Phila_2009, thank you for replying. I guess everyone pulls up my rug and padding and feels it and tells me they are impressed at how dry it is without doing any tests. I had a new installer in today that was in out and out so quick which made me happy since others keep hanging around for hours and I can't get my work done. He measured and pulled up the rug and put plastic taped down in several sections that he told me to leave on for at least 24 hours and then also looked inside the air conditioner vents and said it looked like the slab had plastic moisture barriers between slabs and that the water way deep in back of my fence is because they sloped it downwards to have water stay away from my house with a good drainage system. When we had Hurricane Floyd here about 9.75 years ago, roads around me flooded but my townhouse complex stayed dry including the roads and the road in front of my complex despite the townhouse complex being built on the preserved wetlands. Another friend is coming by at 7 PM tonight with a moisture meter to test the moisture in the floor. I was impressed with this installer who told me I only had to remove three of the 5-drawer 42" file cabinets from the room and make sure the other cabinets had the drawers removed and the two supply cabinets had the supplies out. He also wanted all computers and desk supplies out. He said his men could move everything as they worked and I would not have to empty out the three rooms as others have told me I would have to. He also brought over samples of 5" wide GV Brazilian Cherry Engineered wood and GV Santos Mahogany and told me he would give me an installed price for these two woods and just in install price with the quarter round and supplies for the BR-111 3.25" Brazilian Cherry Triangulo Floors since he felt if I wished to go with that, he felt I should order it online for the inexpensive price I got and have the wood sit here for several days and he would install that. Does anyone know if GV Floors is a good product? Is this a sawn cut like I was told it is? It is 9/16th thick and looks like a 2 MM real wood on top while the BR-111 has 3 MM on top but maybe 2 MM is all I need? So if the floor is tested dry, you would glue the floor. Thank you for letting me know. I appreciate your help. I am so excited that soon my flooring project may be done with. This 19.5 year old carpet is shot and I can't wait for it to be gone! Tomorrow I will get his estimates and then make my decision on which installer to use and get this set up already so I can get back to concentrating on my work. I will let everyone know what the moisture tests say since I was ready to either seal the floor first or float it and not just glue it down but now it really looks like my slab is dry.

JFCWood, thank you for your input. I know that is what is bothering me about the Valenza that is is so expensive and despite samples from 2009 being so difficult to stratch or dent, I know that Armstrong is now manufacturing the product in Chinese/Tiawanese countries I was told when I called Armstrong up so I wonder if the quality control will not be so great. I have a home office so I wanted the commercial grade floor but now I am wondering if all wood floors scratch and to save my money and go with the 3.25" Triangulo. I have the 5" wide now that BR-111 was selling that got damaged by the pipe exploding on my water heater. I ended up not liking the long boards and the wider boards as it gave me less color variation in my home office. I just wish the 3.25" wide Brazilian Cherry Floors would be thicker as they are only 3/8th inch thick while the 5" wide are 4/8th inch thick. I love the sample I have of the Valenza as it is 5/8th thick with 4 MM of sawn cut wood on top. Maybe too much wood on top will act like a wood floor and expand and contract too much?

estraitlover, Thank you for lettting me know. Fastfloors sent me a sample of the Brazilian Cherry True Loc Opulence that is not much more in price than the Laminate and is very nice (1/2" thick with 2 MM wear level and a very pretty color) but the two pieces (another sample of their cherry wood with the same locking mechanism so I tried to lock them together) do not lock that great together. I can't find much else on it. I am going back and forth now on going with the BR-111 Amendoim Engineered Wood Floor in the Triangulo Collection , the Br-111 Brazilian Cherry Engineered Wood Floor in the Triangulo Collection, or the Bruce Exotic Wonders Brazilian Cherry 12MM Shinny Laminate that is 1/2" thick with a 30 year warranty. If I could only find reviews on the True Loc Opulence since it seems to be made very well and is very pretty and not expensive. I LOVE the Makore but it does not have the tint of red in it I wish it had.

Sprice, I just love your floors so much! I found the post where you first showed them off and I got to see more of your floors and home. I love your beautiful home. I wish more of the floor was showing. Thank you for sharing. I hope some others will share their exotic wood floors that are wide plank or even just 3.25" plank since I am trying to make up my mind now if the approximately $700.00 extra is worth paying for the wider and longer boards. The BR-111 Triangulo is 1/2" thick when it is 5" wide versus 3/8th" thick when it is 3.25" wide. Both have a nice wear layer on top that can be sanded 2 to 3 times with a 24 year warranty. Do the darker boards really stand out with the wider boards. One of my friends in Canada who I called tonight loves both widths but prefers widths no narrower than 3.25" and likes widths even up to 7" wide feeling more of the grain shows and the floor is less busy. My other friend who I called likes the 3.25" traditional look. I guess I will have to make my own decision but I hope I get to see some more pictures before ordering the floor. I wish I had some samples boards that were at least a foot long of the 5" wide planks. I only have the foot long sample boards of the 3.25" wide planks that someone on this forum mailed to me and I paid her for the postage. Is the 3.25" wide floor still in style and popular despite wider planks being very trendy right now?