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Replacing or installing new flooring is a long-term investment that can potentially increase the value of your property and make it homier. This LL Flooring review will help you determine if this retailer can provide you with the materials you need for your next flooring project.
The company has a decades-long reputation of offering high-quality flooring at reasonable prices, and it has established itself as one of the most reliable distributors of hardwood flooring.
Even so, hardwood isn’t the only flooring material you can find in the LL Flooring stores, as the brand offers a wide array of flooring materials. So, chances are you’re going to find the type of flooring you need to complete your bedroom renovation or bathroom improvement project at LL Flooring.
Our LL Flooring review will guide you through the company’s portfolio of products and supply you with the information you need about the cost and quality of flooring options this retailer offers.
There are plenty of budget generic flooring options, but for higher quality (and sometimes harder to find) premium flooring LL Flooring is a step up. Best of all, you can browse online for selections you may not find in your local Home Depot and have them safely delivered to your residence or job site.
Key specifications of the LL Flooring
| Store availability | 420 stores across the United States and Canada |
| Product range | Flooring materials and accessories |
| Online shopping options | Website, iOS app |
| Expected delivery time | 2 to 5 workdays |
| Flooring installation services | Yes, through the network of private contractors |
| Financing options | Yes, for purchases above $2500 |
| Customer support | Customer care center |
| Latest prices | Check latest prices here |
Core features of the LL Flooring
The first Lumber Liquidators store opened more than 20 years ago in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, and sold more than 150 square feet of flooring on the first day. This early success resulted in the brand’s quick expansion and by the end of 1996 Lumber Liquidators already had stores in two states.
The growth trend continued over the next couple of decades, and currently, the company has 420 stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as more than a thousand employees. Until April 2020, the company operated under the name Lumber Liquidators when it changed its name to LL Flooring.
As one of the largest flooring retailers in the United States, LL Flooring is one of the nation’s most trusted suppliers of wood flooring that focuses primarily on hardwood flooring options.
Product portfolio
All flooring models you can find at an LL Flooring store can be divided into the following four categories:
Each of these categories contains a number of subcategories, so for instance the wood category contains these subcategories:
Besides these subcategories of hardwood flooring, the retailer also offers flooring collections such as Bellawood Shoreline or AquaSeal.
The selection of hardwood flooring materials LL Flooring offers is impressive as you can choose from White Oak, Red Oak, Brazilian Cherry, or Maple models, to name a few. Go through our red oak vs white oak comparison for more information about these materials.
LL Flooring’s product portfolio includes hundreds of engineered wood flooring options as well as traditional and water-resistant laminates. Our engineered hardwood vs laminate comparison can help you decide which of these flooring materials is a better choice for your project.
Also, you can get all types of vinyl flooring from this retailer or choose between stone-looking porcelain tiles, wood-looking porcelain tiles, or ceramic tiles. At the moment, the brand’s selection of ceramic tiles is limited to just four models. Moreover, LL Flooring doesn’t offer carpet flooring solutions.
Installation materials and other products
Besides flooring materials, you can also find these categories of butcher blocks at the LL Flooring’s website:
- Butcher block countertops
- Butcher block island tops
- Butcher block backsplash
- Butcher block cutting boards
However, the brand’s assortment of countertops, backsplashes, island tops, and cutting boards is somewhat limited, since each of these categories contains just a handful of models. The same can’t be said for the selection of flooring accessories you can find at LL Flooring stores.
If you need a miter saw or any other type of power tool that is used during the flooring installation process, chances are that you’ll be able to find it at LL Flooring. Floor adhesives, underlayment, and padding or floor care products are among the items you can get with the flooring solution you choose.
The retailer offers hundreds of flooring products for walls that can be used to decorate a living room or any other space and protect the walls in your home from damage.
Floor installation services
Calculating how much flooring material you need or figuring out which accessories you have to get is much easier if you have professional support.
The LL Flooring doesn’t provide floor installation services, but it has a vast network of certified independent contractors that help the brand’s customers go through this process painlessly.
Scheduling a meeting with a local contractor through the LL Flooring’s website requires a minimum amount of effort. You just have to purchase the in-home flooring installation estimate and project assessment service and the contractor will get in touch with you to schedule an appointment.
This service is sometimes offered for free, but in most cases, it will cost you $25 to get a project assessment from one of the contractors from the LL Flooring’s network.
The contractor will advise you which flooring to choose, measure, and evaluate the area, and a few days later you will get a quote for the entire project from one of the LL Flooring’s associates.
Shopping experience
With 420 brick-and-mortar stores scattered across the United States and Canada, LL Flooring is one of the largest flooring retailers on the continent.
Shopping at any of the brand’s stores is a smooth and pleasant experience since in most cases you’ll be able to find everything you need to complete the flooring project you’re working on. Besides, in-person shopping, you can also purchase flooring supplies through the company’s website.
Also, you can place an order online and pick it up at the nearest LL Flooring store. The LL Flooring’s website features powerful search tools that can be used to view products that have a particular color or texture.
The search tools are fully customizable which enables you to narrow down the list of products to those that fit your search criteria.
Both the website and the iOS app have the Picture It! Floor Visualizer feature that allows you to upload images of the room in which you would like to install a new floor and see how a flooring model will look after the installation.
In addition, the Floor Finder option that’s available on the website suggests the best flooring solution for a specific area in your home based on the answers you provide.
Financing options and payment methods
LL Flooring accepts all conventional payment methods, and you can choose if you want to use cash, checks, or a credit card to make a purchase. Also, getting the Lumber Liquidators credit card will enable you to apply for one of the available financing options.
If you decide to finance your purchase over a 12-month period, you won’t have to make a down payment. This offer applies to single-receipt purchases.
The 48-month financing option is only available for purchases over $2500 made in a LL Flooring store and it comes with a 6.9% APR. The fixed monthly payments have to be at least 2.3942% of the entire value of the purchase.
It is worth noting that the process of applying for a Lumber Liquidators credit card can take anywhere between a few days and a few weeks, as the credit card is issued by Synchrony Bank.
Expected delivery times
LL Flooring offers several delivery options, and you can choose between FedEx, Curbside, and Smart Rate delivery methods. The FedEx deliveries are only available for orders that weigh less than 150lbs, which only makes them a suitable option if you purchased flooring accessories.
Flooring materials you buy at the LL Flooring can be delivered to your driveway, but you should keep in mind that an additional fee of $129 applies for all Smart Rate deliveries that weigh up to 500lbs. This fee increases by $25 per 500lbs of weight.
It takes up to three workdays to process an order, while the shipment is going to reach your home 7 to 15 business days after you place the order. If you choose to pick up the flooring materials you purchased at a LL Flooring store you’ll be able to do so 1 to 15 days after placing an order.
Pricing and customer support quality
Unlike the personnel at hardware chain stores that often lacks information about particular flooring models, LL Flooring’s employees are well informed about all types of flooring the brand offers.
Besides, you can contact the company’s customer care center via email, a telephone call, or live chat in case you want to find out the status of your order or if you experienced any other problem with your purchase.
LL Flooring’s products are moderately priced, so for instance the least expensive hardwood flooring model costs $1.89 per square foot. On the other hand, the lowest price of square foot of water-resistant laminate at LL Flooring costs $1.39.
The most expensive solid hardwood flooring models can be purchased for $12.99 per square foot. Go through our Lumber Liquidators vs Home Depot compression to find out which retailer offers better prices for flooring materials.
The pros of the LL Flooring
A broad spectrum of different wood flooring options
You can choose from thousands of solid, engineered, or unfinished solid hardwood models that are made of hickory, red oak, and other high-quality flooring materials. Besides wood floors, LL Flooring also offers a wide range of vinyl, laminate, and tile flooring solutions.
Excellent floor visualization tools
The Floor Finder tool suggests the best type of flooring for your bedroom, living room, or kitchen using the information gathered through a series of questions.
The Visualize It! Floor Visualizer lets you upload a photo of the room where flooring should be installed or use templates that enable you to see how a particular flooring model looks after installation.
Professional floor installation services
LL Flooring works with a vast network of local contractors that help you through each step of the floor replacement process. Besides, scheduling a meeting with a local contractor in your home takes a few moments of your time and it costs just $25.
Multiple delivery options
You can choose if you want to pick your order up at a local LL Flooring store or have it delivered to your driveway or curbside. All orders that weigh less than 150lbs can be shipped with FedEx and they arrive 5 to 15 days after the order was placed.
Excellent customer support
Getting in touch with LL Flooring’s customer care center or sales department requires you to just make a phone call or write an email. All customer care staff is solution-oriented and determined to help you resolve the problem you experienced.
The Cons of the LL Flooring
No carpet flooring solutions
LL Flooring doesn’t offer carpet flooring products, so you must consider other options if you want to cover the entire surface of your floor with a carpet.
The best alternative to LL Flooring
Finding excellent flooring at an affordable price isn’t too difficult, regardless of the retailer you choose. LL Flooring offers some of the most attractive prices on the market, but the selection of available models can seem limited when compared to the product portfolios of competing brands.
We’ve selected some of the best alternatives to the LL Flooring stores, so here’s what they have to offer
Luna Flooring
Empire Today, one of the largest home improvement and home furnishing companies in the United States owns Luna Flooring since 2012. You can find all types of flooring at Luna showrooms and galleries, including luxury hardwood flooring models made of aged bark or acacia.
The brand offers in-home consultations with licensed contractors that evaluate and measure the area before creating an offer for the entire project. The broad spectrum of carpet flooring solutions the Luna Flooring offers is perhaps its largest advantage over the LL Flooring.
However, LL Flooring is still a more reliable option if you’re searching for hardwood, laminate, or vinyl flooring solutions.
Pergo
Hardwood, rigid vinyl, and laminate are the only types of flooring you can buy from Pergo. However, the company doesn’t have a great selection of sold hardwood flooring models, so you should only consider it as an option if you’re interested in laminate flooring solutions.
You can choose from over a hundred laminate flooring models that belong to the brand’s four collections.
The features of the laminate depend on the collection, so models from the Outlast series come with the SpillProtect feature, while the laminates from the TimberCraft collection have the WetProtect feature. All Pergo’s laminate models are easy to install which makes them a great choice for DIY flooring projects.
Lowe’s
As one of the oldest chain hardware stores in the United States, Lowe’s has a long history of supplying its customers with different types of flooring. You can find all types of flooring, tools, or flooring accessories you might need to install a new floor at Lowe’s.
Although slightly more expensive than LL Flooring, the flooring materials offered by Lowe’s are still moderately priced.
In addition, the company has a vast network of professional floor installers so you won’t have too much trouble finding a contractor in your area who can help you choose the right type of flooring and install it for you.
Frequently asked questions about LL Flooring
Question: Does LL Flooring’s website have a flooring calculator?
Answer: The flooring calculator feature isn’t available on LL Flooring’s website, but you can find detailed instructions on how to calculate the exact amount of flooring you should order.
Question: Are the floors installed by LL Flooring’s independent contractors covered by a warranty?
Answer: The company doesn’t offer warranties for floor installations completed by its independent contractors.
Question: How often does LL Flooring offer discounts?
Answer: The Wood Flooring on Sale section of the LL Flooring’s website features all hardwood flooring models that are currently available at a discounted price. Installing the LL Flooring app will enable you to get coupons or keep track of the latest sales promotions.
Question: Can I order free flooring samples from LL Flooring?
Answer: Yes, you can order up to four flooring samples through the LL Flooring’s website for free or you can get free samples at the local LL Flooring store.
Final thoughts – Is LL Flooring better than its competitors?
Getting flooring materials from a specialized store like LL Flooring has several benefits. The personnel at the brick and mortar store will have all the information you need about different types of flooring or models you’re interested in.
Also, you’ll have a broad range of flooring options at your disposal, so that you can decide if you want to go with the bloodwood solid hardwood flooring or a water-resistant laminate.
There are plenty of budget generic flooring options, but for higher quality (and sometimes harder to find) premium flooring LL Flooring is a step up. Best of all, you can browse online for selections you may not find in your local Home Depot and have them safely delivered to your residence or job site.
LL Flooring can provide assistance throughout the floor replacement process by helping you find a contractor who’ll install the new floor for you.
The company works with wood processing plants both within the United States and abroad which enables it to offer lower flooring prices than most of its competitors. Did you find this LL Flooring review helpful? Let us know in the comments or continue reading our guide to the best tile flooring options.
