Hello-

I recently had my contractor install 1500 sq. ft of unfinished, clear, long length, qtr/rift sawn white oak. I wasn't very happy with the wood (lots of sap, wide color variation, mineral streaks, etc.), and later found out that select and better was installed instead of clear. I'm getting some money back and I would like to remove the existing floor and start over again. My concern is that many of the flooring companies where I live (SF, CA) seem to find is very amusing that the samples are 'always better' than what they ship. I don't have a problem with paying more if I get better quality, but I don't want to get into a situation (again) where I have to hand sort 4500 lbs of lumber. I'm tied (financially) to the white oak because that's what we did the stairs in. I'm very concerned that it will be very difficult to find a supplier that can provide a floor anywhere near as nice as the samples I've seen (the prior supplier was Taylor Lumber in Ohio.) I’ve seen some recent installs of exotic woods (santos mahogany, etc.) that seem to be very close to the samples in the stores, but this would require that I re-do the stairs. What's a frustrated homeowner to do?

Thanks for your time.

Paul

It is important to convey your desires to all parties involved. If your contractor KNEW you wanted clear but installed select and better, what's up with that? He should have known better. ALL NOFMA lumber is clearly marked and graded so no one can say I didn't know. You need to find a contractor who will take your desires seriously. Firebird (now defunct, I believe) used to sell clear, long length quartered flooring. There are other mills but most do NOT sell direct to consumers. You will need to go through a contractor who has an acct. with the local distributors. BTW, I live and work in the SF. bay area.

Gary-

I live in San Carlos. Do you work in my area? If not, do you know of anyone who does?

Thanks.

Paul-

Paul,
I would love to help you out and work on your project but San Carlos is not in my area (Contra Costa Co.). I suggest doing a NWFA installer search using this link. http://www.woodfloors.org/consumer/findpro.aspx Since you're on the penisula, there are many good flooring contractors there; you just need to find them. Search all the various cities: Palo Alto, SSF, San Mateo, etc. and eliminate the companies that you've spoken with before. BTW, quartered/rift sawn white oak is a fav of mine and many flooring contractors. Don't give up on it. You can call Golden State Flooring in S. S.F. and ask about obtaining it. As far as I know, ANYONE can buy unfinished flooring from them. Ask all your questions there. Make sure you state that you want the flooring to be "figured". The reason is quartered/rift is a type of saw cut that does produce more figure BUT doesn't guarentee that all the boards will be figured with fleck rays. In fact, most would be just very plain looking with straight verticle grain. This is what I've found re: quartered/rift sawn unfinished w.o. strip. So, you need to request the flooring to be figured with the fleck rays. The sales staff at Golden State will help if you get a good guy. Good Luck!

Gary-

Thanks for the response.

Believe it or not, my contractor purchased my flooring from Golden State. I've heard a lot of good things about them, but unfortunately, my experience has been very disapointing. Maybe it's been the individuals I've been dealing with, but their additudes have varied from 'yeah, whatever' to 'you're not our customer, your contractor it. You should talk to him.'

In anycase, I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes qtr/rift sawn white oak.

Paul-

Indiana Hardwoods is one of the finer mills in the country and used to mill beautiful quartersawn. Problem is finding somebody they supply as they are usually sold out.
You want to ask for a qrtd product specifically as most is now qrtd/rift, meaning mostly rift. There is some beautiful wood out there but its hit-n-miss. Supplies of *good* wood come and go. I had a supplier in Ore a few years ago who was milling beautiful wide, 16" lengths of white qrted from old wharehous beams. He wouldn't consider selling less that 1500? ft. I am looking for his number and will post when I find it.
You might try calling The Oak Floors of Greenbank in Seattle, they often handle this type of request and are probably better suited than anybody in the bay area or even the west coast to find your material. Ask for Angie or Don.
Golden State in South city is the best distributor in the area but not so good for specialty requests. Ask for Tom, most of their order people are clueless these days. They tell the contractors they won't sell retail, but I'm fairly certain they do. Even so, they will take back in the wharehouse and show you the actual material to see if it meets your expectations.

Good luck.

Paul, also a fan of rift/qtd here. That's what we put in our new offices. We used red oak though.

Gary:

To get best prices/services from Golden State you usually have to deal with a flooring contractor. Based on purchase history, they have a discount structure. I've been to Golden State as a consumer. Thier assistance has been spotty. This is the Golden State showroom in SSF.

Another "wholesaler" is Jordan Internation in Belmont.

If you find a good installer in San Carlos let me know. I'm in Foster City.

Since this came up again, I rounded up some suppliers of quarterd white oak at the convention. I found several who will custom grade to raise the percentage of quartered. Expect it to be pricey, but it is out there.

Hi westcoastbeginer,

Glad your here. FYI, I am a flooring contractor and have been working with Golden State Flooring for 25 yrs. I usually get the help I need from them but sometimes I do need to be persistant.