I am in the process of buying a short sale home that needs all the flooring replaced. Home is on a crawl and the total amount of flooring will be about 1,500. Crawl space is dry, but I have not measured moisture content yet. We are not sure when it's closing since it's a short sale. Best guess is sometime this winter.

What I really want is 3 1/4" site finished oak wood floor stained with Jacobabean and a matte or a very light gloss. There are not many places locally that carry unfinished oak flooring. Most stores sell pre finished or engineered, and I really don't want the beveled edges.

LL carries unfinished oak for about $3-$3.39 sq ft. Any concerns with LL for unfinished flooring? Some people online complained of short boards, but I am more cautious of formaldehyde or any other chemicals.

I made friends with a builder and he gave me his contact info for an installer. The builder told me he charges about $3 sqft for install, sand, stain, and poly. I'm going to call him to see if that includes the materials. I sold the builders home, so he is hooking me up with the builders install price. I've seen his work and it's very good. The builder uses him in all of his homes including his personal. I will also see if that includes any prep work as well. As long as the floors are level and clean, what else is needed? I've seen some sites recommend a roofing felt to help prevent noise. Anything else? Subfloor is 3/4".

My question is, is LL okay to use for unfinished oak? Should I look at other places? Maybe a saw mill, or other stores? The only other store I found carried it, but it was above $4sqft.

Any concerns with LL with a pre finished solid oak floor? The one I liked was a 5" wire brushed plank and it was $5.19. I don't care for the beveled edges, but this route would save money and time. If I do pre finished I would install it myself. If I go with unfinished I would let someone else do it since it also requires sanding, stain, and poly.

Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm just trying to plan my budget for this house. It was a great deal, and it requires some work before moving in. I'm in Raleigh NC and would be willing to talk to referrals.

Have you not been reading the news lately about LL lawsuits?

If you're going with unfinished because of the bevel on prefinished flooring check out prefinished Muskoka. They claim to have the smallest micron bevel in the industry. I installed it my house and in cases where abutting boards have a good grain match the bevel is not even noticeable. The bevel was the big turn-off for me but we are really happy with Muskoka. Also, check out Aquabar B in lieu of roofing felt for a vapor retarder between the subfloor and the finished flooring.

Are these lawsuits specific to unfinished oak flooring? Everything I read is Chinese laminate which I'm not buying.

You will not find formaldehyde in solid oak flooring.

Your practically in the middle of the hardwood industry in the country and your going to buy LL? I won't even touch the stuff. There's more to hardwood than just price and looks like proper grading, milling, kiln drying. I wont even touch their stuff anymore.