Bought anything at Lumber Liquidators?

[radhak]

On the hunt for 'floating' hardwood flooring, I found something I liked at LL's website. Called up their 800 number to verify, and the guy tells me 'oh, Kahrs flooring? they are all sold out'. This before i told him the specific sku#! And when i did, he sounds like he is looking it up, then says 'yeah, all that is sold off. all the ones on sale are gone.' (ie, i should go for the higher-priced ones).
So i ask him about it showing on the web, and he dismisses it with 'that's not updated'.

Anyway, i go to the web and am able to place the order (minutes ago). Even get a 'confirmation email'. So what's up with that? Am i going to get a 'sorry, you are on back-order' or would i get my wood? Are LL good, or are they good with the bait-and-switch?

[mschrank]

I'm not sure what to make of LL. I was going to buy some laminate flooring from them awhile back...guy in the store told me a story similar to what you got. He said it was on back order and would be in within "a couple of months." I went on the website and went through the motions of ordering...never saw anything about it being out of stock. I eventually went with another vendor.

If they truly are "liquidators," that implies that their inventory may indeed be a bit hit and miss.

I know that several folks here have purchased their rough lumber bundles with varying degrees of satisfaction (though generally happy).

[DUD]

Around here Sam's Club has the best prices, and they have it in stock. Bill

[Hoover]

The Costco here in WA state sells snap together laminate with a 25 year warranty, don't recall the price but it is less than $30.00 a box. (18 sq. ft +-)

[radhak]

All good suggestions, thanks. It's just that I am looking for hardwood, and of the 'float' type (ie, no nails or glue). This essentially means the panels / strips should be of atleast, or more than, 5" wide. Which makes it much rarer than you'd think.

In the meanwhile, my order status at LL still shows 'status unknown'. I called the local branch to check when I could pick the order, and he says 'next week'. Dunno if he knows better than what the internet shows (and is seeing inventory), or knows less than what the service rep told me and is giving me a stock reply.

I might still end up visiting Sams / Costco after all.

[Jan]

HD is selling a click engineered hardwood called Traffic Master for $3/sqft. Sams Club and Lowes both have similar products for about the same price.

[Rob R]

HD is selling a click engineered hardwood called Traffic Master for $3/sqft. Sams Club and Lowes both have similar products for about the same price.

we installed the traffic master in our old home. it had the foam underlayment preglued to the panel for quick instalation. it was very nice. i was able to buy much more than i needed and return the excess without hassle ( an employee of mine had recently shared a nightmare story of purchasing flooring getting almost done and then trying to track down 2 more cases of a flooring that was no longer being carried by anyone. he had to mailorder it. )

i don't know how great it is compared to all the other choices, but it looked real nice and was very comfortable to stand on for long periods of time i do the cooking at our place and our new home floor is like standing on concrete. liked the traffic master much better. as far as what model or the price, i don't really remember other than i think the color was honey oak or something like that. and the 3 dollars a foot sounds about right, but i want to say 2.-2.50

FWIW
rob

[messmaker]

I would not go to dark. I put down a dark oak and it looks like you rubbed it down with a Snickers bar, even after you have cleaned it.

[Pappy]

HD has a line from Dupont for about $3.70 a ft called Real Touch Elite. Nice looking stuff and I think it has the foam backing, too.

[radhak]

Thanks everybody, good suggestions all.
But I am still holding out for real hardwood (even if engineered).

At the LL site, I found this clearance sale on hardwood - Kährs 5/8" X 8" Naples White Oak Engineered Pre-Finished, at a too-good-to-be-true price : $2.78 / sq ft, for wood of that thickness and width.
(http://www.lumberliquidators.com/cat...productId=2933)

Maybe it is that - too good to be true; shall wait some more and see whether i receive it, and if i do, whether it's good flooring, or just 'good experience'.

The status still shows 'status unavailable' on the net, but the cust-rep told me yesterday that my order was shipping out later in the day, to reach my local branch next week. Let's see.

Btw, i don't see any 'lumber' on the site. Do they sell lumber now - maybe at the location (and not online)?

[radhak]

update

Just an update : despite what their website showed, my order came in pretty fast and I picked it up on the weekend. So the store works, the website does not!
The flooring is all i hoped for, with very few flaws. The only problem I had was that the planks are all 8 ft long! Have never seen flooring planks that long elsewhere. Thankfully i had taken my minivan, and managed to fit it all in.

(and i checked, they no longer sell lumber).

Btw, just walked into HD today to see the Trafficmaster engineered hardwood for $2.99 under a 'NEW' banner. They only had Trafficmaster laminates till now. Sorry, Jan and Rob, you did tell me about it, I had just not seen the hardwood locally, so I assumed you meant the laminates. I might use these for my other rooms.

[bigfoot]

[QUOTE=radhak;217743]Just an update : despite what their website showed, my order came in pretty fast and I picked it up on the weekend. So the store works, the website does not!
The flooring is all i hoped for, with very few flaws. The only problem I had was that the planks are all 8 ft long! Have never seen flooring planks that long elsewhere. Thankfully i had taken my minivan, and managed to fit it all in.


Not so uncommon a length. I work for a flooring manufacturer, and our 2 and 3 strip product is seven foot long, click together panels. We also have a line of plank product that is 70" long (just under 6 ft) in both click and t&g.

[drunkcat]

radhak,
Can you please post what you think of the Kahrs product after you get it installed? My brother is considering putting it in his house.

FWIW I went with a glue down engineered in my kitchen and really regreted not floating after dealing with that nasty glue!

Good luck!

S

[radhak]

radhak,
Can you please post what you think of the Kahrs product after you get it installed? My brother is considering putting it in his house.

FWIW I went with a glue down engineered in my kitchen and really regreted not floating after dealing with that nasty glue!

Good luck!

S

sure thing. aiming to do it this weekend.

good to hear that about glue (i mean, as in confirming my fears, not for the hassle it caused you ).

i am pretty wary of glue myself - what if i paint myself into a corner, with the to-be-glued-panels out of reach ? Sticky!