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vishg_gw

Natural Floors by USFloors at Lowes

vishg
10 years ago

Hello,

Has anybody used "Natural Floors by USFloors" brand of hardwood at Lowes? They have some exotics such as Brazilian Cherry and Tigerwood priced in the $7 range -- neither too cheap, nor too expensive I suppose. Interestingly I haven't been able to find any references to this "Natural Floors" line at USFloors! Menards sells the Mullican Brazilian Teak (Cumaru) online which is quite appealing. I see the Mullican brand in most showrooms but online I am reading mixed reviews of it.
Any insights??

Thanks!

Comments (8)

  • vishg
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks for your timely reply, gregmills. Yes, I have been trying to stay away from the big box retailers and online retailers as well... Problem with the remaining local retailers is, I don't think I have seen any of them with good exotic wood at less than $10/sf which is a bit beyond my range. As per your advice I tried to look up retailers who only sell hardwood. Aside from Lumber Liquidator I am not really finding anyone... Perhaps I am not searching the right way...
    Then I suppose I tried to convince myself that big box retailers might be okay. Could their price be also low because they get a lot of traffic?
    Thanks for insights...

  • gregmills_gw
    10 years ago

    Let me clear something up.

    Some people get lucky with big box stores. But i would imagine they settle for some imperfections or simply are not aware of what a quality floor should look like.

    I dont want to turn you off from shopping at a big box store. They offer lots of products and equipment that are great just when it comes to hardwood flooring its just not worth it.

    You can call any professional in the book and ask them if they buy wood from a big box store. They will laugh. You might want to look into calling a pro to purchase the wood too. Might be more expensive but you are more likely to get a good product with no headache.

    Keep in mind good exotics are not cheap.

  • jmsheeran
    8 years ago

    We purchased approx 1800 ft sq for 2 story new home. From the beginning, after install, we discovered that the Topaz Acacia purchased was not nearly as hard as led to believe. According to the Janka hardness scale, Acacia exceeds the hardness of NE hardwoods such as red oak, maple and similar. While a few 'dark' pieces in the box were dense and hard, many were as soft as Pine. One needs to 'Walk on eggshells' when living on these floors. We would NEVER NEVER had bought these floors knowing what we know now. And of course, Lowes plays dumb and refers us to US Floors. Very disheartening. I'm following up with the mfg to seek recourse.



  • sparklephelps
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Do NOT buy flooring from this company!!! We bought the floor because my husband has COPD and it was supposed to be GreenGuard Gold certified (a very clean product). We opened the boxes of flooring and let them off-gass for six months in the room to be floored (the floor reaked of chemicals and we should've sent it back then.) Upon starting installation, my husband reacted to the chemicals in the floor so I did the install myself. We naively hoped it would off-gass in a few weeks. After three weeks, the room still smelled so bad, he could not go in it. Finally, I took the floor out.

    Lowe's will not take the floor back or refund us, and USFloors is essentially blaming the issue on us saying we did not wear the proper respiratory protection when installing the floor. I did the install and my husband stayed away from the dust, not to mention it was supposed to be GreenGuard Gold..... why do you need respirators to install such a CLEAN product? We sent samples to USFLoors and his medical records indicating the floor was the issue for his flair and the plan, which was a $300 corticosteriod inhaler. On top of the $600 we paid for the floor, they want us to send a sample to an independent lab and forward the test results to them for 'consideration.' Contacting BBB in Georgia to file a complaint with them.

  • skiprichardssr
    6 years ago

    I spent over 30 years in the hardwood flooring business (now retired): sanding and finishing, installations, boarders and medallions, clean and waxing, distributor of pre and unfinished, solid and engineered hardwoods, consultant, NWFA member. I never have heard of the term "off-gass"? I am building my retirement house and found this flooring at Lowes and had to have it for many reasons.

    My experience when the end user has a problem, its not the manufactures fault. Bad installation, moisture issues, not using the correct mastic, improper storage, improper acclimation method, etc. You may have a problem with something in the room that smells but I have never heard of a floor that sinks so bad it makes people sick.



  • Cat Draw
    5 years ago

    I'm thinking the inner core of the manufactured flooring was MDF or HDF, that has formaldehyde, among other chemicals. And the "glue" used to bind the layers could have formaldehyde in it. Look for "No added formaldehyde in this product" marking on the samples or call the manufacturer and they'll tell you if they have added formaldehyde. All wood has some of it naturally, so that's why they say "No added".

  • skiprichardssr
    5 years ago

    Again, In my opinion this is a fine floor to use. I am glad to find a product that doesn't have an on-the-wood finish. As a +30 yrs veteran of the hardwood flooring business, before any type of polyurethanes, oil or water, there was spar varnish or wax. DuraSeal make a great product called Durafinish. It basically is a synthetic wax... outstanding. I'm planning on using the "toasted oak" 7.5" wide board in my house and buffing up the floors with durafinish as needed. In-The-Wood-Finish. Very elegant.

    PS: Mullican, good choice also, Is considered one of the best manufactors of hardwood flooring.