The installers did their job and finished last Wednesday. Below is a representation of their handiwork.
We had an interesting issue since part of our house already had hardwood installed. We suspect that the existing wood was Kempas and were unable to find a match so we went with a totally different wood. Below is a picture of that transition.
We have ordered Natural Maple vent covers that have not yet arrived. The most interesting part of this journey was 'who' we selected to install the flooring (it is solid 3/4" Natural Maple 3-1/4" wide by Somerset) - thanks
look171 and
john70t. We obtained four quotes and the installation cost varied ($2.75/sq ft, $3.50/sq ft, $2.50 sq ft, and $1.35/sq ft). The best service we received when selecting the material was at the place that gave us the $1.35/sq ft quote. Initially, I did not believe the last quote and made them repeat it to me three times!
I had already measured all the rooms and closets that were to receive hardwood ~ 600 sq ft. Three of the installer's quotes were very liberal with with their measurements whereas the fourth was right on target and adhered to their estimated overages. This store we went with was a small, family-owned business that, according to the owners, used "good, church-going people" as their installers. The installers were great and were very accommodating to all my questions.