We bought a 10-year-old house last summer (2016). The heavy trim and the floors were stained a very dark walnut. We decided to remove the dark engineered flooring that was in the foyer, main hall, and office and put in lighter real hardwood floors in those areas, plus remove the carpet in the dining, living, and other hallways and install hardwoods there, as well. Our realtors recommended Boardwalk Flooring, stating that they were not the cheapest but were the very best around Oklahoma City and were great people to work with, that they would "do it right." We went with white oak in 5-inch planks, stained a light medium brown, sanded smooth, with a satin finish. We didn't want hand-scraped, even though hand-scraping is apparently a specialty with the company. The planks were 80% #1 grade and 20% #2 grade (some minor knots or defects, more "character"), and 100% quarter-sawn and rift cut--meaning that all the boards were cut to achieve the best fine graining. One thing we wanted was to have the floors meet flush with the height of the adjoining tile in the kitchen, not wanting a raised-up floor to trip over. This was done, and also we went with a mitered picture-frame border around the living room and fireplace. Our floors turned out great, and we enjoyed working with the company. The employees own shares in the company, which I believe helps to insure quality and a positive spirit. We highly recommend Boardwalk Flooring. Besides now having beautiful floors, we believe that we have gotten back one and a half to two times the cost of the floors in added equity to our home's value. read more