Hello all, looking for some help choosing some hardwood for a ~380 sq/ft area. We had a water pipe leak that took out our carpet and wish to upgrade to hardwood. Our budget is MAX $6.25 total installed (we will be installing).
We think we prefer direct glue on our concrete, but might do floating.

One option I found is Armstrong Valenza Collection Engineered Cabreuva (Santos Mahogany) 3-1/2 IN. x 5/8 IN, for $3.89 per sq/ft.

My main question is: this flooring is advertised as:
"This batch was not quite up to Armstrong's strict standards and was offered to us at this low price simply because the ends of the floorboards bow up approx an 1/8 inch which may make it difficult to be installed using the direct glued down method. This slight bowing on the ends of the boards has no effect at all on the appearance or performance of this flooring once it is nailed/stapled down"

The price for the flooring seems great.
How would one go about gluing this down to last the life of the wear layer, with no issues of lifting or hollow spots?
Will the 5/8" thickness make it difficult to lay flat?
Best glue for this? They recommend ProConnect S-740, any better considering they are "banana" boards?

Any help would be great.
Rich.

If your installing it then why are you looking to buy a product that cheap?

Well, if you've never done a glue down you sure would be stacking the deck against yourself....You want mostly FLAT boards, not warped boards for a gluedown......

I am assuming that the 'defect' is a bowed board whose ends are deflected upwards on both ends when the board is laid flat on the surface and will sit flat when weighed down (no cupping, or valley's in the width-wise span of the boards), NO?

floormeintucson: Our budget of $6.25 is set by the payment that we received by the insurance, and our desire to not upgrade too much (budget wise and overall for our home).
Going with a slightly defective product gets better flooring, which I am okay with (as long as I can get it to lay flat).

Is the Armstrong Valenza Collection considered cheap?
I received that sample today and it looks great, better than the Mannington, Millstead, Home Legends, Kahrs samples we have.

branded: Thank you for the input. I was under the impression that it is not unusual to have some "banana" boards in some boxs.
That is the way I read it, I am going to get clarification that it has no cupping or warp-age (just "banana")


After seeing the samples I received today I really like the Armstrong, my concern is the thickness being 5/8". I assume I will need to weight it down, what is the best method?

So your going for a product thats around half of your insurance payment, and it is defective. Good luck with that. I'd bet there is no warranty with that floor. There are many reasons which I will not get into for manufacturers dumping defective, or less than first quality on the market.

Installing bowed planks on a gluedown is risky, only second to installing them on a floater.

I have not bought any flooring yet. I came here for the experience of others, and I appreciate everyone's opinion.

The insurance payment also has to tile the damage in the kitchen, pantry and laundry room.
So I am not making out like a bandit, just hope to upgrade by doing the labor myself.
I am also budgeting in glue, trowels, trim, and misc ($6.25 includes all of this).

Correct, there's no warranty on that flooring. I have weighed this, and I am taking that into consideration.

Your questions and comments do raise a good point: Why does a "high quality" flooring banana. With 9 plys plus the wear layer, I would think it would be stable.
Does it have other manufacturing defects that may show up later, or is it common to have some "banana" and they are sorting them out and selling them as seconds (since it is considered higher end $12.99 retail)?

I read on here that some "banana" boards are not unusual, and that up to 1/4" were acceptable. But, my concern is thickness, as thicker flooring will be harder to install flat.

I think I have been pushed in the right direction.

I have decided against the Armstrong flooring. Too many unknowns, added labor to a glue install, no warranty, high probability of future bond failure.

Any opinions on overstock products from Hosking (aka floor specials)?

Good decision! I am not familiar with what Jeff stocks. Maybe shoot him an email. I know he stops by here once inawhile.

The Armstrong may be perfectly well if you follow the directions and nail it or staple it. You will be fastening it near the ends and the fastener will hold it securely.
You would need to glue or fasten a plywood underlayment to the cement slab so you can fasten to it.
Then you could install the flooring satisfactorily.
When gluing flooring that is not perfectly flat to a slab, back kerfing with a Skil saw set to make a cut about halfway through the board's underside before laying makes it limber so the board will settle into the adhesive. Sometimes it will be necessary to kerf the board every 3 inches if there is a bow to it.You may need to weight the floor in areas where there is a dip in the concrete. We cut to the top of the tongue when we glue solid wood strips to a slab. The floor comes out smooth.
The best way to hold flooring down when it is laid in glue is to weight it with 5 gallon buckets of water. If you are careful you will not spill any. After the weight has been holding the floor down for a couple of hours you can usually move the buckets to another area.
Commercial paint contractors have plenty of free buckets from big jobs you can usually get for free if you ask nicely and plan ahead.