Imported Chinese/Asian Hardwood Floors

Who isn't looking for a better deal on some of the very high priced hand scraped hardwood floors today? We did a comparison in December of 2007 on some products manufactured by Naturally Aged, Garrison Collection, and Anderson's Virginia Vintage.

Imported Hand Scraped Hardwoods

Both Naturally Aged and Garrison are imports. They must buy from the same manufacturer because the product lines are identical. Same appearance same specifications. Why Garrison wants a large premium for the same thing is beyond me. Having dealt with the Naturally Aged people and their local sales rep for two years through internet sales I found the company to be very responsive. I didn't even have to ask for new product samples, they simply arrived Fed Ex. With Garrison I could not even get a sales rep to call on me when I had a retail operation, so I'm assuming that may be an indication of the company as a whole. Mind you this is only an opinion.

Comparison Today (2012) Versus 10 or 12 Years Ago

Asking me ten years ago what I thought of imported Chinese hardwood flooring, I would have looked the other way. I knew American consumers would not accept the marginal quality. Times have changed. Quality control has improved dramatically. Placing some of these products side by side with the likes of Anderson Virginia Vintage and the Garrison Collection (same as Naturally Aged - different name) one cannot see the difference in their heavy distressed lines.

In comparing the Virginia Vintage with these two, Naturally Aged offers their Heavy Chatter line and Garrison names it Carolina Classics. The importers are trying to get a piece of the action at lower prices, and it's working. Appearances are practically identical, but look at those price tags! We do not have any Garrison pricing, but browsing through dealer showrooms places prices $ 2.00 to $ 3.00 per square foot higher than Naturally Aged... for the same product!


Average Retail $ 13.80 square foot	Average Retail $ 6.98 square foot

Here is another comparison with Naturally Aged and Garrison. We have a five inch wide scraped natural Walnut; more like a contoured hand sculpted appearance. Product specifications are identical in that they are 9/16" thick, 12" to 60 inch random lengths with the same wear layer and construction.


Average Retail $ 7.25 square foot	Average Retail $ 10.25 square foot

For those that may be interested in the Naturally Aged product lines, they do not sell their common lines directly to the public, but your contractor or installer can make the arrangements. Custom work can be offered direct. Try doing that with some of the other companies.

• Custom Hand Scraped - On the jobsite
• Cheap Low Priced Floors - What's the best?