When purchasing flooring from FloorMall be sure to check out their coupon section. Here you’ll find dozens of coupons providing you with extra savings in these trying economic times. The coupon section is updated regularly so be sure to check in often for great deals.

Some manufacturers of cheap bamboo will harvest their bamboo prematurely, not allowing the plant to harden sufficiently. They will usually try to make up for this lack of strength by using an excessive amount of adhesives like formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is considered a volatile organic compound and long term of exposure to it has even been linked to cancer.

This is why I cannot stress enough the importance of purchasing your bamboo from trusted providers, and a great place to start your search is with Prolex.

This line is made up of ceramic tiles that have been modeled to look exactly like hardwood floors. They carry the same texture and plank size as hardwood flooring. And it may be difficult for some people to discern these tiles from any other piece of distressed hardwood flooring. Interceramic’s Woodlands line has several different species of wood to choose from. Some of the species available are Cherry, Oak and Chestnut. What’s even better about Interceramic Tile products is the fact that they’re environmentally friendly for several reasons. All Interceramic products are manufactured with clays and minerals which are natural and sustainable. All of the water that they use in their process is 100% recycled; the kilns that they use are powered by natural gas which makes it an efficient process.

If you’re interested about Interceramic’s Woodlands flooring line and would like to see some of their products you can check them out here. And if you would like to know more about the company you can read about them here.

Recently, I visited The Home Depot website to see what kind of selection they had available for laminate flooring.  Then I visited FloorMall.com, an online flooring retailer that has always impressed me with the size of its inventory.  And after comparing the sections the sites dedicated to laminate flooring I was honestly surprised with what I found.  The Home Depot only had 5 different brands of laminate flooring for sale.  FloorMall currently sells 17.  From there I took a look at how many different types of laminate flooring each retailer sold.  According to their website The Home Depot only sells about 140.  FloorMall, on the other hand, sells over 600.  This may seem surprising but due to the fact that FloorMall is more specialized and more focused they’re able to offer their customers more variety.

The Home Depot is a great resource that homeowners can utilize in order to improve their home but as far as flooring goes FloorMall is a better bet.  The larger amount of products can lead to more options, lower prices and better value.

Shaw Industries Group, Inc. got its start in 1946 as Star Dye Company, a small business that dyed tufted scatter rugs. Now they’re the world’s largest carpet manufacturer and a leading floor covering provider. They average more than five billion dollars in sales per year. The company manufactures and distributes carpeting, rugs, hardwood, laminate and ceramic tile for residential and commercial applications worldwide.

Mohawk Industries is another industry leader and one of the largest floor covering manufacturers. Mohawk designs, manufactures and markets woven and tufted broadloom carpet, area and accent rugs and mats and a variety of hard surface flooring products. They’ve been around for over 125 years but they still remain one of the most innovative companies around. Their innovations have been centered around creating products that have less of an environmental impact.

Armstrong World Industries, Inc. is a manufacturing giant. It is a global leader in floors, ceilings and cabinets. Armstrong operates 40 plants in 10 countries and has over ten thousand employees worldwide. They also offer one of the most extensive product portfolios around which includes: resilient sheet, tile, hardwood, laminates, genuine linoleum, specialty carpet and sports flooring.

These are just three out of the many flooring suppliers that are out there. It’s often a good idea to look at a company whose products you’re buying and see what values they stand for and how they got started. A lot of times these values are represented in their products. It’s also valuable to know how a company is doing financially as that may lead to changes in those same values. For a more extensive list of flooring suppliers you can visit here.

The question of how important is a floor brand can best be answered by another question: How much importance does a shopper place on their flooring? The greater the importance of flooring is to a shopper, then follows the greater importance of the flooring brand. If, for instance, a particular shopper is looking for cheap flooring, and lowest price is the ranking priority to this shopper, then the brand is not important. With resources such as flooringbrands.com, any shopper can quickly deduce which brand will offer the lowest priced product line and or installation.

In another example, if a shopper were not concerned with the price of flooring foremost but rather a product line’s durability, the brand is more important to this shopper than in the first example. This shopper would benefit from examining laminate floors more than say, maple, cherry wood or stone tile flooring. Of course, there is brand name differentiation among laminates, as FlooringBrands.com can show you. But in this example narrowing down the category of flooring to laminates certainly narrowed down the number of brands to choose from.

In one last example, a shopper with a particular priority, such as eco-friendliness, would find the question of flooring brand quite important indeed. This shopper could use the resources of FlooringBrands.com to learn that bamboo flooring is a renewable material, or that cork harvesting for the production of cork flooring has a smaller impact on the environment that timber hardwood flooring. Hopefully these examples get you thinking just how important is the brand of flooring you choose? All you need to ask yourself is what characteristics of the flooring are most important to you.

A shopper seeking the best warranty for their floor would be well off to select from a choice of brands that are larger, with many subsidiaries and employees and therefore more guarantees for customer satisfaction and a longer more comprehensive warranty. A shopper in the market for different tastes, or possibly even different flooring materials altogether could be advised to shop for exotic brands. A shopper who wishes the installation done for them, with fast delivery after their flooring selection would be wise to select from a list of brands located with an inventory physically nearby, or with a distributor that is both nearby and promises expert installation. A discerning shopper who prioritizes durability but has already narrowed down the category of flooring from Bamboo, cork, laminates and hardwood to hardwood as an example would want to seek a brand with the best product quality testing. The brand of floors becomes more and more important depending on which goals you want your choice of floor to meet. FlooringBrands.com can be the useful resource you choose to narrow down the brands of flooring available and make the best decision possible.

Wicanders cork is owned and operated by the Amorim group, located in Portugal. The Amorim group touts a respect for nature and commitment to environmental and social sustainability rarely seen in corporations. Wicanders cork trees are not harvested for bark until 25 years after they are planted. From that point on they are harvested only on a nine year cycle, leaving the tree undamaged. Furthermore, the regular and cyclic harvest of cork is the decisive contributor to their commitment to sustainability. Their methods of cork harvest conserve biodiversity and prevent desertification. Also, population settlement and the creation of jobs ensure social sustainability.

Nova Distinctive Floors also employ cork because it comes from a renewable resource and is also recyclable. However, Nova Distinctive Floors takes cork flooring one step further by recycling 100% of their manufacturing by products to use in their factory’s heating process.

As of 2006, Nova cork established its Eastern distribution center in Atlanta Georgia and can provide superior supply to the Southern and Atlantic regions of the US. Nova cork is now one of the main cork suppliers in the industry. Nova cork makes high quality products, with excellent customer service and competitive pricing. In fact, their pricing is advantageous both to the industry as well as the end users such as you.

APC cork is one of the largest suppliers of cork flooring in North America. It is based in Florida and supplies flooring dealers all over the US and Canada. It boasts a large selection of colors and textures of cork, and provides installation guidelines and tips for maintenance.

Wicanders cork also provides installation guides, detailing the process with useful pictures and instructions for every different type of their cork flooring. Wicanders cork also gives out useful information for the maintenance of both home cork flooring and commercial cork flooring.

Yanchi Bamboo floors are produced in China. They mix highly skilled craftsmen with high end technology to make an extremely durable product. Natural Bamboo flooring, used by its competitors, is quite durable. However, Yanchi Bamboo is harvested and then engineered into strand woven Bamboo floors. Yanchi Bamboo recognizes the eco-friendliness of Bamboo as a resource for flooring manufacturing, making it a comfortable choice for green homes or businesses. This China-based company is able to grow and harvest Bamboo quickly, which adds furthermore advantage to their use of Bamboo as their raw material as it replenishes quickly, making it a renewable resource.

Hawa Bamboo bridges these two worlds of Chinese manufacturing and American inventory and distribution. Hawa Bamboo and Wood products uphold a mission to reduce dependence on timber, which is a dwindling natural resource, by producing an excellent alternative- Bamboo floors. Hawa bamboo flooring touts three primary tenets for considering their Bamboo floors. The first is finishing. While many companies move their product from one factory to another for each phase of production, so the number of finishing layers may vary from three to six and may only use polyurethane. Hawa Bamboo on the other hand uses an eight layer coat of aluminum oxide/ polyurethane finishing. The second tenet is the level of formaldehyde in the adhesives used. Because formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, Hawa Bamboo touts their exceptionally low level of formaldehyde adhesive levels, which exceed the expectations of both the American and European indoor air quality recommendations. Lastly, Hawa Bamboo floors are among the few to distribute from within the US. Their inventory in New Jersey provides better availability and reduces shipping timetables.

In addition to extremely realistic portrayals of hardwood and stone flooring, Bruce laminates employ the Bruce Lock Installation method. This method makes use of a unique tongue-and-groove profile that eliminates the need for glue in the installation efforts. Mohawk laminates also command a unique locking system for easy installation.

The Mohawk laminates patented Uniclic Technology allows for a simple installation method by sliding panels into place. Because all four sides of a panel sport this Uniclic Technology, it is easy to slide panels into place at an angle, even in tight spaces. Pergo laminates employ a dual locking system. Combined with comprehensive planning tools and instructional aids, Pergo laminates can be installed and enjoyed in less than a day per room. Pergo’s project planners can also help you find an installer to carry out the task for you.

Mohawk Industries can boast a 125 year history themselves. Although the bulk of this history has been involved with the production and distribution of rugs and carpets, when Mohawk joined the laminate flooring market they became the largest floor covering supplier. They employ over 34,000 workers. Bruce laminates employ over 12,000 workers and Pergo has facilities internationally which distribute all over the world.

All three companies provide a product that is easy to care for and keep clean. Pergo laminates trademarked an exclusive LusterGard surface that ensures your floors will not stain or face over time, and remain easy to clean throughout. Bruce laminates have trademarked a surface themselves, the G3 Wear Layer. Mohawk laminates, like Bruce laminates and Pergo laminates, can be cleaned very easily as well, using just water. Mohawk laminates are also hypoallergenic, to the benefit of many homeowners and their families, and provide a guarantee against water damage or moisture.

Pergo laminates do use recycled content for their flooring. However, Mohawk laminates lead the industry in giving back to the environment. Mohawk laminates use at least 50% recycled materials in their production. Bruce laminates lead the industry in water reduction and also work within their initiatives to conserve forests.

Anderson’s selection of flooring consists of hardwood designs which have been hand scraped for an aged and dignified taste. The Harris flooring services provide a large selection of hardwood floors, both pre-finished and custom site designed, as well as stone tile and ceramic flooring.

The BR-111 brand spins a different yarn, claiming their advanced engineering techniques coupled with decades of research provide a superior hardwood floor. Their brands, of course, are Br111 exotic hardwood floors.

Harris flooring brands are various. Their showroom provides a range of entry level to elite hardwood floors. Because Harris exhibits hardwood flooring from most major manufacturers, their large selection can posses the right brand, the right style and the right price for any shopper. And Harris flooring also provides a selection of ceramic and stone tile flooring, as well as laminate flooring. This versatile grouping of product lines offers a variety competitive with any flooring service.

Anderson flooring works with a range of hardwoods such as pecan, pine, oak and bamboo. Each of these species represents a dozen or more styles, colors and textures for your hardwood floor selection. With several lines that exhibit Spanish and Brazilian hickory, maple wood, cherry and mahogany, Anderson flooring provides a quality selection for shoppers looking for international, urban, casual and new traditional tastes.

The exotic hardwood floors made by BR-111 can meet a range of needs. Their solid hardwood floors are composed of exotic hardwoods such as Brazilian cherry and walnut, tigerwood and angico. These floors are precisely measured and crafted with BR-111’s milling techniques. BR-111 also offers hand scraped flooring for the antique look. Perhaps the most touted of BR-111’s hardwood floors, however, are their engineered lines.

The next major difference between these three brands is the range of service they offer. Harris flooring, which is still based in Georgia, provides an enormous showroom with their product lines, shipping and installation of their product. Anderson flooring works with distributors to bring their hardwood floors to you, but does not provide installation. In this way Anderson and BR-111 are comparable. BR-111 provides comprehensive instructions for the installation of each one of their product lines.