Bellawood

Mike Finley

Prefinished Bellawood - what's the industries take on this stuff? Good/bad, over-hyped, excellent product? Any pros and cons somebody should know? $3.50 sq/ft for Brazilian Cherry seems like a steal to me, but what do I know?

Floorwizard

Sounds like the product is thin.

I have never seen it, but the price is insane.

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"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"

adams,b

Ive used some before and i believe it was 3/8" thin and was also a solid material maple. Went together good, but you might beable to find better deals out there.

Marco

From what I've read on other forums from guys with experience, they have gone seriously downhill. You get what you pay for.

Mike Finley

Some more details:

I'm referring to the 3/4 solid pre-finished Bellawood. Has a 8 coat finish with a 50 year warranty. This would be nailed down.

I haven't seen anybody approach $3.5 sq foot for Brazilian Cherry so wondering if there is a catch. This is sold by Lumber Liquidators.

Floorwizard

Of course there is a catch.

You just have to find out what it is.

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"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"

KoryEmma

bella wood is pretty good if you do not buy it from lumber liquidators. There stuff is junk. Every type of wood from them has splits and knot holes.

K custom home

Mike, We installed about 1200 ft of that Brazilian cherry a couple of years ago and were pretty satisfied with the outcome. The board widths were not always perfect(never off more than a 1/16th), but for that price it is a steal. I have been back since and the floor looks great. The clients have a couple of black Labs but you can't see it in the finish. The only problem I have with the wood is the color change. Exposure to light darkens the wood a lot and may be noticable when making a furniture move, but I am sure over time it all evens out.
BTW-I highly doubt Bellawood manufactures a different product for LL.

Mike Finley

Thanks K, good to hear something from somebody who has touched the product. Unless Kory can explain how Lumber Liquidators ends up with rustic quality product in select boxes I have your same take on it. I take it you didn't get the flooring you installed from them or did you? Have you had any experience with them?

Anybody else have any experience with Lumber Liquidators?

K custom home

Mike, That was the only time I've used LL and was satisfied with them. I just looked at the invoice and we paid $5 a foot for solid 3/4"x3", so I wouldn't pass up the deal.

KoryEmma

It has been my experience that every time I have used LL the wood was terrible and have used the same brand from others and it was fine I do not know if they do put lower grades in select boxes but other products Ar's like that at walmart. I do not know about you guys but 1/16th of an inch is unacceptable to me for select.

Donedat

Maybe they just see you cum'n and send you the culls.

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Mike Finley

Kory, what the hell does 1/16 have to do with select?

We are also talking about 3/4 solid hardwood here so it is hard wood all the way through.

Select, rustic ect... is a grading system based on appearance such as knots and figure not on thickness, what are you talking about?

Donedat

If prefinished wood has 1/16 in gaps from board to board, it's too much. Prefinished wood ought to have perfect milling. The problem is, the better the milling the more we pay. I think that Bella Wood would have perfect milling but according to Kory they do not. This is a sad thing considering how much advertising they get from places like LL and Rush Limbaugh and Extreme Makeover Home Edition and other high profile t.v. home improvement shows.

A good prefinished floor has near perfect milling, good lengths, very little waste, fits together nicely, long lasting finish, consistant color and a good reputation. If you ask me, the only one that I have used that fits that description is Bruce Hardwood Flooring. They are the patriarchs of the prefinished industry. Good prices too. Bella Wood is over rated.

__________________
I admit...I don't know everything...but don't tell my kids I told you.

adams,b

Ive used some of the Johnson wood and it is great. I think it was 5/8" thick. But I was impressed.

Floorwizard

Sounds like alot more $$$$$ went into advertising and not the milling.

I love America!

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"in 20 years you will regret more what you did not do than what you did"

justin savage

Bruce has some good lines of flooring BUT they also have alot of junk.you get what you pay for most of the time. justin

KoryEmma

The 1/16 is the milling not the thickness and k kustom homes posted that and I just said that that is unacceptable to me. I would never install a floor with select grade wood that varied that much. A small miss (very small like less then 1/64)mill here or there is ok but if I find it before it gets nailed it gets put against the wall . If the miss mill looks bad I will rip it out and junk it

adams,b

i didn't know pre finished came in "select" hmmm

Donedat

It does.

__________________
I admit...I don't know everything...but don't tell my kids I told you.