I am located outside of Charlotte NC and locating wood and materials is no problem. I can find wood in at least 5 different locations and have it delivered the same day. I am planning to travel to WV to install/finish a small floor for my father in his house and there seems to be noone in his area that warehouses hardwood floors. The best I can find is a company that will freight in 200' of #2 white oak, but it will take over a week.

How much problem do you have getting supplies in your location? What about service for your machinery? I guess I live in the hardwood capital of the world!

Northern California has no problems in getting pretty much anything I need. My main distributor, Golden State Flooring, is one of the largest in the nation and backed up by Higgins Lumber. Excellent sales and repair staff. There are at least a half dozen other big players plus many smaller, custom mills as well. We also get loads of imports being on the west coast, where it's shipped in from China and South America in container loads. Certain unusual finishing supplies are not readily available due to VOC laws and lack of demand. But flooring itself, is readily available in all it's forms. Competition is quite high so prices are reasonable.

In your situation re: installing a floor for your father. I'd probably just buy it local and deliver it myself. That way, you get to use your best supplier, moisture test the wood prior to buying, inspect the flooring and get it there when you want. Plus no shipping fees!

Yes, we decided to just pick it up today and transport it to WV. Only will cost about $120 in fuel and I know what I have. I'll give it a couple of weeks and the install