Hardwood Floors

[Shadonna N.]

Does anyone have a recommendation for hardwood floors.  I am not talkig about Lowe's, Home Depot. or Lumber Liquidatos who charge $3.00+/sq ft.  I am in the DMV so I do go to a few places that are a few cents cheaper.  Thinking the stores are probably purchasing for half the price (based on volume).  I want to go to the place where the retailer goes.  If such a place truly exists, are there any things I need to check.  For example, I hear short boards are often sold at the discount places.  Thanks in advance for your help.

[Rob Beland]

How many square feet are you looking to buy @Shadonna N.? Its not likely you will qualify for the same discounts as big retailers. Google flooring closeouts. Also keep shipping costs in mind. 

[Wayne V.]

You might try Craig's List or check with a large commercial flooring supplier / installer that does offices and commercial jobs to see if they have any leftover lots from a large project.

[Maureen Wilkerson]

I have a cabinetry showroom in Maryland we have accounts with wholesale distributors for flooring as well.  Even with having those accounts we still have been able to find even better deals on flooring at Wood Floors Plus in Glen Burnie.  We recently paid $.75 a sf for engineered floors for a investment property we are doing the work on for a friend.   The only thing you need to be careful with is a lot of what they sell is cabin grade and it has milling defects.  It still looks great but you need to purchase about 10% more then you generally would because some boards will be unusable.    

[George P.]

you wont qualify for anything cheaper than the big 3 you listed.

i'd love to know too, but i just paid for 900 sq. ft of 3/4 hardwood 2.89/sq.ft at home depot - pre finished.

i'll never install anything but pre finished, so quick and looks awesome.

[Miles Rivas]

I'm a contractor in MD and I always go to Wood Floors Plus.

[Shadonna N.]

I usually go to wood floors plus or lwf.  Just wondering if there is a cheaper option.  I wish I could get floors for 0.75 sf.

[William Hochstedler]

Also, look at your local classifieds.  Depending on the project (and business model), you can often find other people's leftovers.  We can frequently find up to 250 sf for around $1/sf.  If we need to pay $3-5/sf to supplement a small amount, we're still ahead.

[Zach Adams]

Originally posted by @George P.:

you wont qualify for anything cheaper than the big 3 you listed.

i'd love to know too, but i just paid for 900 sq. ft of 3/4 hardwood 2.89/sq.ft at home depot - pre finished.

i'll never install anything but pre finished, so quick and looks awesome.

 George - is $2.89/sq ft your material cost or installed cost by contractor?  

[George P.]

Originally posted by @Zach Adams:

Originally posted by @George P.:

you wont qualify for anything cheaper than the big 3 you listed.

i'd love to know too, but i just paid for 900 sq. ft of 3/4 hardwood 2.89/sq.ft at home depot - pre finished.

i'll never install anything but pre finished, so quick and looks awesome.

 George - is $2.89/sq ft your material cost or installed cost by contractor?  

 that was my material cost.  my guy charges 2 bucks per Sq ft to install it