ONLY TOP QUALITY FLOORING SUPPLIED

The Truth About Laminate Flooring

To download this article in PDF format for easy printing, click HERE.

Introduction

For many of us, the prospect of owning a nice new laminate floor is now even more likely, and its mainly due to the following reasons.

1/ Easy to clean
2/ Health & hygiene
3/ Clean fresh modern day look
4/ Large choice of styles and finishes.
5/ TV makeover programs.
6/ Widely available

This article is a critical, down to earth view about laminate flooring and is aimed towards those who have had little or no experience with this product. The overall objective is to point you in the right direction, and to give you some ideas on what to buy and what to avoid. If this article in any way prevents you from making gross errors of judgment, or saves you from wasting your hard earned cash, then I feel that I have fulfilled my objective, I certainly don't expect everyone, especially other professionals and retailers, to agree with all of my ideas, however I have the right to my own opinion.

Choosing a Laminate Flooring Product

1/ Disregard any flooring associated with the word glue. Its messy, difficult to work with, and if you make any mistakes when fitting or incur any damage at a later date, its impossible to take up cleanly once the glue is dry.

2/ Never buy flooring without some kind of "click system". If it fits together by just pushing it in place, then the chances are that it will come apart just as easily once it has been down a while.

3/ Avoid any flooring of less than 8mm thick unless you know what you are looking for. As a professional fitter, I know of only two products in the 7mm range that I would consider using. Any flooring of less than 7mm is a definitely in the "do not touch" category

4/ Check for quality by weight. If it is less than 12kg per box with a coverage of about 2 square metres, the chances are that it is an inferior product to be avoided. Check the weight by lifting up the end of the pack with your index finger. If it is easy to lift up, then don't put it in your trolley

5/ To help you choose your flooring I have categorised it as follows. 20% is of excellent quality and 50% is absolute rubbish. The middle 30% is acceptable but only if fitted correctly. To put it in simple terms, if you fail to follow my guide lines above, or if you have no idea what you're looking for, you have a 50% chance of buying rubbish.

6/ Don't be misled by newspaper advertisements or large home improvement stores offering bargain flooring. There is a 90% chance that the advertised product will fall into the 50% category as mentioned above. Buy the most expensive flooring on show in these shops and you may just about manage to acquire a product that is in the acceptable 30% range.

7/ This is not an advertisement but our company fully recommend Quick Step by Unilin as one of the best products on the market. We also recommend any other product made under licence from Unilin that incorporates its unique patented click system. Apart from having several different styles and finishes, if there is a better make on the market we have yet to find it. Other makes such as Pergo and Kahrs are also worth consideration.

8/ To buy a quality product go to a specialist flooring store. Alternatively contact your local fitter who may be able to help on a supply only basis. At least he may be able to point you in the right direction. You can find details in the yellow pages under flooring supplies and flooring services.

9/ You may have noticed that if you buy a new kitchen, bathroom or bedroom from the superstores that a full fitting service is available. You have to ask yourself why most of them don't provide the same service with laminate flooring. In the words of one branch Manager (who will remain nameless), I’m sorry but there is no way I could give a guarantee on this rubbish.

10/ Customers often ask if laminate flooring is waterproof and suitable for kitchens and bathrooms. The fact is that the actual surface is waterproof and good quality flooring will have a wax substance impregnated into the click joints. So the simple answer is that the flooring should be advertised as water resistant and not water proof. From a professional point of view we fit kitchens and bathrooms all the time and have yet to make any return visits due to water damage, other than major flood damage.

11/ Another frequently asked question is what advantages do laminate flooring have over wooden flooring. Apart from being about half the price and easier to clean and maintain the simple answer is that they both look superb when fitted correctly. With some of the modern laminates its sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the two.

12/ If you are thinking of buying (or have already brought) laminate flooring then always keep the receipt. Sometimes when you get it home you may find it is not such a good match with the other decor as you thought. Also after opening the first box you may find it more difficult to lay than expected, or indeed you may even have second thoughts about the quality of the product. At least by keeping the receipt you can return the rest for a refund.

Accessories

1/ Assuming that you have opted for a quality laminate flooring product as advised, only to find that your floor is making squeaking and creaking noises. If by any chance you have purchased your underlay from one of the mega stores, then this is to be expected. In my opinion they don't have any decent underlay products between them.

2/ The mega stores will charge you exorbitant prices for a micro thin piece of poly foam that they have the cheek to call underlay. If this is not enough, they will also try to sell you a standard roll of plastic sheeting which they give the technical name of "a membrane". You can also find an underlay with a built in or combined membrane, that is tidily boxed and light enough to be picked up by a three year old. This may sound good, but please think twice before wasting any of your money. Alternatively, if you put your money into a children’s charity box, at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your money was well spent.

3/ A sales ploy adopted by these shops is to recommend, or insist, that you have to use a certain brand of underlay to validate the guarantee on the in store flooring. If this is the case then why is it that some of them stock more than one type of underlay with no notices informing you of this fact. Secondly the manufactures guarantee relates to "fair ware and tear" on the upper surface of the flooring, and not the bottom.

4/ For the best deals or best products once again contact a specialist flooring store, or a local fitter for your underlay. Our company have tried several different types of underlay in the past, but have now settled for a product called "Acoustica" (formally Wonderlay) and now we will not use anything else, unless an even better product becomes available Acoustica is made of 3mm thick foam rubber with a built in silver heat reflective waterproof membrane. Not only is it a joy to work with, but a full roll of 15m2 can only just be lifted up by one person. "now that's quality".

5/ When your floating floor is laid correctly, you well be left with a 8mm-10mm gap all the way around the edge. To cover this gap you well require some matching skirting or scotia that has to be fixed to the wall. Once again contact your flooring store for the best deals. We have used the scotia from the mega stores, but apart from being very expensive it is also sub- standard in terms of quality.

6/ For doorways you will need different trims, depending on the circumstances. For example, floor to floor, floor to carpet, floor to tiles, floor to nothing or a straight edge. Although on this occasion I won't knock the mega stores in terms of quality, it is however much cheaper to buy them in 2.4m lengths. Each length will cover three doorways for the same price that you would pay for just one from these stores.

7/ Finally, do not forget all of the other associated accessories that may also be required, such as underlay joining tape, matching filler and sealants, solvents, scotia and trim fixing materials, floor cleaning materials, glues, nails, screws and many more.

D.I.Y. (Destroy it Yourself)

1/ Never be fooled by glossy brochures, in-store videos or ambitious sales-people telling you how easy it is to fit laminate flooring. If this is to be believed, then every 80 year old granny in the country is more than capable of such a task. We are experienced fitters but still approach every job with caution knowing that something out of the ordinary is bound to arise.

2/ The second claim that "only basic tools" are required is even more amusing. Our company vehicle contains at least 10 power tools and approximately another 50 hand held tools that may be required to obtain the perfect results. I’m not saying that we have to use them all on every job, but during the course of the year they will all be used on numerous occasions.

3/ By now you should have your top quality flooring, underlay and basic tools, so what else can go wrong or should be considered? Here are just a few. Walls not straight, rooms not square, uneven floors, loose/rotting floor boards or skirting, vermin/insect damage, radiator pipes, architraves need cutting, door removal and planning electric/TV/phone/lighting/speaker wires, fire places, fitted furniture, staircases (halls), sink and WC bases (toilets), base panels (kitchens), and drain/water main access points (conservatories).

4/ It is understandable that if by now you may have decided to go for the easy option and call in the experts to supply and fit your floor. If its any comfort at all, many of our jobs involve taking up existing laminate flooring, (sometimes nearly new), before replacing it with our own. This is down to two main reasons. Either a bad attempt at DIY, or a cheap product that failed to live up to expectations.

5/ Lets assume that we charge £1,000 to supply and fit a replacement floor for one which has been previously put down on the cheap for £500. The whole project has now cost a total of £1500. This is a typical case of false economy. One of our customers complained about the builder who had made a complete mess of his floor. It was plainly obvious to us that the so called builder did not exist and the customer was trying to cover up his embarrassment. Unfortunately for him, he left too many clues around to fool us professionals. As it happens we did the decent thing and didn't let on.

Finding a Company to Supply and Fit

1/ Employ a large or national company to supply and fit your flooring, and the chances are that you will be more than satisfied with the end result. On the down side you may have to pay through the nose with a typical price of between £55- £75 per square metre.

2/ Alternatively, you may decide to call in the cowboys who turn up not on a horse, but in a rusty old van laden with cheap flooring. This second option is a recipe for disaster and you will most certainly get exactly what you pay for.

3/ The third option, although not always 100% guaranteed is the small, middle of the road, family run business. Firstly, they don't have the overheads associated with the big companies, secondly, they have a reputation to uphold, and finally, as they probably live locally they can't afford any mistakes as adverse publicity soon gets around.

4/ Selecting your ideal flooring company may be a simple case of elimination, here are a few tips. A polite telephone manner is always essential in creating first impressions. A well turned out uniformed fitting team will definitely stand out from the rest, and a clean, tidy, sign-written van will always impress. It must be assumed that if the fitters and vehicle are well turned out, then it is likely that the same professional attitude is adopted to fitting the floors.

5/ As stated at the top of this page you may be pleased with the result if you employ one of the larger companies to lay your floor. However, what a lot of people don't realise is that most of these companies don't have full time fitting teams and employ sub contractors such as us smaller companies on a regular basis. So in effect you are paying all that extra money for exactly the same product and the same workmanship.

6/ Finally, don't be shy to ask for references. Any company with a good reputation, and no skeletons in the cupboard, will be more than happy to provide a comprehensive list of satisfied customers.

Getting a Quote

1/ On regular occasions we carry out market research to compare prices with the larger companies. Although we finally get the information we require, it takes a lot of insistence to convince them that we are not in need of a house call their intention is to get their foot in the door so they can adopt the hard sell tactics.

2/ Our company uses a completely opposite approach to this and offer an instant phone quote service. So long as we have the room dimensions and number of doors, we can quote our customer to within £100 of the final price providing the information that is given is correct. Our philosophy is simple, if a person wants to buy flooring, a car or even a washing machine, their initial concern is "how much will it cost and can I afford it"? They will need this information before taking the issue any further.

3/ Using the above system gives the customer thinking time to compare prices and make firm decisions. Only then, if they are still interested, can we arrange a house visit to show the customer our samples, explain any technicalities, and in the event of a sale, arrange a fitting date. The other advantages of this system is that some people are just curious about the price so it cuts down on unnecessary house visits and eliminates customers who (for what ever reasons) are clearly unable to afford it.

4/ When receiving a quote, always make sure you know exactly what is included in the price. When our company quotes a price it is for "the whole job finished" with no hidden extras. All prices should be written down and shown to the customer, then there is no misunderstanding when it comes to the final invoice. Some companies, have been known to make up the prices as they go along depending on the customers afford ability. It has even been known for companies to fit the floor and then inform the customer that all the extras (underlay, scotia, and door trims) are not included in the price and have to be added to the final cost.

5/ You've had your quote, you're happy with the product, you want to go ahead, so what's next. Well, although it goes against our better judgment and will not exactly please our bank manager, the next thing to do is to "make an offer". The fact is that we are the ones with the product, and you are the ones who want the product. Likewise, you are the ones with the money and we are the ones who want the money. Its called "distribution of wealth". We are also the ones who know exactly how flexible we need to be to still produce an acceptable profit, at worst we won't back down and stick to our guns. At best you may just be able to knock a few more pounds off the price. In simple terms "if you don't ask, you don't get".

6/ Finally, if you do make the decision to go ahead and buy some flooring, be prepared to pay a deposit. This is a common practice as the flooring company could be left with a load of unwanted flooring if you decide to back out before the final fitting date. Our Company usually asks for about 30% of the total price with the balance on completion. If you do back out at least we haven't lost too much money, although the flooring may take up valuable storage space until it is otherwise disposed of or sold.

What to Pay for Supply & Fit

1/ It is worth mentioning a few points that can affect the price for supply & fit. Firstly you have to realise that regardless of how large or small each job may be, we still have to go through certain motions and set tasks. For example, ordering stock, loading van, travel to site, setting up equipment, preparing the room, fitting the floor, cleaning tools, cleaning the work site, traveling home and finally emptying the van.

2/ Because of these set tasks you have to agree that we couldn't possibly charge the same amount per square metre for every job that we do. For this reason our company, and probably most of the other companies work on a sliding scale where "the more you have done, the cheaper it gets". For example you wouldn't expect us to charge the same amount per metre for a 40m2 lounge as we would for a 2m2 hallway, especially when the same set tasks equally apply to both jobs please look the following examples.

3/ On a recent job we had to fit a very complicated hallway containing 7 door openings. The total area was just 4m2 and it took us from 08.30 to 19.30. The following week we had to fit a lounge/sunroom in a brand new house totaling 35m2. By 15.30 we were back home cleaning out the van ready for the next day. As another example we had to fit a bedroom of 20m2 and the en-suite with 2m2. Although I had finished laying the floor in the bedroom, my partner was still working away in the en-suite. However, where as the bedroom was a nice oblong room with no complications, the en-suite was more intricate, involving sculpturing around the toilet and sink base, fitting a square edge to the shower tray, negotiating around a curved wall, fitting the door trim and finally planning the door.

4/ Earlier in this article we referred to market research as a way of pricing the opposition. Recently we asked the three largest flooring companies in Norwich for a quote to supply & fit a lounge floor. Where our company would have charged £750, the three quotations, using exactly the same product and workmanship (as mentioned previously), came out as £995, £1077 & £1150 respectively. The point I want to make is that in terms of quality, the cheapest quote is not necessarily the worst in terms of quality and value for money, and the most expensive quote is not necessarily the best quality of service for your money. This is why it is important to get references from satisfied customers. Why pay up to £400 more for exactly the same service and quality?

5/ In some ways us small family firms are in a catch 22 situation. On the one hand, with our lower overheads and lower prices, we like to give value for money. But at the same time we have to convince the general public that even though our prices are lower, our product and workmanship is every bit as good as that of the big companies on the other hand, if we put our prices up, then the general public will tend to opt for the biggest named companies almost every time.

To Sum it Up

1/ When I observe people pushing a trolley full of flooring out of the superstores or, my first reaction is to genuinely feel sorry for them. One feels like rushing up to them to try to explain what a big mistake they have just made. This flooring may look very nice when newly laid, but what happens in the future as cracks appear when the joints start to open up? I sincerely hope that you have taken some of the information on board and will not make the same mistake.

2/ If you do decide to have your flooring fitted by a company, then please do your research first check them out on the internet if they have a web site, ask for customer references, visit there depot, or let your fingers do the walking in the yellow pages. It is far better to pay out a few pounds on petrol or phone calls, than be disappointed with anything that is less than 100% .

3/ Initially it was my intention to add a further section to this article on installation, fitting tips and tricks of the trade. However, I decided that to get the message across it would more than double the size of this article, and for those unfamiliar with the product the benefits would be minimal. All I can say is that if you intend to fit the floor yourself, then "good luck"

4/ As I sign off, I sincerely hope that this article has been of help in pointing you in the right direction. It should help you in eliminating mistakes, choosing the right product and hopefully saving, or at least obtaining value for money. If you do go ahead with a laminate flooring project in the near future, and you can honestly say that this article was of absolutely no use at all, then I am sorry to have taken up your valuable time

5/ Finally as I stressed at the beginning of this article I do not expect everyone, especially the larger flooring companies and superstores to agree with me, but the fact is that it has been written down exactly as I see it and make no apologies for my honest opinions.

PS, my apologies to any 80 year old grannies who have successfully laid a laminate floor!!

"don't buy cheap flooring and live to regret it, buy quality flooring and live to appreciate it!"

© May 2005. Brian Eldred, E&B Quality Flooring Supplies.
LARGE ENOUGH TO COPE, SMALL ENOUGH TO CARE