A contractor I found in craigslist is offering to give the 5" wide, 1" thick Santos Mahogany (imported from Indonesia) for $ 3.50/sft. It's very hard to believe after checking out the prices on the internet.

He gave a sample and it looks pretty good, but still I just can't believe the price. How do I make sure he's giving me the authentic mahogany? Any standard questions I should ask ? He's giving a 25 year warranty on the product.

Another question, does Santos Mahogany go with contemporary style? Initially we were looking to go with Maple, but now are tempted to go with Mahogany b'cos of this guy's pricing.

I've 3 days to decide on the offer. Appreciate any info on this.

Thanks
Bob

Bob,

There's always a risk buying stuff from a contractor off of craigs list. Even @ 3.50 a square, it's still a sizeable investment. What if this santos wasn't dried properly? Is there any recourse is the stuff turns out to be not as good as you thought with fit and finish? Anytime I buy something, I'd want a company or store to stand behind their product. You know what they say when it sounds too good to be true. Is this pre-finished, or raw?

There are quite a few internet retailers and stores that will sell good quality prefinished santos for 4.75-5.50 a square. 3.50 is a good deal, you just have to be will to take a bit of a risk if something goes wrong.

How can I check if the Santos was dried properly? This is pre-finished wood. He's doing the installation also for another $3.50. He's giving me warranty on everything.

Yes, it's too good to be true. So, I'm still thinking

Milling is important and is it milled in indonesia? It is said us milling is preferable. I would hate to get a floor that ends up with a ton of color variation, a bunch of irregular gaps, and a nightmare. Never heard of 1 inch thick wood. that is a red flag to me. it looks pretty good? How experienced are you at grading wood, especially if you have not seen any longer planks. Good luck

Yes, it's milled in Indonesia. There's some variation, but it looks pretty good though. The contractor says that there's no grade in Mahogany, as it doensn't have knots. Is that true?

He's using the 1" thick floor as another selling point that it adds more stability to the floor than the 3/4".

BTW, is Mahogany from Indonesia same as Santos??