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Brandon
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Want your opinions, rainforests and more.

Post by Brandon »

I have been "in the market" for a long long time for flooring to replace the 30yr old carpet in my hallway. I have never been able to find or figure out exaclty what we should replace it with. I've kicked around tile, laminate, cork.

Well... I've found a good deal on Brazilian Cherry / Jotoba. OMG! This is it, this is the most awesome flooring (for my tastes) that I have found.

From reading a little about it Jatoba is one of the largest timber exports from Brazil and is helping to drive illegal logging in the Amazon.
All this is old lumber they are killing and is being replace with agricultural markets (bananas, etc) I have seem some rather startling satelite images from Brazil lately showing just how bad the deforestation is getting.. Oh man, they're probably wiping out the habitats of all kinds of endangered species.

So.. I find the most awesome flooring that I have been searching for for a long time, and it's a price I can afford, but I seem to find myself in a moral delima. Melissa & I are big nature lovers, we respect all life, it seems like maybe it would be bad judgement on my part to promote the illegal logging and deforestation thru my purchasing this import.

What would you do?
- A wookie is nothing more than three ewoks duct taped together.
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DrHank
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Post by DrHank »

Buy the flooring if you can live with your decision after it's installed. You folks are two people. The damage has allready been done. If you don't buy it do you think it wont be sold. If two thousand people didn't buy it do you think it wouldn't be sold. I understand and appreciate your views but be realistic, as long as their is money involved, this type of situation will continue to occur.

Do we not buy gasoline because we are depleting the world reserves? What about our hobby? Do we only buy captive raised animals and aquacultured corals? What about our live rock? Is it all commercially manufactured? The answer is no! So we are actually depleating the ocean's reserves aren't we? Do you think that if a few people get out of reef keeping it will save the worlds oceans?

I say buy the flooring, that tree is allready dead!!!
Doc :D
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Post by sb1227 »

if you can live with your decision after it's installed
That's going to be the ticket. If you aren't going to feel bad every time you think of it or look at that floor, and feel guilty for doing it in the first place, then do it. Doc is right, the wood is dead. The fact that you even have an issue is a good thing. It does make a difference. The question you have is personal. If you try to be concious of what you buy, or use or do and how it affects the rest of the world, then you can give yourself a break once in awhile. If this wood jumped out at you so much, buy it. If anything make it the nicest floor in the world out of simple respect for the wood itself. :)

In my opinion, until EVERYONE in the richer countries is willing to get over the "all about me and my stuff" attitude that prevails, nothing will change. They clear cut to grow bananas, or cattle, or whatever. Those companies are going to push it. Who buys it? We do, because we go to the store and it's all right there for us. Do we ask where it's from? Not usually. We "don't want to know".
It's going to happen, there's really no turning back now, except for a few pockets of land where the communities can see that's happening and are trying desperately to find another way to use what they have to make a living. But those areas are small and few.
I see the same thing here in Baldwin county. They're clearing every tree and blade of grass it seems, to put in new shopping centers and subdivisions. Is it really so different? It costs so much to own land people are having to sell it, some hold out longer than others but we just keep rezoning till it's inevitable.

Go with your concience. I'm just glad to know there are other people who go thru the same thing. :) Maybe that thinking will win, in the end.
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Buzz
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Hardwood Flooring

Post by Buzz »

Brandon,

Where are you buying your hardwood flooring? I've been in the hardwood business (Installation) for about 15 years.

I'm gonna take a guess and say the new place where Sam's Club was. I think its called SouthEastern Salvage. Just be very careful what you buy from them. I've had about 10 customers buy flooring from them and end up returning it because it was "Cabin/Tavern Grade" flooring. (Seconds) Most have told me that the store employees tell them the flooring is first quality and the reason they have it is because of overstock. This is not true. When flooring manufactures have overstock, they have a sale to their regular customers... not sell to a salvage company. Anyway, good luck with the buying decision.

I'm assuming you are going to install the flooring yourself, which I commend. Please feel free to call me. I've helped tons of people get started installing their own floor and don't mind helping fellow MBRK'ers.

Later,
Buzz
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(Hang in There)
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Post by Amyjoe »

"Make note to self... Buzz knows wood floors...."


Brandon you didn't cut down the tree....but you have to go with your conscious....
Wonder what it is going to take to get a bigger tank?????
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Michelle
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Post by Michelle »

Heck yeah Buzz knows floors, I know personally :D He's the man to talk to :wink:
Thanks!
Michelle @ Fat Fish
28851 N. Main St., Ste. D
Daphne, AL 36526
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snoopdog
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Post by snoopdog »

We had heard a lot about SouthEastern Salvage from my friends but honestly I was not overly impressed with anything there. I have been really impressed with Hood's though and so far all of our tile came from there.
"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
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Brandon
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Post by Brandon »

I didn't really see a good selection of laminate or tile from SouthEastern Salvage, but that is where I saw the Jatoba/Brazilian Cherry. They also have it @ lumber liquidators. Same situation I am sure it is probably factory 2nd's. It would be a DIY job (ie: we're poor & cheap), but I have put down subfloors, tile and laminate in a couple of other rooms so far.

It looks to be solid wood about 1/2" - 3/4" thick though.. Wow! Not manufactured hardwood flooring. Thank you buzz for the advice, I'd be sure and check each box before we left to see what the condition is now that you said that.

Quick question for you Buzz... How well would something like the Jatoba hold up to large dog claws? We have two XL dogs.

This is just my personal philosophy, and maybe I am weird, but each decision we make is greater than that one decision, in that it influences others decisions even if you or they don't realize it. Your neighbors / friends see you are driving a large SUV, and they are more inclined to believe it's ok, because look, everyone else is driving one. People are so worried about keeping up with the Jones's and maintaining appearences its ridiculous sometimes. I see $400 cars with $6000 wheels all the time, what is up with that. Ok I realize this has nothing to do with the rainforest, but that was/is more in my line of thinking, in how your decisions affect others decisions.

I am still undecided on it, I also worry about how slippery it would be for our dogs, we would need to keep runners on it. I'm torn between this and just slapping down some cheap carpet that I can replace every couple of years.
- A wookie is nothing more than three ewoks duct taped together.
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Post by snoopdog »

Brandon wrote:but each decision we make is greater than that one decision, in that it influences others decisions even if you or they don't realize it.
Exactly Brandon, before you know it everyone will have two large dogs, just to keep up with the Jones's. :lol:

See what I just got.
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"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
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Brandon
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Post by Brandon »

Hahahahaha! I know better than that, you'd absolutely die if you saw just how much of a mess they can make. The hair will kind of gather in the corners and then blow across the room like one big newfie tumbleweed to settle under a counter or somewhere. I can fill up a vacuum bag with hair even vacuuming every couple of days. When they drink it is like spilling a glass around their bowl each time. The other weekend we were at Panera bread at Spanish Fort, some older nicely dressed (just out of church) people stopped us and talked to us about our dogs. I was talking to a petite well dressed lady when bava shook his head and a huge glob of drool landed right on top of her head just above her forehead.
- A wookie is nothing more than three ewoks duct taped together.
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Post by snoopdog »

Kodak moment.
"When they was no meat we ate fowl, when there was no fowl we ate crawdad. And when there was no crawdad to be found, we ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate what?"--H.I.
"We ate sand."--Cellmate
"You ate sand?"--H.I.
"That's right."--Cellmate
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Post by sb1227 »

*chuckling*
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Post by mykpoz »

Brandon wrote:Hahahahaha! I know better than that, you'd absolutely die if you saw just how much of a mess they can make. The hair will kind of gather in the corners and then blow across the room like one big newfie tumbleweed to settle under a counter or somewhere. I can fill up a vacuum bag with hair even vacuuming every couple of days. When they drink it is like spilling a glass around their bowl each time. The other weekend we were at Panera bread at Spanish Fort, some older nicely dressed (just out of church) people stopped us and talked to us about our dogs. I was talking to a petite well dressed lady when bava shook his head and a huge glob of drool landed right on top of her head just above her forehead.
I was going to tell you to not forget about the drool on the ceilings....
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Post by Amyjoe »

Brandon... I honestly couldn't image your dogs on tile or hard wood.... I haven't seen them in a while but I know Java on our tile can be quite a site. It is funny but she doesn't have anything to chase her and make her run. Where as you have the three to "play" together and you may be asking for an accident. I just can't see hard wood holding up.

I hadn't thought about this til now but we were talking about wood on the stairs and upstairs but... Java might end up dead if we did wood on the steps :shock:
Wonder what it is going to take to get a bigger tank?????
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Post by GermanShepherdGirl »

I know your pain with the 2 big dogs, the dog hair tumbleweed, the water & drool on the floor, and the dogs running around the house! But I wouldn't have it any other way!!! :D

We just installed laminate 5 months ago. We love it! With the dogs constantly going in and out several times a day, our carpets got NASTY!!! :shock: We are much happier with the laminate. We got the Pergo that has the 30 year warranty. The person that installed it said Pergo and Armstrong were the 2 best and most durable brands....she said the cheaper brands don't hold up as well and she has had them crack when they were being installed. We got Lowes to do it....they can do 12 months no interest if you ask them. In the 5 months we haven't had a single scratch or buckling....it has endured our dogs running on it like crazy, water and drool, and even a few spills from tank mishaps and maintenance. It's much easier to clean and I never want to go back to carpet.
-Kristyn
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