Hey all,

We live in the Seattle area. We've had our first estimate given. Do you think this is fair and what do you think of the product? TIA

Area- 530 sf
Labor-$2.50 sf
Product-He's buying it from bamboohardwoods.com, (brand name on sample) "Bamboo Hardwoods"
Type- Solid Strand Hybrid Nail down.
Color-Hazelnut
Cost-$5.50 sf

Total is a little over $4500 out the door after tax. He quoted 2-3 days to have it done. We're tearing up and disposing of the carpet and moving all furniture ourselves. I will also do whatever prep work since I'm handy.
From what we're seeing the labor cost seems correct but the product costs seems high compared to other brands like Teregern and Cali. We tested the sample and it held up WAY better than the Lumber Liquidator samples did. (Not using them due to horrible reviews) This guy we had come out gets awesome reviews all around but we're just not sure abou the product quality or price.

It sounds like a fair price to me, if the product holds up better than other samples and the contractor comes with great reviews that goes a long way. Normally you get what you pay for and you will want your flooring and installation to last quiet a while.

Great. That's what I needed to hear. The wife changed her mind on the product though. After seeing finished floor pics it looks too much like laminate. Ugh.. Ha ha. Thanks!

No flooring companies warranty that the wife won't change her mind. The concern with bamboo flooring is the off gasing of the glue used in manufacturing and of course if you and the wife like the look of bamboo.

I did do a look at bamboohardwoods.com to look at the specs on the flooring you are considering.


Hazelnut

You got that right about changing minds.... Speaking of that we are off bamboo now and are looking at engineered maple with a min of 3mm wear layer. We were loving this until we read awful reviews about sub-par core wood and cupping/cracking and no warranty info on their site. http://www.flooringoc.com/elegance_vict ... dw0305.htm

Has anyone had any experience with the Elegance Hardwood brand? http://www.elegancewoodflooring.com/cat ... ction.html We love the grain of the maple. Just hate reading bad reviews. Plus I suspect that the flooring is made in china.

After looking at the websites you are looking at, I am curious if you are window shopping online with the plan to buy from a brick and mortar business or are you planning on purchasing your flooring online?

Your comment about suspecting that it is made in China got me thinking that you should actually call the company and explain that you are considering purchasing 444 sq feet of maple style 123 and were wondering if they could ship you an actual sample of the product before you place your order.

This will allow you to actually see the product and evaluate the company by their response to your request. If they give you bad attitude before the sale it probably will get worse after they have your money.

We have a contractor and are going online to only review the products he recommends or that his suppliers have in stock. The most frustrating thing is that the products his suppliers show online is never what they actually have in stock. The contractor has awesome reviews but the suppliers are frustrating. We have to look online to compare only because we're very busy and the showrooms have limited hours. Some arent open on weekends. What you say makes sense about calling the supplier and ordering samples. I'll look into that. Thanks!