Where to buy Hardwood Flooring? (Nashua, Brentwood: hardwood floor, coupon, house)

[NH2008]

We'd like to replace the ancient wall to wall carpeting in our MBR with hardwood, but it's a large room with a bunch of closets and obviously we don't want to spend more than we have to. I know Carlisle is great, but they're pretty pricey and I noticed that Home Depot sells hardwood for 1/3 the cost. It wouldn't be wide plank but I'm willing to compromise, as long as we'd be getting real wood that would hold up for a really long time and look good. I'm wondering if anyone's bought from them or Lumber Liquidators and what your experience was like (both the quality of the wood and the quality of the installation.)

Thanks!

[AngelaK]

We bought our hardwood from Lumber Liquidators at a great price. The floor has been excellent so far................but we installed ourselves, so I can't speak to that.

Good luck.

[buck naked]

I found the best price at Cyr Lumber for Bruce hardwood flooring. The prices were the same as Home Depot, but I had a 20% off coupon that I found online and that made a big difference. Lumber Liquidators was equivalent in pricing. Like AngelaK, I installed it myself, so can't comment on that.

[NH2008]

Wow, that's impressive!

This is a follow-up question: is it better to install new floors first, or paint walls first? We need to strip a lot of wallpaper and then repaint, and I'd hate to scratch or spill paint on new floors. On the other hand, I'd hate to have the mess from installing new floors ruin the new paint...thanks!

[buck naked]

I did the walls and ceilings first. I didn't notice anything that would damage the walls while installing the floors, even when doing the edges. The hardest part is putting in the last strip...chuckle, but it was under the heating baseboard radiator.

[GregW]

I reccomend Highland Hardwood in Rt 125 in Brentwood, NH.

Finish walls and ceiing, then install floor, then pre cut and prefinished baseboard.

[BF66389]

Originally Posted by NH2008

We'd like to replace the ancient wall to wall carpeting in our MBR with hardwood, but it's a large room with a bunch of closets and obviously we don't want to spend more than we have to. I know Carlisle is great, but they're pretty pricey and I noticed that Home Depot sells hardwood for 1/3 the cost. It wouldn't be wide plank but I'm willing to compromise, as long as we'd be getting real wood that would hold up for a really long time and look good. I'm wondering if anyone's bought from them or Lumber Liquidators and what your experience was like (both the quality of the wood and the quality of the installation.)

Thanks!

Gregory J's Fine Flooring & Design off 130. Head toward Nashua on broad street, cross the highway...and it will be on your right. If you pass Nashua Power Equipment or Dairy Wueen you have gone to far.

They are phenominal. Greg is awesome, delivered our area rug (free), after hours, personally, and refused a tip- THAT is customer service. They also encouraged us to get a $2.99/sqft rug over a $6.99/sqft rug because they felt the material was better (albeit less expensive to manufacturer). The recomendation was great and we saved a lot of money. They are not a "discount" store though and tend to sell high quality products (but they do have some good deals if you are cost conscious)

Mirage makes awesome hardwood floors (we have 3.25x3/4" oak in the entire house that the previous owners installed- one reason we bought the place). They have engineered flooring as well that is lower in cost and still excellent quality as well as other options.

Unfortunately I've heard some bad experiences regarding installation services from Home Depot and Lowes...

[BF66389]

I'd also paint first...although with a good quality hardwood- all you do is slide your finger across and the paint will come off.

Also, I suggest using "Bona"'s hardwood floor cleaning system, NEVER use water to wash it. Basically you just dust it with their cleaner (spray bottle) and then use their little microfiber rag to clean it up (then peel the rag off the sweeper thing and wash/reuse). I was suprised how it made scratches from our dog dissapear. I want to say the "kit" was $48 (sweaper, spray bottle, pad)- but we've used it about 6 times so far and haven't really made a dent in the bottle (and we have ~1800 sq. ft of hardwood). Apparently the cleaners you mix with water will get into the cracks/darken them...