Thank you Pam! I was beginning to wonder if I'd get any response at all, lol :)) Which 3 are you down to, if you don't mind sharing (you don't have to of course).

In my research I have recently come across the following USA-made wood and engineered wood floorings. All look quite wonderful in fact:

Kellogg Hardwoods
Chelsea Plank Flooring
US Floors LLC >Castle Comb, Navarre Oiled Floors
Advanced Natural Wood Floors
Somerset Floors
Harrison Hardwoods
Anderson Floors (Virginia Vintage)

Good luck in your decision making!

sorry this is just wrong info. I was the District Mgr for Armstrong Wood Product and worked for Mohawk for many yrs. Within a brand many products come from different sources. Bruce has many hardwood plants in the USA. Most Mohawk comes from American mills as does Shaw. Bruce and all other listed come from various plants around the world. Its not a finite thing. If you go with a major brand, even if it comes from a factory outside of USA at least you have the warranty from a major US company. There are many idfferences in buying products from outside the USA. Many companies use formaldyhyde in their glues or in their engineered products. Its nice to reasearch but you can't as products don't often disclose all the information

Ok Dan, thanks. Since you aren't the DM for Armstrong anymore, what can you suggest? just pick a wood that looks good and take your chances?

One of the engineered products I like is Armstrong's newish Performance Plus line. I asked a question regarding experiences with this on this forum a while back, pro or consumer, and got no responses at all.

Its been a while but some of our imports were better milled than the US made brands. Generally yes, things are sort of a blind pick what you like. However buying a brand name does insure some backup once you get it home. My friends just bought some no name hickory made in China and while it looks good now who knows how it was made? At least with wood its relatively easy to recoat it however you really want confidence in the stability and how it was made. When I tried to MSDH? sheets for imported products it was impossible as the US doesn't require them, so accurate info was hard to get. I responded cause the inaccuracy of the advise you were given.

Sorry Dan....I read some info other threads about those products being from overseas...not actually produced here. I do know that some companies send the wood to other countries to have it manufactured...so, I consider that an overseas product.

duchamp...I don't think US floors is USA made. I was told it is also overseas...along with Navarre (same company)

Our finalists are:
Naturally Aged wide plank (overseas, but a great look with a good price point)
Garrison european oak in Cafe (cannot get a sample here and was told that it is back ordered through the end of the summer)
Urban Floors Villa Caprisi

We really, really wanted solid walnut, however, I didn't want to be the cranky Mom when all the kids are at my house...and I am yelling about the floors...I wanted to "live" on my floors and we felt a lower price point would be better...

I have seen Anderson Virginia Vintage installed...very nice, but I wanted the wider planks.

We also liked Castillian by Mullican - European oak look with many colors.

Good luck to you!
Pam

Thanks Dan.

Pam, re the walnut, can't you just purchase large rugs to use while the kids are young and playing years? They can always be removed when you're ready to do so ;) I realize that's not ideal, you don't necessarily want to buy a new beautiful wood floor and then cover it with rugs, but this IS a way to have your cake and eat it too.....

duchamp...I have 2 teenagers and our house will be the place to "hang out," so I thought I would need the durability for that....I saw some walnut floors that were covered with rugs and when they were moved, the wood underneath was darker...I was shocked!
I think our "budget floor" (1/2 of solid wood), looks great...sort of a great bang for the buck...
Believe me...we stewed over the Carlisle solid walnut for months...I think the sales rep knows me by name now!
What did you settle on??

Well, I decided to wait a bit before doing the project. In the meantime I am weighing perhaps putting in the same flooring I put upstairs -- bamboo.

I used a very high quality, very 'green' product. Brand is Plyboo. The stuff is GORGEOUS, has held up extremely well (it's been 2 years) too. Yes, there has been a bit of darkening in covered areas due to sunlight. Somehow it doesn't bother me that much. It's not that noticeable unless you're really looking for it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plyboo

A lot of "Made in America" is smoke and mirrors and deception.

If you want "Made in America" real wood flooing, you will first have to insure that you are using a species that is native to and sourced from only North America.

Some "American" hardwoods might be harvested, or "veneered" here, then shipped far away for processing and "manufacturing" and then shipped back here for sale. Is that "American Made"?

Ipe or Purple Heart or Tigerwood is never going to be "Made in America". It might be fully or only partially milled/treated/finished/stained in the USA, or maybe not.... Walnut that is really Acacia is never going to come from America. Neither is any kind Chestnut that is not reclaimed or recovered or recycled likely to be from anywhere east of the Rocky Mountains.....

The best way to buy American, and to directly support the folks who grow and harvest and process and everything else related to your desire for as domestically "pure" as possible a floor, is to.....

Go to your favorite search engine, and craigslist too, and look for local suppliers of local sawn lumber of the kind you are looking for that is well air or kiln dried and have it milled and installed and finished by local flooring pro's.

There are sawmills and planer/molders everywhere in America cutting and milling locally sourced woods of all kinds, including kinds of woods that if you do find at a "flooring distributor" are going to cost you a whole lot more than taking a nice ride to meet some nice folks who are willing to work with YOU (not your money) ever will.

Then again, as someone who has always lived in Small Town and rural America and having been raised around and living with such places and folks for better than 60 years now, I might just have a somewhat idealized view as to what "Made in America" is all about.... It seems my friends and "neighbors" take the same view as me, and it may be that when it comes to such things,we are all just a bit more insulated from the rest of the worlds goings on, but in all honesty, I doubt it.

The more "local" you live, the more local lives you touch. And the stronger you make your local and state and national economy....
Then again, just what is "local" anyway?
Seems to me that from the Isthmus of Panama to the north woods of Canada and Alaska, we're all in it together, on this one big Island, that we all call "home"......

My vote is for Chelsea Plank. Located in the quaint town Chelsea, Michigan (same town actor Jeff Daniels lives in - his father owns a lumber company down the street ... and sells Chelsea Plank) Beautiful product made in the USA. In fact, many many flooring stores carry the product (but may be cheaper on their website plank flooring.com).

Local stores may have samples.

Small factory makes everything and it is quality and good people.

No exotics (those are not from North America).

Best thing is they are super competitive considering the quality.

You won't get "handscraped" as that is a fake look and they don't do fake.
You will get a aged looking plank with character in any of their "character" floors. The restoration series plank is very nice and a good substitute for handscraped.

They are known for the option of a 3-4-5" pattern of wood (which breaks up the long straight line look.

This is no lumber liquidators from china stuff and suoer trendy exotics that look cool on a 2x2 square but look wild in a home. This is real wood that lasts and will look good in 100 years. No "engineered" (aka "plywood").

Ash, Oak, Hickory, Walnut, etc.

Showroom not that big but you can see 4x10 ' sections of their woods.

Good stuff and I have looked at a TON of brands. I would say Homerwood is close to the style and heft of Chelsea Plank but Homerwood seems to have a more hand worked look if you really want that (but at a more expensive price). I studied about 20 brands at a wholesale flooring company today and Cbelsea Plank and Homerwood were the best. Shaw had some nice newer style wide plank styles but price was way up there.

Uptown. Your video is very neat and very informative for your customers. Good job.

Stefan

Millennium Hardwood Flooring

10508 Boyer Blvd

Suite A Asutin Tx 78758

512-351-2258

Or just use unfinished domestic renewable source USA jobs USA quality

Somerset is one of the USA's largest suppliers of kiln dried Appalachian hardwoods. All of their hardwoods are manufactured from Appalachian species of hickory, walnut, maple, red oak, and white oak. They manufacture a wide range of engineered and solid hardwoods.

Our floors are American made to order. The long term quality of our floors will outlast most other wood floor brands. :-)

Does anyone know if Visions Waterproof flooring (vinyl planks) is a product of USA? I don’t want a product from China...