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Lumber Liquidators Bellawood Flooring Consumer Reviews

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Bella Crap
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

FORT COLLINS, COLORADO -- To start, Bellawood products are a total joke. As is the "100-year warranty". In August 2014 I bought a home here in Fort Collins knowing I would be doing some remodeling over the next few months. Before closing on the house, I knew I wanted to put hardwood floors in and Lumber Liquidators (LL) was just down the street from my work. So it made reasonable sense to purchase product as well as get installation instructions to accompany this endeavor from them. I was immediately duped into the Bellawood product because they claimed it's all Bob Vila will install and it has a superior 100 warranty. Sounds pretty good right?

Upon choosing 3/4 in Bellawood Brazilian Koa, I was also told I needed the very expensive Bella Premium Sound reducing underlayment. So after a whopping $5900.00 purchase, I left the store. 1 week later the product arrived on a pallet in my driveway. The delivery guys from LL were quick to tear the ends of the boxes off and discard the ends stating that this would allow air to circulate through the boxes and allow for better acclamation. Ok, I'll buy that. Immediately following this, my friends and I carried the boxes into the house and placed them in the rooms where they would be installed.

A lengthy 2 months passed while we painted, installed new carpet, and hung new doors in the bedrooms upstairs. Excited to be finally installing the hardwood, we carefully read through all of the installation steps, proper procedures and "things to check before you begin". Everything was checked and rechecked. So we began the install. We made sure that the required underlayment was put down the right way, seams were taped the right way and so on. The install went great. It looked great. We were happy to be finished and move in furniture...

Now I will explain the "Bella Crap" comment earlier and why these people need to just STOP making hardwood flooring. About 3 to 6 months after our installation, we started noticing small gaps growing between boards. This is that moment when the stress and aggravation began. We started asking questions to LL like "why is this happening?" and "what can we do about it?". The response was always "floor gapping is a natural part of owning a hardwood floor". We were told that due to changes in humidity, the floor would expand and contract accordingly.

Well here we are, 3 years later with gaps ranging from 3/16" to 1/4". Talk about a train wreck. We were smart consumers though and had been monitoring the home's humidity level since way before the floor was even installed. There had not been any drastic changes in humidity. In fact, the home had a whole home humidifier that constantly kept the readings within 5 to 10 percent.

In May of 2017 we'd had ENOUGH of the uncomfortable and unsightly floor and decided it was time to consider a warranty claim for this issue. After all, we'd done everything required to be successful in this installation down to the very "T". So we contacted LL warranty dept. to start a claim. We filled out the supplied disclosure, and provided numerous pictures.

A month later we had not gotten any response. So we called to find out the status and it turned out the lady in charge of our claim quit and dumped our file. So we started again with another representative. More disclosures, more pics etc... Lo and behold, another month passes with no response. Guess what? We called in and yep, you guessed it, the replacement representative we were dealing with quit as well and dumped our claim! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

So once again we were assigned a new claim manager and went through the same claims process all over again. The photos we had submitted were of such disgust that LL sent out a "3rd party" inspector to look at our flooring. When this guy showed up, he didn't even know what he was coming to our house for to inspect... very concerning. He started by pulling out some magnetic marbles, checking our nail locations... they were perfect. Next, he checked the home humidity level and yep, perfect (for Colorado). Then he pulled out his TrAmex floor moisture tester and began his inspection. He asked if we had used a foil-backed underlayment and we said yes.

The Bella Premium underlayment we bought per LL advice and warranty requirements was in fact foil-backed and seam-taped with their foil tape. He informed us that foil-backed felts always cause the TrAmex reader to read very high for some reason. His readings were around 24%... I asked him if he wanted to see any other parts of the house or materials used and he said no. He was going to go home and research Bellawood's warranty and see if we have a legitimate claim.

Well, just as you'd guess, he stated in his report to LL that the excessive floor gapping was not the result of a bad product, nor a bad installation, but rather a very high moisture content in the floor. WHAT? He had just told us that his reader reads way too high over foil-backed underlayment. So here we are, still walking on a horribly uncomfortable floor (with my expecting fiancé's swollen feet in constant pain), trying to get Bellawood to cover their crappy product. BEWARE guys, Bellawood is an LL product. When you contact the "office of the CEO" for Bellawood, you get a response email from LL. Again, what a joke!

All they care about is wasting your time, selling crap product at a premium, and telling you that there is no legitimate warranty claim. So much for a "100-year warranty" huh? PLEASE DO YOURSELVES A FAVOR AND STEER CLEAR OF LUMBER LIQUIDATORS AND BELLAWOOD. You'll just end up in a boat like mine, disappointed, disgusted, exhausted and much lighter in the wallet. Go see a real, local hardwood floor company with a real warranty, and enjoy the comfort knowing you didn't give your money to thieves... just my 3 cents.

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Avoid Odd Lots
By -

WEST CHESTER, OHIO -- In the lumber milling industry there is a condition known as seconds which basically means the wood product produced does not meet quality standards (has knots, splits, bad cosmetic flaws, etc.). Any reputable company would not sell these products at any cost. but Lumber Liquidators sells these materials stating that they are usable but ask that you increase the waste value from industry standard of 5% to as much as 30%! I am sure that some corporate yuppie with their name printed on a paycheck from Lumber Liquidators finds this to be rather amusing.

But the customer that purchases these products and is stuck with a bunch of unusable product that they had to pay real money for is not amused at all. The store managers I have dealt with have absolutely no product knowledge. They will tell customers "sure save yourself some money and buy these odd lots" making the customer believe they got a deal. Without going into a long drawn out explanation of how and why, this is simply a very poor business practice. They are dishonest, rude, and have absolutely no concern for their customers welfare.

I have installed Lumber Liquidators products for around 12 years now. At first I was totally sold on them, then as the years went by their quality went further and further down hill. I have seen countless times the customer is left holding the bag, or they push claims off on the installer calling any issues an "installation issue" I honestly have to admit that I nor anyone else is perfect, and we do make mistakes.

But My installation company is based on truly professional values, and I would simply expect them to stand up and take responsibility for their shotty product instead of pushing it off on the people out there making a living offering customers a legitimate service that would have been a positive experience for all involved had liquidators not supplied bad product.

Why would I take the time to write a review like this? What do I have to gain from this? The truth is I sincerely hope that any future customers of Liquidators read this and the many many other complaints against them on the Internet and decide to shop somewhere else, and that liquidators is finally held liable for the many many "dirty deals" they have made and they are forced to close their doors. I am completely in support of any and all reputable businesses out there that stand behind what they offer, but time has come for something to be done about these pirates!!

Our country is in bad enough shape, we do not need crooks like this nibbling away at the fabric of respectable businesses and ruining the reputation of other hardworking people in this industry that do not deserve to be labeled "thieves" simply because they work in the same profession as this so called company. I have personally seen issues ranging from blackmail, illegal kickbacks, corporate cover-ups, lies after lies, discrimination, I could go on and on but I sure you see my point. How can they continue to get away with this? We as customers or even employees need to make a stand and demand they take responsibility for their actions.

Company Response 03/18/2011:

LL Response:
We've addressed this concern already. We sell odd lot material in addition to products brand new in the box and top of the line like Bellawood. We clearly disclaim what you're buying so you can plan your project accordingly, but we also have people making positive comments receiving a product they could not have otherwise afforded, so it goes back to ones individual expectations and it's our goal to offer the public choices. The other issues you raise here come off as a disgruntled former installer / employee. Craftsmanship has many varying degrees and most installations go off without a hitch, but some of your comments would suggest you may need to review the quality of your work. Our folks are well educated on flooring, in fact I can watch incoming calls into our call center and see them coming from competitors asking LL questions about flooring related topics / advice, so your opinions are noted, but not supported with facts. The idea that our employees engage in unprofessional behavior is an allegation considered an irresponsible act If you have a concern, write our legal department and they will investigate, but this sounds like more rambling and I'm not sure this posting truly represents the professional values you claim to uphold with your company. I can answer your question about why you would write such a review. It would appear you have time because your not promoting your own business, which is a better use of your time. We all take great pride in what we do offering quality products, low prices, and excellent wood flooring knowledge to those who have a need. We wish you all the best in your business, but this is not a place to present your personal gripes and you could use your time wisely by searching on line marketing tools for your business. Our web site is known for having the best educational tools for flooring installation related topics and techniques. Good luck and thanks for listening.

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Return Scam
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

LINCOLN, NEBRASKA -- If I could give the Lincoln, Nebraska store no stars, I would. My husband and I bought $4,500 of Bellawood solid hickory flooring at the end of November as part of a whole house remodel. We paid for a professional measurement, which turned out to be less than professional. We let them quote installation, but the price was so inflated we went a more reasonable way. As it turns out, after the floor is completely installed, we have 8 boxes too many!! The equivalent of $800.

When we tried to return only 6 today (saving extra to match), the store manager pointed out a return document in a pile of paperwork they made us sign at pick-up that limited returns to 30 days. WHAT?! To boot, there is a 20% restocking fee regardless. REALLY? We had to load the entire 43 boxes ourselves the first time with no employee help.

The manager was rude to me. He admitted that he could return the 6 boxes, but refused to. We have a complaint in at the corporate level. Hopefully they are more professional. BIG customer service mistake... beware... do not work with this store. This is the ultimate scam. Sell the customer waaaay more than they need, then refuse to return it. Wonderful.

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Bellawood Engineered Hickory 5" Flooring
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

RED HOOK, NEW YORK -- I have the Bellawood Hickory Engineered Flooring installed on the lower level of my split level house. I am an interior designer. I "experimented" on my own floors before recommending this to a client. It hasn't lasted even four months. As soon as the weather changed and it got snowy and wet the floor in the room where we come in from outside is peeling. I have boot trays and a carpet runner, so we are talking about a little puddle here and there. It has been less than two months since the first snowfall. The finish is strange. It is so thin and peels like it is shellac, not polyurethane. I have no idea what finish it is but the 100-year warranty is a scam.

When I called customer service they said "moisture" makes the warranty void. I asked them to specify "moisture." To them it is running across the floor after taking a shower to answer the phone, it is spilling your tea and not noticing, it is dropping an ice cube and not noticing. I plan to let the floor peel, sand it and put a real coating on it.

By the way, I bought the hickory for its hardness since I have a dog. I can see every step she takes through the finish. The customer service people are stooges, trained to just say "read the warranty." Since I live in the northeast, and actually make food, drink, take showers, have dinner parties, it is impossible to think that no "moisture" will ever get on the floor.

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Beware!
StarStarStarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 3/51

YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN -- Bella Hardwood flooring. Here is my honest review. We installed the Bella Hardwood Matte Finish Brazilian Koa color. It is truly beautiful. But the finish on the flooring is really hard to see (as it is not the glossy) so we put a piece in our floor that had a manufacturing defect as it was not fully coated in the clear coat. Now since this has a 200-year transferable warranty we thought it would not be a big deal. Well it is. The standard response from Lumber Liquidators (which I believe is the same as Bella Hardwood, as I e-mailed Bella, but received a response from Lumber Liquidators), was "take a sample to a local paint store to get it matched and apply".

Is it wrong that I do not want to pay more for this floor and that I do not want to take to our paint store to get it matched? I think so. I complained a bit and filed a claim, where we had to submit all kinds of pictures and proof. They came back saying the same thing. I am frustrated with them as all I wanted was a little bottle of the stuff they put on to coat the one piece that was a manufacturing defect and so it would match the rest of the floor. Since I am frustrated, I am writing this so other consumers do not have this same problem.

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San Diego Lumber Liquidators - Horrible Quality - Rip Off!
By -

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA -- I ordered 1800 SF of Brazilian Teak manufactured by Bellwood for Lumber Liquidators. What a nightmare! Several boxes arrived damaged upon delivery. The delivery person noted on the paperwork boxes were ripped open, damaged and discolored from other boxes. After not hearing from the store about the damaged boxes delivered I called the store directly and spoke with store manager **. I expressed my concerns and he assured me the boxes would be fine and I should have no worries about the installation of those boxes.

When my installers arrived for the install (after the boxes had acclimated for three weeks) they too pointed out that several boxes looked beat up and odd. I told them I already called the store and they would be fine. They opened those three boxes along with seven others and sorted them by color variation, size, and proceeded with the install. After laying many of the boxes they expressed they were having constant issues with gaps in the boards. They pointed out that the boards had two separate kinds of milling and it was causing major problems.

The problem was the actual width of boards were very different and so were the tongues. They suggested I contact the store and let them know so I can return them and reorder new boxes all from the same milling. I called the store and spoke to **. He told me to bring in some sample boards.

The next day I brought in several boards demonstrating the boards varying width and completely different tongues. I could tell ** the manager did not want to admit that they were from different mills but it was impossible to deny. He would just make comments like "a good installer would know how to deal with something like this" and "They can be altered by your installer to work". I pointed out that would cause additional labor I would have to pay for and I should not have to pay more money to deal with milling issues. He then said that he could send out his own installer **. He said he would be able to make them work just fine. As I had nothing to lose I agreed.

Later that day a woman called and said she spoke to ** and her company would come by to look at the floors. Several hour later a knock at my door and it's a woman **. She said she was there to look that the floors. I told her I thought a ** was coming to look at them as he is the installer. She said she was his wife. I showed her the boards and how they were all different. She just seemed oddly quiet. She obviously knew they were messed up but didn't want to say anything other than "don't worry we can fix everything".

I pointed out the many rows that would have to get ripped up. She said that the three boxes that were mixed up with the others could be dealt with by "sorting them back out and putting them in the same rows". That sounded fine but she said I would have to remove what was already laid down and also order replacement boxes. She also said they would only glue down the wood. I told her as long as the price was the same that would be fine.

She said ** the manager would probably replace the boxes that caused the issue. I told her I would speak to ** and let her know. I showed her my current installer invoice (3.00 square foot) and told her as long as she matched that I would go with them. She said she would match my installers and email me the estimate.

The next day the email comes. Guess what? they wanted 2500 more than my current installers. Not only that the glue was an additional 1200 more. So they wanted 3700 more than my current installer!! She had the square footage at 3.00 but had the stairs priced out separately and also wanted 1,000 more to level the floors for glue down process. Obviously I was not going to go with them and she never said the glue material alone would cost so much! I called ** and said I'm just going to go with my installer and I'm going to return the unopened boxes and reorder the same thing.

I even agreed to upgrade the wood to 3/4 inch thick from 3/8 inch thick since they had the same teak in a smaller width but for a similar price. He said to bring them in and I would reorder them. After renting a U-Haul and breaking my back getting the boxes back to the store the manager said that I had ten boxes missing. I told him that three boxes had milling issues which screwed up the other 7 laid down. I told him about how I called when they arrived and was assured they were o. k.

I explained yet again that those three boxes installed with the other 7 were mixed and rendered useless and they had to now get ripped up. ** said he would only credit me for the three boxes that had the wrong milling. He did not want to recognize that those boxes caused the others to be useless.

Trying not to lose my cool I told him I wanted to focus on getting the replacement material (2 1/4 teak) that is listed on the website because it's a similar price. Guess what, the replacement material was not available. The only option he said I had was to pay for an even more expensive (3.25 teak). I told him I didn't even want that as I have a 1915 Craftsman and I was not comfortable going with such a large width. Additionally that the cost was more more expensive price per square foot (3500 more!).

I already was in the hole 7 boxes he would not credit, installation costs that were wasted, renting a truck for the return, and cost to rip out the crap that was down. Now he was telling me my only option was to pay 3500 more!!! It was obvious I was getting nowhere with him. He had no compassion to the situation and just seemed to generally not get how I was put in a situation not of my choosing. Let's not forget this entire nightmare was brought about by having different milling mixed in with my order. Since they no longer had any replacement material at similar cost (2 1/4) even though the website says the do.

I requested to just have the unopened boxes I just returned credited to my card. I said I would have to eat the 7 boxes and just order them somewhere else since the only option extended to me was to buy more expensive teak. This SOB had the nerve to tell me that he would "not give me my money back". He said he "was not convinced it was a milling issue". Are you freaking kidding me!! I was just speechless. To think I would have to take the hit on all of this. It's like I had a gun to my head. I told him I since I was left with no alternative I had no choice but to pay an additional 3500.00 and order the teak in 3.25.

I left the store feeling sick to my stomach like I had been mugged. It's just sad when you feel so completely taken advantage of and have absolutely no power to make the store take responsibility. All I can do is share my story and let others know of my horrible experience. Hopefully it will make you reconsider and purchase elsewhere. As a realtor I am constantly asked for referrals on everything from kitchen cabinets to floors. I used to always recommend Loews or Home Depot as they guarantee the work and generally my clients were very happy with them. Looks like I should have taken my own advice.

I only went with Lumber Liquidators because the teak they had looked so nice in the store. I will let every client know my experience at Lumber Liquidators. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. I will let you guys know how the final install goes when the new material arrives.

Company Response 07/11/2010:

Contact LL Customer Care immediately and provide us with your contact information so we can assist you. Most likely the whole issues driven by mixing two mills causing the gapping at the time of install. If we can obtain enough information to verify this event a claim will be filed and we will take care of this problem with replacement material, and other expenses necessary to make this project right. This is not a common problem and most likely an accidental event caused by the warehouse, but it can be fixed and we're here to help. This obviously caused an unfortunate chain of events and we regret to hear you suffered a set back. We will take action once you contact CC using the 800 number on our website. Alert the answering agent and advise them you received contact from the LL Dir. of Customer Care and ask for me and I will see to it that the right resources are applied to this issue for further investigation and correction. Thank you for sharing this experience so we can make it right. We are making some significant system changes within our warehouses to avoid this in the future and know this can be frustrating and we'll make it right.

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Lumber Liquidators does not care about you.
By -

NEW JERSEY -- Last Thursday, my mother was down in my neighborhood because we needed to pick up some things from Home Depot. We wanted to schedule the delivery for my bathroom vanity, medicine cabinet, and tile for kitchen and foyer for this past Monday, but the REALLY jerky guy told us we had to call at 7am on Monday if we wanted a specific time because that's when the guy makes his delivery schedule. OK. Lumber Liquidators (from here on, LL) told us they'd be delivering on that same Monday between 9 and 10am as well. We thought, great, let's get two deliveries over with on the same day.

My mom then took off of work Monday so we could be there to receive the deliveries and do some stuff. My brother was still here over the weekend, so we dropped him off at the train station Sunday afternoon. When we got home, my mom just randomly decided to check her work voicemail just in case, and she found that LL had called and left her a message saying they couldn't deliver on Monday. Who calls someone's work phone when they have their home phone number AND their cell phone to tell them such a vital piece of info? So my mom is trying to call them back like crazy, but of course LL is closed on Sunday.

So Monday morning, I'm asleep, and my mom comes busting into my room yelling, "15 minutes! We have to go now!" and I'm like huh? So I leap out of bed and get dressed, and she's yelling from her room: "I just called Home Depot and they said they're ON THE WAY! We have to go!" Double huh?? Since my mom's house is an hour (minimum) away from mine she called at 7am like she was supposed to, and they told her they were going to deliver whether we were there or not. She told them that if they left it without our signatures then they'd be liable for it, so deliver at their own risk. They said they'd call us back.

Meanwhile, she calls LL to see what the hell is going on, and she speaks to this guy ** who tells her that the delivery company told him that 3 out of their 4 trucks are broken down, so they can't deliver. She inquires as to how a major company can have only 4 trucks running, and how no one could let us know this before the day of. She decides to call the delivery company directly, just because it seems fishy. She speaks to the delivery guy, who says that their trucks are fine, and that ** never called him until that morning to arrange delivery, so they couldn't fit us in!

Arg!! So call back to LL, and conveniently ** is not available to speak to. So after a huge fiasco, LL says that they will deliver on Tuesday morning at 10am. I wake up Tuesday at 8:30, and my mom says, "I didn't wake you up because they called and said they can't get there til 11:30." Guhhhh. so I got down to the house at 11:30, and huh, they weren't there! 12:30 rolls by and still no delivery. I call my mom and say what the heck, they're not here! So she said if they weren't there at 1pm, to call her back. Whaddya know, not there. Very long story shorter, they arrived at 5:00. I blew a WHOLE DAY waiting around for them to show up.

So Wednesday, the guys came (the flooring dudes), and started installing. The part I left out was that the floor I picked came in first quality and in odd lot. we asked the difference (since there was a large price difference), and ** said, "oh yeah, I installed an odd lot bellawood in my own house. It's just the leftovers from the manufacturer. You'll just get like 3-5 damaged pieces of wood per box. Nothing to worry about, just buy 10% extra." So yesterday the flooring guys called and said, "yeah, we can't finish installing this floor." "What's the problem," we ask. They said that out of 14 boxes of wood, only 7 were usable!!!

** made himself completely unavailable and the customer service woman stopped responding to our emails after a while, so my mom looked up the names of the CEO, the person who was in charge of sales, and a few other important individuals and emailed them DIRECTLY.

What do you know - she received an email back 5 minutes later from someone, and they promised to call her at 10am the next morning to rectify this issue. They did. LL agreed to replace the damaged boxes with premium wood for our trouble. We paid the odd lot price for it, and they made sure it was shipped THE NEXT POSSIBLE DAY. The floors look amazing, but I would never buy anything from LL again, not even for their great prices. It's just not worth it.

Company Response 11/12/2009:

This does not sound like a good transaction and the delivery service failed our customer, and LL in this case. I would need more specific information pertaining to who was contacted in order to determine where the breakdown in communication took place. It takes people to run our business and not everyone has the same sense of urgency, but we obviously took responsibility in this case, so at least we recognized the troubles associated with the transaction and we sincerely apologize that your transaction became problematic. Our customer care 800 number can be found on every invoice. Our team will handle any matters raised to our attention right up to the Customer Care Manager - That would be me! We can only hope you reconsider coming back to LL becuase I seriuosly doubt this would be a situation repeated or I would literally have to spend my entire day responding and addressing this type of issue and that's not the case. Our apologies - I'm sure you received an excellent product at a GREAT PRICE!

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Worst Flooring Possible
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

Don't ever get Bellawood flooring. Their warranty is a scam. Have not had our floor down for a year yet and it is all scratched to pieces. Cost almost 6,000 with glue and installation and if you do not plan to walk on your hands - do not get this flooring as it is terrible.

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Brazilian Walnut Floor
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CHEYENNE, COLORADO -- Same as the Ft Collins reviewer. Sold me about 1600 sq ft of 5/16 Brazilian walnut. It's gapping and tongues are breaking. They stopped selling this product due to design defect. I'm sure as the thinness undermines its stability. Told me gaps were due to dryness even though the product sat in my house for months before install. Ripoff totally!

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Very Concerned
StarStarStarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 3/51

DALLAS, TEXAS -- I almost bought 700 foot of this product. But after reading what was rewritten about this product I'm really concerned that they don't stand by their product. It sounds like the installation was done correctly but that by adding the foil backing caused the high readings and maybe that's why it was recommended.

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Lumber Liquidators Bellawood Flooring Rating:
Star Half star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.4 out of 5, based on 11 ratings and
20 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Lumber Liquidators
3000 John Deere Rd
Toano, VA 23168
1-800-366-4204 (ph)
www.lumberliquidators.com
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