We did a DIY purchase-and-install of approx 800sqft of engineered Brazilian Cherry from Lumber Liquidators about a year ago (I think this is it). We have a LL under 45 minutes away, so we loaded up the pickup. It was all instock*, so we walked out the door with it the day we bought it. (There were samples that came home first, obviously!) Exception was two pieces of stairnose that we needed: those had to be ordered, and there was definitely a longer delay in getting those than I thought reasonable. Questions about how easy/difficult things are to install is going to vary by brand and what material it is. Solid hardwood will have more variations than, say, engineered. I don't think we had ANY pieces that were unusable due to poor quality (curves, bends, breaks in tongue/groove, surface marring, etc). The boxes looked pretty chintzy/cheap, but the product itself was beautiful. No kids, but three cats and ongoing construction (heh), and it only has a few marks - mostly from extreme circumstances (let's just say my husband is sometimes careless about where he THROWS a hammer. ahem.) Anyway. The actual installation is pretty straightforward, though the details again vary by what product. We rented a compressor and nail gun, because we did the nail/staple installation. We took turns being the "nailer" and the "feeder" - the "feeder" was responsible for mixing lengths of pieces, intermixing boxes, cutting end pieces to length, etc. It took us close to three full (12 hour) days to get it all down - again, 800sqft in four bedrooms and weird shaped hallway, and we had to shift furniture from room to room - so a living room should be a one-day project. There is some good information online, as far as installation instructions/tips/etc - including the LL website. It really only takes some basic carpentry skills (cutting to length, nailing neatly), and some forethought (which way should it run, marking parallel lines occasionally, etc).

@Cancork Floor and @WeShipFloors I was wondering your take on Lumber Liquidators Felen Ceramic Composite Plank? I have tried to find reviews but no luck. I like that it is a click install (so much cheaper than tile), waterproof, harder than vinyl and stable enough to install without transitions. Are there other ceramic composite lines offered by other companies? Thanks!

I have no experience with LL but have heard the same things as others have posted. I have prefinished bamboo and floating cork in my house, both from Cali. I am happy with the quality, but was unhappy with the sales experience I had with the cork. They did bait and switch. With that said, they called for a standard service check, and when I related my experience, they gave me a partial credit. So bad selling experience, but good follow up. Also, Lowes sells Cali and they will frequently have better prices, especially if you wait until the product has been on the market awhile. When I did the cork, it was three bedrooms and a large hall. Working full time as meant it took me a while to finish. At the end, I was a little short on material, so I ordered another box from Lowes. It was considerably less than I had paid a couple of months before (the lowes price was roughly equiv to the direct Cali price originally).

During the pandemic my husband and his sister & brother in law installed LL red cumaru flooring in our downstairs kitchen, living room, dining room, one bedroom, 2 closets, entryway and hallway. The in laws had previously professionally installed the same flooring in their home, and had purchased installing equipment and helped other family install the same flooring. We really had very little waste, far less than the 10% recommended. We took the time to take wood from at least three boxes and lay them out for the best color arrangement. We love the flooring (we did a nail in install). I am very sensitive to chemicals, so the glue down install was not an option for us. We don't have the skill to do the stairs, so have put off that install until we find someone who can install it for us. Our top step up is almost two inches taller then the rest of the other twelve stairs so not sure how to adjust for this. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions for the stairs please comment/reply. We have flooring left over to do the other downstairs bedroom which I am currently using as a closet/sauna.