-
May 2023 by Mark D.
Buyer beware. That is my takeaway suggestion after doing business with Longleaf Lumber. Be sure and do your own research before settling on the type of wood you want to use on your project. Do not trust their expertise. We selected reclaimed cherry wood that was milled from beams for our project. The stock itself is gorgeous, with mixed widths, deep color, and the perfect imperfections that moves many of us to use reclaimed lumber. Luke Poirier was our salesperson. We made clear to him that the flooring was to be used in our kitchen, that we have a 40 lb. dog, and that the room is a high-traffic area in our home where we enter and exit the house and spend a great deal of time. He said that the wood would work well for our project. Immediately after installation the floors began to be marred by divots and scratches from normal wear and tear--a dog walking through, a dropped spoon, a dropped spice jar. Anything that falls or touches the floor beyond socked feet leaves a mark. We reported this to Luke and provided pictures to him to illustrate our claims. He was at a loss to explain why the wood was so soft and referred us to Alice Degennaro. She came to our house and was dismissive that the softness of the wood was the reason for it wearing so poorly and repeated that she considered cherry a hardwood and suited for kitchen floors. She noted our dog as being the culprit, and after we told her that we had disclosed our having a dog to Luke, she blamed the poor performance of their product on the installer. We contacted our installer and he returned to the house. He was aghast at how horrible the floors looked and last week finished them again for us. Thirty-six hours after their completion, they are already showing signs of scratches and dings. We are one of those households that removes their shoes at the door. The damage is being done from three people and our dog walking around the room. The floors were refinished with four coats of polyurethane plus another layer of finish from Bona for high traffic rooms. As a comparison, the installer refinished the adjacent room (oak flooring) during the initial installation in the kitchen. It was also done with four coats of polyurethane, and after 2 years, and similar use, they remain as pristine as they were on the day in which they were initially completed. According to multiple sites on the Internet, the problem with our kitchen floors is that American Cherry should never be used as flooring in high traffic areas, and perhaps not used as flooring at all. It is soft. Engineered wood floors, that contain cherry wood, apparently wear well, and there are some reports that Brazilian cherry can be used on floors in low traffic areas. Had we thought to google "cherry hardwood floors," we would have known this and selected a different product. However, we trusted the judgement of LongLeaf staff, and quite frankly we should have been able to do so. This is both infuriating and a big disappointment. LongLeaf could have made this up to us, and would probably have lost money in doing so. They could have offered to refund our money, they could have offered us different stock, or they could have offered us new stock and covered the cost of its installation. But no such offers were ever made. The poor performance of their product was due to it being too soft to be used for flooring, and their poor recommendation that we buy it. Buyer beware.
-
March 2023 by Emily B.
I have lived in Cambridge for 13+ years and never knew this place existed. What a gem! It's a family owned business who cares. They offer personal attention, troubleshoot and were kind enough to orient me to the selection they had in their warehouse. From piling that was salvaged from docks in boston harbor to heritage white oak planks...it's as much joy as it is interesting.
-
March 2023 by Liam Bulkley
Great staff. Extremely helpful and friendly.The stock was substantial but due to their sourcing method it's going to be variable.I'd expect they will nearly always have various pine, maple, oaks and hemlock.
-
October 2021 by M T
Amazing staff that was able to help match the antique floors in my house with gorgeous matching reclaimed floors! It came out better than I could have imagined!
-
February 2021 by Mary Tenenbaum
Amazing staff that was able to help match the antique floors in my house with gorgeous matching reclaimed floors! It came out better than I could have imagined!
-
December 2020 by Mary Honan
What a great place! Fabulous experience searching for reclaimed wood for shelves and a mantel. So great and easy to work with! A great find.
-
December 2020 by Doris Romero
Great service! Found just what I was looking for!
-
November 2020 by Hilary T.
This place is fantastic. I've had three dealings with them in the past four years. The selection is incredible, plenty of reclaimed wood or salvaged wood in different thicknesses and widths. Matthew was in the warehouse this visit and was enthusiastic and so helpful. For a fee they will deliver. Alice and Greta we're on top of all the finances and delivery times. I highly recommend a visit here. Not to mention Iggy's bakery it's just down the street.
-
October 2018 by Trent Downey
Cool space, helpful staff, beautiful (and plentiful) wood.
-
September 2018 by Mark Nawrocki
These guys are good and have the goods.
-
May 2018 by William Barabino
You want reclaimed wood anything. You go to long ðŸ 🃠🂠leaf lumber. Awesome selection of all the speciality pieces that you could possible want for reclaimed wood. The customer service is awesome. They are experienced and knowledgeable and more than willing to accommodate the novice purchaser with guidance and assistance. Five stars.
-
February 2018 by Michael J.
We purchased reclaimed pine boards to use as our floors from Longleaf Lumber for two different projects. They are extremely knowledgeable about all things wood, helpful, and they provide a great product. You can definitely tell the difference between reclaimed wood and wood from a local lumber yard. Since we live in Cambridge, have very old wood floors, Longleaf is the only place where we can get materials to match. My only recommendation is to make sure you hire an installer who knows how to work with reclaimed wood that you can trust with the quality investment you make with Longleaf. We got lucky with our first floor install, and the floors came out beautiful. Unfortunately, we hired the wrong company for our second floor install.
-
April 2017 by Ariana Bain
Amazing place - beautiful reclaimed lumber and super helpful staff!
-
November 2015 by Anne B.
I recently purchased a vacation home on Orcas Island, WA and learned that the beautiful wood floors in the main areas of the house are heart pine. When we decided to install heart pine throughout the house, our installer recommended Longleaf Lumber. So, long distance (from our primary residence in Minnesota), I worked with Ian at Longleaf to decide on the appropriate grade of wood, place my order, and manage the shipment from Cambridge, MA to Orcas Island. Ian was helpful and attentive and took the time to answer all my questions. He also provided excellent communication throughout the ordering, milling, and shipping processes. He sent photos of the wood as it was being shipped. And, when it arrived on Orcas Island, I was informed by our installer that it is the most beautiful heart pine he has seen in 20 years in the installation business. I can't wait to see it in person but I know it will be spectacular. I am so glad we decided to work with Longleaf and I can give them my highest recommendation.
-
November 2015 by Steven J.
If I won some kind of prize which entitled me to a giant shopping spree for any store I wanted, I would pick this place. Every time I go I find amazingly beautiful pieces of wood at great prices. They keep everything really well organized, which I can imagine must be hard to do. And the staff are so so helpful and patient. I can't believe how much time they'll spend talking to me about my d*** little projects when it's obvious I am only the type of person to spend $50 to $100 every four months or so. You should definitely come by and check them out!
