two or three that were virtually unusable because the grain was so wild which made the colors go weird.The lady bought one of their high-end products which actually had mostly longer boards instead of a bunch of shorts. With all that said I still don't trust their products because of their prior reputation. I also wouldn't shop online. For me personally if I can't look at it, touch it and feel it, I would never buy something that costs so much money without knowing exactly what it was by seeing it in person.
I wish I could be of more help but most of my work is carpeting and products other than wood flooring.
If you find something you like Google it and find reviews on the product.
Compare prices for similar products. If one is 3.50 per square foot and the other is 9.50 per square foot and most are $6, that alone will tell you a lot.
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