What horror stories?

I have used LL several times as a supplier with zero problems.

I have loved my BR111 Brazilian Teak flooring and I plan on buying more for our remodel. The flooring is beautiful and the finish has held up very well.

I have also heard of problems with LL and I think a lot of it from this forum. I don't have any personal experience with them. I am probably going to use a dealer here in Georgia but they also sell online and their prices are the best I could find. $7.22/sq.ft of the 3/4'' Brazilian Teak. They are True Hardwoods. I haven't used them but others seem to have had a good experience. Crossing fingers for myself.

I forgot to mention Brazilian Direct. No buying experience but their prices are even better than you will find for BR111. The last quote was for $4.99 for 3/4'' Brazilian Teak. The samples looked very good. I am trying to match existing flooring so I was a bit concerned. They told me that I could order one box for $200 and they would hold the rest of the order pending approval. It is a lot for one box but probably worth it in my case. I decided to stick with BR111 just because I really have to match the existing flooring.

Thanks for the responses. I will check out the BR111 and the dealers you mentioned.

Handymac...the bad things I heard about LL are on this forum. If you do a search, many will come up. Yesterday I was all set to buy there, but not so sure now.

I love prefinished flooring because everyone in my house has asthma and I can't do a site finished floor. I have had zero problems with the BR111 and it still looks gorgeous after 4 years. My installers thought it was a very good product and the installation went quickly. I think BR111 only makes a 3" wide plank in the Brazilian Teak anyway and it may be because of the stability.

We have 1700 sq. ft. of 3/4'' Mohawk oak upstairs and although the floor still looks good I had an unhappy experience with Mohawk customer service and won't use them again.

Let us know what you decide.

We're using unfinished brazilian walnut laid as two 3 inch boards besides a 5 inch board, then two 3 inch boards . Looks nice aesthetically and reduces/eliminates cupping of the wider planks. Since it's a new construction finishing on site is not a problem. It ended up being $2.20 cheaper/ sq ft than BR 111 installed which is quite a cost savings with 3400 sq ft.

MY HORROR STORY!! Do not get any exotic floor from LL, they use inferior grades and they 1) cupped, 2) split and 3) buckled all within 6 months of installation. The installer got stuck with the re-do (complimentary) and he wants to install domestic woods only from this outfit (to whom I am still obliged if I want this re-do complimentary). Home, humidity, were not issues-- the product we believe is milled too quickly and without time for drying and curing. So stay away from Brazilian, teak and other imports. We are going with white oak and staining it.

Thanks for all of the advice. I really prefer the exotic woods, so I guess I should stay away from LL. Sounds like BR111 is a favorite with most. I will try to find a display of it locally and check it out!

Do check out Brazilian Direct as well since you are starting from scratch. Order a sample or two. It could save you some bucks depending on how many square feet. I don't think you can go wrong with this type of floor. They are really tough.

Thanks I will order some samples from them as well. I kind of like Brazilian Teak as well. My only fear with the walnut is that since it is dark every piece of lint/dust/crumbs will show on it.

Lowe's has sample boards of Brazilian Teak from BR-111, if you have a store nearby. We have settled on BT as it is a medium brown color overall. Love the dark woods too but worry about dust, etc showing. Amendiom is very nice looking but is light. I have sample pieces of BT from Brazilian Direct and it looks fine. Also, have samples of BT from Nature Exotics thru Hoskings - we'll most likely go with this one. Nice finish and very small bevel.
Good Luck!

I have the BR111 Amendiom in my den and love it. I find it a medium color. Doesn't show dust and minor dings. My previous post has pics.
BR111 Amendoim Triangulo Engineered Flooring Pics

I ordered 2000 sq feet of Brazillian Cherry from Brazilian Direct - it was a wonderful experience start to finish. All my many pre-purchase questions were answered quickly and thoroughly and the actual purchase and delivery went without a hitch. My installer was very impressed with the quality and our floors are beautiful.

I saved a significant amount of money - so much that I spent months researching the company because it seemed to good to be true.

Don't mean to hijack but thanks for posting about Brazilian Direct gldnfan. I have had the samples for about a year and I honestly cannot tell the difference between the BR111 and the Brazilian Direct samples when I lay them on my existing BR111 flooring. $2.22/sq. ft. less makes a difference for me.

Are you referring to the solid wood from Brazilian Direct? Have you seen samples of the brazilian cherry engineered wood from Brazilian Direct?