This is the wood I bought:
https://www.lowes.ca/hardwood-flooring/ ... =canadiana

My question is, being new to hardwood, how do I know what 'grade' it is? Other flooring stores talk about country grade etc. But no grade is specified here.

The wood looked great in the show piece, but what I got has bad knots with slight holes, planks are not milled the greatest, and the t&g is a bit loose even.. The milling machine cut some tongues short, some are missing an entire section underneath at the edge. Some have a slight thinner end also, in the last quarter inch.

I'm not sure if the t&g should allow for level differences between the planks also? there are 1/32 differences between plank heights here and there.. should the t&g not have leveled these planks together? Maybe I installed it too tight, would that cause one plank to be a little raised compared to the previous row? I was hitting the mallet pretty hard to try and squeeze the gaps where it's bent.. It all closed up ok, but I spent a lot of time finding planks that fit well.
Not all of them ended up with level differences, maybe 10%..I'm trying to figure out where things are going wrong.. is it me, or is it the wood.. I've seen other wood planks from my neighbor's house and definitely it was more straight, even after years that he has the spare box in the basement, and hard(much heavier). Looking at his install, it's all flat, hardly any up/down spots like mine.

Does the floor grade cover all the things I mentioned?.. Straightness, knots, tongue milling defects, tongue&groove tightness, and durability/density?
I feel like I'm paying the price for buying from Lowes and I should've got something better.. I definitely did not expect to have so many issues. I have installed laminates easily in the past, I can do cuts, angles, etc, no problem.. but this wood is ridiculously hard to install, and I'm not even ending up with a very satisfactory result, because already there are some squeaks. Some planks are also lighter weight than others, at the same length,.. noticeable by hand.. I think these lighter planks split easier at the tongue than the others when nailed, so it causes issues when the quality is mixed like this... the durability also will be worse on the lighter planks for sure.

It's not you. Based on your description of the product it is the product itself....milling tolerances, wood quality, etc. You paid about $5.00/sq ft? That's not really inexpensive and for that price I would expect more. Big Boxes don't typically carry top of the line stuff. 10% isn't too high a flaw rate but what you are describing are problems all over the place. If it were me I would file a complaint and return the stuff. Again, based on your experience you know it is the product. The finished floor height differences, known as overwood, should be virtually non-existent in a good quality product. If you can get your money back and return the unused product got to a flooring store. They will have better quality than the Big Boxes or Lumber Liquidators. But, their selection will be limited. You can also buy from on-line retailers. The important thing is to have a good idea of the manufacturer's quality. The flooring produced by Canadian mills is generally top notch.

To add to what Jim is saying - Mirage, Vintage, and Satin Finish are some of the big Canadian ones that I use regularly and have almost no problems with. Great products at a reasonable price.

Re: the grading of wood - you can find more detailed resources online or even at the above manufacturer's websites that explains the difference in grades. Rustic grade will have lots of knots and a very rough looking appearance. Select and Better is at the opposite end, with the knots and rough boards picked out of the batch. "Select" is somewhere in the middle in terms of the number of acceptable boards and will vary depending on product line and manufacturer.

That's $5 canadian, and Lowes always has a sale, so I really paid about $4 for it.. Translated into USD that's $3.10 .. It's their most expensive wood though, so it just gives you an idea that they don't carry anything of quality.
Oddly, this product has stamped on it "Made in Canada".. so just because it's Canadian apparently doesn't mean anything in this case.. unless it's a fake stamp.

Are you located in Canada? Well, if your wood was made in Canada then the 'exception to the rule' is alive and well. Maybe they're riding the coattails of the Canadian wood flooring reputation.

The description of the pre-finished flooring is "Natural". The manufacturer can call the grade that they sell anything that they want. To have a grade mean anything they need to be associated with a type of manufacturers association that sets standards for each grade that they market. Pre-finished flooring is different from unfinished flooring when it comes to grades. 10% of flooring is a target that some flooring manufacturers say should be considered as waste. If you can take the time to rack out every row beforehand you can use care to save parts of a board that would need to be cut to make a better looking floor. Colored wood putty can be used to make a borderline plank acceptable. The final "grader" is the person who fastens the board in place.

Yes I'm in Canada.
I am still trying to solve the nail depth problem. I got two new nailers. First one was driving a little too deep and cracking a little, a brand we only have here called Mastercraft. I played with the pressure, no help.
Second, Bostitch BTFP2569, even at 70PSI it was going plenty too much and cracking also, with hardly any hit on the mallet.. I went below 70 .. even at 60, it was still too much. At 55, it only went half way in.. the tool says 70+.

Maybe this wood is too soft, I don't know... could be too dry? It's acclimated very well though.. and surely it's not dry here for at least a month.. It has been stacked out of the boxes.. I wanted to make sure it acclimates to the room. The tech support of Goodfellow said to take it out of the box so it can acclimate.

Get a moisture meter to check the moisture content. Have you thought about returning the flooring and getting some from a different manufacturer? Check out Muskoka.

Hello,
I want this type of wood, where I can find it ?

I have the same problem, please help us

The mechanics of the fastening machine may be the problem, not whether the wood is too soft. The machine ought to fasten either fir, walnut, oak, or Brazilian cherry equally well without driving the fastener too deep.
The dough nut that stops the driver could be too thin or soft so that it doesn't stop the driver in the right position. My M111 stapler got the wrong part and was causing trouble after a repair. I talked to the service Rep. and he said that the bumper was installed for the wrong model.
Now my machine works @ 80 or 120 psi like it was designed for. The pressure should not matter as long as it sets the fastener without splitting a tongue. The "set the right pressure" on the compressor directions are baloney.
I would take the gun back and buy another brand.
Primatech gun that I bought long ago has a valve on it that keeps the pressure close to 80 psi by blowing off high pressure, but the models now don't require it, now, as I understand.

What do you prefer now as a brand ?

Do you like staples? or have an opened box? I think a used M111 would be a reliable fastener. Primatech makes a gun for cleats and if you are buying fasteners, the cleats work pretty well.
If you have problems with the M111 you can get a rebuild kit.