# Bellawood Hardwood?? Lumber Liquidators??



## JBrzoz00

Damn, I was thinking of using Bellawood for my floor. 
What brands do you guys recommend?


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## astor

JBrzoz00 said:


> Damn, I was thinking of using Bellawood for my floor.
> What brands do you guys recommend?


Where are you? If we know we can recommend better...


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## jamestrd

JBrzoz00 said:


> Damn, I was thinking of using Bellawood for my floor.
> What brands do you guys recommend?


By comparison use ny Americn mill product.. 

If you want comparable pricing to slightly higher.. 

Go Somerset.. Century.. An n Bruce Robbins and or Armstrong... (las) t 3 same)... 

I often check LL site to compare my buy an product to determine my safe mark up.. Obviously this is where most HOs end up when bargain hunting. 

Then I check my product offered against online store pricing... 
I am in most cases getting the better buy an offering the best price while making a profit. 

The problem with these scenarios is people looking to buy their own.. If not a specific specialty.. Are just looking for the cheapest cost.. 

They are eliminating needed and realized profits to contractors and retailer... Then they want the cheapest labor cost.. 
They are often reverse engineering costs...


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## JBrzoz00

Charleston, SC. I've heard good things about Bruce and used to see those installed up around the Detroit area when I was up there.


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## AskTheInstaller

*Welcome Floorguy228* - Lumber Liquidators is a publicly traded US owned company and prides itself with having one of the largest inventories of pre-finished and unfinished hardwood floors in the industry! Lumber Liquidators offers a variety of brands for residential and commercial construction, including their own Bellawood and Durawood Pre-finished Hardwood Floors in domestic and exotic species with a 100 year pre-finish warranty. In addition to the variety of solid and engineered hardwood floors, Lumber Liquidators also carries laminates, bamboo and cork flooring, including butcher blocks. Everything Lumber Liquidators sells (unless specified otherwise on the box, pallet or invoice) is first-quality flooring, graded to industry specifications, and is available in standard flooring lengths.

*Lawndart is correct*_ -_ Bellawood is not manufactured in China. It is finished in the United States. To give customers the best options and variety possible, Lumber Liquidators sources its materials quite naturally from where the tree grows at worldwide locations such as; North, Central, and South America, Asia and the Mediterranean.

*Adams, b – *The 100yrs Bellawood transferable warranty is truly unique in the wood floor industry. The warranty includes 100 years for normal residential foot traffic or 5 years for commercial foot traffic. To ensure the finish meets life’s demands Lumber Liquidators subjected Bellawood floors to an independent industry sand-paper abrasion test known as Taber testing. The finish durability results furnished to Lumber Liquidatorswere more than double that of most comparatively priced floors! Most if not all wood flooring manufacturers will have specific warranties outlining what it can and can’t control. For example; being able to control the products milling and finishes, however, unable to warrant against the affects of moisture and similar job-site related issues. Applications like the dentist office (without precautions) could conceivably have rapid finish wear due to abuse from hard chair rollers, rolling tools and files cabinets. Usage and applications outside the stated warranty would of course not be covered. Nevertheless, to get the most from the floors finish, the Limits and Terms of use are all detailed in a warranty document for the end-user.


*Regarding the “posters” that claim they’ve worked with poor quality* *Lumber Liquidators **products - *Simply put, mistakes and defects can happen in any industry, that’s why warranties and customer services exist. All that wood flooring manufacturers including Lumber Liquidators ask is that user’s just pick-up the phone and communicate suspected issues prior to the installation. In this industry board installed is board excepted. It is un-professional for professional installers to continue with and complete an installation when quality issues are suspected or found …..and to then later complain or “post” about some quality issue afterwards…after they were paid!. To do so is un-reasonable as it limits the help options manufacturers can offer the user. Instead of having the “biting the hand that feeds them” mentality (whoever supplies work for the installers) it is much better to work together, as it benefits all parties concerned, most importantly the customer! Without which none of this would exist!


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## Floormasta78

#Bellawood, worst flooring, # lumber liquidators are not Good , #google , worst flooring , #bellawood , #bad flooring , # bad milling.. Do not buy .. 

There ! I did my part.. Lol !


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## rusty baker

It's unprofessional for LL not to stand behind their products, too.


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## ArtisanRemod

I have not had the problems that some others have had, but I think that is due to communication with the customer, and instructing them on reasonable expectations.


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## astor

It just takes a simple search on Internet to see the repuataion of LL. Every manufacturer has quality issues time to time, but most of them correct them fast and go on and most of the has some type of damage control systems. 
Unfortunately LL lacks of these areas. Very rude, bad customer service (I personally see this in their stores, when some customer request me to meet there.)I had a feeling and impression that the customer is doing a favor by giving their money to them. "Here it is, you want it or not?" is not gonna give you referrals and repeat business.
I hope LL guys reads these and all other negative reviews on net.


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## Rustbucket

astor said:


> It just takes a simple search on Internet to see the repuataion of LL. Every manufacturer has quality issues time to time, but most of them correct them fast and go on and most of the has some type of damage control systems.
> Unfortunately LL lacks of these areas. Very rude, bad customer service (I personally see this in their stores, when some customer request me to meet there.)I had a feeling and impression that the customer is doing a favor by giving their money to them. "Here it is, you want it or not?" is not gonna give you referrals and repeat business.
> I hope LL guys reads these and all other negative reviews on net.


AskTheInstaller above does work for Lumber Liquidators. Hence the pretty much canned response.


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## AskTheInstaller

ArtisanRemod said:


> I have not had the problems that some others have had, but I think that is due to communication with the customer, and instructing them on reasonable expectations.



*ArtisanRemod*- You’re exactly right. Sometimes there can be unrealistic expectations with the product, customer or installer. As an example with wood flooring; the end-user should not expect to use 100% or every board within an order. Up to 5-8% of an order can have imperfections either in milling, finishes or can be species related. Imperfections found should simply not be used. Materials that exceed these percentages are covered by product warranties. When working with natural products shading and color can vary from the original samples and is unrealistic to expect otherwise. Customers do well to ask questions and do their homework when buying any floor just as they would when buying a new car.

*Astor-* Based on total nationwide sales LL product complaints are almost non-existent. Negative social media postings about floor performance only tells one side of the story, whereas Independent inspections reveal that in most cases the actual product failure is jobsite related; either the result of the affects of moisture intrusion or taking short-cuts by not following the printed instructions. If installers or customers suspect product quality simply don’t install it and contact the manufacturer. No need to be disgruntled.


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## pinwheel

AskTheInstaller said:


> *Astor-* Based on total nationwide sales LL product complaints are almost non-existent. Negative social media postings about floor performance only tells one side of the story, whereas Independent inspections reveal that in most cases the actual product failure is jobsite related; either the result of the affects of moisture intrusion or taking short-cuts by not following the printed instructions. If installers or customers suspect product quality simply don’t install it and contact the manufacturer. No need to be disgruntled.


The LL flooring I've laid, made bruce flooring look like a quality product. Maybe you should try the DIY forums for blowing smoke, you're talking to independent professional installers here, we see through smoke.:laughing:


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## rusty baker

Hey, "Ask the Installer" why is it, the Bella wood I have seen was mostly shorts and when the customer complained, they were told "that's the way it is".


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## balexco

I've been installing hardsurface floors big time LL has really good products 
Lowes home depot piece of **** products
Bruce is bad 
Amstrong mohawk are good ones


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## AskTheInstaller

rusty baker said:


> Hey, "Ask the Installer" why is it, the Bella wood I have seen was mostly shorts and when the customer complained, they were told "that's the way it is".


*rusty*- Several reasons can account for this; At times “shorts” can be related to specific product grading, or a product may have been sold as an odd-lot or was discontinued. In some instances shorts can be species related because some wood species will only yield shorts or shorter length boards. Mesquite for example is a tree yet more bush-like so its yield would naturally tend to be shorter than average lengths. Some species will have length limitations only yielding from limb to limb, selective grading is done to avoid twisted unfit boards. In any case, the customer would clearly know about the product before purchase. The sales information is printed on the pallet, product and invoice and is also reflected in the price paid. Clearly a lack of education from a species and manufacturer perspective can lead to these types of negative comments.

*balexco*- Your comments are appreciated. Nevertheless defects can happen in any industry therefore manufacturers plainly ask that if product quality is suspect simply don’t install it and contact manufacturer for replacement product. To proceed with the installation makes the installer liable.


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## rusty baker

Not going to drink the Koolaid. I probably know more about wood than you. I have been a woodworker and have built fine furniture for many years. I have never seen anyone put out as much bad product as LL.


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## littlefred811

Now, Rusty Baker, be nice. If we told a woman we were going to give her an average of 18" each time she got a "Piece" from us Splinter Jockeys, she'd be either thrilled or terrified.
Actually, the name does say Liquidators. Hmmmm. That being said, I'll install the suff if a customer insists on the least $$$, they get what they want.


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## harrymontana

astor said:


> Metro, I had two retail stores at one time-pre recession. I spent thousands of dollars to make them high end, designer showrooms(10K/m overhead for each store.)
> What a waste of money! Even I've sold them to get most of my money back, if it was today, I would open as a warehouse style, minimal interior work, bigger out site sign, advertisement etc. Less risk to take..then if I see any potential for high end it can be done easily.


I fully agree, we are an exporter and we see this more and more in several different countries. Just one guy on a forklift truck in a warehouse with a mobile phone. It goes even further: They want us to export to the customs warehouse (so in the port before paying duties) and whenever there is an order they pay us and their import duties. So now the importers use the exporters to finance their inventory. Think about this business model!!


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## buddy110

Glad I found this thread. LL is out, I knew their prices we too good to be true. 

I need a good mid quality manufacturer for finished flooring. Which do you guys recommend?

Also, We are installing this in the kitchen. I'd be interested in hearing your feelings on this. Strand Bamboo maybe?


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## mfenn1957

*WDI Infestation in LL Deal Purchase*

What I originally thought was a great deal on a small lot special purchase became a huge liability when a home inspector determined that the naturally occurring defects in the wood were the result of a wood destroying insect infestation that can damage the flooring and the wood structure of the home. I spent $135.00 to hire in entomologist to determine that the infestation was inactive. 
I contacted customer service to obtain a replacement for the defective product. Customer Service declared it an installation error and all warranties were thus void. They stated that the installer should not have installed any flooring with signs of infestation, this is ironic since neither the manager and assistant manager in the Lumber Liquidator store were unable to identify the WDI infestation and admitted that this was the first time they had seen a Powder Post Beatle infestation. We all assumed that this was typical in rustic looking “trendy” hard scraped wood flooring. Which brings me to my original assumption; this was an uncommon occurrence and this was a defective product. 
Yes you can find great deals from this company, but let the buyer beware. I would suggest that you check each box on the dock.


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