Cheap wood flooring

[Devedander]

Anyone have advice on cheap wood flooring? I need to do about 1400 sq ft and am trying to find nice alternatives to laminate and engineered. I hear about recycled flooring but can't find anything on it or where to buy...

Any advice is appreciated.

[klekampcd]

Anyone have advice on cheap wood flooring? I need to do about 1400 sq ft and am trying to find nice alternatives to laminate and engineered. I hear about recycled flooring but can't find anything on it or where to buy...

Any advice is appreciated.

Call around to your local lumber supply stores (or however far you are willing to drive or have it delivered). Also watch and check out craigslist. You could also call contractors they usually have the inside scoop about scrap or reclaimed flooring and would be willing to get rid of it for really cheap. I hope you can strike flooring gold! Good luck!

[danimoo43]

How about Bamboo?
I'm in your boat... I think we're going with cosco bamboo its about $2something per SF
Do you have a costco around you where you could check it out?

[coupon queen]

How about Bamboo?
I'm in your boat... I think we're going with cosco bamboo its about $2something per SF
Do you have a costco around you where you could check it out?

We had bamboo for a while and I hated it. I would never use it again.
It was laid incorrectly here (the flooring person would not listen and insisted we did not need an underlay and he was totaly wrong and he has been doing this for well over 20 years) and it had to be scrapped up (at the original installers expense) since it was trapping moisture underneath.
Bamboo and any moisture whatsoever definitely do not mix. If anything should happen to spill you must get it up immediately or you could have a problem.
We got a very good grade of bamboo but it still dented very very easily.
We have since installed Distressed wood and I love it. It has character to it which the bamboo never did.
If you are in the San Diego area please PM me if you would like a recommendation for a good place for distressed wood flooring.
Also I personally would avoid Lumber Liquidators

[Devedander]

Thanks for the input.

As for distressed floors, we prefer the new smooth look over distressed, but if the distressed came at the right price we could certainly be swayed.

I am surprised to hear about the bamboo... I have heard nothing but good things about bamboo. Do you think your water issues were more due to the bad install or even after it was properly installed did it still give you problems?

I will call around lumber rooms and ask some contractors. I have tried with a few contractors but the best I can get is that there are "deals" out there but no specific prices.

[coupon queen]

Thanks for the input.

As for distressed floors, we prefer the new smooth look over distressed, but if the distressed came at the right price we could certainly be swayed.

I am surprised to hear about the bamboo... I have heard nothing but good things about bamboo. Do you think your water issues were more due to the bad install or even after it was properly installed did it still give you problems?

I will call around lumber rooms and ask some contractors. I have tried with a few contractors but the best I can get is that there are "deals" out there but no specific prices.

It was a bad install only because he did not put down a moisture barrier and as it turns out bamboo especially sucks up moisture (and concrete is a good part moisture) so it will basically was starting to suck moisture out of the cement.
It was down for a little over a year before we noticed any problems with the install (IE moisture problems)
Before we originally installed it we had a sample which we even hit with a hammer and nothing happened but once it was down on the floor and anything dropped on it it often would dent. We did not float the floor we did a glue down because we did not like the feel of the floating floor.
I agree there is some very boring distressed wood flooring out there but the one we got we really love and it has been down for a while in most of the rooms. They just finished the last areas a week or two ago but we waited. We had other construction going on and wanted to do two areas after everything else was finished. Almost everyone that walks in here comments on how pretty the flooring is.
Make sure you check on the hardness of the flooring you intend to use. Bamboo is actually a lot softer than we ever realized which is probably why it dented so easily. If a floor is too hard it can scratch too easily. also with the distressed wood if you get a slight scratch you cannot usually even see it and it is also pretty easy to repair which the bamboo was not.

[TOMMYTHUNDERS]

i've only heard good things about lumber liquidators. at least for the raw material. i'd get the wood from them and then find someone to install it.

[coupon queen]

i've only heard good things about lumber liquidators. at least for the raw material. i'd get the wood from them and then find someone to install it.

Lumber Liquidators are probably okay unless you run into a problem........
I personally would never go back there nor would I send anyone I know there---just saying:nod: :nod:

[Devedander]

Yeah problem for me is LL is at least 1.5 hours from me and I don't own a truck.... so I would have to go get the wood, then get it back and if I ran into issues, it's another 3 hour round trip to resolve them...

[coupon queen]

Yeah problem for me is LL is at least 1.5 hours from me and I don't own a truck.... so I would have to go get the wood, then get it back and if I ran into issues, it's another 3 hour round trip to resolve them...

That is if they actually resolve the issue should one arise...:nod: :nod:

[SueM]

In Boston, we have the Building Materiels Resource Center. There are income requirements, tho. We have donated materials, but never went in to buy. The rumor is that there is a lot of good stuff there, plus regular salvaged stuff. Wish I could check it out!

[danimoo43]

Here are a couple discussions about cosco's bamboo. Some people love it and a few people dont. I guess it comes down to personal preference, do you own reasearch and check out a sample!
DIY forum (http://forum.doityourself.com/bamboo-exotic-wood-floors/262668-red-arowana-bamboo-flooring-wellmade-inc-costco.html)

and here is the manufacturer's website
http://bambooflooringinstaller.com/

HTH!

[anisbet]

the natural bamboo look is pretty soft. we have a 90lb black lab that likes to run and he scratches the bamboo very easily... more like long lines of dents though, not very noticeable unless you're looking for it and look directly into a reflection of light

we bought our bamboo from LL and had no problems, had them load it into our truck and then I had help from a couple friends to install it, glue down.

If I went bamboo again I would probably get striated bamboo (they had this at LL too) which is supposed to be extremely tough. They basically shred the bamboo and compact the fibers in a chipboard/plywood type fashion essentially I think. Either way though it's great for the environment being a renewable resource.

[jspoon]

We got ours from Lowes. Really happy with the product but we had a crappy installer. I know your posting for wood prices but I cant stress enough how important it is to get a good install. Our wood was fairly inexpensive & I want to say at the time we has a coupon or something. Wish I wouln't have taked the lowest install bid tho.

I know there is a thread on here somewhere right now where you can get 10% off at Lowes... I printed one just last night:)

[SunImNw]

I just bought some laminate from LL. Had 0 problems with them. A couple of the boards were damaged but that is expected. They had a big selection of distressed woods/recycled woods when i was in the showroom. They are much cheaper than lowes or HD because I went to both and their prices were about 30% more than LL.

Might be worth it to rent a truck from HD and make the trip.

[MastiffMom]

Yeah problem for me is LL is at least 1.5 hours from me and I don't own a truck.... so I would have to go get the wood, then get it back and if I ran into issues, it's another 3 hour round trip to resolve them...

About 3 years ago I ordered the Bella Wood from LL. I had it delivered to my house, as it was cheaper than renting a u-haul & making the round trip. I love it! I had no issues w/LL, nor w/the Bella Wood. It's been down for 3+ years and still looks beautiful.

I ended up having 2 1/2 boxes leftover, so my Dad just recently decided to put down hardwood floors at his house. I gave him the left over boxes and he was able to use the numbers from the box (lot numbers?) to order an additional 12 boxes. He too had no issues w/LL and the new boxes he got 3 years later matched perfectly to what I had leftover.

It was actually pretty easy to install. My Dad rented a nailer and we installed his floor in 2 days. :nod:

[bkdg100]

the natural bamboo look is pretty soft. we have a 90lb black lab that likes to run and he scratches the bamboo very easily... more like long lines of dents though, not very noticeable unless you're looking for it and look directly into a reflection of light

we bought our bamboo from LL and had no problems, had them load it into our truck and then I had help from a couple friends to install it, glue down.

If I went bamboo again I would probably get striated bamboo (they had this at LL too) which is supposed to be extremely tough. They basically shred the bamboo and compact the fibers in a chipboard/plywood type fashion essentially I think. Either way though it's great for the environment being a renewable resource.

the chinese bamboo from homedepot lowes costco ect , does not draw water in the least . before nailing down 800 ft of it to a subfloor of wood , i submersed several differently cut pcs in water over nite . none drew water or warped and all returned to original color hours later . soft , yes very , drop something and you will ding it , drag something and you will dent it . but water , i would put it in a shower stall and never worry about expansion or warp.