If you're considering a do-it-yourself job, hit up Lumber Liquidators. This place is really killer for finding some seriously tough hardwood flooring. It will be much higher quality than what you'll find at your run-of-the-mill big-name home stores, and less expensive than ordering from a specialist.
We have their stuff from our front door through to our backdoor, including the kitchen. After 5 years it still looks great, and we didn't even get the really good stuff.
They used to have a single store in Auburn, and it was a real rat-trap. Still perfectly fine, but a rat-trap. They've opened a new place downtown south of the stadiums, but I haven't been.
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