I was thinking of purchasing lumber liquidators Bellawood Select Brazilian Chestnut engineered wood I/2" x5" ....until I just found this site and read all that is written here. Please, any suggestion for a brand to look at? I was looking for a product with the top layer at least 3mm. What brought me to the Bellawood was the mm thickness of the top layer. But I now see I should be able to find this not made in China and minus the formaldahyde. Brand suggestion will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Alice

Triangulo makes a product in that species

Thanks so much for your advice James. This does look like a great product. I have seen that some of the better engineered woods , where the top layer was at least 3mm require at least a 1000 sq. ft. order. The room is only 350 sq. ft. I do not necessarily need an exotic engineered wood but something that will wear well,hard, and will not fade. Is there another brand you might also recommend when I compare tomorrow that is 1/2" x about 5"? I am more interested in good quality and value, (does not have to be the most expensive out there necessarily)
than color. I appreciate everyone's expertise on this site.
Thank you,
Alice

Yes, I agree w/ James, Triangulo is a great option.

Debbie Gartner, aka The Flooring Girl
http://TheFlooringGirl.com
Westchester, NY

Hallmark sawn face.

Thank you Stephen and Debbie for adding your thoughts. I have looked at the websites. Good information. Stephen just read on your website advice about the engineered wood that is from overseas. Is the Bellawood engineered Select Brazillian Chestnut from overseas of here in the U.S? Thank you for all for the information and education in the Land of Engineered Wood.
Alice

I would be willing to guess that 99% of LL eng exotic floors come from China. They also are currently under federal investigation for buying illegal lumber from Russia. If you want to support the folks that deforest the natural habitat of endangered species go ahead. They dont care about the quality of there floors or where the material is sourced they just want cheap so they can turn around and sell it under market and still make a huge profit.

The Bellawood line is milled in the country thst it is harvested in then sent to the us for finish. That is with the solid product. I am not sure if they manufacture the enginered in the us, or if it is done at the mill. I know the bellawood is not sent to China, some of their other lines are. It has been awhile since I installed bellawood I think the engineered is a 5 ply product.
And just to be unbiased several hardwood flooring companies are being looked into for the harvesting of those trees in Russia.
I hate bad mouthing a company. Every company has it's faults. I have seen bad product come from every manufacture at one time or another.
The time I ran into a problem with Bellawood. I stopped the project and the company handled the situation promptly with no problems.